Tiberius (Roman Emperor)

Tiberius was Roman emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Being the successor of Augustus, he was the second emperor of the Roman Empire after the demise of the Republic. As a matter of fact, Tiberius was the stepson of Augustus, who adopted him in 4 AD, designating him in his will as his successor. His full birth name was Tiberius Cladius Nero. Before becoming emperor, he was a great General. He had conquered the far-flung eastern territories of Dalmatia, Pannonia, and Raetia in successful military campaigns. Tiberius had held tribunician power and proconsular imperium before he succeeded Augustus. Historical sources assert, he became an aloof and suspicious emperor in his last years of life as he ruled like a tyrant.

Tiberius was born in 42 BC to Livia Drusilla and Tiberius Cladius Nero. Thus, he had been named exactly after his father. Little is known of his early life, except that, in 39 BC, his mother divorced his father to later marry Octavian (Augustus). When he took the throne in 14 AD, Tiberius had already seen fifty-five birthdays and could be described as past his prime by contemporary Roman standards. Military circumstances had compelled him to spend his youth along the frontiers governing provinces, commanding armies, and frequently rushing to vulnerable points of the Empire. He embodied the traditional Roman sense of duty but also exhibited brusqueness of speech as well as the arrogant, stiff pride of many old patrician families.

Government

During the first years of his reign, Tiberius ruled in harmony with the Senate, but he later implemented an autocratic policy, supported by the praetorian guard, whose camp was located in Rome. Much influence was exerted at court by the praetorian prefects Sejanus in the 20’s and Macro in the 30’s AD. In an attempt to regulate the tax system in the provinces, Tiberius prosecuted provincial corrupt governors that abusively taxed farmers. He curtailed expenditures for public construction and entertainment, as well as the distribution of money and bread to the plebs. In 33 he loaned 100 million sesterces to Italian landowners on favorable terms.

Tiberius spent the final years of his reign on the small lush island of Capreae (modern Capri) and never actually entered Rome again. He died in Misenum in 37 AD. He was succeeded by Caligula.

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Roman Army Auxiliaries

The Roman Army auxiliaries were lightly-armed soldiers, whom the Romans called velites. Although they were not part of the professional Roman legions, the velites were always attached to a legion cohort to provide it with fighting support as skirmishers to harass, weaken, and hinder the advance of the enemy heavy infantry. Using javelins, bows and arrows, catapults, and slings, the velites' only objective was to do as much damage as possible to the adversary formation before the enemy engaged the Roman legions. Aside from the javelins, they were also armed with a short sword and a dagger. During the Republic, the velites were recruited from Rome's poorest class, also from other neighboring cities in the Italic peninsula.

During the last two centuries of the Republic, the Roman Senate raised forces of specialized troops from Rome and from nearby allied and subject peoples before initiating a military campaign. These forces known as auxiliaries, or velites, fought alongside the legions during active warfare and then they returned home when the military campaign was finished. Augustus, the first Roman emperor, built on this tradition, for he realized the legions remained too few in numbers to carry out their missions alone. Thus, he undertook the task of reorganizing the auxiliaries as an integral and permanent part of the Army as a second branch, with the legion being the first branch of the Army. Therefore, with the new organization under Augustus, Rome began to recruit these forces chiefly from the non-citizen population of far-flung imperial provinces. Auxiliaries came under the command of Roman officers of equestrian rank, but sometimes they obeyed to their own local tribal leaders who worked for Rome.

Under Augustus, auxiliary forces were organized under autonomous cohorts as they were no longer attached to the legion's cohorts. Most of these units consisted of about five hundred men. Auxiliary forces shared bases with and fought alongside the legions not only to provide support, particularly as archers, javelin throwers, and slingers but also to absorb the brunt of the enemy attack. Later, during the reign of emperor Vespasian (69 to 79 AD), the auxiliaries found themselves completely detached from the legions and stationed in different military camps. A standard length of service never materialized under Augustus' reign. Length of service eventually became set at twenty five years. By the early 2nd century AD, during the reign of Hadrian, all foreign auxiliaries were granted Roman citizenship after fifteen years of service.

Roman Army auxiliaries harassing the enemy before the legions engaged them.

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Battle of Actium

The Battle of Actium was a naval, military engagement of ancient times. It was fought between Mark Antony's fleet and Octavian's Armada, under Marcus Agrippa, in 31 BC, in the Ionian Sea, off the western coast of Greece. It was part of the Roman civil war that broke out when the Second Triumvirate, composed of Octavian, Mark Antony, and Lepidus, broke up. Then Octavian declared war on Cleopatra, the Egyptian Pharaoh, with whom Mark Antony was in love. When the Second Triumvirate got dissolved, Octavian sought support from the Senate in order to conquer Egypt and deal with Mark Antony. The result of the Battle of Actium was a clear victory for Octavian, who was the grand-nephew of Julius Caesar. This great triumph paved the way for Octavian to become the first emperor of Rome, whose throne he took under the name of Augustus.

