 Chapter 12, Sections 3 and 4 of J.B. Bury's The Student's Roman Empire, Part 1. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Kalinda. The Student's Roman Empire, Part 1 by John Bagnell Bury. Chapter 12, Section 3 to 4. Section 3, Germanicus in the East, His Death and the Trial of Piso. In the East, several affairs demanded the attention of the government, but not so imperatively as to require an extraordinary command like that which Tiberius assigned to Germanicus after his triumph. The dependent principalities of Cappadocia, Comagene, and Silicia Aspera had to be transformed into provinces. Therefore Archelaus of Cappadocia had been recalled to Rome and informed that he had ceased to reign, while the peoples of Comagene and Silicia had, on the death of their princes, begged for a direct Roman government. The inhabitants of Judea and Syria were murmuring loudly at the heavy taxation and demanding a reduction. New difficulties had also arisen with the Parthian kingdom. Vanones, son of Fratis IV, who had been kept by Augustus as a hostage and brought up at Rome, was elected to the throne by the Parthians after the death of their king. He did not however reign long, his Roman manners gave offence, and he was forced to surrender his throne to Artabanus of Medea and fly to Silicia. The Armenian throne was at this moment vacant and the people accepted the fugitive Vanones as their sovereign, but Artabanus, who could not endure the rule of his rival in a neighboring kingdom, called upon them to surrender him. Meanwhile Salanus, legatus of Syria, got possession of the person of Vanones and detained him in Syria. All these affairs might have been arranged by ordinary imperial legati, but Tiberius may have had a good reason for sending a near kinsman and a Caesar, invested with special powers and representing the imperial majesty to deal with the eastern countries, where pomp always produces its effect. Such a plan had been successful before when Gaius Caesar received a like mission from Augustus. The sphere of the command of Germanicus was all the provinces beyond the Hellespont. He traveled dither at leisurely speed visiting Nicopolis, Athens and Lesbos on his way, and lingering in the cities of the Hellespont. The affairs of Armenia he arranged without difficulty and established friendly relations with the Parthian king. The favour of the Armenians inclined to Zeno son of Palermo, former king of Pontus, who had been brought up as an Armenian from his infancy and was popular by his excellence as a huntsman and a trencherman. Germanicus visited the city of Artaxia, and solemnly crowned Zeno there under the royal name of Artaxes. This arrangement also satisfied Artabanus, who regarded Vanones as the Roman candidate and had put forward his own son, Orodes, as the Parthian candidate. The election of Artaxes was a satisfactory compromise, and Artabanus sent a courteous message to the Roman general, proposing a personal meeting on the Euphrates, and only requiring him to remove Vanones from Syria so as to prevent communications with the disaffected party in Persia. Germanicus readily acceded to the request, and Vanones was removed to Pompeiopolis in Cilicia. Thus excellent relations were established between the Roman and the Parthian powers that continued to exist during the lifetime of Artaxes until the last years of the reign of Tiberias. Cappadocia and Comagene were at the same time incorporated in the provincial system, and thus the direct rule of Rome extended now to the Euphrates. Germanicus had speedily and satisfactorily accomplished the main object of his mission, but he had other difficulties to contend with. It was not the intention of Tiberias that the ample authority of the young Caesar was completely unchecked in the east as it had been in the north. Consequently, Solanus, who was a personal friend of Germanicus, was replaced as proconsul of Syria by Cis Calparnius Piso, a proud self-asserting nobleman who would not hesitate to hold his own against his superior. The position of Piso was strengthened, and his independent spirit encouraged by the bonds of intimacy which existed between his wife Plancina and the emperor's mother Livia. The dissensions of Piso and Germanicus were doubtless embittered by the rivalry of Plancina and Agrippina. Piso had been instructed to lead or send a portion of the Syrian army to join Germanicus in Armenia. He disobeyed this command, and the ill-feeling between the Caesar and the Legatus became very bitter. It is not clear why Germanicus did not invoke the intervention of the emperor, but instead of asserting his authority in Syria he made an excursion to Egypt, not for any political purpose, but from a curiosity to visit the antiquities of the land. This expedition was imprudent in two ways, for it left the field clear to Piso, and it violated the law of Augustus, that no senator should set foot on Egyptian soil without the express permission of the emperor. On returning to Syria, Germanicus found that Piso had disregarded and overthrown his own regulations. This discovery roused him into asserting his authority, and Piso prepared to leave the province. Suddenly Germanicus fell ill at Antioch, and Piso postponed his departure. The attendance of Germanicus suspected and circulated their suspicions that Poison had been administered to him by Piso or his wife. Messages inquiring after the help of the prince arrived from Piso, who was lingering at Celusia, but Germanicus, distrustful of their genuineness, wrote a letter to the governor, renouncing his friendship and commanding him perhaps to leave the province. Piso sailed to Caus, and there received the news of his rival's death, 19 AD. Germanicus himself believed that he was the victim of foul play, for on his deathbed he charged his friends to prosecute Piso and Plancina, and his friends determined that he should be avenged. Agrippina, with her children and the ashes of her husband, immediately set sail for Rome. The staff of the dead prince chose C. Centius Ceterninus to take charge of Syria until a new governor should be appointed. Piso, however, determined to make a bold attempt to resume his command in that province, and for this purpose collected some troops in Celusia. But Centius was victorious in an engagement and besieged Piso in the solacean fortress of Celanderus. The ex-governor was finally forced to submit and take ship for Rome, where an unpleasant reception awaited him. The feelings of sympathy awakened by the death of Germanicus were intense both in the provinces and at Rome. Triumphal arches were erected in his honor, and his statues were set up in cities. Inscriptions recorded that he had died for the Republic. Correspondingly bitter was the rage felt against Piso and Plancina, who were generally believed to have been guilty. Nor were there wanting hints and murmurs that Tiberius himself and Livia were privy to the supposed crime of Piso and Plancina. It was thought that Tiberius regarded his nephew with jealousy and hatred and rejoiced at his death, and it was apparently this idea that encouraged Piso to act as he had done. The reserve of Tiberius in regard to the funeral ceremonies of Germanicus, at which he and Livia were not present, was interpreted in the same way, and the emperor even went so far as to show displeasure at the excess of the public lamentations. He issued a characteristic edict and joining on the people to observe some moderation in their sorrow. By this contempt for popular sentiment, Tiberius, it has been remarked, was sowing the seeds of a long and deep misunderstanding between himself and his people. Men contrasted the behavior of Augustus on the death of Drusus. But the emperor had no intention of protecting Piso, who had been guilty of the serious offence of trying to recover a province from which he had been dismissed. The friends of Germanicus vied in undertaking the prosecution, but it was hard to find advocates to plead the cause of Piso. His friends wished the accused to come before the tribunal of the emperor, but Tiberius did not like to undertake the decision of such a delicate case, and he referred the judgment of it to the senate. He opened the proceedings in the senate house in a very impartial speech. The charges of political misconduct were clearly proven, but the charge of having made attempts on the life of Germanicus by magic and poison broke down. The senators, however, who in general sympathize with Germanicus, felt convinced that the prince's death had been due to foul play. The courtesans, however, were not convinced that the prince's death had been due to foul play. The senators, however, who in general sympathize with Germanicus, felt convinced that the prince's death had been due to foul play, while the political offenses of the culprit weighed with Tiberius. At the close of the second day of the trial, Piso saw in the cold look of the emperor that his doom was fixed. His conclusion was confirmed by the behavior of his wife Plancina, who had pleaded for him with the Empress Livia, but as his chance of escape seemed to grow less, tried to sever her own cause from his. He anticipated the sentence by piercing his throat with his sword. The Senate expunged his name from the fasty and banished his eldest son for ten years, but Tiberius interfered to mitigate the sentence of the Senate and conceded Piso's property to his son. The influence of Livia shielded Plancina from prosecution. Thus ended a domestic tragedy. It must be observed that even if it were certain that Germanicus was the victim of foul play, there is not the smallest reason to suspect that the emperor was in any way concerned, as malicious rumors hinted. But there is no proof, and there can be no certainty that the death of Germanicus was brought about by unfair practices of Piso or his wife. Another malicious report which gained belief was that Piso had not died by his own hand but had been assassinated by the orders of the emperor. The qualities of Germanicus have been painted in such bright colors by the great Roman historian, who has recorded his career, that we cannot help feeling deeply prepossessed in his favor. He appears as one of the ideal heroes who die young. But it is not clear that he would have become a great man if he had lived. His exploits have been exaggerated by the enthusiasm of his admirers. Tacitus, with more regard to art than truth, has selected him as the brilliant hero to set beside the dark figure of Tiberius. Germanicus is generous and virtuous, Tiberius suspicious and stained with crime. The uncle is the ideal tyrant, the nephew is the magnanimous prince. This picture of Tacitus in some measure reflects the general feeling which seems to have prevailed on the death of the popular Germanicus. Tiberius was misunderstood and maligned. The virtues of the son of Drusus were exaggerated. In the year 16 AD a plot was detected, which, though not of a formidable nature, attracted considerable attention. It shows that there was dissatisfaction in patrician circles and illustrates the character of Tiberius. A young man named Lybo Drusus of the Scribonian family was accused of revolutionary projects. Scribonia, the second wife of Augustus, was his great aunt, Livia was his aunt, and he was the grandson of Sextus Pompeius through his mother. These connections with the imperial house seemed to have turned his brain and suggested perilous ideas which were encouraged by a senator named Firmius Catus, who was his intimate friend. Catus induced him to consult Chaldean astrologers and dabble in magic rites, practices which were then very dangerous as they were regarded as a presumption of treasonable designs. He also treacherously led Drusus into extravagance and debt. Having collected sufficient proofs of guilt, Catus sent a messenger to the emperor, craving an audience and mentioning the name of the accused. Tiberius refused the request saying that any further communications might be conveyed to him in the same way. Meanwhile, he distinguished his cousin Lybo by conferring the praetorship on him and often inviting him to table, showing no unfriendliness either in word or look, but he kept himself carefully informed of the daily conduct of the suspected man. At length, a certain Junius, whom Lybo had tampered with for the purpose of invoking the dead by incantations, to a noted and former, full Cineus Trio, who immediately went to the consuls and demanded an investigation before the senate. Lybo, meanwhile knowing his peril, arrayed himself in mourning and accompanied by some ladies of high rank, went round the houses of his relatives in treating their intervention, but all refused on various pretexts. When the senate met, Tiberius read out the indictment and the accusers' names with such calmness as to seem neither to soften nor to aggravate the charges. Some of them were of a ridiculous nature. For example, he was accused of having considered whether he would ever have wealth enough to cover the Appian Road as far as Burneducium with money. But there was one paper in which the names of Caesars and Senators occurred with mysterious and therefore suspicious signs annexed. Lybo denied the handwriting and the slaves who profess to recognize it were examined by torture. As an old decree of the senate forbade the evidence of slades to be taken in cases affecting their master's