Tiberius 14-37 CE

1
The Julio-Claudian Dynasty

• Tiberius 14-37 CE
• Caligula 37-41 CE
• Claudius 41-54 CE
• Nero 54-68 CE

2
Emperors An Overview

• The Historians
• Suetonius Lives of the Caesars
• The Dynasty of Augustus
• Emperors
• The Senate under the Julio-Claudians
• The Provinces under the Julio-Claudians
• Years of Trial After Augustus
• Tiberius
• Caligula
• The line continues
• Claudius
• Nero

3
The Historians

• Rome in the first century was carefully
  chronicled by Roman historians, particularly
  Tacitus, Suetonius and Dio Cassius that is why
  we know so much about it.
• Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c. 56 c.
  117) is one of the important historians of Roman
  Antiquity.
• Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (c. 75-135), also
  known as Suetonius, was Chief Librarian of Rome
  and worked with Pliny, Trajan and Hadrian.
• Dio Cassius Cocceianus (c. 165after 229), known
  in English as Dio Cassius or Cassius Dio.

4
Suetonius Lives of the Caesars

• Noted historian and poet.
• Born 71 135CE
• Main surviving work is the Lives of the Caesars.
• Most of our knowledge of the Caesars comes from
  his comprehensive work.

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Emperors

• The story of Romes Emperors in the first century
  CE has got it all love, murder and revenge,
  fear and greed, envy and pride.
• Why was the first century so turbulent? The first
  answer is simple hereditary rule.
• Emperors could only survive if their people
  believed they could out perform everyone else.
• It was a job for life, so if an emperor was mad,
  bad or dangerous, the only solution was to cut
  that life short. Everybody knew it, so paranoia
  ruled.

7
The Senate under the Julio-Claudians

• The senate gained some responsibilities
• Elections of magistrates held in Senate
• Senate became the Chief Court for Criminal Trial
• Claudius gave certain provinces back to the
  senate's control, including Britain.
• It lost responsibilities in other areas to
  freedmen and equestrians
• Sejanus, an equestrian, became very powerful as
  Praetorian prefect under Tiberius.
• Claudius had freedmen secretaries, e.g.
  Narcissus.
• Membership was extended to non-Italians, a topic
  on which Claudius addressed the senate.
• Nero used Seneca, the stoic philosopher, as a
  liaison between the senate and princeps.

8
The Provinces under the Julio-Claudians

• Five new provinces were added
• Mauretania in two sections
• Lycia
• Thrace
• Britain
• Rebellions occurred under Nero
• Judea
• Britain
• Armenia
• Parthia

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Years of Trial After Augustus

• Although Augustus was dead, his dynasty lived on.
  
• Augustus had outlived his preferred heirs - his
  two grandsons. So when he died, it was his
  son-in-law, Tiberius, who became emperor.
• With no sons of his own, Tiberius named his
  great-nephew, Caligula, as his heir.

11
The Accession of Tiberius 14-37CE

• Tiberius was born to Livia, later the wife of
  Augustus, and to Tiberius Claudius Nero.
• After Livia divorced Claudius, she married
  Augustus, making Tiberius Augustus' stepson.
• Augustus entrusted matters of great importance to
  Tiberius from early on.
• Augustus forced Tiberius to divorce his wife and
  marry Augustus' daughter, Julia.
• After the grandsons of Augustus died, Augustus
  adopted Tiberius as his son and heir.
• Tiberius, at the death of Augustus, was the
  only family member with the experience and
  maturity to rule.
• Tiberius Policy
• He maintained Augustus' basic political
  arrangement.
• He avoided emphasis on his own authority.
• He also followed Augustus' foreign policy of
  maintaining borders along natural boundaries.
• He seemed to have little ambition for
  self-promotion, leaving day-to-day administration
  to subordinates.
• Tiberius abandoned Rome and ruled from Capri, an
  island in the bay of Naples, for the last 10
  years of his life.

12
Tiberius an evil side

• Never the preferred heir, Tiberius (42BCE 37CE
  / reigned 14 37CE) soon showed why Augustus had
  wanted someone else.
• In 11 BCE, Augustus had forced him to divorce his
  much-loved wife and marry Julia, the emperors
  daughter
• He was soon to face his first test. Fed up with
  life in cold, northern Europe, two armies were
  mutinying and threatened to march on Rome.

• Tiberius sent his young, charismatic nephew,
  Germanicus, to sort the situation out.
• Germanicus died in mysterious circumstances in
  19CE. Many thought he had been poisoned and
  blamed Tiberius.
• Sejanus, Tiberius aide, exiled Germanicus widow
  before killing her two elder sons. Only the
  youngest, Caligula, was spared.
• He would become Tiberius heir.

13
Caligula 37-41CE

• Seen as a welcome breath of fresh air when he
  took the throne, Caligulas (12 41CE / Reigned
  37 41CE) eccentricities soon became terrifying
  and he was murdered after just five years in
  power.
• Seven months after taking power, however,
  Caligula fell ill. Although he recovered, he
  began to act very strangely. Some believe that he
  suffered from epilepsy, but historians are
  divided.

• Following his illness he held extremely
  spectacular games, sometimes appearing as a
  gladiator himself, and lavished attention on his
  favourite racehorse, Incitatus (who he stated
  would make a senator).
• He also talked of invading Britain, but when his
  army reached the Channel, he ordered the
  legionaries to collect seashells this he
  claimed as a victory over Neptune.