Mark Antony's relationship with Cleopatra had started in 41 BC, during his stay in Alexandria. Cleopatra was an ambitious woman and hoped that her son by Julius Caesar would one day rule Rome. To have her way paved and gain ascendancy over the Romans, Cleopatra convinced Antony to marry her and to set up his base of operations in Alexandria, Egypt. Antony's actions and his political alienation and detachment from Rome and the Roman people had put a great strain on the Second Triumvirate, which was finally terminated in 33 BC. The following year, rumors that Antony planned to make Cleopatra the queen of Rome, public opinion turned against him. Thus, the Senate sided with Octavian and made him consul, declaring the war on Egypt. As both sides prepared for conflict, Antony and Cleopatra organized a large fleet of more than 500 ships.

Battle of Actium (summary)

Antony and Cleopatra sailed across the Mediterranean and into the Ionian Sea, leaving half of his army in Alexandria. Antony positioned his main force in the harbor of Actium, which is a promontory at the southern entrance to the Ambracian Gulf. Meanwhile, Octavian and his Admiral Agrippa sailed separately for Greece. In 31 BC, when his fleet approached the Greek coasts, Agrippa made fast surprise attacks at critical points, cutting Antony's vital supply lines to Egypt. At the same time, Octavian took an important tactical position north of the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf and opposite Antony's base at Actium.

Agrippa and Octavian blockaded Antony's fleet in the shallow waters of the gulf. With the stranglehold tightening, hunger, disease, and desertion wasted Antony's army. Desperately, Antony smashed through the blockade into the open sea, breaking through Octavian's superior naval forces. However, Antony lost most of his ships and men in the process. Realizing they had lost the battle, Antony and Cleopatra fled to Egypt. Meanwhile, Antony's abandoned forces on the Greek coast surrendered to Octavian. With an army sapped and weakened by the loss at Actium, Antony took his own life, while Cleopatra would also commit suicide a few days later.

Antony's warships trying to break through Octavian's blockade.

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Battle of the Teutoburg Forest

The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest was a vicious military engagement between the Roman legions, led by Publius Quinctilius Varus, and allied Germanic tribes, under chief Arminius. It was fought in 9 AD in the Teutoburg Forest located in the territories lying east of the Rhine River, during the government of Emperor Augustus. The result of the battle was a great victory for the Germanic tribes, who had ambushed the legions led by Varus. It was one of the biggest disasters in Roman military history. When the news of the defeat reached Rome, Augustus cried: ''Varus, Varus, give me back my legions!''. Later attempts to reestablish Roman military control east of the Rhine proved unsuccessful, as the river would become the northeast boundary of the Roman Empire in mainland Europe.

The conquest of the Germanic territory that extended from the Rhine to the Elbe River was part of Rome's geopolitical agenda which arose as a need to secure its borders on the region inhabited by warlike Germanic tribes. Emperor Augustus had always contemplated the idea of forestalling any attack from their fierce armies by crossing the Rhine and pushing the border eastwards to the Elbe River. Therefore, he had envisioned conquering and annexing a western portion of what is today Germany. His plan would shorten the line of defense in  the northeastern territory by at least 300 miles. Augustus had ordered the advance from  the Rhine to the Elbe under the command of his young stepson Drusus, who had begun, in 12 BC, to carry out this military campaign with notable success. However, Drusus died from injuries he had suffered when he fell off his horse during a skirmish against the Cherusci tribe. He was replaced by Tiberius, Augustus' adopted son, who made several deep thrusts aimed at completing the conquest of this region. However, he abandoned his efforts when he was ordered to quell a revolt that had broken out in Pannonia and Dalmatia in 6 AD.

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest

Quinctilius Varus was appointed Tiberius' successor. He was entrusted by Augustus to begin the process of Romanization of the whole region. This implied initiating a new military campaign to totally control these territories but also organizing an administrative government and impose taxes on the Germanic inhabitants. The Germans strongly resented the Roman occupation of their world. As a result, Arminius, the chief of the Cherusci tribe, organized the resistance and made an alliance with the Chatti. Arminius knew very well how the Roman legions maneuvered in combat because he had served in the Roman Army but had defected and returned to Germania. He knew that a Roman legion needed open spaces to deploy their military formation and maneuver. Thus, he decided to spring an ambush on the Romans in a confined space. In 9 AD, when the Ligion XVII, XVIII, and XIX made their way into the Teutoburg Forest along a narrow path, the Germanic forces suddenly attacked the Roman Army, under Varus, from the flanks.

