The Guinea Pig

The first crime of the new reign was the murder of Agrippa Postumus.
So the historian Tacitus [1] opens his account of the reign of the Emperor*
Tiberius. Agrippa Postumus, the youngest son of Agrippa and Julia, was the closest thing
Tiberius had to a rival for the position of emperor. Although the stage had been set by
Augustus for Tiberius to take over, Agrippa Postumus had the advantage of being a blood
relation of Augustus.
Exiled in AD 7 by the princeps for disgraceful behaviour (so we are told), the young Agrippa
had effectively been ruled out of any succession plans, but 'better safe than sorry' as the
saying goes. Whether the orders had been issued by Augustus prior to his death, or by
Tiberius shortly after is unclear, but either way Agrippa Postumus was a loose end that
needed tying up, and in AD 14 he was swiftly executed.
Tiberius made his way back to Rome after the death of Augustus (the princeps had died in
Nola, located in south Italy) and immediately called together a meeting of the Senate to make
the necessary funeral arrangements. The ceremony was appropriately solemn and wellattended. Citizens from around the empire came to pay their respects, and Augustus' body,
carried from his house to the Forum on the shoulders of Roman magistrates, was cremated
and placed in the mausoleum he had constructed before his death. One senator, under oath,
swore he had seen Augustus' spirit ascend to heaven; Augustus was proclaimed as a divus, a
god, as his adoptive father Julius Caesar had been before him, and would be remembered as
such.
Now all attention could turn to Tiberius. We should not underestimate the difficulty here of
just how he was to go about addressing the issue of succession. Augustus had had to be very
careful when establishing himself as princeps - Tiberius arguably had to be even more so, as
there was no precedent for such a thing. Imagine the position of those senators in AD 14:
Augustus had accumulated his powers and offices gradually over an extended period of time,
were they to just give everything over to Tiberius now? Granted, Augustus had ensured prior
to his death that Tiberius obtained many of the same powers and occupied an essentially
identical position to himself, but this way of ruling had only been in place for 40+ years,
compared to the 400+ years of the Republic. One false move could send things hurtling back
to a state of civil war. So Tiberius did as his stepfather would have done, and played the
game.

At the next meeting of the Senate, the issue of succession took centre stage. Tiberius, taking
notes from the events of 27 BC [see The first Emperor (part 2)] refused to accept the position
formerly held by the princeps; only the divine Augustus had possessed the capacity to bear
such responsibility solely, he claimed. Observing how great and capable the men of the
Senate were, he claimed the burden of the State should be shared by many, not held by just
one individual. After much pleading by the senators, Tiberius agreed to take on whatever
part of government was entrusted to him. The senators pressed him further still. "How long,
Caesar, will you allow the State to have no head?" one senator is to have said [2]. Tiberius
then, with a great show of reluctance, finally accepted Augustus' powers, and his position as
the leading man of the State, "until I grow so old that you may be good enough to grant me a
respite". [3]
Although the likes of Tacitus believed the whole debate to be a farce, it is entirely possible
that Tiberius did not want to accept the position of sole ruler. Augustus was a charismatic
individual, generally well-liked, with all the necessary skills to lead the State: tact,
shrewdness, confidence, and people skills. Tiberius, on the other hand, was a military man,
and by all accounts a rather miserable sod with none of the charisma of his adoptive father.
He was however competent, and his rule would be noted for its stability. Augustus had left
behind a document to be opened after his death - in it, it recorded the public resources
including the number of citizens and provinces there were. It also included an injunction to
limit the expansion of its borders; essentially, Tiberius was not to extend Rome beyond its
present frontiers. Although Rome had been marked throughout its history as a force bent on
expansion, Augustus here forbade it. Tiberius' role was thus to maintain the Empire that
Augustus had built, and that he did.
The first few years of Tiberius' rule were good; two military mutinies in Pannonia and
Germany over pay and proper dismissal,were put down quickly by the dispatching
of Drusus and Germanicus to each province respectively. Germanicus, if you remember,
was now Tiberius' son- the arrangement having been made by Augustus in spite of the fact
Tiberius already had a biological son, Drusus. The relationship between Germanicus and
Tiberius is rather complicated, due largely to our sources. We are made to believe that there
was quite a one-sided relationship, with Tiberius despising Germanicus, and Germanicus
being nothing but loyal and obedient to Tiberius. It is rather a strange affair given that
Drusus and Germanicus seem to have had quite a good relationship as step-brothers, but the
Romans were rather a strange bunch. Plus, writers such as Tacitus often had their own
agendas when composing their 'histories', so it would not be entirely surprising to find the
'wicked stepmother' type-relationship imposed on Tiberius and Germanicus to be the result
of gross exaggeration by later writers. If there was any rivalry between the two however, it

