TIBERIUS (Tiberius Claudius Nero)

• Tiberius was born in Rome on November 16, 42 BC the elder son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla.
• In 38 BC his mother divorced his father and married the triumvir Octavian, later Emperor Augustus.
• In 20 BC, Tiberius commanded an expedition to Armenia, and fought against the Rhaetians and the Pannonians (12-9 BC).
• In 11 BC Tiberius, on the orders of Augustus, divorced Vipsania Agrippina, daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, and married Augustus's daughter Julia, Agrippa's widow.
• In 6 BC he became a virtual exile on the island of Rhodes, where he devoted himself to study.
• When he returned to Rome in 2 AD, he found that Julia had been banished for adultery, and with the deaths of Augustus's grandsons, Lucius and Gaius, Augustus was obliged to make Tiberius his successor. He was formally adopted by Augustus in AD 4.
• When Augustus died at Nola, near Naples, in 14 AD, Tiberius succeeded to the throne.
• Tiberius was a reasonably a good emperor if unpopular one. Jesus Christ was crucified during his reign.
• In 26 AD Tiberius left Rome, which he disliked, going to live on the island of Capreae (modern Capri), leaving Rome ruled by Lucius Aelius Sejanus, the prefect of the Praetorian Guard. Realizing that Sejanus was trying to seize power, Tiberius had him and his supporters executed in 31 AD.
• He died on March 16, 37 AD, at Misenum, near Naples. It was rumoured he was smothered by the prefect of the Praetorian Guard.