Tiberius Iulius Caesar Augustus Emperor of Rome between 14 and 37 AD, Tiberius was born in 42 BC. His mother, Livia, divorced his father, Tiberius Claudius Nero, in 38 BC in order to marry Octavianus. These circumstances must have contributed to Tiberius' gloomy disposition.
During the reign of Augustus he reached great achievements. In 20 BC he returned the standards which fell into the hands of the Parthians in the time of Crassus. In 16 BC he conquered Rhaetia together with his brother, Drusus, and led the conquest of Pannonia (9-12 BC). Following his brother's death he was appointed Commander of the Roman legions in Germania.
In 6 BC he retired to Rhodes, among other reasons due to his rocky relationship with his second wife Julia, the daughter of Emperor Augustus. Tiberius was forced to divorce his first wife Vipsania in 12 BC and marry Julia on Augustus' demand. In addition, he must have resented the favoritism Augustus showed towards his grandsons Gaius and Lucius, Julia's sons from her first marriage to Agrippa.
Tiberius returned from Rhodes in 2 AD. After the death of Gaius and Lucius he was the only remaining heir to Augustus, and the latter adopted him in 4 AD. Tiberius was granted proconsular imperium and tribunicial power that defined him as the expected successor of Augustus. He was now the head general of the aging Augustus, and commanded the military operations of Rome in Germania. In 6-9 AD he was responsible for the suppression of the rebellion in Pannonia and Illyricum. In 13 AD his powers were extended for 10 more years, and a year later, after Augustus' death, he was officially pronounced Emperor. |
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