Early+Life+of+Tiberius

**The Document:** Suetonius, Tiberius, 6-9:
He passed his infancy and his youth amid hardship and tribulation, since he was everywhere the companion of his parents in their flight; at Naples indeed he all but betrayed them twice by his crying, as they were secretly on their way to a ship just as the enemy burst into town, being suddenly torn from his nurse's breast and again from his mother's arms by those who tried to relieve the poor women of their burden because of the imminent danger. 2 After being taken all over Sicily also and Achaia, and consigned to the public care of the @Lacedaemonians, because they were dependents of the Claudii, he almost lost his life as he was leaving there by night, when the woods suddenly took fire all about them, and the flames so encircled the whole company that part of Livia's robe and her hair were scorched. 3 The gifts which were given him in Sicily by Pompeia, sister of Sextus Pompeius, a cloak and clasp, as well as studs of gold, are still kept and exhibited at Baiae. Being adopted, after his return to the city, in the will of Marcus Gallius, a senator, he accepted the inheritance, but soon gave up the name, because Gallius had been a member of the party opposed to Augustus.

4 At the age of nine he delivered a eulogy of his dead father from the rostra. Then, just as he was arriving at puberty, he accompanied the chariot of Augustus in his triumph after Actium,[|9] riding the left trace-horse, while Marcellus, son of Octavia, rode the one on the right. He presided, too, at the city festival, and took part in the game of Troy during the performances in the @circus, leading the band of older boys.[|10] 7 The principal events of his youth and later life, from the assumption of the gown of manhood to the beginning of his reign, were these. He gave a gladiatorial show in memory of his father, and a second in honour of his grandfather Drusus, at different times and in different places, the former in the Forum and the latter in the amphitheatre,[|11] inducing some retired gladiators[|12] to appear with the rest by the payment of hundred thousand sesterces to each. He also gave stage-plays, but without being present in person. All these were on a grand scale, at the expense of his mother and his stepfather.

2 He married Agrippina, daughter of Marcus Agrippa, and granddaughter of Caecilius Atticus, a Roman knight, to whom Cicero's letters are addressed; but after he had acknowledged[|13] a son from her, Drusus, although she was thoroughly congenial and was a second time with child, he was forced to divorce her and to contract a hurried marriage with Julia,[|14] daughter of Augustus. This caused him no little distress of mind, for he was living happily with Agrippina, and disapproved of Julia's character, having perceived that she had a passion for him even during the lifetime of her former husband, as was in fact the general opinion. 3 But even after the divorce he regretted his separation from Agrippina, and the only time that he chanced to see her, he followed her with such an intent and tearful gaze that care was taken that she should never again come before his eyes. With Julia he lived in harmony at first, and returned her love; but he soon grew cold, and went so far as to cease to live with her at all, after the severing of the tie formed by a child which was born to them, but died at Aquileia in infancy. He lost his brother Drusus in Germany and conveyed his body to Rome, going before it on foot all the way.

8 He began his civil career by a defence of king @Archelaus, the people of Tralles, and those of Thessaly, before the judgment seat of Augustus, the charge in each case being different. He made a plea to the p305 senate in behalf of the citizens of Laodicea, Thyatira and Chios, who had suffered loss from an earthquake and begged for help. Fannius Caepio, who had conspired with Varro Murena against Augustus, he arraigned for high treason and secured his condemnation. In the meantime he undertook two public charges: that of the grain supply, which, as it happened, was deficient; and the investigation of the slave-prisons[|15] throughout Italy, the owners of which had gained a bad reputation; for they were charged with holding in durance not only travellers, but also those whom dread of military service had driven to such places of concealment.

9 His first military service was as tribune of the soldiers in the campaign against the Cantabrians; then he led an army to the Orient and restored the throne of Armenia to Tigranes, crowning him on the tribunal. He besides recovered the standards which the Parthians had taken from Marcus Crassus.[|16] Then for about a year he was governor of Gallia Comata,[|17] which was in a state of unrest through the inroads of the barbarians and the dissensions of its chiefs. Next he carried on war with the Raeti and Vindelici, then in Pannonia, and finally in Germany.2 In the first of these wars he subdued the Alpine tribes, in the second the Breuci and Dalmatians, and in the third he brought forty thousand prisoners of war over into Gaul and assigned them homes near the bank of the Rhine.  <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"> ** Research Questions: ** <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"> <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">Where is Achaia? <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">Who were the Lacedaemonians? <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">Who were the Claudii? <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">Who was Augustus and what relationship did he have with Tiberius? <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">What was "the game of Troy" and what was its significance? <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">What was a Roman circus? <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">What did Roman marriage and divorce entail? <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">Where is Thessaly? <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">Who were members of the senate and what powers did they have? <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"> <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">

