Dreams of Augustus: The Story of the Roman Empire Page 3

  * Side note: Augustus did indeed name the eighth month of the year after himself. Augustus was born in September; however he chose the eighth month in honor of Cleopatra, his fallen foe, who was born in that month.

  5

  A New Emperor

  Tiberius was not a very likeable person. He was very serious, oftentimes very angry and talked in such a convoluted way that nobody could understand what he was ever talking about. Nevertheless, he was a capable man and would provide the average citizen of the Roman Empire with 23 years of good rule.

  For the rich and powerful in Rome itself, however, it was not a good time. At first, Tiberius acted very much like Augustus. Like Augustus, Tiberius played the role of the reluctant public servant who sought only to serve the Roman state. The Senate dutifully granted Tiberius the same powers that Augustus had possessed, although Tiberius refused the title of Augustus. As one of his first acts, Tiberius had the Senate declare Augustus to be a god.

  With the Senate pacified, Tiberius needed to look to his support among the military. The first test to his rule came along the Rhine River where soldiers under the command of Germanicus revolted and even suggested that Germanicus march on Rome and become emperor himself. Tensions were high as a civil war seemed possible.

  Germanicus, however, stayed loyal to Tiberius. To quell the troops' anger, Germanicus launched an invasion of Germania. By invading Germania, Germanicus killed two birds with one stone: he satisfied the army with plunder and avenged the defeat of Varus that continued to be a source of embarrassment for the Romans.

  The campaign itself was brutal. Germanicus, like most Roman commanders, did not hesitate to massacre civilian populations. The Romans had no qualms about committing acts of genocide over barbarians. Arminius once again rallied many German tribes in resistance to Rome; however, he was unable to successfully lay an ambush on the talented Germanicus like he had on the incompetent Varus. He was ultimately killed by tribesmen who feared that he was becoming too powerful for the fiercely independent Germanic tribes.

  After leading his troops to the Teutorburg Wald and properly honoring the dead legionaries, Germanicus continued ravaging Germania. Some Romans even revived the idea of a province in Germania. Before the idea became too strong, Tiberius stepped in and definitively shot the idea down. Tiberius understood that Germania was too poor to justify the expense of occupying it; he also understood that a border on the Rhine River would be far easier to supply and defend than a border on the Elbe. The fact that Germanicus had killed a lot of Germans and recovered two of the three eagles from Varus' legions was good enough for Tiberius. Germanicus was called back to Rome.

  Naturally, people interpreted Germanicus' recall as a sign of Tiberius' jealousy of the young man's success.

  Germanicus entered Rome in the year 17 and had a full-blown triumph thrown in his honor. The triumph was a long-standing Roman tradition where victorious generals would parade their army and captives through the city. It was a full-blown celebration that was a once in a lifetime thing for Roman citizens to witness. At this point, the heir-apparent was at the height of his power.

  Tiberius sent Germanicus east to take command of Roman forces in Turkey. After incorporating more of Turkey into the Empire, Germanicus came into conflict with the governor of Syria: Gnaeus Piso. Piso was extremely protective of his position and feared the ambitious Germanicus. While the two were bickering, Germanicus, the darling of Rome, suddenly died at the age of 34.

  The conspiracy theorists in Rome had a field day. The obvious suspect was Piso, whom even Germanicus had claimed was secretly poisoning him. Bolder conspiracy theories placed the blame on Tiberius himself, who they claimed was paranoid. When Piso died because of 'suicide' before his trial, Tiberius became suspect number one.

  The accusation that Tiberius had murdered the most beloved man in Rome caused his reputation- already hurt by his extremely unlikeable personality- to take a nose dive.

  Tiberius thoroughly hated his job. In some respects he was a republican's dream, for he wanted nothing else but for the Senate to handle the business of state itself. Unfortunately, Rome needed an emperor, and deferring authority a body like the Senate was simply not a workable arrangement. Tiberius became so disgruntled with the Senate that he said its members were “fit to be slaves.”

  In addition, his mother's consistent meddling in his affairs irritated him. Livia constantly reminded him that she had pulled the strings that put him in the position that he was in. Her presence became so unbearable to him that he retreated from Rome to an island estate (this is probably what he had always wanted to do).

  Initially, Tiberius shared power with his son. When his son died mysteriously in 23, Tiberius became the first emperor to turn to the institution that would become so dangerously powerful that it would plunge the Empire into chaos on a number of occasions: the Praetorian Guard.

  The Praetorian Guard was established by Augustus to protect Italy from invasion. Their leader was known as the Praetorian Prefect. Because Italy wasn't under threat of invasion, the Praetorian Guard more or less consisted of bored soldiers with a lot of free time on their hands. During the rule of Tiberius, they began participating in politics.

  In 15, Lucius Sejanus became the Praetorian Prefect. As the head of the Praetorian Guard, he gradually began expanding his influence among the important people in Rome. When Tiberius' son died in 23, Sejanus was the most powerful man in the city. With Tiberius relaxing on his island paradise, only Livia remained to check Sejanus' power.

  Sejanus began sleeping with Tiberius' niece Livilla. It seemed that the combination of his political power and her relation to the imperial family would open the path for Sejanus to become emperor. Only Livia stood in the way.