life, Tiberius evaded the law by ordering the slaves to be sold singly to the actor Publikus or agent of the Arrarium so that Lybo might be tried on their testimony. The accused begged for an adjournment till the following day. On going home, he committed suicide seeing that his case was hopeless. Tiberius said that he would have interceded for him, guilty though he was, if he had not destroyed himself. Lybo's property was divided among the accusers and some of the senators proposed decrees of reflecting on his memory. For example, that no Scribonian should bear the name of Drusus in order to please Tiberius. Days of public thanksgiving were appointed and it was decreed that the day on which Lybo killed himself should be observed as a festival. Such sycophancy on the part of the senate became in later times a matter of course. Section 4 Rebellions in the provinces and dependencies We must glance at the troublesome, though unimportant war which was waged at this time on the southern borders of the empire and at the career of Tachfaranus who played in Africa the same part which the more famous Arminius played in the north. This Numidian had served in the Roman army and had thus gained a knowledge of Roman discipline and military science. He then deserted, placed himself at the head of a band of robbers and was finally elected as their leader by the Musalami who dwelt on the southern side of Mount Orasius. The insurrection was not confined to these peoples of Numidia. It spread westward into Mauritania and eastward to the Garamantis. The discipline and drill which Tachfaranus enforced rendered the rising formidable for his organized bands were able to give battle and attempt sieges. The commanders whom the senate elected by lot were incompetent to deal with the insurgents and the resulting war was protracted for seven years, 17-24 AD. The single legion which protected Africa was reinforced by a second from Pannonia and by the emperor's intervention an able pro-consul, Q. Junius Blesus was at length appointed. Tachfaranus had demanded from Tiberius a grant of territory for himself and his rebel army. Tiberius haughtily refused and instructed Blesus to hold out to other chiefs who supported Tachfaranus the prospect of a free pardon if they laid down their arms. Many surrendered and then Blesus attempted to meet Tachfaranus by tactics similar to his own. He divided his army into three columns one of which he dispatched eastward under Cornelius Shippio to act against the Garamantis and protect Leptis. In the west the son of Blesus commanded a second column and defended the territory of Sirta, while in the center Blesus himself established a number of fortified positions and thus embarrassed the enemy who found wherever he turned Roman soldiers or in his rear. When summer was over Blesus continued hostilities and by a skillful combination of forts and flying detachments of picked men who were acquainted with the desert he drove Tachfaranus back step by step and finally captured his brother and occupied the district of the Muzalami, 22 AD. Tiberius permitted the triumphal ornaments to be awarded to Blesus and also granted him the distinction of being greeted Imperator by the troops on the last occasion on which this honor was granted to a private person. But even the success of Blesus was not the end of the insurrection. There were three laurel statues at Rome for victories over the Muzalamian chief, those of Camillus, Apronius and Blesus and yet he was still ravaging Africa supported on the one hand by the king of the Garamantis on the other by the Moors. His boldness was increased by the circumstance that after the campaign of Blesus the 9th legion had been recalled from Africa. In 24 AD he laid siege to Thubersicum a Numidium town lying a little to the north of Mount Orasius. The proconsul of the year Publius Dolabela immediately collected all his troops and raised the siege. Knowing by the experience of previous campaigns that it was useless to concentrate his heavy troops against an enemy which practiced such to sultry warfare as Tachfaranus captured the plan of Blesus and divided his forces into four columns. He also obtained reinforcements from Ptolemy, king of the Moortanians. Presently he was informed that the Numidian marauders had taken up a position close to Ozea, O'Male a dilapidated fort surrounded by vast forests. Some light armed infantry and squadrons of horse were immediately hurried to the place without being told whether they were going. At daybreak they fell upon the drowsy barbarians with no means of flight, as their horses were tethered or pasturing at a distance. The dispositions of the Romans were so complete that the enemies were slaughtered or captured without difficulty. The general was anxious to capture Tachfaranus, but that chieftain driven to bay escaped captivity by rushing on the weapons of his assailants. His death ended this tedious war. During this period there were also grave disturbances in Gaul and Thrace. In Gaul the fiscal exactions were the heavy accumulations of debt among the provincials and the creditors pressed for payment. The provincials resorted to councils of despair. A conspiracy was formed to organize a rebellion throughout the whole land and throw off the Roman yoke. The leaders were Julius Floris and Julius Sacravir, two Romanized provincials. Floris undertook to gain over the Belge and Traveri while Sacravir, who perhaps held some priestly office, intrigued among the Edui and other tribes. The secret was well kept and the revolt broke out in western Gaul in the consulship of Tiberius and Drusus, 21 A.D. But the first rising was premature. The Andacavi and the Turonis, whose names still live in Anjou and Tour, moved too soon and were crushed by the garrison of Lugudunum under Asilius Aviola, the legatus of Lugudunensis. This false move put the Romans on their guard and the subsequent rising of the Traveri were easily foiled by the governors of the two Germanic provinces. Floris slew himself to escape capture. The Edui had seized the important city of Augustudunum, Autun, but they too were easily defeated by C. Cilius, legatus of Upper Germany, at the 12th milestone from that town. Sacravir escaped from the field to a neighboring villa where he fell by his own hand and his faithful comrades slew one another, having first set fire to the house. A triumphal arch was erected at Orazio, Orange, to commemorate the defeat of Sacravir. The dependent kingdom of Thrace, after the death of Romitalces, who had loyally stood by the Romans in the Dalmatian revolt, was divided between his brother Rascoporis and his son Cotus. Their jealousies and feuds which ended in the murder of Cotus led to Roman interference and the execution of his uncle, 19 AD. Two years later, a formidable insurrection of the western tribes broke out. The rebels besieged Philippopolis but were defeated by P. Vilaeus, the governor of Moesia. They rebelled again in 25 AD and of this rising we have more details. The mountaineers refused to submit to levees and to supply their bravest men to the armies of Rome. A rumor had spread that they were to be dragged from their own land to distant provinces so that mixed with other nations they would be brought to their own nationality. They sent envoys to the governor of Achaia and Macedonia, Papas Sabines, assuring him of their fidelity if no fresh burden were laid upon them. Otherwise they gave him to understand that they would fight for their freedom. He gave mild answers until he had completed his preparations but when he had concentrated his forces and was joined by a legion from Moesia and reinforcements from Rembentalces, son of Rascoporis and a legion in some wooded defiles in the mountains, in the neighborhood of a strong fortress. Sabines fortified a camp and occupied with a strong detachment a long narrow mountain ridge which stretched as far as the enemy's fortress which it was his object to capture. After some skirmishing in front of the stronghold Sabines moved his camp nearer but left his Thracian allies in the former entrenchments with strict injunctions to pass the night vigilantly within the camp while they might hurry and plunder as they wished in the daytime. Having observed this command for some time they began to neglect their watches and gave themselves up to the enjoyment of wine and sleep. Learning this, the insurgents formed two bands of which one was to surprise the pillagers the other to attack the Roman camp in order to distract the attention of the soldiers. The plan was successful and the Thracian auxiliaries were massacred. Sabines then laid regular siege to the stronghold with six positions with a ditch and a rampart. The besieged suffered terribly from thirst and their cattle were dying for want of fodder. The air of the place was polluted with the stench of the rotting carcasses of those who had perished by wounds or thirst. In this situation many followed the advice and example of an old man named Dimas who surrendered himself with his wife and children to the Romans but two young chieftains named Tarsa and Turrisis had determined to die Tarsa plunged his sword in his heart and a few others did likewise but Turrisis and his followers decided to prolong the struggle and planned a night attack on the camp during a storm. Sabines was prepared and the brave barbarians were beaten back and compelled to surrender. The triumphal ornaments were decreed to Sabines 26 AD. Against a revolt of tributaries on the northern boundary of the empire the arms of Rome were not so successful. The Frisians who were subdued by Drusis in 12 BC had for forty years paid the tribute which he imposed on them. This tribute consisted in oxides which were required for military purposes and officers who levied it never examined too curiously the size or thickness of the skins until in 28 AD Olenius a primipilar centurion who was appointed to exact the tribute chose the hides of wild bulls as the standard. As the domestic cattle of the Germans were of small size and was innovation hard. In order to meet the demands of Olenius they were forced to give up first their cattle then their lands finally to surrender their wives and children as pledges. As their complaints led to no redress they rose in revolt. The soldiers who were collecting the tribute were impaled on gibbets and Olenius himself was obliged to flee to the fortress of Flavum probably in the island of the same name now Fleeland near the Texel which was a Roman coast guard station. When the news reached El Apronius the governor of Lower Germany he summoned some veteran legionaries and chose auxiliaries from the upper province to reinforce his own legions with which he sailed down the Rhine and relieved Flavum which the Frisians were besieging. He then constructed roads and bridges over the adjoining estuaries in order to transport his legionaries into the heart of the Frisian territory and in the meantime sent some auxiliary cavalry and infantry to take the enemy in the rear. The Frisians beat these forces back more cohorts and squadrons were sent to the rescue but these too were repulsed and soon all the auxiliary forces were engaged. The legions were at length able to intervene and just saved the cohorts and cavalry who were completely exhausted. A large number of officers had fallen but Apronius did not attempt to take vengeance or even to bury the dead. Two other disasters completed the ill luck of the Romans. 900 soldiers were destroyed by the enemy in the wood of Baduhena and another body of 400 who had taken possession of a country house perished by mutual slaughter to avoid falling into the hands of the enemy. No further steps seemed to have been taken against the Frisians. These events probably confirmed Tiberius in his determination to regard the Rhine as the limit of the Roman Empire and he thought it a good opportunity to abandon the last relic of the conquest of his brother beyond that river. The invasion of Tiberius was very nearly being marked by a slave war in southern Italy but by a lucky accident the movement was crushed in its very beginning, 24 AD. The organizer of the rebellion was Titus Cretaceus who had once been a Praetorian soldier. He held secret meetings at Brundusium and other towns in the neighborhood then posted up placards and incited the slave population in Calabria and Apulia to assert their liberty. Three vessels happened to come to land just then and from them the questor Cortius Lupus who had charge of the Saltus or forests and pastures in those parts obtained a force of marines and crushed the conspiracy. Corticius and his chief accomplices were sent prisoners to Rome where, says Tacitus, men already felt alarm at the enormous number of the slave population which was ever increasing while the freeborn population grew less every day. The great marvel is that combinations among the slaves were not more common and that it was not thought necessary to keep considerable garrisons in the towns of Italy to meet such emergencies. End of Chapter 12, Section 4 Recording by Calinda in Lunaburg, Germany on March 21st, 2009 Chapter 13, Section 1 of J. B. Bury's The Student's Woman Empire, Part 1 This is a Levervox recording. All Levervox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit Levervox.org Recording by Morgan Scorpion The Student's Woman Empire, Part 1 by John Bagnell Bury Chapter 13 The Principate of Tiberius continued 14 to 37 A.D. Section 1 Civil Government of Tiberius As the reign of Tiberius was singularly exempt from wars, the Emperor was able to devote his undivided attention to domestic government and the welfare of his subjects. His policy was distinguished by a conservative spirit. The chief principal of his administration was to follow the lines marked out by his predecessor. By abandoning the practice which Augustus had adopted of receiving an investiture of supreme power for a limited period only, he made a step nearer undisguised monarchy. The Deccanalia or feast in honour of the decennial renewal of the tribal unition power of the Emperor survived as a mere custom without any political meaning. In two important matters he went beyond Augustus in emphasising the diarchy and excluding the people from the government. 