Tiberius Caesar by Shotter David;

Author:Shotter, David; [David Shotter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2011-07-31T16:00:00+00:00

7

TIBERIUS AND THE EMPIRE

Shortly before Augustus’ death in AD 14 he had allegedly instructed his successor not to engage in imperialist adventures but to retain the empire within its existing frontiers. Some regarded this as the words of a princeps jealous of his own reputation being surpassed; in reality, the recent Varus disaster had highlighted the delicate balance which existed between the size of the army and the fulfilment of current garrison duties. In short, without an enlargement of the army, which would have been politically and economically risky, the possibility of imperial expansion was minimal. The trauma of the Varus disaster had left a healthy respect for those who faced the legions across the frontiers.

It is unlikely in any case that Augustus’ advice seriously conflicted with Tiberius’ natural inclinations. His own military reputation was that of a cautious commander, and it was of course he who in the decade before his accession had had to cope with both the Pannonian rebellion (AD 6–9) and the Varus disaster itself in AD 9. In any case, the Rhine army was clearly still, in AD 14, in an uncertain state because of the programme of crash-recruitment that had been necessary to restore its numbers after AD 9. The simultaneous mutinies in AD 14 on both the Rhine and the Danube provided a sober warning that much still needed to be done before the legionary army was again worthy of its reputation. Circumstances and inclination therefore pointed Tiberius Caesar in the same direction.

Such considerations made Tiberius’ principate an unusually inactive period from the military point of view; as Tacitus noted, this gave the historian particular problems in his account of the reign. Historians of Rome produced their works initially for a listening audience, and Tiberius’ principate lacked the dramatic military episodes which lent embellishment and colour to the historian’s production. It was probably the artist’s reaction which led to Tacitus’ dismissive description of a ‘peace that was not disturbed’ and a ‘princeps uninterested in imperial expansion’.

Nonetheless, the reign had its share of military and imperial problems, although the warfare between AD 14 and 37 was for the most part reactive, and concerned with preventing disturbance to the prosperous development of provinces. Of such a kind was the lengthy war against the guerrilla leader, Tacfarinas, in north Africa (AD 17–24); though ultimately Roman success was not in doubt, it was not won without political embarrassment over the choice of Sejanus’ uncle, Quintus Junius Blaesus, to command the war.

In AD 21–2, the Rhine legions had to be mobilised to deal with a tribal outbreak in Gaul; the name of one of its leaders, Julius Sacrovir (‘Holy man’), suggests that the tribal nationalism may have been inspired by Druidic priests, displaying the same blend of political and religious fervour which Caesar had seen in Britain nearly a century before. Since both its leaders bore the Roman name of Julius, indicating their enfranchisement, this outbreak highlighted the dangers of nationalism which might in the relatively early days

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