Tiberius, Roman emperor (b. 42 BC)
Tiberius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus.
Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father was the politician Tiberius Claudius Nero and his mother was Livia Drusilla, who would eventually divorce his father, and marry the future-emperor Augustus in 38 BC. Following the untimely deaths of Augustus' two grandsons and adopted heirs, Gaius and Lucius Caesar, Tiberius was designated Augustus' successor. Prior to this, Tiberius had proved himself an able diplomat, and one of the most successful Roman generals: his conquests of Pannonia, Dalmatia, Raetia, and (temporarily) parts of Germania laid the foundations for the empire's northern frontier. Early in his career, Tiberius was happily married to Vipsania, daughter of Augustus' friend, distinguished general and intended heir, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. They had a son, Drusus Julius Caesar. After Agrippa died, Augustus insisted that Tiberius divorce Vipsania and marry his own daughter (Tiberius' step-sister) Julia. Tiberius reluctantly gave in. This second marriage proved scandalous, deeply unhappy, and childless; Julia was sent into exile. Tiberius adopted his nephew, the able and popular Germanicus, as heir. On Augustus' death in AD 14, Tiberius became princeps at the age of 55.
Tiberius seems to have taken on the responsibilities of head of state with great reluctance, and perhaps a genuine sense of inadequacy in the role, compared to the capable, self-confident and charismatic Augustus. From the outset, Tiberius had a difficult, resentful relationship with his senate, and suspected many of plotting against him. Nevertheless, he proved to be an effective and efficient administrator. However, after the deaths of his nephew Germanicus in 19 AD and his son Drusus in 23 AD, Tiberius became still more reclusive and aloof. In 26 AD he removed himself from Rome and left administration largely in the hands of his controversial praetorian prefects Sejanus, whom he later had executed for treason, and Sejanus' replacement, Macro. When Tiberius died, he was succeeded by his grand-nephew and adopted grandson, Germanicus' son Caligula, whose lavish building projects and varyingly sucessful military endeavours drained much of the wealth that Tiberius had accumulated in the public and Imperial coffers through good management.
Tiberius allowed the worship of his divine Genius in only one temple, in Rome's eastern provinces, and promoted restraint in the empire-wide cult to the deceased Augustus. When Tiberius died, he was given a sumptuous funeral befitting his office, but no divine honours. He came to be remembered as a dark, reclusive and somber ruler who never really wanted to be emperor; Pliny the Elder called him "the gloomiest of men."