1. The functions which Augustus had left to the committia of the people in electing magistrates were taken away by Tiberius and transferred to the senate soon after his accession. The only part left to the people was to acclaim those whom the senate chose. Tiberius preserved the imperial rights of nomination and commendation of candidates within the limits marked out by his father. 2. The people did not formally lose its sovereign right of legislation but since the time of Tiberius it actually ceased to legislate. 3. For the Emperor and the magistrates ceased to bring legers before the committia. 4. There are only two instances of such legers in the reign of Tiberius while there are numerous Thanatos Consulta. 5. The later emperors Claudius and Nerva temporarily revived the old practice but with these exceptions it may be said that from Tiberius forward legislation consisted of the consulter of the senate and the rescripts of the emperor. The only legislative purpose for which the people had any longer to meet in committia was to transfer the tribunition power on a new princeps. Another important matter in which Tiberius carried further an idea originated by Augustus was the establishment of a permanent prefecture of the city of Rome. We have seen that this office had been instituted as a temporary for the care of the city during absences of the emperor and Lucius Calponeus Piso had been appointed prefect when Augustus left Rome in 14 AD. Tiberius made the office a permanent post of great dignity only open to senators of consular rank. He placed the three cohortes, urbanis at the disposal of the prefect and thus deprived the senate of the police control of the city. The prefect had a criminal court in which he administered summary justice in the case of slaves and roughs. Piso held the office for nearly 20 years till his death in 32 AD. Tiberius also instituted a new official of consular rank to look after the banks of the Tiber Cura Riparum at LVI Tiberius in addition to the cura Aquarum which had been founded by Augustus. Tiberius concerned himself for the improvement of the civil service. One great defect of the prevalent system was that offices were filled by inexperienced young men who held them for only a brief time. Tiberius tried to remedy this by extending the period of tenure and men began to complain that they grew old in the discharge of the same duties. He did not attempt to introduce this innovation in the case of the magistrates appointed by the senate and this was a sign that he was in earnest with the maintaining of the imperial system of Augustus by which the senate had its fear of activity independent of the emperor. And when the proposal came from that body in 22 AD that the emperor should test the qualifications of senatorial magistrates, Tiberius rejected it. He always behaved with studied politeness to senators and he was accustomed to refer to the senate matters which might more naturally have come before himself. Like Augustus he employed a concilium which consisted of his personal advisors and twenty illustrious members of the senatorial in their question orders but it does not appear that this cabinet council had any real influence in political affairs. Tiberius was curiously reserved in avoiding the ascitation of his sovereign power by titles and outward forms. In effecting the disguise in imperial position he went much further than Augustus. He never bore the Pranoman Imperator and called himself Augustus only when he was corresponding with foreign princes. He refused to title part of patriae and forbade all except his slaves to address him as Dominus. He did not permit temples or statues to be erected to himself and he rejected the proposal to consecrate his mother, Livia Augusta. In the army he maintained strict discipline. He declined to fulfil the promises of higher pav which had been made to the mutinies in Illyricum and on the Rhine after his accession and instead of shortening the period of service he actually lengthened it. These facts indicate the strength of his authority with the troops. He took away from victorious generals the privilege of bearing the title Imperator and reserved it for members of the imperial family. In regard to the Fratorian gods he made an innovation which has an important bearing on the future course of Roman history. Augustus had allowed only three cohorts to be quartered within the city the other six being dispersed in the neighbourhood of Rome. Tiberius caused a permanent camp to be built in front of the port of Viminalis, 23 AD and hence forward all the nine cohorts were stationed there together. Thus united they were conscious of their numbers and felt their power and at many a crisis they disposed of the empire and elected emperors. This step also increased considerably the political power of the Fratorian prefect. In fact the idea seems to have emanated from the favourite council of Tiberius El Elius Sajanus whom he had appointed Fratorian prefect and who saw how his own position would be strengthened by a concentration of the forces under his command. The financial policy of Tiberius was careful and successful. The expenses of supplying Rome with corn and feeding the populace grew larger in his reign than they had been under Augustus. But in spite of this Tiberius was so economical that he was always able to act liberally in special emergencies. He did not waste the funds of the state in donatives or costly buildings. The only public edifices built by his command were the temple of Augustus and the theatre of Pompeii. But when many of the famous cities of Asia were laid in ruins by an earthquake, Tiberius suckered them with the princely gift of ten million cesterces of £80,000 and caused the senate to remit to the inhabitants the payment of their tribute for five years. He had himself to supply the deficiency in the Erarium. We find him, in 33 AD, bestowing on that treasury a hundred million cesterces £800,000 and in 36 AD he gave the same sum for the relief of the sufferers in a great conflagration He never raised the rate of taxation. When Capitose became a province on the strength of the addition which thus accrued to the revenue he reduced the tax of one percent on the sale of goods to half percent. The liberality of Tiberius in coming to the relief of the provinces in the case of disasters introduced a new principle into Roman statesmanship. Men were beginning to see that Rome, the mistress, had duties towards her subject lands. This policy of Tiberius is, as has been observed, one of the first signs of the reaction of the provinces upon Rome. It was indeed in the exercise of his proconsular functions that Tiberius most conspicuously showed himself as a wise and large-minded statesman. If he was hated at Rome he was loved in the provinces. There is ample testimony to prove that his reign was to the subjects a period of unusual happiness. The discipline of the troops was strictly maintained and the control exercised over the conduct of the governors was efficient and severe. The means of obtaining justice against oppression were facilitated and under no reign were there so many prosecutions of governors and procurators for extortion. Besides this the burdens were never increased and the new principle of keeping the same governor at his post for a long time seems to have worked satisfactorily. See Pomporeus Sabinus the goddess of Macedonia and Achaia which Tiberius had united in a single imperial province, 15 AD, held that office throughout almost the whole reign. The imperial provinces were, as a rule, more equitably ruled than the senatorial. This is shown clearly under Tiberius by the number of cases in which proconsuls were condemned for mal-administration. The subjects themselves considered it a piece of good fortune to be transferred from the government of the senate to that of the emperor. Tiberius expressed his provincial policy in saying that it is the part of a good shepherd to shear his sheep, not to flay them. The special regulation which made the governors responsible for acts of rapacity on the parts of their wives deserves notice. If he cared for the provinces Tiberius did not neglect to help and guide the senate in promoting the welfare of Italy. He provided for the public safety and the security of travelers against robbers by stationing troops in various parts of the country and all disturbances were promptly suppressed. He also concerned himself for the revival of agriculture which had been slowly and surely declining in Italy during the past century owing to the disappearance of the population of three labourers so that the peninsula was dependent on supplies for her maintenance. A serious economic crisis occurred in 33 AD and the emperor was obliged to interpose in order to save credit. The professional accusers della Torres made an attack upon the money-lending capitalists who had been systematically acting in defiance of two laws of Julius Caesar. One of these laws forbade anyone to have more than 60,000 cesterces £480 of ready money in hand. The rest of each man's property was to be invested in lands and houses in Italy. The other regulated the relations between the lenders and borrowers and the amount of interest. The matter came before the city Prater of Gracchus who thought it necessary to refer the question to the senate as so many people were concerned. But the senators themselves were all guilty of transgressing the law He granted a year and six months within which term everyone was to arrange his accounts in conformity with the law. The users immediately called in their loans and a large number of the debtors in order to meet their obligations were obliged to sell their estates. It was foreseen that this would lead to a scarcity of money and, in order to keep specie in circulation, a senator's consultum in the spirit of Caesar's law was passed and the creditor should have at least two-thirds of his capital invested in estates in Italy. But the remedy proved only an aggravation of the evil, for the creditors hoarded up their money to buy land cheap and the value of estates fell so much that the debtors could not pay their debts. Many families were ruined. But at length Tiberias came to their rescue and advanced a hundred million cesterces as a loan fund from which any debtor might borrow the interest on giving security to the state for double the amount. By this means credit was restored and the remaining debtors were enabled to save their estates or get the legitimate value for them. Tiberias paid special and minute attention to the administration of justice. He introduced a new and solitary regulation that nine days should intervene between the sentence and its execution in the case of culprits condemned by the Senate. That body became in his reign of criminal justice. But the Emperor exercised paramount control over its decisions and in all cases which affected his own interest the Senate merely expressed what they knew to be his will. In legislation Tiberias was also active. The Lex Jr. Norbarna, 19 AD was a measure to protect such freedmen as had not been strictly emancipated but were released from slavery by their masters. This law rendered them independent of their masters with and gave them commercial without conubium or as it was called Juniana Latinitas. They could neither bequeath property by will nor receive bequests from others. The equestrian class was also limited by a Senatus consultum which excluded those whose grandfathers were not free-worn and who did not possess a fortune of 400,000 cesterces 32,000 pounds. In his endeavours to reform abuses and suppress nuisances in Roman Italy the Emperor increased and confirmed his unpopularity. He limited the number of gladiators in the arena and on the occasion of a riot in the theatre he expelled the players from the city. He made a vain attempt to banish soothsayers from Italy. He tried to suppress the Oriental rights which were making themselves a home in Rome. He forbade especially the worship of Isis and the statue into the river. He also adopted severe measures against Jews who possessed Roman citizenship in Italy. They had attempted to evade military service and on this ground were regarded as bad subjects and their rights were forbidden. 