Tiberius

For the city in Israel, see Tiberias.

Final Years

The Sejanus affair appears to have greatly depressed Tiberius. A close friend and confidant had betrayed him. His withdrawal from public life seemed more complete in the last years. Letters kept him in touch with Rome, but it was the machinery of the Augustus?s administration that kept the Empire running smoothly. Tiberius spent much of his time indulging his perversities on Capri. He also became all but paranoid in his dealings with others and spent long hours brooding over the death of his son, Drusus, which had now been revealed to him as the work of his friend Sejanus; all who were implicated, he had executed in barbaric fashion. As a result, no measures were taken for the succession, beyond vague indications of favor to his great-nephew Caligula, Germanicus' and Agrippina's only surviving son, and his grandson Tiberius Gemellus, the son of Drusus and Livilla, who was still only a child.

Related Topics:
Capri - Caligula - Tiberius Gemellus

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rome?s second Emperor died at the port town of Misenum on March 16, 37 AD. At the age of seventy-eight and a reign of 23 years, Tiberius, despite all his faults, proved a successful continuation of Augustus?s Principate. Later writers suggested that Tiberius was smothered at the behest of Caligula (who was never really sure if he was the official heir), but such accusations are to be expected in the political climate of the time. Regardless, Tiberius was seventy-eight years and in poor health at his death. His complete unpopularity is proven by the absence of being voted divine honors by the Senate. Caligula never pushed for it, and his successor Claudius, who did force the deification of Tiberius?s mother Livia, certainly wasted no effort on Tiberius?s behalf. Tacitus, Dio Cassius and Suetonius certainly painted a bleak picture of Tiberius and his reign. According to Suetonius: "the people were so glad of his death, that at the first news of it some ran about shouting, "To the Tiber with Tiberius!," (a form of punishment reserved for criminals) while others prayed to Mother Earth and the Manes to "allow the dead man no abode except among the damned."

Related Topics:
Misenum - March 16 - 37 AD - Livia - Tacitus - Dio Cassius - Suetonius - Tiber - Manes

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In his will, Tiberius left the empire to both Caligula and Tiberius Gemellus, but soon after becoming Emperor, Caligula had Tiberius's will declared void and later had Gemellus killed, thus he become Tiberius?s sole heir and successor as the Roman Emperor.

Related Topics:
Caligula - Tiberius Gemellus

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~