  Then, in 29, Livia died. It was undoubtedly a happy day for her son, who claimed to be too busy to attend her funeral. Her death removed the only significant check against Sejenus, who proceeded to initiate a reign of terror against all those who stood against him politically. Because the Praetorian Guard controlled all communications in and out of Rome, Sejanus hoped to keep Tiberius in the dark.

  Unfortunately for Sejanus, the information leaked out. In 31, Sejanus was summoned to the Senate. To his horror, a letter was read from Tiberius that ordered his immediate execution. When this was done, an angry Tiberius returned and initiated his own wave of terror that took the form of 'treason trials'. The Romans were traumatized by his conduct during these years so much that, after his death, there was talk of throwing his body into the Tiber River just like any other criminal.

  While the last years of Tiberius' reign were marked by political repression, when he died in 37, he left the empire in an even stronger position than it had been when he inherited it. The borders were stabilized, the empire was at peace, and the treasury was full. Nevertheless, Tiberius has been most remembered for his dark side: his unlikeable personality, his incapacity to provide decisive leadership, and the terror of his later years.

  Worst of all, the successor he left the Roman Empire with would go down as one of the most troubled emperors of all.

  6

  Caligula

  Germanicus was a very capable man, and this extended to his breeding abilities. Six of his children survived, one of which was a little boy named Gaius. As a little boy of three years, Gaius accompanied his father on his campaigns in Germania. The soldiers were so struck by how cute the little toddler looked walking around amongst the soldiers in his army boots that they gave him a nickname, Caligula, which meant 'little boot'.

  The typical footwear of a Roman soldier

  If Caligula was perceived as being adorable back then, in adulthood he would be seen as nothing short of a monster. The gossip-mongers had a field day with him. This has clouded our view of the real Caligula, although it makes for some fun quasi-history. As a child, he lived with both his great-grandmother Livia and with Tiberius on his island paradise. It is said that during this time he had incestuous relations with his sisters and even pimped them out to other guys.

  What we do know is that Caligula was the only one of Germanicus' sons to survive the repression in Tiberius' later years, and as Tiberius approached death, Caligula was the only logical successor. Tiberius had his doubts about Caligula, and even went so far as to publicize some Astrology that suggested that Caligula was not fit to lead Rome. Nevertheless, the 23 year old Caligula succeeded Tiberius after a death that, rumor has it, was the doing of the new Praetorian Prefect Naevius Macro or even Caligula himself.

  With the death of Tiberius and the ascension of Caligula, Rome rejoiced. If there was ever a greater contrast to the hated Tiberius, it was Caligula. Unlike the serious Tiberius, Caligula was a frat boy. His love of pleasure was notorious in Rome. Elaborate games were thrown during his first months to represent not just a clean break from the past, but also to cement Caligula's standing amongst the people. The Senate had enjoyed a significant amount of power and influence during Tiberius' extended retirement, and by this point the people saw this archaic body as nothing but a source of corruption. Caligula was happy to stoke these beliefs.

  Caligula was very much a believer in the traditional eastern belief that kings were superior humans who, while looking out for their subjects, lived extravagantly. In contrast to the humble adobe of Augustus, Caligula constructed a massive palace for himself. Massive public works projects were undertaken. Some, like two aqueducts built in Rome, were for the good of the people. Others, like two massive ships that acted as a sort of palace on water, were clearly for enhancing his ego.

  Needless to say, the surplus Tiberius had left Caligula vanished very quickly. Caligula was forced to resort to unprecedented means of acquiring money. Some of these, like borrowing money from the people, were not all that problematic
. Others, like killing and taking land from wealthy Romans, were.

  Caligula created more problems for himself when he began meddling with Roman religious traditions. We have seen that it was customary to declare prominent Romans to be gods after their deaths. Augustus had been deified by Tiberius, and Tiberius had been deified by Caligula. It was completely unacceptable to be declared a god while still alive. Caligula paid no consideration to this standard and began considering himself a living god. He went so far as to replace the heads on Roman statues of divine figures with his own head.

  Caligula absolutely crossed the line when he asked the Jews in Jerusalem to put a statue of him in the Temple of Jerusalem. Before the coming of the Romans, the Jewish people had their own, independent state in much of modern-day Israel. This state had transformed from a vassal state to a part of the province of Syria during the reign of Augustus. The Jews were unique in their worship of one god, and this was only barely tolerated by the Romans who, of course, worshiped many gods. This tension would eventually boil over, but, for now, a crisis was averted when Caligula was convinced to withdraw his request.

  Caligula supposedly also took pleasure in witnessing torture. The Romans were not squeamish about torture in the same way that we are today. Slaves were physically punished by their masters. The preferred method of execution was crucifixion, a nasty process in which a person was nailed to a giant wooden cross and left to die a slow, agonizing death. The famous gladiatorial games were indeed very popular, and these games featured brutal combat where humans and animals fought amongst themselves to the death.