4000 Jew freedmen were transported to Sardinia and set the task of reducing the robbers who infested that unhealthy island. The limitation of the right of asylum may also be mentioned here, though it deeply affected the eastern part of the Empire where many places of refuge had been established for the protection of criminals. These religious refuges secured immunity to crime and they had become public nuisances. Tiberius could do little to combat the prevailing luxury and dissipation among the higher classes. Frugal and moderate himself he deeply disapproved of the extravagance of the aristocracy and the absurd sums which were spent on furniture and the luxuries of the table. But he saw clearly that sanctuary laws were futile and he said publicly that the time was not fit for a censorship. He was careful to keep up the state religion which Augustus had revived. His mother Livia sat in public among the Vestal Virgins and the priests of the newly founded College of the Soudalis Augustalis who were to preserve the worship of the Divine Augustus consisted of the leading Senators. The part of the policy of Tiberius which perhaps did the most to render him disliked by both contemporaries and posterity was the new interpretation which he gave to Maestas. This crime was properly an offence against the abstract majesty of the Commonwealth and it came to include anything tending to bring the state into contempt. Alex Julia of Caesar had defined strictly the various forms which the Maestas might assume and had been extended by Augustus who however had made little use of it. But Tiberius seized on the law of Maestas as a means for his own security and under him treason became an offence against the person of the Emperor who thus comes to be regarded as the state. Any insult offered to the Princeps in either speech or writing was brought under the head of Maestas. Tiberius did not deem himself safe against treachery and he decided to resort to this engine which could not fail to be abused and bring odium upon him. It was an instrument by the fear of which he hoped to control the Senators and prevent them from expressing a dissentient view lest it should be constructed as treason. The case of Lutorius Friscus shows how outrageously his safeguard could be abused. Friscus was a knight who had written verses on the death of Germanicus and had received from Tiberius a gift as a reward. Some time later, Drusus fell ill and Friscus, encouraged by his former success, composed a poem on Drusus to be published in case the Prince should not recover. But though Drusus did not die the poet could not resist the pleasure of reading his composition to an audience and the consequence was that the matter became known and he was accused before the Senate. The Senate found him guilty of counting on the death of a Caesar. Only two Senators proposed that he should be linearly dealt with as his act was due to thoughtlessness and evil intent. But he was condemned to death and the sentence was forthwith carried out. Tiberius was absent from Rome when this happened and when he returned he regretted the occurrence and praised the view of the small minority. The affair of Friscus led to the regulation already mentioned that a delay should intervene between the sentence and the infliction of punishment. The evils of this unhappy extension of the scope of Majestus were aggravated by an encouragement which was given by Tiberius to the Delatoris. Originally the Delator was one who apprised the offices of the Exchequer of debts that were due to the Senate. The name was extended to those who informed in the cases of offenses which were subject to fines. Augustus encouraged Dullation by offering rewards to those who lodged information against the violators of his marriage laws. Dullation soon became a regular profession and as there was no public prosecutor it was very convenient to the government to have prosecutions conducted by private Delators. When Tiberius came to the throne he regarded Dullation as an admirable instrument for securing the administration and enforcement of justice and therefore encouraged it. But when he discovered how terribly it was abused and how odious it was to his subjects he concluded that it was too dangerous a remedy and set himself to check it for he was honestly anxious and displeased. The citizens lived in fear and terror of the unscrupulous informers and Tiberius tried to hinder the distortion of the laws by instituting a tribunal of fifteen senators. But he relapsed afterwards intercountenancing the practice of Dullation owing to the influences of the Victorian prefect Sajanus and as the law of treason became more comprehensive and extravagant the Delators became more terrible. End of chapter 13, section 1 Chapter 13 sections 2 and 3 of J. B. Bury's The Student's Roman Empire Part 1 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Morgan Scorpion The Student's Roman Empire Part 1 by John Bagnell Bury Chapter 13 The Principate of Tiberius continued Section 2 and 3 Section 2 Rise of Sajanus Death of Drusus The death of Germanicus removed difficulties from the path of Tiberius in regard to the succession. It had been difficult for him to hold the balance evenly between Germanicus and his own son. How precisely he endeavored to make no distinction between them is shown by a coin of Sardis, where Drusus comes first in the inscription, but Germanicus sits on the right hand in the picture. Drusus was morally and intellectually inferior to his cousin, but was deeply attached to him, and after his death acted as a father to his children. The attitude of Tiberius to Germanicus seems to have been much like that of Augustus to Tiberius himself. From a feeling of duty to the state he might acquiesce in the designation of his nephew as his successor, but his affection prompted him to prefer Drusus, though the father and son were not always on the best of terms. After the mysterious death of Germanicus he set himself to secure the succession of Drusus to the exclusion of his nephew's children. Ovations had been decreed to both the young Caesars for the successful discharge of their tasks in Armenia and Illyricum. The pacifier of Armenia never returned to Rome, but Drusus celebrated his ovation in 20 AD and in the following year had the consulship for the second time. In 22 AD his father raised him to the position of an imperial consort by causing the senate and the people to confer upon him the tribunation power. But though the empress seemed to have caused to regard his nephew's death as a piece of good luck, his hopes for his son were destined to be frustrated. Drusus had married the sister of Germanicus, the young Olivia generally called the villa to distinguish her from the wife of Augustus. She was beautiful, ambitious and unscrupulous, and seems to have had an ally in her namesake, the Augusta. She was seduced into an intrigue with Sojanus, the handsome and powerful prefect of the gods, who pretended to be in love with her and flattered her ambitious hopes with promises of marriage and the imperial throne, if the hindrance which stood in their way were once removed. Sojanus was a native of Volsiniy in Etruria, and belonged to the equestrian class. In his youth he had served on the staff of Gaius Caesar. By his address intact he had worked himself into the confidence of Tiberius, and had at length become indispensable as an advisor and semi-official minister. The emperor did not dream how high the ambition of his favourite sword, for Sojanus was not content with being the right hand of his master, he longed to occupy himself the highest position in the state. But Tiberius was thoroughly blinded by his useful and servile instrument, and used to throw off his habitual reserve in his intercourse with Sojanus. He even went so far as to call the prefect, not only in private conversation but in his addresses to the sanatan people, the associate of my labours, and allowed his busts to be placed in the theatres and fora. But these marks of favour were given freely just because it never entered the thought of Tiberius that a man of the origin and position of Sojanus could possibly be dangerous. Drusus saw more deeply into the character of his father's favourite and murmured at the influence which an alien hand had acquired at the expense of a son. On one occasion he raised his hand to strike the hated prefect. Sojanus, who had already begun to pave his way to the throne by arranging the alliance between his own daughter and a son of Claudius, the brother of Germanicus, determined to sweep Drusus from his path. Suddenly Drusus died, 23 AD, seemingly of an accidental illness, but eight years after it was discovered that poison had been administered to him by the machinations of his wife Livilla and her paramour Sojanus. It was a heavy blow to Tiberius. The children of his son were still too young to be designated as his successors and nothing was left but to adopt Nero and Drusus, the eldest sons of Germanicus. He led the youths before the senate and recommended them as the future rulers of the state. Sojanus, who had divorced his wife Apicarta, proposed to marry Livilla, but Tiberius forbade the union, which could only lead to new candidates for power. The prefect was driven to frame new plans. He resolved to destroy the family of Germanicus. Tiberius was now surrounded by four imperial widows, who made his court a scene of perpetual jealousy and intrigue. These were his mother Livilla and his daughter-in-law Livilla, his sister-in-law Antonia and Agrippina. The will of Augustus had left Livilla a share in the supreme power, and she desired to exert it. Her name appeared with that of her son on the imperial rescripts. Tiberius was unable to shake off her influence, while he deprecated her interference in public affairs, and she had a strong party of adherents in the senate who proposed to call her Marta Patriae. The ambition of the strong-minded Agrippina had been disappointed by the death of her husband, but she hoped to rise again through her children. Her chastity and fertility made her an ideal Roman matron, but she had a violent temper and an unbridled tongue. She regarded the emperor as her natural enemy, and the leniency which was shown had filled her with resentment. Nor was she satisfied even when her sons, Nero and Drusus, were marked out as the successors of Tiberius. The fulfilment of her ambitious dreams seemed still too far away. After the death of Drusus, Tiberius leaned more and more on sojournus, and from this period the Romans remarked a degeneration in the home government. The prefect worked on the emperor's fears by pretending to discover conspiracies against him, and many acts of cruelty were committed. But it must be noted that this change for the worse affected only the circles of nobles and officials, and did not involve any deterioration in the general prosperity of the empire. Many victims in high positions were sacrificed unjustly to suspicion and intrigue, but the Roman world as a whole was well governed. The key to the tyranny which marked the second half of the Principate of Tiberius is probably to be found in his knowledge at a large party of sympathisers in the senate, who, after the death of Drusus, joyfully look forward to the succession of her children. This party he and Sagenus determined to crush out. The first victim attacked by Sagenus was C. Cilius, and we have seen doing good work on the northern frontiers, and his wife was a friend of Agrippina. He was accused of having connived at the rebellion of Sacrovir and of extortion, so hard that he committed suicide before sentence was passed. His wife was banished and his possessions, said to have been run from the Provincials of Gaul were confiscated. It is doubtful whether Crimutius caught us, a stoic philosopher, and author of Annals of the Republic during the period of the Civil Wars was also a partisan of Agrippina. In his work he had called Cassius the last of the Romans, and although Augustus had read the book and found no fault in it, his expression was now 25 AD made a cause of accusation against him. It was said that his work was an attempt to excite a rebellion. Crimutius, thinking that his case was prejudged, delivered a bitter speech in the Senate, and returning home starved himself to death. All that could then be done was to burn his books. In the following year, 26 AD, the Doletus attacked Agrippina through her cousin Apulchra. They charged this lady with the crime of adultery and also with having made attempts on the emperor's life by poison and magic. Thereupon Agrippina sought the presence of Tiberius and found him sacrificing to the divinity of his father. The same man, she cried, cannot offer victims to the divine Augustus and persecute his posterity. Stung by the reproaches which heaped upon him, Tiberius quoted a Greek verse to this effect. My daughter, have I done you wrong because you are not a queen? On the news of the condemnation of her cousin, Agrippina fell dangerously ill. When Tiberius visited her, she besought him to permit her to take a second husband. To such a step there were the same objections which he had opposed to the union of Livilla and Sagenus, but Tiberius deemed it more prudent than, and he left the room abruptly. This anecdote was told in the memoirs of Agrippina's daughter, the mother of Nero. Such scenes as these were calculated to widen the breach between Agrippina and Tiberius and suspicions of her kinsmen were artfully distilled by the contrivance of Sagenus into the mind of the princess. She became possessed