Annals I.7

Meanwhile at Rome people plunged into slavery - consuls, senators, knights. The higher a man's rank, the more eager his hypocrisy, and his looks the more carefully studied, so as neither to betray joy at the decease of one emperor nor sorrow at the rise of another, while he mingled delight and lamentations with his flattery. Sextus Pompeius and Sextus Apuleius, the consuls, were the first to swear allegiance to Tiberius Caesar, and in their presence the oath was taken by Seius Strabo and Caius Turranius, respectively the commander of the praetorian cohorts and the superintendent of the corn supplies. Then the Senate, the soldiers and the people did the same. For Tiberius would inaugurate everything with the consuls, as though the ancient constitution remained, and he hesitated about being emperor. Even the proclamation by which he summoned the senators to their chamber, he issued merely with the title of Tribune, which he had received under Augustus. The wording of the proclamation was brief, and in a very modest tone. "He would," it said, "provide for the honours due to his father, and not leave the lifeless body, and this was the only public duty he now claimed." As soon, however, as Augustus was dead, he had given the watchword to the praetorian cohorts, as commander-in-chief. He had the guard under arms, with all the other adjuncts of a court; soldiers attended him to the forum; soldiers went with him to the Senate House. He sent letters to the different armies, as though supreme power was now his, and showed hesitation only when he spoke in the Senate. His chief motive was fear that Germanicus, who had at his disposal so many legions, such vast auxiliary forces of the allies, and such wonderful popularity, might prefer the possession to the expectation of empire. He looked also at public opinion, wishing to have the credit of having been called and elected by the State rather than of having crept into power through the intrigues of a wife and a dotard's adoption. It was subsequently understood that he assumed a wavering attitude, to test likewise the temper of the nobles. For he would twist a word or a look into a crime and treasure it up in his memory.

Everyone declares allegiance to Tiberius. Notice the order that they declare allegiance. Consuls are first, followed by the Praetorian prefect (head of the imperial guard/secret police), then the superintendent of grain, then the senate, the soldiers and the people. Note how far down the list the senate is and how high up the list the Praetorian prefect is. No matter who the Emperor is, the Praetorian prefect is important. The prefect at this time is Strabo, who is the father of Sejanus, a man we will become very familiar with.

So the Romans used consuls to name the years. With a mention of the consuls, we know the exact year of Augustus’ death and Tiberius’ rise- AD 14. This is nice of Tacitus as few ancient historians do this.

Tiberius starts out claiming modesty and respect for the ancient constitution. Ancient? It wasn’t that long ago that the Republic was alive and well. I’m sure the whole constitution wasn’t abandoned that quickly. Tacitus may be over-stating the power of the Emperor just a tad. There was still law, trials and processes. Just last passage, Tacitus mentioned that Augustus used Senate approval to banish Postumus. Though Tacitus likes to claim that the Emperors had total power, there were some checks. There was the prefect, the senate, rival families and the generals. Tiberius had been secretive about Postumus and there must have been some reason for that.

In fact, the generals, namely Germanicus, do bring some modesty to Tiberius. Tacitus claims that Tiberius fears Germanicus, his adopted son. Germanicus is the last competitor of Tiberius and the heir to the throne. He is given command of legions and sent off to do battle.

Generals are an interesting subject. Modern historians, namely Edward Gibbon, talk about Pax Romana, a period of supposed relative peace starting with Augustus and lasting two-hundred years. Gibbon claims that the peace was maintained because Emperors recalled their generals after victories and prevented them from gaining too much power. This was a serious problem during the late Republic and led to war under the first and second triumvirates (Julius Caesar and Pompey fought for power and then Augustus and Mark Antony fought for power).

Augustus’ main general, Agrippa, was incredibly popular and powerful after his victories. Augustus first checked him by recalling him and giving a governorship. After this, he gave his daughter to him and made him next in line to the throne. It worked and Agrippa was not a problem. The same thing basically happened to Tiberius. After several victories, he was recalled and given a consulship followed by control over the eastern provinces. Like Agrippa, he was made next in line to the throne.

Though Tacitus would like us to believe that Livia’s manipulation caused Augustus’ adoption of Tiberius, it is pretty clear that Augustus was trying to maintain power. Augustus checked his generals, and, as a result, was able to stay in power until his death. And you know who didn’t have any military power? Postumus. This is the real reason why he wasn’t an option for the throne.

So, should Tiberius fear Germanicus? You betcha! Germanicus is well connected and will clearly gain power by being out on the battlefield. Tiberius has a couple things going for him, though. Germanicus is fairly young at this point (around 29) and has already been promised the throne. After all, Tiberius is around 57 (pretty old in Roman times). Germanicus may believe it is only a matter of time before Tiberius dies and may not bother overthrowing him. Additionally, Germanicus is in a dangerous environment and might die of something like disease or a battle wound.