The Fall of Tiberius Caesar Augustus

[Sciox]

The reign of Tiberius was short and unremarkable, he was proclaimed Princeps by the Senate in September of 40AA* and was dead just two years later, having slipped on a wet stairway and cracked his skull open**. That he is well known throughout the Roman World is almost entirely down to the fact that he divided two of Rome's greatest Princeps, the Divine Augustus himself and Germanicus Magnus.


Tiberius untimely death combined with the early passing of so many other members of the Imperial Family over the years lead some at the time to wonder if there was perhaps some curse or conspiracy working against the family of Augustus Caesar. The passage of time led to the death of the rumour about curses but the idea of a conspiracy returned to the popular consciousness centuries later with the airing of I, Claudius which portrayed Livia as a serial killer dedicated to the stability of Rome, so dedicated that she engineered the death of her own son to avoid a confrontation between the dour Tiberius and increasingly popular Germanicus, who had been proclaimed Emperor by the Rhine legions even before he had launched a wildly popular campaign in Germania to avenge the Varian Disaster, an endeavour that had made him the favourite son of all of Rome. Whatever the truth of the matter Tiberius was dead and Germanicus was his clear successor and members of the Praetorian Guard were dispatched to the Rhine to bring word of Tiberius’ untimely passing and to escort the new Emperor to the capital to have the many titles of the Princeps bestowed upon him by the Senate.


Winter was setting in when word reached Germanicus of his adoptive father’s death so he rode to southern Gaul with his party, among them his wife and children, before taking a boat to Italy, bypassing the snow clogged alps. His arrival in the capital was likened to an impromptu triumph, the people of Rome lined the streets to greet the new Princeps and his family. The procession was led by a cohort of the Praetorians, followed by the German Bodyguard on horseback and then Germanicus himself rode by on a white horse to thundering cheers followed by chariot carrying his wife, his three sons Nero, Drusus and young Caligula in his child’s armour and the baby girls Aggripina and Drusilla.


At the Forum, he was greeted by the leading senators and members of his extended family, including his brother Claudius the Elder and Livia, Julia Augusta, but the Senate soon moved moved to the Curia to confirm Germanicus as Princeps. The new Princeps pledged to serve the state with the same humility as his adoptive father and supported a move to have Tiberius deified despite his short rule, he also adopted Drusus Julius Caesar (the son of Tiberius), making him his heir, and nominated his brother Claudius to be elected Consul for the next year. Drusus and Germanicus also made plans to wed their two oldest children Livia and Nero.


This began what would later be called the Third Triumvirate, although it was more a way of organising the executive government of the principate then a power sharing agreement as it had been with the previous triumvirates. Germanicus would return to the Rhine as soon as he had raised additional armies to complete the conquest of Germania, Claudius would remain in Rome to oversee the capital and the senate in the absence of the Princeps and the heir apparent, while Drusus would return to Illyria as soon as winter ended to organise the armies there and to enter into secret negotiations with the Marcomanni to bring them into the war against Arminius.


***


*Considering the outline and plans I'm working with I decided to go with an alternate dating system for the roman world. AA is After Augustus BA is before, with year 1 as his ascension to Princeps in 27 BC so if you're ever wondering where we are relative to OTL just subtract 27 years from the date. With regard to months and days I'm sticking to the Gregorian system (which will develop under another name in this TL) just to help keep things straightforward.


**A fairly straightforward POD. For those unfamiliar with the period, this is just before Tiberius ended Germanicus campaign of vengeance for the Roman defeat at the Tuteoburg Forest in Germania. Germanicus has just finished up another successful year of slaughtering barbarians and is returning to the Rhine for winter when Tiberius slips.

***

So I briefly mentioned in a thread about reigning in the Praetorian Guard and the legions that I was planning a TL and this is it. I hope you enjoy.

 

[catalfalque]

I am dubious about the naming of Caligula here - shouldn't you just call him Gaius?

But other than that, very interested!

 

[isabella]

I am dubious about the naming of Caligula here - shouldn't you just call him Gaius?

But other than that, very interested!

OTL Gaius earned his nickname Caligula in Germany when was two/three years old and if I am right he would be about four here so the name is correct

 

[Krishna123]

cool timeline I hope there are more updates like it! without the ossification of Tiberius rule and the rise of the ponces in cloaks and shiny breastplates Rome will be a much more civilized place without the air of instant death about it! The ranks of the elite will be more filled with fathers, mothers, sons and daughters not killed or forced to commit suicide...... of course maybe the slipping epidemic will lead to a growth in health and safety signage and rules?

 

[RightHoJeeves]

Interesting. Look forward to seeing what Sejanus is up to in this timeline. If I understanding your dates correctly he should still be prefect of the Praetorians having assumed the position before Tiberius dies.