of the idea that the emperor was planning to poison her and when she was invited to suck with him she absolutely refused to partake of any of the food that was presented to her. This undisguised declaration of her suspicions alienated the emperor still more. Section III Tiberius at Capriai Influence of Sagenus and his four Hitherto Tiberius had resided continually at Rome and devoted himself assiduously to the conduct of affairs. He had constantly talked of visiting the provinces and even made the preliminary arrangements for the journey, but when it came to the point he had always found a pretext for not going. He never went further from the city than Antium. But as he grew older, in 26 AD he had reached the age of 67, his reserve, his distrust of his fellow-creatures, his dislike of the pomp of public life seemed to have increased. He had always been reserved, sensitive and shy. He had been sad by disappointments both in his early life and in his recent years. His unpopularity in Rome, of which he was fully conscious, may have irritated him more as he became older, and his domestic life was full of worry with Livia and Livilla on one side and Agrippina on the other. All this might be enough to explain the motives which led him to take the momentous step of abandoning Rome and living permanently elsewhere. But if such motives operated their effect was supported by the persuasions of the favourites of Janus who desired nothing better than to remove the emperor to a distance so as to have a free scene for his own plans. It is possible, however, that Tiberius may have been decided by a political motive. He may have wished to give Nero the eldest son of Germanicus an opportunity of gradually undertaking an active part in the government and assisting him somewhat in the work of Augustus. Silly and malicious stories were circulated by the emperor's enemies. It was said that he sought a place of concealment for the practice of licentiousness, or that he wished to hide from the public view a face and figure deformed by old age. He left Rome, 26 AD, on the pretext of consecrating a temple of Jupiter at Capua and a temple of Augustus at Nola recently built. There was a manateur, Coccheus Nerva, two knights, Sujanus and another and some men of science and astrologers. During the emperor's progress in Campania an accident happened which increased his confidence in Sujanus. The imperial party were dining at a country house called the cave, Spelunca, formed of a natural grotto between the Gulf of Amiclae and the hills of Fundy. The rocks at the entrance washed some of the servants and the guests fled in panic. Sujanus placed himself in front of the emperor and received the falling stones. The incident convinced Tiberius that his prefect was a man who had no care for himself. Having dedicated the temples he proceeded to the little island of Capriae which Augustus struck by its salubrious climate had purchased from the people of Neapolis. Lonely and difficult to approach lime cliffs, yet near enough to the mainland, this island about eleven miles in circuit and rising at either end to higher points of vantage was an attractive retreat for the wearied statesmen. Twelve villas were built in Tiberius in various parts of the island which was vigilantly guarded from intrusion. But while his subjects thought that he had entirely relinquished the conduct of affairs to the Victorian prefect and was spending his days in consultation with his astrologers Tiberius still bestowed constant attention to the details of public business. But he no longer troubled himself to suppress the civility of the senate or to check the abuses of dilation. Many innocent men were betrayed by the indefatigable informers and the senators lived in fear and peril of their lives. The case of Titus Sabinas, a Roman knight who was tried and put to death in 28 AD was an episode in the struggle between Sujanus and the party of Agrippina to which Sabinas belonged. Sabinas, who had been a friend of Germanicus, had made himself conspicuous by the attention which he paid to the wife and children of that prince after his death. Four ex-priters who wished to obtain the consulship and sought for that purpose to ingratiate themselves with Sujanus conceived the idea that the destruction of Sabinas would be an effectual means of winning the favourites favour. Accordingly they laid a plot. One of them, named Latinus Latiaris who was slightly acquainted with Sabinas, entered one day into conversation with him, praised him for not having abandoned the house of Germanicus in the hour of adversity and spoke in compassionate terms of Agrippina. Sabinas, who was of a soft nature, took Latiaris completely into his confidence, versed into invectives against the cruelty of Sujanus and did not spare Tiberias himself. Several reasonable conversations took place, but as it was necessary to have more witnesses of the destruction of the house as it was necessary to have more witnesses and as Sabinas would not have spoken freely in the presence of others the three accomplices hid themselves between the ceiling and the roof in a room in the house of Latiaris who induced Sabinas to visit him there on the plea of making a disclosure. The utterances of the entrapped knight on this occasion were quite sufficient for his condemnation and the conspirators immediately dispatched a letter to the emperor informing him of the treason of Sabinas. In his letter to the senate on January 1st, 28 AD, mentioned the reasonable designs of Sabinas and suggested that it might be well to punish him. The senate condemned him to death without hesitation and received a letter of thanks from Tiberias hinting, however, that he still apprehended treachery but without mentioning names. He was supposed to allude to Agrippina and her son Nero. The year 29 AD was marked by the death of Livia or, as she was publicly called, Julia Augusta, at the age of 86. Her funeral oration was pronounced by Gaius, the third son of Agrippina, then in his seventeenth year. Tiberias did not regret his imperious mother. The funeral was marked by little ceremony. The senate was forbidden to decree her divine honours. Her will remained long un-executed. The memory of Livia has been much wronged by history. The consort of Augustus is forgotten in the mother of Tiberias and it is only remembered that she had done much to raise to the throne an unpopular ruler whom the Romans cursed as a tyrant. There is no reason to suppose, however, that her influence, exerted in the interests of clemency, sometimes thwarted the Janus and it is worthy of notice that he did not carry out his design against Agrippina until after the death of Livia. It has ever been said that her death was a turning point in the reign. Her friends, who, under her powerful protection, had ventured to speak somewhat boldly to her mother, were persecuted when she died. Conspicuous among these was the husband of the emperor's divorced wife Vipsania, Asynias Gallus, who was confined in prison for three years and then put to death. The body of Livia had not been long bestowed in the mausoleum of Augustus when the senate received a letter from Tiberias containing charges against Agrippina and Nero. The son was charged with gross licentiousness, the mother with insolence and a contumatious spirit. There was no hint of disloyalty or treason and the emperor did not signify what he wished the senate to do. The people assembled outside the doors of the senate house and cried that the letter was a forgery, hinting that it was the work of Sojanus and bearing aloft the images of Agrippina and Nero. A second message soon came from Caprihi rebuking the citizens for their rebellious behaviour and urging the senate to take definite action on the charges against the accused. The servile senators found them guilty and they were banished to Bowen Islands, Agrippina to Pandeteria and Nero to Pontio. Agrippina's second son, Drusus, still remained, but his fall, too, was speedily contrived by Sojanus. Just as he had seduced Livia to compass the death of the elder Drusus, so now he seduced Lepida, the wife of the younger Drusus and suborned her to columniate her husband to Tiberias. Drusus, on the other hand, was the wife of the elder Drusus. Drusus, who with his younger brother Gaius, lived at Caprihi, was sent to Rome as a mark of disgrace and the senate hastened to declare him a public enemy. For the right of declaring an individual a public enemy as of declaring war still belonged to the senate. He was then arrested and imprisoned in the palace. The power of Sojanus had now reached its highest point. He was regarded with greater awe than the emperor himself. He seemed to be the true sovereign and Tiberias the mere lord of an island, Nesiarch. Altars were raised and sacrifices offered before his statues. Games were voted in his honor, but his fall was at hand. Tiberias had become jealous and suspicious of the designs of his minister and the graver his suspicions became the more assiduously that he seeked to disguise them until the time should come for the final blow. He loaded the prefect with honors. He was granddaughter Julia, the widow of Nero, who had died in exile at Pontia and he conferred on him the honor of being his colleague in the consulship. This honor also furnished him with the pretext of ridding himself of the prefect's presence at Capriai. Sojanus was sent to Rome and to perform the functions of the consuls on behalf of both himself and Tiberias and he was received with abject flattery by the senate and people. The senate decreed the consulates to him along with Tiberias for five years and he was disappointed when Tiberias insisted on resigning it in the fifth month 31 A.D. The messages which from time to time arrived from Capriai were uncertain and puzzling. Tiberias intended to keep Sojanus in a state of restless uncertainty. He conferred upon him the proconsul of power and raised him to the dignity of a priest, but at the same time he mentioned his nephew Gaius Caesar with great favor and conferred a priesthood on him also. Sojanus felt uneasy and besought Tiberias to allow him to return to Capriai to see his betrothed bride who was ill. The request was refused on the ground that the emperor and his family were about to visit Rome. In a letter to the senate which arrived soon after, Sojanus was mentioned without the addition of his titles and it was forbidden to yield divine honest to a mortal. Besides this the enemies of the prefect were treated with favor. These things seemed to forbode disgrace and Sojanus resolved to forestall his fall by overthrowing his master. A conspiracy was formed to kill Tiberias when he came to Rome, but Satrius Secundus, one of the conspirators betrayed the plot to Antonia and she hastened to reveal it to her brother-in-law. It would hardly have been safe to denounce openly the treason of Sojanus. To strike down the prefect or the Praetorian guards required caution and cunning. Tiberias selected a trusted officer, Satrius Maccow, to succeed Sojanus as prefect and instructed him how he was to proceed. When Maccow reached Rome October the seventeenth it was midnight. He immediately sought the house of the consul Memius Regulus and, having revealed the purpose of his coming, caused him to summon a meeting of the senate early in the morning in the temple of Apollo on the Palatine. This place of meeting was perhaps chosen in order that, if a disturbance should arise, Drusus, who was a captive in the adjoining palace, might readily be produced. Maccow then visited Grykinus Lako, the commander of the cohortes vigilum, and arranged with him that the approaches to the temple should be guarded. In the morning, as Sojanus was proceeding to the senate, attended by an armed retinue, Maccow met him and disarmed his suspicions by informing him that the business of the meeting would be to confer the tribunition power on Sojanus himself. This power was the only thing wanting to his association in the empire, and Sojanus thought that his highest ambition was about to be fulfilled. When Sojanus had entered the temple, Maccow informed the Fratorians that he had been appointed their new prefect and returned with them to their camp as soon as he had given the emperor's letter to the consuls. This great wordy epistle from Capriai, which sounded the doom of Sojanus, began with some remarks on general matters, and then proceeded to a slight rebuke of Sojanus, then passed to some indifferent matters again, and finally demanded the punishment of Sojanus himself and some of his intimate friends. During the long recital of the letter, the suspense of the audience was intense, for none knew how it would end. Then the senators who had been heaping Sojanus with congratulations left his side. The consul ordered the lictors to seize him, and he was hurried off to prison. The people showed how much they were joyst in the fall of the hated tyrant by hurling down his statues. The senate, when they saw the temper of the populace, and as the Fratorian guards did not intervene, met at a later hour of the same day and concord and sentenced Sojanus to death. He was immediately strangled in the prison, and his corpse was dragged by the executioners hooked to the Scarlet Gammonii, according to the usual custom in the reign of Tiberius. His death was followed by the execution of