Tiberius Flashcards
What are the 4 main sources for Tiberius and their quick overview of him
-Tacitus: hates him as he was writing under Trajan and wanted to condemn the emperors
-Velleius Paterculus: overly positive as he wrote under him
-Suetonius tries to be balanced
-Dio copied Tacitus
what does tacitus say about tiberius being a recluse
-“the natural incomprehensibility of Tiberius”
-“To Sejanus alone the otherwise cryptic emperor spoke freely and unguardedly”
How does Tiberius treat Germanicus according to the sources
-Tacitus “the emperor interpreted every action of Germanicus unfavourably”
-paterculus says this is untrue as he gives Germanicus a triumph, maius imperium in the east and shared a consulship
-Tacitus says at his death he refuses to meet agrippa and limits public honours as well as doesnt appear
-archeolically the tabula hebana implies that a statue of germ was put up on the palatine hill
What was his relationship with the senate and plebs
-tacitus said that the senate were “men fit to be slaves”
-used the fear and dislike sejanus built up to divert hatred to him and rule rome effectively
-he built “wonderful public buildings” according to Paterculus
-Gaius’ ascension seemed like to the roman people and “answer to there prayers” according to Suetonius
what do the sources think about the treason trials
-Tacitus says that Tiberius brought back the treason trials however they actually came back during Augustus’s reign
-Seneca says that the Maiestas trials “cost the lives of more roman citizens than any civil war”
-Suetonius says that tiberius enforced the treason laws savagely
-Tacitus gives examples of tiberius defending accused people (like Lucius Ennius who is accused of melting a statue of Tiberius)
-in 33AD he finally ordered he deaths of those charged in 31AD for treason as Sejanus supporters and this was savage with women and children murdered (tacitus)
how did tiberius please the plebs
-suetonius and tacitus way that large scale largesse was rare
-paterculus says that it was their right as roman citizens to see gifts and so it probably happened
how did tiberius reduce chances of civil war
-more stable because senate was forced into “subservience” tacitus
-mutinies are evidence against this tacitus
what does tiberius do with tribunician protestas
-tiberius had tp before ascending and after germanicus died tiberius gave drusus tp as well says tacitus
-he makes sejanus think hell share tp to not make him suspect anything suetonius
what is tiberiuses relationship with women
-sejanus asks him to marry livilla says tacitus
-dio says she killed drusus for sejanus
-parterculus describes livia as “more like a goddess than a mortal being”
-on the inscription at gytheion in laconia from 15AD the city gave divine honours to tiberius, livia and augustus but tiberius denied his but leaves his mothers in place
how easy was it for tiberius to ascend to power
-tacitus says he faced lots of mutinies but patercukus skips over it
-had been sharing power with augustus for a few years and had many militsry victories like regaining crassuses lost standards in parthia
what is the rivalry between agrippina and livilla
-tacitus says there was “ill feeling”
-tacitus says that “agrippinas ill feeling will be greatly intensified if livilla marries: this would virtually split the imperial house in two”
-“the womens rivalry was irrespressible”
what administration did tiberius make
-suetonius says hat “he referred all public buissness however important or unimportant to the senators”
-tacitus says he did not convince anyone of his republicanism for he revived the treason laws
-according tot he inscription at gytheion he told the people “i myself am satisfied with more moderate honours suitable for men”
what buildings does tibirius build
-paterculus tells us he built a temple to Augustus
-restorates the theatre to pompey but tacitus claims he is stingy and had no great public work
what was Tiberius’ relationship with the senate
-seneca states that the maiestas trials “cost the lives of more roman citizens than any civil war”
-tacitus says that “Camillus was oted an honourary triumph and lived so unassumingly that he survived it”
-tacitus says that tiberius said the senate were “men fit to be be slaves”
-he also says that tiberius had a “reign of terror where distinction meant death” meaning that senators chose subserviance to survive
what was germanicuses relationship with the military like
-soldiers offer germanicus the throne but he refuses it making tiberius concerned with how popular he was getting says tacitus
-blaesus was the last person to recieve the title of imperator outside the imperial family tacitus
-piso tried to steal the armys support from germanicus and was called the “father of the army” for the bribery and undiscipline he allowed says tacitus
-germanicus going to egypt in 19AD without his permission was a serious challenge to his rule