Although the Romans usually proved formidable in open fields, they became easy prey in the confines of this forested setting. As the Germanic warriors destroyed the three Roman legions, the despairing Quinctilius Varus committed suicide. The defeat changed the course of ancient history. The aging Augustus became dazed and broken by ghastly news. The Emperor possessed no central reserve of troops for filling the appalling gap caused by the loss of three legions. Thus, he abandoned the scheme of conquering the whole of Germania, ordering the withdrawal to the Rhine, setting this river as the frontier.

Map of the Roman Empire under Augustus. The Teutoburg Forest is in green.

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Augustus (Octavian)

Augustus (Octavian) was the first Roman Emperor, ruling Rome and its vast territories from 27 BC to 14 AD. He created the Praetorian Guard to protect himself from any assassination attempt, thus preventing the fate of Julius Caesar. His birth name was Gaius Octavius (known as Octavian) as he belonged to the Gens Octavia (a Gens was a patrilineal clan or family). Thus, his forebears were of plebeian origins. Having defeated his political enemy, Mark Antony, in 31 BC at the Battle of Actium, he was named emperor and was bestowed the honorary title of 'Augustus' by the Senate. He was heir, grandnephew, and adopted son of Julius Caesar. He was also given the religious title of 'Pontiff', which means 'chief priest'. He was married to Livia Drusilla, a smart woman who exerted great influence on Augustus, especially on political matters.

Gaius Octavius was born in Rome in 63 BC. In 59 BC, when he was four years old, his father, a military, died. As a result, he would be raised by his grandmother Julia, who was Julius Caesar's sister. After Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC, Octavian expected to become his successor with the support of Caesar’s soldiers and veterans, although he as yet had held no magistracies. Receiving no support from the consul Mark Antony, Octavian sided with the Senate against him during the Mutina War in 43 B. Afterward, when the Senate refused to grant him a consulate, he broke with the Senate and concluded an alliance (the Second Triumvirate) with Antony and another Caesarist, Lepidus, to revenge the assassination of his greatgrand uncle. In 42 BC, the triumvirs defeated the armies of Brutus and Cassius, the murderers of Caesar, at Battle of Philippi in Macedonia.

Since Mark Antony was an ambitious consul who planned to rule Rome alone, the alliance of the Second Triumvirate collapsed and another civil war broke out. After defeating Antony’s allies in 40 B.C. during the Perusine War and winning a victory over Sextus Pompey in 36 B.C., Octavian deposed Lepidus and initiated a war against Antony. His victory at Actium in 31 B.C., over Antony and the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII brought the civil war period to an end. By this time, all the government power was concentrated in Octavian’s hands. At the Senate’s meeting of Jan. 13, 27 B.C., he declared his intention to retire from public office, but “giving in” to the requests of the senators, he accepted a number of powers that virtually secured supreme power after him. After this, the Senate bestowed the title Augustus (which means glorified by the gods) on Octavian.

Augustus’ authority was formally based on traditional republican public and legal norms: he was a princeps of the Senate, held the imperium (that is, military power) of the higher magistrates, had the powers of a people’s tribune for life, was elected consul many times, and was high priest (from 12 BC). Although the republican institutions were retained, this already was a special form of monarchy known as the principate. An extremely careful politician and an excellent diplomat, Augustus understood that the Romans were exhausted by the civil wars. For this reason, all legislative enactments were passed with the purpose restoring the old paternal order and peace (Pax Romana). Therefore, he was very respectful of all the Roman political institutions.

Augustus was intelligent and had common sense. He knew how to maneuver between different social and political groups. While retaining the Senate’s prestige, he at the same time decreased its political role. Higher officials became recruited from the equites, whose numbers increased because of the Italian municipal nobility and soldiers who were promoted to commanders. To counteract the magistracies, which lost their real purpose, Augustus set up a bureaucratic machinery. His policy toward the plebeians was amiably and protective, increasing their quota of free wheet. The imperial authority’s support was the army, especially the Praetorian Guard. A series of laws enacted by Augustus strengthened the principles of slavery. Augustus’ policy regarding the provinces helped create a class of people interested in preserving Roman rule; thus, all the Roman provinces were divided into those under the jurisdiction of the Senate and those under the jurisdiction of the emperor.

In the first years of his reign, Augustus conducted aggressive wars. Under his rule, the conquest of Spain was completed, and the provinces of Egypt, Moesia, Pannonia, and Germania were organized. However, rebellions in some provinces (in Pannonia in 6–9 AD) and the defeat of the Roman Legions in the Teutoburg Forest, Germany, in 9 AD forced Augustus to give up any further attempt to conquer all of Germania. Much construction was completed in Rome during Augustus’ reign, including the Altar of Peace (Ara Pacis), the Forum of Julius, and the Forum of Augustus. His reign also coincided with the Roman golden age of literature—the age of such writers as Vergil, Horace, Ovid, Tibullus, Proper-tius, and Titus Livy. Augustus died in 14 AD and he was succeeded by Tiberius.