his family and friends. The senate decreed that a statue of liberty should be set up in the forum, and that the anniversary of the traitor's fall should be solemnly kept as a day of deliverance. Tiberius had in the meantime been agitated with fear and suspense. He had a fleet in waiting, ready to bear him to the east, in case Mako failed in the enterprise, and he posted himself on the highest clip of the island to watch for the appointed signal of success or failure. The fall of Sojanus was a relief to him, but it was soon followed by a horrible revelation. Apecata, the divorced wife of the fallen prefect, sent to Tiberius a full account of the death of Drusus, showing how it had been compassed by Sojanus and Livila, and having revealed this long-kept secret she brought an end to her life. The revelation was confirmed by the testimony of the slaves concerned in the affair, and the guilty Livila was punished with death. The overthrow of Sojanus brought no alleviation to the miseries of Acropina in her island or her son Drusus in his prison. It is not clear why the emperor perhaps he thought that one so deeply injured would be dangerous if released. He allowed him to perish by starvation, and then wrote a letter to the senate, describing minutely the manner of his death, even the curses which in his last moments he had vented against Tiberius himself. The object of the strange communication which excited the horror of the senators is not evident. Perhaps it was intended to show beyond doubt that Drusus was dead, for an imposter pretending to be Drusus had recently created some disturbances in Greece and Asia. The death of Acropina by voluntary abstinence from food soon followed that of her son. The senate, at the emperor's wish, decreed that her birthday should be ill-omanned, and remarked that her death took place on the anniversary of the execution of Sojanus 18 October 33 AD. The bodies of her children were not admitted to the mausoleum until the reign of Gaius, who exhumed them from the lowly tombs in which they had been thrown. The prosecutions of those who were supposed to have been connected with the conspiracy of Sojanus were protracted over a year, but at length in 33 AD the emperor, where he all the proceedings, issued an order for the summary execution of all who were still detained in prison, whether men, women, or children. A certain Marcus Tarentius who was impeached in the senate around a friendship with Sojanus is reported to have made a bold speech. Others had repudiated their friendly relations with the fallen prefect, but he candidly acknowledged that he was the friend of Sojanus, had eagerly sought to be such, and was delighted when he succeeded. Do not think, fathers, he said, only of the last day of Sojanus, but of his sixteen years of power. To be known even to his freedmen and whole porters was regarded as a distinction. Plots against the state, conspiracies for the murder of the emperor, be punished, but as to friendship the same issue of our friendship to Sojanus must absolve a like you Caesar and us. Tarentius was saved by his boldness, and his accusers were condemned to banishment or death according to the nature of their previous offences. But if aware senator spoke out boldly, most of the order made the fall of the minister an occasion for obsequiousness. Some went so far in their proposals that they drew upon themselves the ridicule or severe censure of Tiberius. Thus Togonius Gallus begged the emperor to choose a number of senators, of whom twenty should be selected by Lot as a bodyguard whenever he entered the Curia. This man had actually taken seriously a letter of the emperor asking for the protection of a consul from Capriai to Rome. Tiberius, who had a fashion of combining jest and seriousness, thanked the senators for their kindness, but suggested several difficulties. Who were to be chosen? Were they to be always the same? Were they to be men who had held office or youths? And would it not be strange to see persons taking up swords on the threshold of the Senate House? But if he knew how to answer a fool according to his folly, he could also sharply rebuke an impertinence. Junius Gallio proposed that the Victorian soldiers, having served their allotted time, should have the chance of sitting among the knights in the fourteen rows of the theatre. Tiberius asked what he had to do with the Praetorian guards, who received their commands and their rewards only from the Imperator, and suggested that Gallio was one of the satellites of Sogenus, seeking to tamper with the soldiery. Gallio was then, in return for his flattery, expelled from the Senate and banished from Italy. Recent experiences had aggravated the emperor's suspicious nature. He became more difficult to access and committed many acts of quality. His faithful advisor, Horcaius Nerva, who was his companion at Caprii, weary it is said of seeing the harshness of his sovereign, put himself to death in spite of the prayers and remonstrances of Tiberius. Of the twenty members of the imperial concilium, their stone remained only two or three. The others had been the victims of delation. Public report ascribed to Tiberius a life of bestial debauchery in the inaccessible island, and the Parthian king actually addressed to him an impertinent rebuke for his licentious habits, and called upon him to satisfy public opinion by committing suicide. There is little doubt that Tiberius lived licentiously, like most of the Roman nobles of those days. But there is no doubt also that his dissipations have been farley exaggerated. The circumstance that his life was prolonged to nearly three years without medical aid is enough to make us hesitate to accept the stories which were circulated about the orgies at Caprii. End of Chapter 13 Sections 2 and 3 Chapter 13, Section 4 and 5 of J. B. Bury's The Student's Roman Empire, Part 1 This is a Librivox recording. All Librivox recordings are in the public domain. For more information ought to volunteer please visit Librivox.org Recording by Morgan Scorpion The Student's Roman Empire, Part 1 by J. B. Bury Chapter 13, The Principate of Tiberius Section 4 to 5 Section 4 Parthia and the Eastern Question Among other slanders it was said that Tiberius in his island retreat was indifferent to the Government of the Empire. The rumour seems to have reached the Parthian court and encouraged the Parthian King Artabanus to assume a hostile attitude. The peace with Parthia was undisturbed until the death of Artaxes, King of Armenia, about 34 AD. Artabanus, elated by a long and successful reign and thinking that the old Tiberius would not be likely to undertake an Eastern War, seized the opportunity to transfer Armenia from dependence on Rome to dependence on Parthia. He induced the Armenians to elect his son Arsarches as successor to Artaxes. He even seemed to court a war with Rome and addressed insulting letters to the Emperor demanding the inheritance of his own rival Rononnes, who had died in Cilicia, insisting on the old boundaries of Macedonia and Persia and threatening that he would seize the territories possessed long ago by Cyrus and afterwards by Alexander the Great. Tiberius wasn't equal to the emergency. He conferred upon Lucius Vitelius an able and resolute officer the same powers which he had before conferred upon his nephew Germanicus and sent him to the east with orders to cross the Euphrates at the head of the Syrian legions if it should prove needful. At the same time he set up a rival to Arsarches in the person of Mithridates, brother of Pharris Manes, king of the Iberians and stirred up both the Iberians and Albanians to support his claim by an invasion of Armenia. Mithridates gained possession of the Armenian capital, Artaxata, and his rival Arsarches was removed by poison. King Artabanus then sent another of his sons, Orodes, to take the place of Arsarches and recover Armenia, but the Parthian cavalry proved for a Caucasian infantry and the Sarmatian mounted Arches which supported Pharris Manes and Mithridates. A lively description of the warfare has come down to us. Pharris Manes challenged Orodes to battle, taunted him when he refused, rode up to the Parthian camp and harassed their foraging parties. The Parthians at length became impatient and called upon their prince to lead them to battle. In the fight which ensued a variety of warfare was to be witnessed. The Parthians, accustomed to pursue or fly with equal skill, deployed their cavalry and sought scope for the discharge of their missiles. The Sarmatians, throwing aside their bows, which at a shorter range are effective, rushed on with pikes and swords. There were alternate advances and retreats, then close fighting, in which, rest to rest with the clash of arms, they drove back the foe and lost. The Albanians and Iberians seized the Parthian riders and hurled them from their horses. The Parthians were thus pressed on one side by the cavalry on the heights, on the other by the infantry in close quarters. The leaders, Pharris Manes and Orodes, were conspicuous, encouraging the brave, succoring those who wavered and at length recognising each other they rushed to the combat on galloping charges The force of Pharris Manes was greater. He pierced the helmet of the foe. But he was hurried onward by his horse and before he could repeat the blow with deadly effect, Orodes was protected by his guards. But the rumour spread among the Parthians that their general was slain and they yielded. After the ill success of both his sons, Artabanus took the field himself. It was now the moment for Vitellius to intervene. He set his troops in motion and threatened to invade Mesopotamia. This was the signal for the outbreak of an insurrection which had been long brewing in Parthia and had been fermented by Roman intrigues. The Parthian nobles, dissatisfied with the wall of the Scythian Artabanus, clamoured for the restoration of a true arsicid. There was still a surviving son of Vitellius at Rome and a section of the disaffected Parthians sent a secret embassy to Tiberius. Requesting that this representative of the House of Arsachius should be sent to the east as a claimant to the Parthian throne. This suited the views of Tiberius and he acceded to the request. But the candidate, the sovereignty died in Syria and Tiberius then chose Tiridates, a grandson of Vitellius, to take his place. The appearance of Vitellius and Tiridates in the Parthian dominions was attended at first with complete success. Sinakis, a man of good family and great wealth and his father Abda Gases were the leaders of the party hostile to Artabanus, which was largely increased after the disasters in Armenia. Artabanus had soon found himself deserted except by a few foreigners and was compelled in order to save his life to flee into exile among the Scythians. Tiridates then, under the protection of Vitellius and the Roman legions, crossed the Euphrates on a bridge of boats. The first Parthian to enter the camp was Orno Spadis, formerly a Parthian exile who had been made a Roman citizen in recognition of aid which he had given to Tiberius in the Dalmatian war and subsequently returning to Parthia had been received into favour and appointed governor of Mesopotamia. Sinakis and Abda Gases arrived soon afterwards with the royal treasure. Then Vitellius, having thus given Tiridates a start and displayed the Roman eagles beyond the Euphrates, returned with his army to Syria. Lycathorium, Anthemusius and other towns of Greek foundation gladly received the new king expecting him to be a good ruler from his Roman training. The enthusiasm shown by the powerful city of Salucia which had preserved intact its Greek character under Parthian domination was especially encouraging. But Tiridates made a fatal mistake in losing time. Instead of pressing forward into the interior of the country he delayed over the siege of a fortress in which Arturbanus had stored away his treasures and his concubines. In the meantime, Qualls broke out among his adherents some of whom, jealous of the influence of Abda Gases and regarding Tiridates as a Roman dependent decided to restore Arturbanus. They found the exiled monarch in her Kenya, covered with dirt and sustaining life by his bow. At first he thought that they intended treachery but when he was assured that they desired his restoration he hastily raised some auxiliaries and schizia and marched against Salucia with a large force. In order to excite sympathy he retained the miserable dress which he had worn in his exile. The party of Tiridates were treated into Mesopotamia and soon dispersed. Tiridates himself returning to Syria 36 AD and leaving Arturbanus master of the realm except Salucia which was strong enough to hold out. Vitellius again threatened Mesopotamia but the restored monarch hastened to yield to the Roman demands and a peace was concluded. Arturbanus recognised Misridates as king of Armenia while the Romans undertook not to support the pretensions of Tiridates. The Parthian king also did homage to the image of the Roman emperor and gave up his son Darius as a hostage. Section 5 Last Days and Death of Tiberius Tiberius was not indifferent to the selection of a successor though he is reported to have once said quoting the verse of a Greek poet when I am dead let earth be wrapped in flame. There were three male representatives of his