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Suetonius Caligula could not control his
natural brutality

• Then his eccentricities became more murderous.
  His paranoia spared no one, not even his family.
• At other times, his cruelty was more random, as
  his delight in killing became evident.
• All this time, Caligula was spending vast
  quantities of money (he built a temple for
  himself).
• In 41CE, four months after he returned from Gaul,
  he was murdered by his closest advisors,
  including members of his Praetorian Guard.

15
The Line Continues

• After the terror and paranoia of Tiberius and
  Caligula, a relative calm and competent Emperor
  emerges in the form of Claudius, but alas it was
  not to last with Nero

16
Claudius, the man

• Disfigured, awkward and clumsy, Claudius (10BCE
  54CE / Reigned 41 54CE) was the black sheep of
  his family and an unlikely emperor.
• He was the Augustus uncle, Germanicus brother.
• Left disfigured by a serious illness when he was
  very young, he was the butt of his familys
  jokes.

17
Claudius the reluctant Emperor 41-54CE

• After Caligulas murder in 41CE, he was found
  hiding in the palace, fearful for his own life.
• Supported mainly by soldiers and courtiers, he
  had a rocky relationship with the Senate.
• It was rumoured that he paid the Praetorians
  15000 sesterce (brass coin, HS) each to ensure
  their support.
• It was this support that would ensure his
  survival.

18
Claudius the good Emperor

• Claudius worked hard at his job, starting work
  just after midnight every day.
• He made major improvements to Romes judicial
  system, passed laws protecting sick slaves,
  extended citizenship and increased women's
  privileges.
• He was active in public works projects and the
  harbor at Ostia.
• He treated people with unusual respect.

19
Claudius in Britain

• Britain had resisted Roman rule for over a
  century, but was conquered by Claudius in 43CE.
• This was the most important addition to the
  empire since the time of Augustus.
• He gave the administration of Britain to a
  senator proconsul he respected the senate.
• Rome would remain there for over 200 years.

20
Claudius and his Women

• He was constantly under threat, the Senate and
  Equites were always dissatisfied.
• Yet his worst enemies were his wives.
• Although he adored his wife, Messalina, she was
  extravagant and promiscuous, so in 48CE he had
  her murdered.

21
Claudius His Death

• The next year, Claudius decided to marry again,
  surprising Rome by choosing his own niece,
  Agrippina.
• This was a bad mistake as she would do anything
  to make her son Nero Emperor.
• It was said she poisoned him with mushrooms.

22
Nero 54-68 CE

• Sensitive and handsome, Nero (37 68CE / reigned
  54 68CE) started out well as emperor.
• Nero didnt want to be controlled by his mother,
  Agrippina the Younger, relations became frosty
  and in 56CE she was forced into retirement.
• Nero started well. He ended secret trials and
  gave the Senate more independence.

23
Nero His Darker Side

• However, like Caligula before him, Nero had a
  dark side.
• Relations between mother and son grew worse and
  Nero decided to kill her.
• Conflict between Nero and his ambitious mother
  Agrippina the Younger, Tacitus relates how Nero
  tried to kill his mother in a boating "accident."
• When this fails, an armed guard is sent to murder
  her.
• Rome was appalled, matricide was a heinous crime.

24
Nero the Great Fire July 64 CE

• The fire raged for over a week, destroying 70 of
  the city
• Contributing factors to the destruction
• Roman buildings contained much wood.
• The water supply was not sufficient for the
  crisis.
• The buildings were close together, with no open
  space or fire walls.
• Tacitus reported that gangs exacerbated the fire.
• In the wake of the fire, Nero blames the
  Christians
• He perhaps was trying to disguise his own guilt.
• Or, trying to find a scapegoat for public
  distress.
• Tacitus, despite his very negative view of
  Christians, blamed Nero.
• Nero took advantage of the fire to build his
  grand palace, the Domus Aurea (Golden House).

25
Nero, Return of Terror

• In late 64 CE Nero faced numerous revolts.
• Reckless spending replaced leadership.
• To divert his unpopularity, Nero ordered the
  first recorded persecution of Christians. Most
  Romans had no fondness for this new sect but they
  grew disgusted when they saw Christians being
  coated with pitch and ignited as human torches in
  the circus to please the emperor.

26
Nero, a Fitting End

• In 65 CE, one plotter, a freed slave named
  Epicharis, found a dissatisfied officer who had
  access to the emperor. She secretly asked him to
  kill Nero.
• Neros discovery of the senatorial Piso
  conspiracy against him in 65 CE led to savage
  reprisals.

• In 67 CE Nero returned to Rome (after
  participating in the Olympics in Greece). He
  faced numerous revolts and opposition.
• But Rome had had enough, the Senate declared Nero
  a public enemy.
• Terrified, Nero fled to the country with his few
  remaining slaves and committed suicide on 8 June
  68 CE crying What an artist dies in me!
• Nero left behind a half bankrupt empire in the
  grip of civil war.

27
Galba, Otho and Vitellius

• Following Neros death, Rome was plunged into
  chaos. Warring generals jostled for power. In the
  space of just over a year, three men would lead
  Rome before each was brutally murdered. They
  were
• Galba, 8 Jun 68 15 Jan 69
• Otho, 15 Jan 16 Apr 69
• Vitellius, 16 Apr 22 Dec 69

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The Inglorious End to the Julio-Claudian Dynasty

• It was a tumultuous rule.
• Examples of unbridled cruelty and madness were
  matched unequalled prowess of rule.
• It is a legacy that forever changed the face of
  Rome.
• Made each man Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula,
  Claudius and Nero immortal.