The History of Rome: Rise and Fall of the Empire. John Bagnell Bury

the death of Augustus was announced, Tiberius by virtue of the tribunician power which he had received in the preceding year for an indefinite period, convoked the senate. He had already given the watchword to the praetorian cohorts and sent dispatches to the legions, as if he were formally Emperor. It is not quite clear whether this was formally an act of usurpation. For it might have been held that the proconsular imperium, which Tiberius possessed before the death of Augustus, having been bestowed by a decree of the senate and not being merely derived from the imperium of the Princeps, did not cease on the death of the Princeps. In any case, the act seemed an anticipation of his election to the Principate, and Tiberius afterwards made a sort of apology for it to the senate. But senate and people, consuls and prefects, took an oath of obedience to him without a sign of hesitation. The proconsular imperium was renewed or confirmed, and the various rights, which had been granted to Augustus by separate enactments, were conferred upon him, doubtless by a single comprehensive law (lex de imperio). Tiberius indeed, adopting the maxims of statecraft, which he had learned from his predecessor, feigned reluctance to assume the immense task of directing such a vast Empire, and suggested that the functions of government should be divided among more than one ruler. But it was easily seen that the suggestion was not intended seriously. It was part of the transparent comedy, which was played henceforward between the senate and the Princeps. It is important to observe that the practice adopted by Augustus of assuming the Empire for a defined period of years was now abandoned. On the other hand, Tiberius would not assume it for life. No term was fixed; but he intimated his intention of resigning the Principal when the state no longer needed him. Here again no one took his words as seriously meant.

      The first care of Tiberius was the funeral and deification of Augustus. The dead body was borne by senators to the Campus Martius, where it was burnt and the ashes were bestowed in the imperial Mausoleum. Funeral orations were pronounced both by Tiberius and by his son Drusus. The senate decreed temples and priests to the divus Augustus, who was thus raised to a place beside his father, the divus Julius. His will, which had been deposited in the charge of the Vestal Virgins, was read before the Senate and thus published abroad. It bequeathed two-thirds of his fortune to Tiberius, and the remainder to Livia, who was to be adopted into the Julian family and bear the name Auguta. If these heirs failed, one-third of the property was to descend to Drusus, the son of Tiberius, and the remainder to Germanicus and his three sons. But these legacies were considerably diminished by the large donations which were left to the citizens and to the praetorian and legionary soldiers. Along with his fortune, the old Emperor bequeathed (in his Breviarium Imperii) some counsels of government. He deprecated the admission of provincials to the privileged position of Roman citizens; he condemned the further extension of the frontiers of Roman dominion; and he advised that as many men of ability as possible should be engaged in the administration of public affairs. It seems probable that the second of these counsels specially regarded the conquest of trans-Rhenane Germany, and we shall see how Tiberias acted on it.

      SECT. II. — GERMANICUS ON THE RHINE

      The first weeks of the reign of Tiberius were disturbed by mutinies in the Rhine and Danube armies. Discontent had long been smoldering, and had only been hindered from bursting forth by respect for the old Emperor. The soldiers who defended the German frontiers contrasted the hardships which they were obliged to endure in harsh climates and remote regions, the small pay which they receive, the unduly long term of service and the inadequate provision awaiting them at its expiration, with the easy life and the higher pay of the praetorian guards, who could look forward to gifts of land in Italy itself. On the news of the death of Augustus, mutinies broke out simultaneously on the Danube and on the Rhine. The Pannonian army, consisting of three legions under the command of Julius Blaesus, threw off the authority of their general, and demanded that their pay should be raised, that the term of service should be reduced from twenty to sixteen years, and that the veterans should receive their pensions in money. Blaesus was forced to send his son to Rome, to hear these demands to the new Emperor, and in the meantime the troops vented their pent up wrath on the centurions, whom they most detested, and refused to perform their military duties. Tiberius dispatched some praetorian cohorts under his son Drusus to treat with the mutineers and restore order, but sent no definite message of concession. The soldiers were enraged when they discovered that Drusus was instructed to evade rather than comply with their demands, and the young prince was with difficulty rescued from their fury. But an eclipse of the moon opportunely took place; the superstitious soldiers were alarmed, and, seized with a fit of remorse, they listened to the indefinite promises of Drusus and returned to their allegiance. The ringleaders were given up and put to death.