likely stemmed from Tiberius' own insecurities, as Germanicus was well-loved, popular with
the troops and masses, and was an actual blood relation of the princeps.
To all concerned at the time however, everything was just fine. Germanicus was awarded a
triumph in AD 17 for his campaigns across the Rhine, and the following year was sent to
settle the provinces of Syria, Judaea and Armenia where there was much unrest. At the same
time however, he appointed a new governor for Syria, Piso (who had served as consul with
him years previously), to keep an eye on Germanicus. The two quarrelled and Germanicus
went to visit Egypt- a seemingly minor act but in actuality one which caused quite a stir.
After the fall of Egypt under Cleopatra in 30 BC, Egypt had been placed under the direct
control of the emperor. It was therefore illegal to visit the province without the emperor's
express permission- which Germanicus did not have. To add insult to injury, Germanicus
reportedly began acting like an emperor while in the province, incurring a strongly worded
letter from Tiberius. He returned to Syria in AD 19, and having had enough of Piso, ordered
him to leave. Shortly after Piso's departure however, Germanicus very suddenly died, but not
before accusing the former governor of having poisoned him. With Tiberius and Piso such
good pals, the accusation did not look good, as it would have been assumed that had Piso
actually carried out the poisoning, he would have done so with Tiberius' nod of approval- not
surprising after the issue in Egypt.
Rumours abounded Rome of Tiberius' involvement in the death, however unfounded they
may have been. Germanicus' death did have its perks though- with him out of the picture,
Tiberius could now focus on advancing his own son, Drusus. In AD 22 he granted him
with tribunician power, the now clear sign for marking out successors. But in typical JulioClaudian fashion, Drusus rather inconveniently and prematurely died, the very next year. At
sixty four years of age, Tiberius was without an heir.
Drusus' death marked a turning point in Tiberius' reign. For the few years leading up to his
death, another man had been gaining more and more prominence in the imperial household,
Lucius Aelius Sejanus. As Prefect of the Praetorian Guard, Sejanus had far greater access to
the Emperor, and was endowed with more trust, than many other members of the imperial
house. Drusus had viewed him with suspicion, particularly after Sejanus had been permitted
to concentrate the entire Guard in a single camp within spitting distance of the city, thereby
putting them under his direct command. With Drusus now gone however, Sejanus could
breathe much easier, although there was still one person blocking his way to dominationGermanicus' widow, and Augustus' granddaughter, Agrippina. She viewed her children
with Germanicus as the rightful heirs of the Empire, and would be damned if she saw
Sejanus take their claim from them.

