Editing Tiberius (section)

=== Historiography ===
[[File:Statua di tiberio da priverno, post 37 dc..JPG|thumb|upright|Statue of Tiberius from [[Priverno]], made shortly after AD 37, now in the [[Museo Chiaramonti]] of the [[Vatican Museums]]]]

Had he died before AD&nbsp;23, he might have been hailed as an exemplary ruler.{{sfn|Tacitus, ''Annales''|loc=[[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 4#6|IV.6]]}} Despite the overwhelmingly negative characterisation left by Roman historians, Tiberius left the imperial [[treasury]] with nearly 3 billion ''[[sesterces]]'' upon his death.{{sfn|Cassius Dio|loc=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/59*.html#1 LIX.1]}}{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Caligula''|loc=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Caligula*.html#37 37]}} Rather than embark on costly campaigns of conquest, he chose to strengthen the existing empire by building additional bases, using diplomacy as well as military threats, and generally refraining from getting drawn into petty squabbles between competing frontier tyrants.{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Tiberius''|loc=37}} The result was a stronger, more consolidated empire, ensuring the imperial institutions introduced by his adoptive father would remain for centuries to come.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tiberius|title=Tiberius &#124; Biography, Accomplishments, Facts, & Death|date=30 June 2023 }}</ref>

Of the authors whose texts have survived, only four describe the reign of Tiberius in considerable detail: [[Tacitus]], [[Suetonius]], [[Cassius Dio]] and [[Marcus Velleius Paterculus]]. Fragmentary evidence also remains from [[Pliny the Elder]], [[Strabo]] and [[Seneca the Elder]]. [[Philo of Alexandria]] speaks briefly of Tiberius's reign in [[Philo#Embassy to Gaius|Embassy to Gaius]]. Tiberius himself wrote an autobiography which Suetonius describes as "brief and sketchy", but this book has been lost.{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Tiberius''|loc=61}}

==== Publius Cornelius Tacitus ====
{{See also|Tacitus}}

The most detailed account of this period was written by [[Tacitus]], whose ''[[Annals (Tacitus)|Annals]]'' dedicate the first six books entirely to the reign of Tiberius. Tacitus was a Roman senator, born during the reign of [[Nero]] in AD 56, and ''[[consul suffectus]]'' in AD 97. His text is largely based on the ''[[Acta Senatus]]'' (the minutes of the session of the Senate) and the ''[[Acta Diurna]]'' (a collection of the acts of the government and news of the court and capital), as well as speeches by Tiberius himself, and the histories of contemporaries such as [[Marcus Cluvius Rufus]], [[Fabius Rusticus]] and [[Pliny the Elder]] (all of which are lost). Tacitus's narrative emphasises both political and psychological motivation. His characterisation of Tiberius throughout the first six books is mostly negative, and gradually worsens as his rule declines, identifying a clear breaking point with the death of his son [[Drusus Julius Caesar|Drusus]] in AD 23.{{sfn|Tacitus, ''Annales''|loc=[[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 4#6|IV.6]]}}

Tacitus describes Julio-Claudian rule as generally unjust and "criminal";{{sfn|Tacitus, ''Annales''|loc=[[s: The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 1#6|I.6]]}} he attributes the apparent virtues of Tiberius during his early reign to hypocrisy.{{sfn|Tacitus, ''Annales''|loc=[[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 6#50|VI.50–51]]}}
Another major recurring theme concerns the balance of power between the Senate and the emperors, corruption, and the growing [[tyranny]] among the governing classes of Rome. A substantial amount of his account on Tiberius is therefore devoted to the treason trials and persecutions following the revival of the ''maiestas'' law under Augustus.{{sfn|Tacitus, ''Annales''|loc=[[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 1#72|I.72]], [[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 1#74|I.74]], [[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 2#27|II.27–32]], [[s: The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 3#49|III.49–51]], [[s: The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 3#66|III.66–69]]}} Ultimately, Tacitus's opinion on Tiberius is best illustrated by his conclusion of the sixth book:

{{blockquote|His character too had its distinct periods. It was a bright time in his life and reputation, while under Augustus he was a private citizen or held high offices; a time of reserve and crafty assumption of virtue, as long as Germanicus and Drusus were alive. Again, while his mother lived, he was a compound of good and evil; he was infamous for his cruelty, though he veiled his debaucheries, while he loved or feared Sejanus. Finally, he plunged into every wickedness and disgrace, when fear and shame being cast off, he simply indulged his own inclinations.{{sfn|Tacitus, ''Annales''|loc=[[s:The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 6#50|VI.50–51]]}}}}

==== Suetonius Tranquillus ====
[[File:Silver denarius of Tiberius 14CE 37CE found in India Indian copy of a the same 1st century CE Coin of Kushan king Kujula Kadphises copying a coin of Augustus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|An example of [[Indo-Roman trade and relations]] during the period: silver denarius of Tiberius (14–37) found in India and Indian copy of the same, 1st-century coin of [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] king [[Kujula Kadphises]] copying a coin of [[Augustus]].]]

[[Suetonius]] was an equestrian who held administrative posts during the reigns of [[Trajan]] and [[Hadrian]]. ''[[The Twelve Caesars]]'' details a biographical history of the principate from the birth of [[Julius Caesar]] to the death of [[Domitian]] in AD&nbsp;96. Like Tacitus, he drew upon the imperial archives, as well as histories by [[Aufidius Bassus]], [[Marcus Cluvius Rufus]], [[Fabius Rusticus]] and Augustus's own letters.{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Tiberius''|loc=43, 44, 45}}

His account is more sensationalist and anecdotal than that of his contemporary Tacitus, and delves into Tiberius's numerous alleged debaucheries while at Capri.{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Tiberius''|loc=43, 44, 45}} Nevertheless, Suetonius praises Tiberius's actions during his early reign, emphasising his modesty.{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Tiberius''|loc=26–32}}

==== Velleius Paterculus ====
One of the few surviving sources contemporary with the rule of Tiberius comes from [[Velleius Paterculus]], who served under Tiberius for eight years (from AD&nbsp;4) in Germany and Pannonia as ''[[praefect]]'' of cavalry and ''legatus''. Paterculus' ''Compendium of Roman History'' spans a period from the fall of [[Troy]] to the death of [[Livia]] in AD&nbsp;29. His text on Tiberius lavishes praise on both the emperor{{sfn|Velleius|loc=2.94, 103–105, 129–130}} and Sejanus.{{sfn|Velleius|loc=2.127–128}} How much of this is due to genuine admiration or prudence remains an open question, but it has been conjectured that he was put to death in AD&nbsp;31 as a friend of Sejanus.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Syme | first = Ronald | title = Seianus on the Aventine | journal = Hermes | volume = 84 | issue = 3 | pages = 257–266 | year = 1956 | publisher = Franz Steiner Verlag | jstor = 4474933 }}</ref>