  Nevertheless, the fact that Caligula took such joy in witnessing torture was too uncivilized for the Romans. After initially condemning Tiberius' treason trials, Caligula initiated a reign of terror of his own. The Praetorian Prefect Marco was among the first to be tried and killed on trumped-up charges of treason. Soon senators and other prominent politicians were killed one by one. To show his utmost contempt for old Roman traditions, Caligula gave his horse the esteemed title of consul.

  It didn't take long for conspiracies to emerge. When the Praetorian Guard decided to kill him, Caligula's fate was sealed. In January, 41, Caligula was approached in the palace by a group of Praetorians led by a new Praetorian Prefect who Caligula had mocked for being weak and effeminate. Caligula was powerless to resist and he was stabbed multiple times.

  The assassination of Caligula caused great terror in the palace. As a soldier scoured the palace for more victims, he noticed feet sticking out from underneath a curtain. Upon pulling back the curtain, he discovered the terrified uncle of Caligula, a painfully awkward man with a terrible stutter named Claudius. Since he was a part of the imperial family, the soldiers decided that he was their man and, with this unusual beginning, the reign of Claudius began.

  7

  Into Britain

  If Augustus had been told that Claudius would eventually become emperor, he would have passed out from laughter. Claudius was, to put it mildly, the odd one in the family. His disability made social engagements painful for all those involved; rather than participating in politics, he much preferred spending time in the archives writing and doing research. The only person who seemed to treat him well was, surprisingly, Livia. In fact, one of Claudius' first acts in office was to deify his grandmother.

  In the confusion that followed the assassination of Caligula, some ambitious senators decided to make a bid to restore the republic of old and have no more emperors. The Praetorian Guard and the people of Rome would have none of this, and Claudius swiftly took over the powers of emperor. To reward his benefactors, a generous 'bonus' was granted to the Praetorians, thus setting a very dangerous precedent for future emperors.

  Unlike Augustus and Tiberius, Claudius had no military credentials whatsoever. For all his faults, Claudius was a very intelligent man and he reasoned, correctly, that his position was heavily reliant on the support of the troops. To bolster his support, he needed a military triumph.

  A first century Roman soldier.

  As we discussed earlier, the Roman Empire had run out of profitable conquests. Previous attempts had proven that conquering Germania and Parthia were extremely difficult. Conquering the deserts of Africa or Arabia would hardly come across as a great triumph. Only one place could give Claudius what he needed, and that was Britain.

  The Romans had attacked Britain once before. In response to support given to the various tribes in France from Britain, Julius Caesar had launched two invasions of the island. The exact intention of these invasions is unknown, but if the intention was conquest, Caesar was wholly unsuccessful. Britain remained the one area in Western Europe that was not under Roman control.

  In many respects, Britain was similar to Germania. Even today Britain is ethnically divided; back then, it was as tribal as it got. Much has been made of the Britons' religious practices before the Romans showed up. Like practically every ancient peoples, the Britons worshiped multiple gods; their religion most famously featured priests known as druids. Perhaps the most repulsive thing to the Romans was the druids' practice of human sacrifice. The Romans used this to emphasize the 'barbaric' nature of the native Britons.

  Britain itself was only loosely connected to Europe. The island was vaguely known to the Greeks and Carthaginians as early as the 4th century BCE. There is even some evidence that trade routes were established in order to acquire some of its abundant supplies of tin. Given its close proximity, Britain and France shared relatively close ties, and when Caesar launched his savage invasion of France, Britain was flooded with refugees.

  That said, in general, the island was a strange, mysterious place.

  Caligula had assembled an army to invade, however the operation collapsed before the troops even got into their boats. Caligula had them collect sea shells and bring them back to Rome as spoils of war. When Claudius' expeditionary force of 4 legions (approximately 20,000 men) assembled on the beaches of the English Channel in 43, the troops must have felt a mix of excitement and dread of what was to come.

  One of the commanders of the expedition was a man of modest birth by the name of Vespasian. He had risen through the ranks due to personal merit. Within 30 years, he would find himself leading the empire that he served.

  The invasion of Britain is an excellent case study in the effectiveness of the Roman war machine.

  After crossing the Channel, the Romans were able to establish a beachhead without much resistance. If there was a coordinated plan to resist the Romans, it clearly involved luring the legions into the unfamiliar country where they would be at their most vulnerable. Unfortunately for the Britons, the Romans had learned from their previous errors in Germania. The Romans were patient, and they were careful not to let their eagerness lure them into traps.

  After almost getting shipwrecked off the coast of Spain, Claudius arrived in 44. He even brought some elephants with him, ostensibly to awe the tribal leaders into submission. They weren't needed; the invasion force had successfully defeated most of the resistance in the south. Claudius received the formal surrender of a few kings, collected some captives and headed back after a mere two weeks in Britain. When he returned to Rome, he had been gone for a total of six months.

  Nevertheless, Claudius had what he needed: a military victory. His rule was secure, and he proceeded to govern relatively effectively until 54.

  In the meantime, the conquest of Britain continued. The Romans did not have the force to fully occupy the island yet, at least not with so many tribes to overcome. Alas, the Romans didn't have to defeat these tribes; they only needed their loyalty. Military muscle was employed when necessary, but diplomacy was more often than not a much more effective way of getting tribes on board with the program.