Two circles of supporters soon formed around the opposing parties, and Tiberius found
himself in a very difficult position as the man in the middle. Now, in his late sixties however,
he had had enough and the ageing Emperor left Rome for the island of Capri.
There are, unsurprisingly, many theories behind why Tiberius decided to leave Rome for
good: Tacitus attributes it to Sejanus' influence, while Suetonius claims it was to get away
from his overbearing mother, Livia, who had become intolerable following Augustus' death.
Either way, Tiberius' departure left the gate wide open for Sejanus to exercise his newly
gained authority freely. Tiberius maintained his status as Emperor, but he could hardly do
much through letters and messengers. Sejanus used this freedom to get rid of his own
opponents and enemies, and in AD 29 he had Agrippina and her son, Nero, banished, while
her younger son Drusus was imprisoned. Gaius, the youngest of her sons, was left
undisturbed.
Things were going well for Sejanus. He had been honoured in statue form, had his birthday
raised to the same status as those of the imperial family, his name included in prayers and
sacrifices, and in AD 31 was appointed to hold the consulship, with the Emperor Tiberius
himself as co-consul. To all concerned, the only way was up. But Tiberius had other plans.
Having now returned to Rome (to hold the consulship), it is very likely the Emperor now
began to see just how much influence Sejanus had been allowed to exercise in his absence.
Tiberius promptly put an end to it. Sejanus' control over the Praetorian Guard meant
disposing of him through military means was difficult, but not impossible. Tiberius
employed the vigiles, the fire brigade/police force of Roman times, instead to stand guard
outside the Senate House while Sejanus waited, unknowingly, inside. You remember that
scene in Goodfellas, when Joe Pecci thinks he is about to be 'made' and comes all dolled up
to the venue? Well it was pretty much the same scenario here. Sejanus, believing he was
about to be granted the invaluable tribunician power, was instead read his own death
warrant. He was promptly executed, along with his family and supporters. Grim.
The final years of Tiberius' reign were marked with distrust, uncertainty, and death. After the
fall of his closest ally, Tiberius became increasingly suspicious of those around him. Treason
trials, a product of the second century BC, had been rehashed by Tiberius 15 years previous
and used, albeit sparingly, as a pretence for executing individuals for reasons ranging from
conspiracy to slander (indeed many of the cases were brought by senators against other
senators as a way of getting rid of their own rivals). Now however, the courts went into
overdrive with Tiberius essentially making treason trials the main feature of his rule.
In AD 35, Tiberius drew up his will. In it, he named Gaius Caligula, his grandson by
Germanicus, and Tiberius Gemellus, his grandson by Drusus, as joint heirs. They were the

only two possibilities of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, with Germanicus' two other sons, Nero
and Drusus both having died following their exile/imprisonment under Sejanus.**
Two years later, in AD 37, Tiberius fell ill and attempted to return to Rome. He did not make
it though, and on 16th March in a villa at Misenum, the Emperor died. His reign had been a
difficult one. He was the guinea pig for imperial succession, and had only one person on
whom to base his entire style of rule. The task seems to have proven too much, and he went
outside of the lines drawn by Augustus many times throughout his reign. But in the end, he
succeeded. The principate established by his great successor remained in tact, Tiberius had
named a successor, and had died in bed an old man. He might not have went about things in
much the same way Augustus would have, but the outcome was good enough.
It was time for the next generation of Julio-Claudians now. It was time for Caligula.

A bust of Tiberius from British Museum

owner: Jade Ramsay-Overall

* NB: It occurs to me now that I should probably say something about this word 'emperor'. It
stems from the Latin word imperator - an honorific military title conferred on victorious
generals since the days of the Republic. Augustus was given the title by the Senate shortly
after his victories in the civil war against Antony, and it eventually formed part of his name.
It then became customary for all successive emperors to use the title, regardless of whether
they personally had achieved a military victory. 'Imperator' is how the emperors would have

been referred to by their subjects, and you will see it on many monuments throughout Rome,
abbreviated as IMP.
** NB: Nero was apparently forced to commit suicide by the arrival of an executioner
carrying a noose and hooks, while Drusus was left to starve. He was so hungry he resorted to
trying to eat the stuffing from his mattress.

[1] Tacitus, Annals 1.6

[2] Annals 1.13
[3] Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Tiberius 24

Glossary:

Praetorian Guard - an elite military group who acted as the emperor's personal
bodyguard.

Prefect of the Praetorian Guard - commander of the Praetorian Guard. The post
evolved into an extremely powerful one.

Triumph - a great procession through the streets of Rome, awarded to victorious

generals.