Rescuing the Reputation of Rome’s Second Emperor

Depending on whether or not numerous short-lived usurpers are counted in the total, approximately 82 men served as emperor of Rome. Tiberius, the second emperor, who lived from 42 BCE to 37 CE, was neither the best nor the worst of these, but in most of our historical sources he comes across as a dark, depraved, and reclusive figure who never really wanted to be emperor. Pliny the Elder (died 79 CE) called him "the gloomiest of men.” Because the reign of Tiberius coincided with the ministry of Jesus, he is an important figure in Western history.

This massive, highly readable, and superbly illustrated biography attempts to rescue the reputation of Tiberius. He was born in 42 BCE to an elite Roman Senatorial family. In 38 BCE, Octavian, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, fell in love with Livia Drusilla, the mother of Tiberius, and forced her husband, Tiberius Claudius Nero, to divorce her so that he could marry her. In 27 BCE the Senate granted Octavian the title of Augustus, an event that marked the end of the Republic and the beginning of the Empire. In 19 BCE Tiberius married Vipsania Agrippina, the daughter of Marcus Agrippa, the Emperor’s best friend and advisor. Tiberius had a successful military career, campaigning in Spain, the Alps, the Balkans, and especially in Germany. Augustus had remarkably bad luck in arranging for a successor. His nephew, the popular and promising 19-year-old Marcus Claudius Marcellus died in 23 BCE. His grandsons, born to his only daughter Julia, Gaius and Lucius both died prematurely. In 11 BCE, in an effort to produce an heir, Augustus forced Tiberius to divorce Agrippina, whom he dearly loved, and marry Julia. The marriage was unhappy and childless.

In disgust, Tiberius went into voluntary exile on the island of Rhodes in 6 BCE, returning to Rome in 2 CE, where he was formally adopted as the son and heir of Augustus in 4 CE. Ten years later, when Augustus died, Tiberius became emperor at the age of 55. He ruled until his death on 16 March 37 CE, being succeeded by his relative, Gaius Germanicus, better known as “Caligula.”

The poor historical reputation of Tiberius derives largely from two sources: The Lives of the Twelve Caesars by Suetonius, who lived c. 69-122 CE, and the Annals by Tacitus, who lived c. 56-120 CE — two or three generations removed from the events of Tiberius’s life. Powell, along with many historians, considers both works to be rife with gossip and slander, and relies on the only contemporary source by an author who actually knew and worked for Tiberius, the obscure Roman senator Velleius Paterculus (lived c.19 BCE - 31 CE ) whose work survived in a single damaged manuscript that was not published until 1520.

Readers with a serious interest in Roman history will find much to enjoy in this book, which, for its size, is reasonably priced.

Lindsay Powell is a British historian and a writer. He is the author of, among other works, Augustus at War, Eager for Glory, Germanicus and Marcus Agrippa from Pen and Sword Books. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, he divides his time between Austin, Texas and Wokingham, England.

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Our Reviewer: Mike Markowitz is an historian and wargame designer. He writes a monthly column for CoinWeek.Com and is a member of the ADBC (Association of Dedicated Byzantine Collectors). His previous reviews include Caesar Rules: The Emperor in the Changing Roman World, Ancient Rome on the Silver Screen, Justinian: Emperor, Soldier, Saint, Persians: The Age of the Great Kings, Polis: A New History of the Ancient Greek City-State, At the Gates of Rome: The Battle for a Dying Empire, Roman Emperors in Context, After 1177 B.C., Cyrus the Great, Barbarians and Romans: The Birth Struggle of Europe, A.D. 400–700, Crescent Dawn: The Rise of the Ottoman Empire and the Making of the Modern Age, The Missing Thread: A New History of the Ancient World Through the Women Who Shaped It, The Roman Provinces, 300 BCE–300 CE: Using Coins as Sources, The Cambridge Companion to Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, Archaic Greece, Amazons: The History Behind the Legend, The Byzantine World, Classical Controversies, Reassessing the Peloponnesian War, War and Masculinity in Roman and Medieval Culture, Nemesis: Medieval England's Greatest Enemy, The Wars of the Roses: A Medieval Civil War, and The Emperor and the Elephant.

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