Making Roman Monarchy: Tiberius, Second King of Rome

Abstract

This dissertation examines the reign of the Roman emperor Tiberius to characterize it as one of uncertainty along multiples axes. This period in Roman history presented opportunity and necessity for society to adapt to the reality of a princeps at its head, in a newly enduring position previously held only by Augustus on his own authority. I first establish the lack of a fully coherent ideology alongside limited choices for ritualized response at the accession of Tiberius through an examination of the oath sworn after Augustus’ death. Next, through the medium of provincial coinage bearing Latin legends I show the variation in early expressions of Tiberius’ role, suggestive of a developing ideology consistent in its broad strokes but not yet standardized. Both the oath and coinage have connections to the Republican past. I then address this same process of acculturation to the role of the princeps through a reading of Tacitus’ Annals, bolstered by epigraphic, numismatic, and other literary evidence. In so doing I develop a model to explain the prominence of moderatio in ancient sources relating to this period and show how its practice, while seeming apt for moments of uncertainty, in fact restricted the options available to all elite actors at Rome, Tiberius included. I attribute the historical legacy of Tiberius to this process. I then consider contemporary literature under Tiberius, finding most of all a desire to connect the Principate with an idealized Republican past, as well as a retreat from specificity in literature that matches the actions of the senate. I conclude by briefly examining the reign of the emperor Domitian as a point of contrast to illustrate the specificity of Rome’s response to the first inheritance of the powers of the princeps.