Tiberius (16 November 42 BC-16 March 37 AD) was the Emperor of the Roman Empire from 14 to 37 AD, succeeding Augustus and preceding Caligula. Tiberius' reign saw the execution of Jesus and the subsequent rise of Christianity, and from 23 AD until his 37 AD death he lived a reclusive lifestyle at Villa Jovis on the island of Capri. Tiberius suffered from syphillis towards the end of his life due to his very debaucherous lifestyle, and he was killed in 37 AD by Praetorian Guard prefect Naevius Sutorius Macro, allowing his adoptive grandson Caligula to take power for himself.
Biography[]
Early reign[]
A younger Tiberius
Tiberius was the son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia; his mother later divorced his father and remarried to Augustus, who adopted Tiberius as his heir in 4 AD due to his mother's influence (and her poisoning of Marcus Claudius Marcellus in 23 BC). As a general under his stepfather, Tiberius was very successful in his military campaigns, conquering Pannonia, Dalmatia, Raetia, and parts of Germania. He succeeded his stepfather as emperor in 14 AD, and his mother continued to hold immense power over him. Tiberius initially got along well with his mother, and, in 20 AD, he made it illegal to speak ill of her. However, after 22 AD, their relationship soured as Tiberius grew resentful of the idea that she was responsible for his being on the throne, and he rejected the Roman Senate's idea of naming her "Mother of the Fatherland", just as Augustus was its "Father".
Life in the shadows[]
Tiberius in 33 AD
Tiberius was called "the gloomiest of men" by Pliny the Elder during his reign, as he was known to be a somber and reclusive leader. When his son Drusus Julius Caesar died in 23 AD, Tiberius became even more reclusive, and his generals Lucius Aelius Sejanus and Naevius Sutorius Macro took over as regents. Both were Praetorian Guard prefects, and they transformed the unit from Imperial bodyguards into a sort of electoral college that held most of the political power in Rome and often killed emperors to replace them with their own candidates - Sejanus was killed in 31 AD for plotting against Tiberius.
Entry of Caligula[]
Tiberius' court in Capri
Ever since his son's death in 23 AD, Tiberius hid away in Capri in southern Italy with jurist Marcus Cocceius Nerva, Tiberius' nephew Claudius, and his grandnephew Tiberius Gemellus. Tiberius lived an unhealthy lifestyle, obsessing over naked male and female servants in his pool that he called his "little fishies". He had many live sex shows and was involved with both men and women alike, and Tiberius eventually went mad as he took ill with syphillis and other sexually-transmitted diseases. Tiberius had "satyrs" (male servants) from Illyria and "nymphs" from regions as far as Britain entertain him at his court, and he believed that having sex with both satyrs and nymphs was healthy. He also believed that any senator was a natural enemy of the Emperor, as he believed that they all desired to be "caesar"s; when Macro presented him with documents that the Senate wanted him to approve, he automatically stamped the one concerning a senator accused of treason due to his logic. The madness of Tiberius led to Nerva slitting his wrists in a bathtub as he decried Tiberius as a madman who killed all of his friends and family, and Tiberius' attempts to poison and arrest Caligula to trick "fate" led to Caligula deciding to go against his grandfather.
Death[]
The death of Tiberius
On 16 March 37 AD, the half-paralyzed Tiberius lay on his deathbed after the Greek physician Charicles said that he had a year left to live. Many feared that he was dying, and Caligula and Macro entered the room, telling the other people to leave. Caligula, believing the incapable Tiberius to be dead, took the imperial ring off of his finger and wore it on his own hand. Tiberius abruptly woke up and told him to give him back his ring, but Caligula refused; Caligula lifted a mirror to attack Tiberius, but Macro took the mirror from him and put it down. He proceeded to take a clear black veil and suffocate Tiberius to death, and Tiberius choked on the veil as it was tightened around his neck. Tiberius' death allowed for Caligula to become the new emperor, and Macro was framed for his murder and executed.
Gallery[]