      The revolt of the Rhine legions was a more serious danger. In Pannonia there was no question of setting up a rival emperor; but this danger existed on the Rhine. Germanicus Caesar, governor of Gaul and general of the eight legions stationed on the German frontier, was marked out as the successor of Tiberius, his adoptive father; and the troops of Lower Germany conceived the design of hastening his reign. They not only demanded shorter service, higher pay, and lighter labor, but proclaimed their intention of carrying Germanicus to Rome, and making him Emperor. Germanicus was at the time absent in Lugudunum, occupied with the census of Gaul. Aulus Caecina, an experienced officer, was in command of the legions of the Lower province, while Upper Germany had been assigned to C. Silius. When the news reached Germanicus, he hastened to the camp on the Lower Rhine, which lay in the land of the Ubii, and appeared in the presence of the mutineers. An exciting scene then took place; the soldiers beseeching their popular commander to right their wrongs, showing him the marks of their wounds and stripes, finally urging him to march to Rome and seize the sovereign power; Germanicus expostulating and praising the virtues of Tiberius. The excitement reached such a pitch that it was necessary to withdraw the general from the presence of the troops. It was a critical moment. The mutineers talked of destroying the Town of the Ubii—Oppidum Ubiorum—and plundering the cities of Gaul. The German foes beyond the Rhine would not fail to take advantage speedily of the broken discipline of the army. To restore order, Germanicus was forced to concede, in the name of Tiberius, the demands of the troops. He promised that the term of service should be shortened, and that large donatives should be distributed. The legions then returned to their winter-quarters, two under Germanicus to Oppidum Ubiorum, the other two under the legatus Aulus Caecina to Castra Vetera. But at this moment messengers arrived from Rome, for the purpose of investigating the causes of the discontent, and when the soldiers saw that the concessions might fail to be ratified, the mutiny broke out more furiously than ever. Germanicus decided that his wife and children should leave the camp. It does not appear that he apprehended any serious danger on their account, for no measures were taken to conceal their flight. They departed in broad daylight, and in view of the whole camp. The sight of Agrippina carrying in her arms the little boy Gaius, who had been born and reared in the camp, and whom they had nicknamed Caligula “Boots”, (from thecaligae or military boots which they made him wear in sport) moved their hearts to remorse. The memory of her father Agrippa, her grandfather Augustus, her father-in-law Drusus, stirred their pride; and when they learned that her destination was the city of the Treveri, jealousy prompted them to make peace with their general. Germanicus seized on the propitious moment to work on their softened feelings, and recall them to their duty. They fell on their knees before him, begged for forgiveness, and zealously delivered their ringleaders to punishment. It seems likely that this scene was expressly devised by Germanicus, as a last resource for appealing to the nobler sentiments of the insurgents.

      Thus was the danger averted in the Ubian camp. In Castra Vetera, the skilful management of the experienced Caecina restored discipline; while at Moguntiacum the agitators, who tried to stir to rebellion the army of the Upper province, seem to have totally failed.

      The only peril which threatened the succession of Tiberius was thus hindered, and for this he had to thank the unshaken fidelity of his nephew. Germanicus had refused to listen when the troops tempted him to disloyalty; he declined to take the flood of the tide, which might have led him to fortune. If he had marched to Rome at the head of the Germanic legions, he would have plunged the state once more in civil war, but it is not certain that he would have been the survivor. Germanicus was a man of considerable ability, and his affable manners and urbanity won him friends everywhere. In the camp he associated freely with the soldiers, and they idolized him. He had his