Editing Tiberius (section)

=== Early career and marriage ===

[[File:Portraitkopf der Vipsania Agrippina.png|thumb|180px|left|"Probable" portrait bust of Vipsania (recovered from [[Leptis Magna]], near [[Al-Khums]], Libya)<ref>from ''Africa Italiana'' 8 (1941), cited in Burns, Jasper (2003) ''[http://www.jasperburns.com/gasara.htm Vipsania on Ara Pacis]'',</ref>]]

Shortly thereafter Tiberius began appearing in court as an advocate, and it was presumably at this time that his interest in Greek [[rhetoric]] began. In 20&nbsp;BC, Tiberius went east to join [[Augustus]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Cassius Dio: Book 54, 7–8}}</ref> The [[Parthian Empire]] had previously captured the [[Military colours, standards and guidons|standards]] of the [[Roman legion|legions]] under the command of [[Marcus Licinius Crassus]] (53&nbsp;BC) (at the [[Battle of Carrhae]]), Decidius Saxa (40&nbsp;BC), and [[Mark Antony]] (36&nbsp;BC) and, after negotiations with Parthia's King [[Phraates IV]], either Augustus<ref name=":0" /> or Tiberius,<ref>Suetonius: Tiberius, 9</ref> or perhaps both together, were able to reclaim them for Rome. Tiberius then led a sizeable force into [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]], presumably to establish it as a Roman [[client state]] and end the threat it posed on the Roman-[[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] border. Augustus was able to reach a compromise whereby the standards were returned, and Armenia remained a neutral territory between the two powers.{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Tiberius''|loc=9}}

Tiberius married [[Vipsania Agrippina]], the daughter of Augustus's close friend and most famed general, [[Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa]].{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Tiberius''|loc=7}} He was appointed to the position of ''[[praetor]]'', and was sent with his legions to assist his brother Drusus in campaigns in the west. While Drusus focused his forces in [[Gallia Narbonensis]] and along the German frontier, Tiberius combated the tribes in the [[Alps]] and within [[Transalpine Gaul]], [[Conquest of the Alps|conquering Raetia]]. In 15&nbsp;BC he discovered the sources of the [[Danube]], and soon afterward the bend of the middle course.<ref>[[Strabo]], 7. I. 5, p. 292 {{full citation needed|date=May 2023}}</ref> Returning to Rome in 13&nbsp;BC, Tiberius was appointed as ''consul'', and around this same time his son, [[Drusus Julius Caesar]], was born.{{sfn|Levick|1999|p=42}}

Agrippa's death in 12&nbsp;BC elevated Tiberius and Drusus with respect to the succession. At Augustus's request in 11 BC, Tiberius divorced Vipsania and married [[Julia the Elder]], Augustus's daughter and Agrippa's widow. Tiberius was very reluctant to do this, as Julia had made advances to him when she was married, and Tiberius was happily married. His new marriage with Julia was happy at first, but turned sour. Suetonius claims that when Tiberius ran into Vipsania again, he followed her home crying and begging forgiveness.{{sfn|Suetonius, ''Tiberius''|loc=7}} Soon afterwards, Tiberius met with Augustus, and steps were taken to ensure that Tiberius and Vipsania would never meet again.<ref>[[#Seager2005|Seager 2005]], p. 20.</ref> Tiberius continued to be elevated by Augustus, and after Agrippa's death and his brother Drusus's death in 9&nbsp;BC, seemed the clear candidate for succession. As such, in 12&nbsp;BC he received military commissions in [[Pannonia]] and [[Germania]], both areas highly volatile and of key importance to Augustan policy.