 

[Sciox]

I am dubious about the naming of Caligula here - shouldn't you just call him Gaius?

But other than that, very interested!

OTL Gaius earned his nickname Caligula in Germany when was two/three years old and if I am right he would be about four here so the name is correct

Gaius has indeed already gotten his nickname and like OTL it's the name he will be remembered by in TTL.

Interesting. Look forward to seeing what Sejanus is up to in this timeline. If I understanding your dates correctly he should still be prefect of the Praetorians having assumed the position before Tiberius dies.

Sejanus is still Praetorian Prefect and as you can probably guess when Germanicus and Drusus leave Italy a lot of the guard is going with them but that's all I'll say for now.

 

[SlyDessertFox]

I'm intrigued. One thing that just popped into my mind-say what you want about Tiberius, but he left the Roman treasury in a really sound fiscal state. I wonder, since I assume Germanicus is going to be more concerned with offensive military operations than managing the treasury, how Rome's finances will look at the end of his reign ITTL.


Speaking of Caligula, I imagine he'd turn out much better ITTL without having to endure the torture and death of a lot of his family and possibly other horrors on Capri...

 

[Sciox]

Germanicus did not return to the Rhine immediately after his ascension he first set about reorganising the Roman war machine.


This year he was not going to raid but conquer and for that the Princeps needed soldiers to fight and colonists to settle the new territory, he did this by offering recruitment terms that would soon become standard for Rome’s citizen army, five years service with the promise of standard legionary pay, land grants at the conclusion of service and, crucially, the requirements for legionaries to be unmarried and without children were waived and the family of any man who died in service would receive a pension. The promise of pay, land and loot drew in thousands of recruits from the poor of Italy and Germanicus was able to raise three new legions.


Having known for some time that the length of service was a source of anxiety for the legions he announced a reduction of the length of service from 20 years to the old 16, presently serving soldiers who had been in the army longer than 16 years would not be allowed to retire until the end of 42 but for the rest of the year they would enjoy the benefits of evocati, including increased pay and freedom from harsh duties. Restrictions on marriage were also abolished and a general amnesty was declared for all soldiers who had secretly married and fathered children, as part of the amnesty all marriages were officially recognised and any children produced from these marriages were legitimised and made citizens as the children of citizens. With these reforms Germanicus cemented his position as the soldiers’ Princeps and into the modern age Germanicus would be honoured by the army. In addition to raising fresh troops Germanicus brought in troops from other parts of the empire and from the outside, having judged Illyria to be under control nine years after the Great Illyrian Revolt Germanicus ordered two of the legions deployed there and ten axillary cohorts to march north to the Danube to invade Germania from the south under the command of Drusus.


While these armies prepared to march Germanicus sailed to southern Gaul with the bulk of the Praetorian Guard and marched north to the Rhine. By the beginning of March Drusus’ southern force was camped at the Danube and building bridges in preparation to cross and he entered into secret negotiations with Maroboduus the King of the Marcomanni. Maroboduus had long been a rival of Arminius, and wary that Arminius’ fight for freedom from Rome would end with Germania ruled by Arminius however he was quite aware of Rome’s desire to rule Germania and knew that Germanicus could, and was, bringing more men to bear then any coalition of Germanics could hope to match. Maroboduus was pressed on two fronts by the Germanicus and Arminius but ultimately chose to become a Roman client king rather than join his hated rival in fighting the Romans. The terms Drusus offered were similar to the terms given to the Batavi, the Suebi would have autonomy and be free of taxation in their own lands but would have to supply auxiliaries for the Roman Army and Maroboduus personally could expect Roman gold and Roman arms to help keep his rule secure, Maroboduus reasoned that this was a better deal than submitting to Arminius to fight a losing battle with the Romans and accepted. But the correspondence and deal were betrayed by persons unknown and Arminius gathered his tribe and allies with all haste to defeat the Marcomanni before they could be joined by the Romans.


Maroboduus attempted to gather Germanic allies to oppose Arminius declaring to all who would listen that Arminius desired to make himself ruler of all the Germanic tribes and that his betrayal of the Romans at the Tuetoberg Forest meant that there could never be peace as long as he lived. Arminius attempted to induce defections in Maroboduus’ coalition by declaring that he was going to become a puppet king with Roman gold, which Maroboduus strenuously denied. Both arguments would have an effect as some Germanic tribes joined Maroboduus either to avoid destruction at the hands of the Romans and their new ally or to secure a similar arrangement as the Marcomanni, but many others preferred rule by a Germanic, or thought Arminius would be easier to topple once the Romans were defeated, and joined Arminius in fighting for freedom. Maroboduus also sent word to Drusus who crossed the Danube with his army and marched north to join the Marcomanni coalition. Arminius and Maroboduus fought an inconclusive engagement in early spring after which both Germanics fell back, Maroboduus to link up with Drusus and Arminius marched north into the heavily forested interior hoping to pick off isolated groups of his enemies.