Above, marble bust of Augustus, which was sculpted in 30 BC.

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Julius Caesar Assassination

Julius Caesar assassination was one of the most famous acts of conspiracy against a popular politician and General, who was beloved by the masses. Orchestrated by the Senate and the Optimates (patrician oligarchy), the assassination of Gaius Julius Caesar was carried out on March 15, 44 BC, when he was on his way to the Senate floor for a meeting. He was stabbed to death, receiving 23 lethal knife wounds, two of them were directed to his chest. Despite his military experience, there was nothing he could do to defend himself as he was unarmed and had no body guards. Around 60 senators, led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Cassius Longinus, took part in this assassination. The deadly stabbing was so massively and frantically done that the perpetrators accidentally wounded themselves as they tried to stick their daggers in Caesar's body.

Reason for the assassination of Julius Caesar

The reason for the Roman Senate to conspire to assassinate Julius Caesar was that the senators and the patrician oligarchy would lose power and influence on the Roman government and society if the Roman General was not stopped in his political projects. Effectively, the Roman General had become famous and politically powerful after his military victories against the Gauls in France in the Gallic Wars and against Pompey and his sons in the Civil War (49 to 45 BC) that ensued the collapse of the First Triumvirate government. In 46 BC, Julius Caesar had been declared dictator of Rome for ten years, and censor for life. However, he retained the republican form of rule. He had also become very popular among the plebeians (plebs) due to a series of popular measures he had taken to improve the life of the lower classes; he had ordered a census be carried out to expand and allocate fairly the grain dole (food support) among the Roman's poor. He also provided the urban unemployed with jobs by undertaken projects of public building construction. Thus, Julius Caesar was supported by the Populares, who were the representatives in the lower house (comitia centuriata = popular assemblies).

Assassination

On March 15, 44 BC, Julius Caesar was scheduled to appear at a session of the Senate. That day, the oligarchy's plot to assassinate him had already been planned and arranged several days in advance. On the night before, Calpurnia, Caesar's wife, had a nightmare in which she dreamed her husband covered in a blood-stained toga. When she woke up, she warned Julius Caesar, telling him that the gods had made her see things and she said: 'beware of the Ides of March', which was March 15 on the Roman calendar. As soon as Caesar entered the Senate building, he got surrounded by the conspirators. In the conspiring group, there was his friend Marcus Junius Brutus, a young politician, whom Caesar esteemed. At a signal, the conspirators drew their daggers and attacked him, stabbing him to death.

Above, a 17th century painting depicting the assassination of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March.

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La Tène Culture

The La Tène Culture was a Celtic civilization which thrived in Western Europe between the 5th and the 1st century BC. The tribes that belonged to this culture inhabited the territory of modern France, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, northern Italy, Croatia, Serbia, and the British Isles. The culture is named after the site of La Tène in Switzerland. The La Tène culture is the stage of the Iron Age which followed the Hallstatt culture. The finds of iron plowshares, sickles, and scythes are testimonies to improvements in farming techniques and war weapons, such as spearheads and swords. During this time, bronze implements are no longer encountered, as blacksmithing, jewelry-making, and other crafts began developing. The potter’s wheel appeared during this period. The oppida, fortified tribal centers or sanctuaries located on hilltops, also appeared during this time.

Phases of development

According to French Archaeologist, Joseph Déchelette, the La Tène Culture is divided into three stages. The first stage (500–300 B.C.) is characterized by short pointed swords without crossbars and with iron sheaths; a variety of torques made of metal; fibulae with anthropomorphic and zoomorphic decorations; modeled pottery, although some was made on the potter’s wheel and decorated with stamped designs; and flat-grave burials. The second stage (300–100 B.C.) is characterized by long swords with rounded tips and curved crossbars, wooden shields with elliptical iron bosses, and glass bracelets. The first local coins appeared during this period. The third stage (first century B.C. to the first century A.D.) is characterized by very long swords, with pointed tips, and without crossbars; daggers with anthropomorphic hilts; iron spurs, locks, and keys; and bronze seals. In addition to the principal region of the culture’s dissemination, numerous treasures, burial grounds, and remains of settlements were discovered.

Art

The art of the La Tène civilization, for the most part ornamental and stylized, developed under the influence of the Etruscan and late Roman cultures. In the early stage, masks wreathed with the likeness of a two-leafed crown and the palmette and lotus ornamental motifs appeared. The ornaments of the mature La Tène style (fourth century B.C.) are characterized by the combined use of relief, engraving, and incrustation with coral and enamel on precious metals. Stylized representations of birds and animals appeared on the metal articles of the middle of the fourth century B.C.

Two iron swords of La Tene Culture found in France.

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