Interpretation and Analysis:
<span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"> <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">This historical account by Suetonius gives us an excellent insight into the early life of Tiberius. Later in life, as we know, Tiberius becomes the second Roman Emperor (princeps) from 14 AD to 37 AD. What most people do not know about Tiberius, or other Roman Emperors for that matter, is what they did throughout their early lives. It is quite interesting to see how a future Roman Emperor like Tiberius was brought up and what sort of life they had. Through Suetonias' historical account, we can get an understanding of what Tiberius went through as a child and a young man to the grown man and leader that he would later become. <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"> <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">Another benefit of Suetonias' account on Tiberius is being able to see how events transpired in the Roman Empire from the perspective of Tiberius and those who surrounded him and brought him up. We can trace his movements through the Roman Emperor as a child being passed around between caregivers. By looking at all the different places he had been taken or moved to, we can learn about the social geography of the Roman Empire. We also get to learn about some aspects of Roman life, such as funerals, ceremonies such as the Liberalia, and the Game of Troy held in the Circus. We also see mention of a gladiatorial show held at a Roman amphitheater. These are some of the most interesting aspects of the account by Suetonias because it gives us a sense of the social events and ceremonies that took place at this time in Roman society. <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"> <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">Once Suetonias moves on to tell us more about Tiberius' adult life, we get to learn a little about how Roman marriage and divorce worked. The link for divorce lets us learn more about the details of Roman marriage and divorce. The most interesting and revealing point about Tiberius' various marriages is how those marriages were somewhat strategic and how Roman elites tended to intermarry between the families. We also see how the loss of children from death was quite a prevalent occurrence even for a social elite like Tiberius. <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"> <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">Suetonius then moves on to highlight Tiberius' civil career, before he would become Roman Emperor. With this information, we can get a glimpse of what kind of man Tiberius was becoming by what kinds of cases he took on as a lawyer of sorts. We see that throughout this historical account, Tiberius is always in close proximity to Augustus. This leads us to believe that perhaps Augustus did some coaching or mentoring of Tiberius and it seems that Tiberius may have been being groomed for the eventual position of Roman Emperor. This section also lets us see what kinds of issues and cases were at stake during Tiberius' civil service. We can learn about certain regions of the Roman Empire that were the subject of attention by Roman authority and support, such as the citizens who were effected by an earthquake and required help from Roman government. This is the sort of information that we usually do not see in Roman historical accounts, which is what makes this account by Suetonius so interesting. <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"> <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">The final section of Suetonius' account tells us of Tiberius' military service. By seeing what sort of military expeditions Tiberius was involved in, we can learn about what sort of military endeavors and ambitions that the Roman Empire was involved in at that time. We also learn about Tiberius' service as the governor of Gaul and what sorts of issues Tiberius had to deal with as he governed that area. The final bit of information that we receive from this section is how Tiberius led an army into Germany and how he captured and transported forty thousand prisoners of war into his governance of Gaul and where those prisoners or slaves were kept. <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium;">Overall this account of Tiberius by Suetonius seems to be a very accurate and information filled historical record of the life of one Rome's more well kn <span style="font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif;">own generals and emperors. Much information and insight into Roman life and society can be garnered from this account. <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">

Related Documents:
These two documents are comparable and similar due to the fact that they are both written by Suetonius. Also because of their general proximity in time period as well as the fact that they are both accounts of the early lives of two Roman Emperors. After reading through both documents, one can further understand what Suetonius' biases may have been, as well as why he chose to document the information that he did.
 * Early Life of Claudius**

This document is relatable due to the fact that it covers information that is directly tied to Tiberius. "Mutiny on the Rhine" is almost a continuation of where "The Early Life of Tiberius" left off. You get to learn about Tiberius' first challenge of being Roman Princeps after the death of Augustus.
 * __Mutiny on the Rhine__ **

The reason for these two documents being considered related is due to the fact that Suetonias was the author of both. The two documents are also accounts of the early lives of two Roman Emperors so in that respect these two documents are certainly related. By viewing this account of the early life of Vespasian, we can see how differences in upbringings and early careers led to differences in character of these Roman Emperors.
 * __ Early Life of Vespasian __**


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