house on whom his choice might fall. There was his nephew Tiberius Claudius Drusus the youngest son of the elder Drusus but he was considered out of the question as being of weak intellect. There was his grand-nephew Gaius born in 12 AD the youngest son of Germanicus and there was his grandson Tiberius Gamelus born 19 AD son of Drusus and Livila. Between these two the choice was practically made. The emperor had for a long time slited Gaius as being the son of Agrippina and had not permitted him to assume the Togo Virilis until his 19th year but Gaius began to rise when Sojanus began to decline in favour. He carefully dissembled any emotions he may have felt at the fate of his mother and brothers and the people looked forward with satisfaction to a son of Germanicus on the throne. On the other hand Gaius had secretly wished for the succession of his grandson. In 35 AD he made a will leaving Gaius and Gamelus joint heirs of his private fortune and this was equivalent to an expression of his wish that they should be joint heirs of the empire but there is reason to believe that he regarded Gaius as his successor. The four daughters of Germanicus had been married to men of note Agrippina, of whom we shall hear more Tussien Domitius to Cassius Longinus Julia to Venicius the patron of Valleus Pataculis the historian and a fourth of unknown name to the son of Quintilius Varus. His own granddaughter Julia the widow of Nero and the patrols of Sojanus he married to rebellious Blandis a knight of obscure origin. The Praetorian Prefect Macro, who now partly occupied the place which Sojanus had formerly held at Capriai, saw that Gaius was probably destined to succeed and sought to obtain an ascendancy over him. Gaius had lost his wife the daughter of M. Junius Solanus in the third year of their marriage and Macro engaged his own wife Enya to install the young man by her arts and charms. The sharp old emperor observed the policy of the Prefect and said to him, you will leave the setting sun to court the rising. In the seventy-eighth year of his age in the first months of thirty-seven AD Tiberius quitted his island never to return. He travelled slowly towards Rome and advanced along the Appian way within seven miles of the city. He gazed for the last time at the tops of the distant buildings but frightened by some evil omen turned back and retraced his steps southward. He was fading fast. At Cochaea in order to hide his weakness he presided at military exercises and in consequence of the overexertion became worse. He tried till the last to conceal his condition from those who were with him and his position characterily had to resort to an artifice to feel his pulse. He breathed his last in the villa of Lucullus at Mystenum on March the sixteenth thirty-seven AD. It was whispered that his end was hastened by Macro who seeing him suddenly revive and called him. In estimating Tiberius we must take into account the circumstances of his life and also the character of the witnesses who have recorded his reign. A Claudium, both on his father's and on his mother's side descended from the nearest to whom as holless sound Rome owed so much he had all the pride of his patrician house. He was strong, tall, well-made and healthy with a fair complexion and long hair profuse at the back of his head, a characteristic of the Claudii. He had unusually large eyes and a serious expression. In youth he was called the old man so thoughtful was he and slow to speak. He had a strong sense of duty and a profound contempt for the multitude. The spirit of his ancestor's stress, the Claudia who uttered the wish that her brother were alive again to lose another fleet and long less crowded, had in some measure descended upon Tiberius. He was, as the originally Sabine name nearer signified, brave and vigorous and had a conspicuous aptitude for the conduct of affairs. But he was too critical to have implicit confidence in himself and he was suspicious of others. His self-distrust was increased by the circumstances of his early manhood. His reserved manner, the reality of his brother Drusus could not win the affection of his step-father Augustus who regarded his peculiarities as false. And indeed, when he was young enough to have ambition he was made use of indeed but he never enjoyed imperial favour. Kept, when possible, in the second place he was always meeting rebuffs. He was forced to divorce Phypsania and marry Julia who bought him nothing but shame. Thus the circumstances of his life and his relations to his step-father were calculated to deepen his reserve to embitter his feelings and to produce a habit of dissimulation so that there is little wonder that a man of his cold, dividend nature coming to the throne at the age of fifty-five should not have won the affections of subjects whom he did not deign to conciliate. All his experiences tended to develop in Tiberius that hard spirit, bigger enemy, developed on his features in the large sitting-statue which has been preserved. On the other hand his dividends made him dependent on others first on Livia and then on Sir Janus who proved his evil genius. In regard to the darker side of his policy as a ruler we must remember that he had understaken a task which necessarily involved inconsistencies. He undertook to maintain the republican disguise under which Augustus had veiled the monarchy. The wearing of a mask well suited his reserved and crafty nature but the success of this pretense depended far more upon personal qualities than Tiberius realised. It had been a success with Augustus because he was popular and genial. It was a failure with Tiberius because he was just the opposite. After Tiberius the mask was dropped. The system of dilation and the law of Maestus were provided by Tiberius as a substitute for the popularity which had shielded his predecessor from conspiracy. Owing to the spread of dilation the reign of Tiberius was to some extent a reign of terror. Hardly any important works of literature were produced for men did not care to write when they could not write freely. We have already seen the fate of the historian Cremutius called us. Two other historians whose works have come down to us escaped censorship by flattery. In the case of one, the flattery was probably sincere. Valerius Patecullus whose short Roman history in two books was published in 30 AD had served under Tiberius in the Parmonian War and had afterwards risen to the rank of Christa and then of Praetor. He had conceived a deep admiration and affection for his general and lords him with extravagant superlatives. He also speaks in very high terms of sojournus who had not yet fallen. Valerius Maximus was more clearly a time-server. In his Nine Books of Memorable Deeds and Words a collection of anecdotes of Roman history written in a tasteless pretentious style he is servile to the emperor. But as the work appeared after the fall of Sigenus a vehement declamation against that minister is introduced. The Spaniard and Neus Seneca of Corduba not to be confounded with his more famous son was active under Tiberius as well as under Augustus. He wrote a history extending from the beginning of the Civil Wars almost to the day of his death about 39 AD, unfortunately not preserved but his works on rhetorical subjects are partly extant. The terror of dilation did not affect jurists like Masurius Sabinesis men of science like Kelsus or gastronomists like Apicus owing to the politically indifferent nature of their subjects. It is not easy to see how it affected poetry but Virgil and Horace had no immediate successes. The only poetical writer of the reign was the freedman Phaedrus and he tells us that he was persecuted. He was the author of five books of Esopian fables in iambic trimeters. Pomponius Secundus wrote tragedies but perhaps did not publish them till after the death of Tiberius. The emperor was himself imbued with letters. He wrote a lyric poem on the death of Lucius Caesar and Greek verses in the style of the Alexandrine school. He also wrote memoirs of his own life. He was a strict purist in language and resolutely refused to use words borrowed from Greek. This negative testimony of literature shows that dilation was a very real danger and that the government of Tiberius was in some respects tyrannical but he was not such a tyrant that he had been painted by the later writers and Suetonius. Over against the dark picture of Tacitus we must set the opposite picture of the inferior artist Velaus and we must allow for the bias of both authors. We must remember that Velaus had seen Tiberius at his best in the camp conducting a campaign that he received promotion from him and was prejudiced in his favour. In addition to this he was writing in the emperor's lifetime. On the other hand, Tacitus wrote under the influence of a reaction against the imperial system and he lays himself out to blacken the character of all the emperors prior to Nerva. The dark character of Tiberius and a certain mystery which surrounded his acts and motives lent themselves well to the design of the skillful historian who gathered up and did not disdain to record all sorts of popular rumours and stories imputing crime to the exile of Capriai. Apart from the measures which he adopted for his own safety or at the instigation of Sojanus who were mainly concerned his own family and nobles connected with them apart from the consequences of the system of dilation which were felt almost exclusively at Rome there can be no question that the rule of Tiberius was wise and maintained the general prosperity of the empire. Augustus was not deceived when in adopting his steps on into the Julian family he said, I do it for the public welfare. Nor on the other hand was he mistaken when he prophetically pitied the fate of the people of Rome which he was committing to be massacred in the slow jaws of his adopted son. End of chapter 13 sections 4 to 5 Chapter 14 section 1 of J. B. Bury's The Student's Roman Empire Part 1 This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer visit LibriVox.org Recording by Morgan Scorpion The Student's Roman Empire Part 1 by John Bagnell Bury Chapter 14 The Principate of Gaius Caligula 37 to 41 A.D. Section 1 1 Claims of Gaius to the Principate He is accepted by the senate The acts of Tiberius are not confirmed His will is annulled and he is not deified 2 Funal of Tiberius Reaction against his policy Gaius shows respect for the senate and piety to his family 3 Munificence of Gaius His speech in the senate 4 Early life and character of Gaius He is under the influence of a gripper 5 Illness of Gaius Sympathy of his subjects Philo quoted Death of Tiberius Gamelis 6 Pleasures of Gaius He degrades his dignity in the circus 7 Sisters and wives of Gaius His oriental ideas He demands divine worship and professes to be a god 8 His architectural extravagances His jealousy of great names 9 Financial difficulties drive him to plunder his subjects 10 His expedition to Gaul Conspiracy of Lentulus Gatalicus Exile of the emperor's sisters Acts of Gaius at Lugdenum 11 Britannic expedition His return to Rome 12 The reign of terror Taxation Conspiracy of Korea And murder of Gaius 14 Policy of Gaius in the province's reactionary He restores client kingdoms in the east But annexes the kingdom of Mauritania 15 Refusal of the Jews to pay him divine worship Embassies from Alexandria 1 Popular beginnings of the reign of Gaius We have seen that Tiberius had made Gaius and Gamelus co-partners in the inheritance of his private fortune Thus recommending them to the senate and people as co-partners in the Principate He seems to have intended for them a joint rule like that which Augustus intended for his grandchildren Gaius and Lucius Caesar Perhaps he did not believe that such a rule was possible but he left the decision to fate The power and the initiative naturally devolved on Gaius He was older than his cousin by seven years and had already ended on public life He was supported by the favour of the populace and the strength of the Fratorians with macro at their head so that his succession seemed certain But it is to be observed that from a constitutional point of view Gaius did not occupy a strong position on the death of Tiberius as Tiberius had occupied on the death of Augustus Tiberius had been already invested with the tribunition power and the most important of the imperial prerogatives during the lifetime of Augustus But since the death of his son Drusus Tiberius had not moved the senate to confer the tribunition power on anyone and Sogenus who had received proconsular power no longer lived Gaius was not in any sense a consul's imperie Hence on the death of Tiberius it was open to the senate to elect as the new princeps but though the inheriting of the empire was not recognised by the constitution it was generally felt that the heir of the emperor had the best claim to succeed him in the government as well as in his private property Hence the election of Gaius was taken for granted both by himself and by others The emperor's death was finally announced to the senate in a letter from Gaius conveyed by the hand of macro who also brought the testament of Tiberius in which Gaius and Gamelis were appointed co-heirs Gaius asked the fathers to decree to the late emperor a public funeral, deification and the other horrors which had been decreed to Augustus also