Meanwhile messengers brought word that Arminius was marching against Maroboduus and Drusus to Germanicus and the Princeps immediately ordered his veteran army across the Rhine to attack Arminius’ allies in the west, this spread his army out of a relatively large area but they met little resistance, most of the fighting barbarians in Germanicus’ path had either been crushed in the last three years of war or was fighting under Arminius command. As part of this offensive the three new legions were set to work building a new road, the Via Germania, that would connect Rome’s road network to interior of Germania and eventually stretch to the Albis*.


***


*The Elbe.

 

[Sertorius126]

I'm intrigued. One thing that just popped into my mind-say what you want about Tiberius, but he left the Roman treasury in a really sound fiscal state. I wonder, since I assume Germanicus is going to be more concerned with offensive military operations than managing the treasury, how Rome's finances will look at the end of his reign ITTL.


Speaking of Caligula, I imagine he'd turn out much better ITTL without having to endure the torture and death of a lot of his family and possibly other horrors on Capri...

Claudius went through exactly the same kind of bloodshed Caligula did, and yet he didn’t turn out to be as autocratic and imposing as him. Also, future is murky, Germanicus’ regime could turn out to be even more violent eventually, since most of the people condemned under Tiberius were actually executed by decree of the Senate itself. Also, nothing happened to Caligula on Capri, Tiberius was the gloomiest of men, as Pliny said, I don’t really see a guy like him sexually abusing children, he spent most of his time engaging in educated discussions with his peers.

 

[SlyDessertFox]

Claudius went through exactly the same kind of bloodshed Caligula did, and yet he didn’t turn out to be as autocratic and imposing as him

Different people of different temperaments and personalities react differently to events. That Claudius and Caligula might have reacted differently and/or drawn different conclusions from that period doesn't take away from the fact that Caligula will, in some way, be different having not had that formative experience.

Obviously some parts of the OTL Caligula will still be tthere-he wasn't completely mad IOTL, he'd probably still have an authoritarian streak and still might not like to be bound by the Augustan facade as the princeps of a first among equals rather than the autocrat the holder of the position truly was.

Also, nothing happened to Caligula on Capri, Tiberius was the gloomiest of men, as Pliny said, I don’t really see a guy like him sexually abusing children, he spent most of his time engaging in educated discussions with his peers.

We don't know if anything happened on Capri-its completely up for debate on what you want to believe, and more or less up to the authoe of TTL if they want to believe the worst of Tiberius or not when assessing how other figures like Caligula might turn out differently.

 

[isabella]

Claudius went through exactly the same kind of bloodshed Caligula did, and yet he didn’t turn out to be as autocratic and imposing as him. Also, future is murky, Germanicus’ regime could turn out to be even more violent eventually, since most of the people condemned under Tiberius were actually executed by decree of the Senate itself. Also, nothing happened to Caligula on Capri, Tiberius was the gloomiest of men, as Pliny said, I don’t really see a guy like him sexually abusing children, he spent most of his time engaging in educated discussions with his peers.

Claudius was older and was often overlooked and so was free to refuge in his beloved libraries...
Caligula was a child who had seen his own family destroyed as his mother and older brothers killed by order of Tiberius and his sisters unhappily married off and surely spent a lot of time asking himself when would be the moment in which hew also would be killed...
Here first Caligula will be of a little importance as he has two older brothers plus will have his family all alive and close so will be a totally different person (and remember who Agrippina Maior accused Tiberius and Livia to be the responsable of the death of her husband Germanicus)

 

[Arrix85]

I'm really intrigued by this TL. Long live Germanicus! only nitpick I don't think you can label Arminius or the Marcomanni king as "Germans" (it has national connotations a bit ahead of time).

 

[Sciox]

I'm really intrigued by this TL. Long live Germanicus! only nitpick I don't think you can label Arminius or the Marcomanni king as "Germans" (it has national connotations a bit ahead of time).

True, I've been rereading it now and I might go back and quickly replace "Germans" with "Germanics".

 

[Atamolos]

Tiberius' early death as the POD for an early imperial TL? Why does this seem so familiar....