to confirm his acts but at the same time he demanded that the testament should be annulled Such a document might prove inconvenient although legally it only concerned the private estate of Tiberius it might be used to give his grandson a claim to participation in imperial power The senate accorded to the wishes of the candidate for the empire whom it did not hesitate to elect The tribunition power and all the functions of the empire were conferred on Gaius Caesar March the 18th a public funeral but not deification was decreed to Tiberius and his will was annulled but in return some concessions were required from Gaius Gamelis and named him Princeps Inventotus and he gave up his demand that the acts of his predecessor should be confirmed by the senate Tiberius was not added to the gods and in this way his memory was condemned The accession of the young emperor was hailed by the people with wild delight as the beginning of a new age They had received the news of the death of Tiberius with a savage outburst of hatred It is said that they wished to drag his corpse to the river and cried Tiberium in Tiberium Tiberius to the Tiber After years of fear, solanness and gloom they looked forward to an age of merriment and pleasure a return to the Augustan era The procession conveying the body of the dead emperor was conducted by his successor from Mycenum to Rome and the people port forth to meet it forgetting their hatred of the dead tyrant in their joy at welcoming the new sovereign They allowed the funeral solemnities to pass over quietly and when Gaius had spoken a funeral oration the corpse was cremated in the campus Martius and the ashes placed in the mausoleum The new reign was inaugurated by a reaction against the policy of the preceding The most odious deletors were banished from Italy All prisoners were released All exiles were called The extension of the law of Maestas to words written or spoken was done away with The writings of the Cremotius Cordus and others which had been suppressed were permitted to circulate again the emperor declaring that the writing and reading of history conduced to the interests of every good prince Gaius also annulled the right of appeal to himself from the tribunals in Rome, Italy and the senatorial provinces He endeavoured to make a strict division between the functions of senate and princeps and he followed the example of Augustus neglected by Tiberius in publishing the accounts of the state He restored to the committia the election of the magistrates and thus showed that he desired to maintain the outward form of a republic But this change was soon discovered to be useless For as the number of candidates seldom exceeded the number of vacant places there was no room for suffrage and the committia, when it assembled founded it had nothing to do Hence after two years the system of Tiberius was restored Gaius assisted the administration of justice by creating a fifth curia of jurimen for the existing numbers found to be unequal to the work they had to do It was composed of men of the same qualification as those who filled the fourth curia created by Augustus Gaius also converted the equus publicus on a large number of persons because the equestrian order had been greatly reduced in number in the reign of Tiberius who had neglected to replenish it by new nominations The son of Germanicus distinguished himself by piety to his family no less than by respect to the senate When he had appeared in the presence of the fathers and won their goodwill by a plausible and submissive speech he hurried in person to the islands where his mother and brother had been banished and conveyed their ashes back to Rome to be deposited in the mausoleum of the Caesars He caused the senate to decree to his grandmother Estonia the titles and honors which had been decreed to Livia He changed the name of the month September to Germanicus so that the name of his father might rank in the calendar besides Julius and Augustus He called upon his uncle Tiberius Claudius whose existence no one ever seemed to remember and who hitherto although he was 46 years of age held only equestrian rank to be his colleague in the consulship on which he entered on July the 1st 37 AD His sisters Julia Livilla Agrippina and Drusilla received the honors of Vestal Virgins Gaius himself modestly refused the title part of Patriae which the senate offered him How popular the new reign was with the multitude is shown by the immense number of victims 160,000 which were offered in thanksgiving to the gods The citizens and the soldiers were delighted with the unbounded munificence of the successor of the frugal Tiberius All the legacies and donations ordered in the will of Tiberius were paid although that deed was otherwise annulled and the testament of Livia which Tiberius had neglected was now executed Besides this, Gaius distributed to the plebs the donation which should have been given when he assumed the toga virilis The immense sunk which lay in his treasury heaped together by the saving policy of Tiberius enabled him to defray these expenses and to enter upon a course of reckless profusion which the rabble greeted with applause At the same time he reduced his revenue by abolishing small tax of half percent on sales in Italy When Gaius assumed the consulship he made a speech to the senate criticising severely the ads of Tiberius and making fair promises for his own future government The fathers were so pleased and yet were so afraid that he would alter his views that they decreed that his speech should be read aloud every year His exemplary devotion to his duties during the two following months seemed to augur well for the future But on the last day of August which was his birthday he threw aside business and gave a magnificent entertainment such as had not been witnessed for many years On this occasion he consecrated the temple of Augustus which was at length completed From this time Gaius showed the world a new side of his character which few perhaps had suspected He plunged into a mad course of shameless dissipation and extravagance When his subjects saluted their new emperor they were quite ignorant what manner of man he was In his personal appearance there was nothing to attract His figure was ill proportioned his eyes set deep in his head his features pale and his scowling expression still displeases us in his bust His constitution was weak and his intellectual capacity was small and whatever intellect he possessed had never been trained except in rhetorical exercise Want of training in his youth may partly account for the vagaries of his manhood but there is no doubt that his brain was affected He was subject to epileptic fits and he suffered from sleeplessness His early childhood was spent in a camp on the Rhine His next experience was a distressing circumstances of his father's death Afterwards he was detained under the watchful eye of Tiberius in the lonely island where he learned to dissemble, flatter, and deceive His father's father's death and his father's death his father's death flatter and deceive It is said that Tiberius penetrated the real character of the crafty boy and made the remark that Gaius lived for the perdition of himself and all men All the tastes of this degen Lic grandsong of Duesas were vulgar and vile He cared only for the company of gladiators and dancers He took delight in the sight of torture and death He seems to have been always thoroughly unsound in mind and when the unlimited power empire was placed in his hands, his head was completely turned. He had fallen under the influence of Herod Agrippa, who instilled into his mind oriental ideas as to the divine nature of monarchy, and filled his head with dreams of the grandeur of Eastern kings. This Agrippa, son of Aristobulus, was grandson of Herod the Great, and had come to Rome along with his mother Berenice and his sister Herodius after the death of his father. Rome was at that time an asylum for the members of Eastern royal families, who in their own country would probably have perished by the hand of their reigning kinsmen. Antonia, whose father had been a friend of Herod, became the protectress of his grandson, and the young Agrippa was brought up in the company of Claudius, who was of his own age. When his uncle Herod Antipas, the Herod of the Gospels, B.C. IV to AD 39, who married Herodius, obtained the kingdom of Samaria, Agrippa was invested with the governorship of the city of Tiberius. But this did not satisfy his ambition. He returned to Rome in the last years of Tiberius to watch for an opportunity to better his position. He attached himself to the young Gaius, whose prospects seemed to be bright, and obtained a great influence over him. Agrippa was assured an energetic man who had seen a great deal of the world, very dissipated and unprincipled, and always in want of money. His descriptions of Oriental magnificence, his pictures of the omnipotence which even the smallest monarchs in the East possessed, over the life and property of their subjects, his lessons perhaps in the voluptuousness of Asia, produced a deep and dangerous effect on the diseased mind and sensual nature of the future emperor. Rome had been threatened with the introduction of Oriental theories by Antonius. She was destined to experience them at the caprice of his great-grandson. After the celebration of his birthday, the emperor did not resume his political duties, but gave himself up to dissipation and enjoyment. And from this time to the end of his reign his only occupation was the pursuit of pleasure and excitement. Under the first wild outburst of sensuality his weak constitution gave way and he became dangerously ill. The general distress which was then felt both in Rome and in the provinces show how popular he was. Philo, a Jew of Alexandria, describes the prosperity of the empire at the beginning of his reign and the sympathy which was felt at his illness. The passage deserves to be quoted. Who was not amazed and delighted at beholding Gaius assumed the government of the empire, tranquil and well-ordered as it was, fitted and compact in all its parts, north and south, east and west, Greek and barbarian, soldier and civilian, all combined together in the enjoyment of a common peace and prosperity. It abounded everywhere in accumulated treasures of gold and silver, coin and plate. It boasted a vast force of both horse and foot by land and by sea, and its resources flowed, as it were, from a perennial fountain. Nothing was to be seen throughout our cities but altars and sacrifices, priests clad in white and garlanded, the joyous ministers of the general mirth. Festivals and assemblies, musical contests and horse races, nocturnal revels, amusements, recreations, pleasures of every kind and addressed to every sense. The rich no longer lorded it over the poor, the strong upon the weak, masters upon servants, or creditors on their debtors. The distinction of classes were levelled by the occasion, so that the Saturnian age of the poets might no longer be regarded as a fiction, so nearly was it revived in the life of that happy era. The provinces were happy for seven months. Then the news arrived that the emperor, having abandoned himself to sensuality, had fallen grievously sick and was in great danger. When the sad news was spread among the nations, every government was at once cast aside, every city and house was clouded with sorrow and ejection in proportion to its recent hilarity. All parts of the world sickened with guise, and were more sick than he, for his was the sickness of the body only, theirs of the soul. All men reflected on the evils of anarchy, its wars, famines and devastations, from which they foresaw no protection but in the emperor's recovery. But as soon as the disease began to abate, the rumour swiftly reached every corner of the empire, and universal were the excitement and anxiety to hear it from day to day confirmed. The safety of the prince was regarded by every land and island as identical with its own. Nor was a single country ever so interested before in the health of any one man as the whole world then was in the health of guise. This instructive passage of an Alexandrine writer of that day shows how important an emperor's life was then felt to be for the welfare of the state. Guise recovered, but he did not meant his ways. The solicitude of the citizens and the provincials impressed him with a deeper sense than ever of his own importance. His first act was to remove from his path his cousin Gamelis, who had a rival claim to the throne. About November 37 A.D., the feeble grandson of Tiberius was compelled to kill himself. As he is called the son of Drusus, his adoption by Guise was apparently annulled on his death. Macro the Fratorian prefect had laid Guise under such great obligations in helping him to secure the throne that he ventured on the indiscretion of sometimes reminding the emperor of his duties. At the same time Anya pressed her lover to keep his promise of marrying her, but Guise was weary of the wife and impatient of the husband and he resolved to destroy them both. Macro received a command to put himself to death. About the same time Guise recalled M. Salinas, the father of his first wife, who was then for consul of Africa, and caused him to be executed. These acts may be regarded as the turning point of his reign.