Looking forward to seeing what you have in store for TTL. One complaint is that the BA/AA dating system is a little out of line with how Augustus envisaged his own office. Renaming months after yourself is one thing, but by changing the dating system from the consular/AUC system to one named after Augustus is pretty much a slap in the face to the republican facade which Augustus himself preferred. This is made even worse by counting from the date of the first settlement (which formalized his perpetual dictatorship). Using his birth as a starting point would make more sense because it doesn't have the same drastic political implications. You might possibly explain this away if the TL is being written much much later, but changing the calendar so drastically is a little un-Roman.

Other than that, very good though!

 

[Grouchio]

Shit I've gotta go back to Roman Empire research for the first time in a year.

 

[Sciox]

Tiberius' early death as the POD for an early imperial TL? Why does this seem so familiar....

Looking forward to seeing what you have in store for TTL. One complaint is that the BA/AA dating system is a little out of line with how Augustus envisaged his own office. Renaming months after yourself is one thing, but by changing the dating system from the consular/AUC system to one named after Augustus is pretty much a slap in the face to the republican facade which Augustus himself preferred. This is made even worse by counting from the date of the first settlement (which formalized his perpetual dictatorship). Using his birth as a starting point would make more sense because it doesn't have the same drastic political implications. You might possibly explain this away if the TL is being written much much later, but changing the calendar so drastically is a little un-Roman.

Other than that, very good though!

The BA/AA dating system will be developed later in this TL when Consul years start to become a bit unwieldy and the Romans are admitting that there's a clear distinction between the old republic and the empire, there's also some religious and political matters involved but that's for the future.

 

[Atamolos]

The BA/AA dating system will be developed later in this TL when Consul years start to become a bit unwieldy and the Romans are admitting that there's a clear distinction between the old republic and the empire, there's also some religious and political matters involved but that's for the future.

How far in the future does that happen? Because IOTL, the Romans still talked about "the Republic" well up until Diocletian. At the Battle of Abrittus in 251 CE, emperor Decius rallied his soldiers with the battle cry, "Let no one mourn [the death of his son]. The death of one soldier is no great loss to the Republic." So, even during the 3rd century, the Romans were still officially a republic. So imho, the only timeframe for the change in the calendar is at least three centuries

EDIT: lol I just saw the tag "Arminius takes part in a triumph", you may want to consider a spoiler warning

 

[Sciox]

How far in the future does that happen? Because IOTL, the Romans still talked about "the Republic" well up until Diocletian. At the Battle of Abrittus in 251 CE, emperor Decius rallied his soldiers with the battle cry, "Let no one mourn [the death of his son]. The death of one soldier is no great loss to the Republic." So, even during the 3rd century, the Romans were still officially a republic. So imho, the only timeframe for the change in the calendar is at least three centuries

EDIT: lol I just saw the tag "Arminius takes part in a triumph", you may want to consider a spoiler warning

The date change is still a few centuries in the future although exactly how much is hard to say, I've got a plan of emperors and events but I haven't pinned exact dates to them in case I want to remove one or add in something, plus the exact number of years someone rules could be changed.

Spoiler: Rather big spoilers

One emperor is going to be a big fan of the Library of Alexandria and has copies of every book there made and brought to a new library he builds in Rome which will eventually become the premier place of education in the empire, at this library some historians start using a year since dating system in their works to provide a point of reference, from Ab Urbe Condita, to years since the foundation of the republic, to years since the death of Alexander the Great and so on. Meanwhile down the line there's going to be a civil war after which the Julio-Claudians regain power, to help consolidate their rule they go on a massive program of building and emphasising the achievements of their really great ancestors as part of this, and because the consul year system has been broken by events they order the adoption of a new dating system based on the year from systems used at the library in Rome, with year 1 as the end of the civil wars and the beginning of the prosperous and peaceful years of the first Julio-Claudians.

As to Arminius, I imagine everyone knows that Rome is going to beat him but I hope everyone will stay for the journey and what come's after.

 

[Sciox]

Arminius had gathered his forces during the early days of 41 and marched into the region that would later be called Marcomannia* in the last days of winter. Arminius had hoped to defeat Maroboduus and enlist the surviving Marcomanni and their allies in his confederation before Germanicus crossed the Rhine in the spring but word of Drusus southern army gathering at the Danube forced him to accelerate his plans and his coalition met Maroboduus’ in a large clearing in western Marcomannia in mid-March. On the first day the two leaders met under truce, Arminius wished to convince Maroboduus to join his confederation while Maroboduus attempted to convince Arminius to surrender, to give his life so that Germanicus would not ravage his people and consign the survivors to slavery at the far ends of Rome’s empire, but neither was swayed and retreated back to their camps to prepare to fight the next day.


The morning began with a heavy downpour and freezing cold winds that turned the ground to thick mud and made both armies unwilling to leave their camps and the warmth of the few fires they could light. The same storm halted the march of Drusus as the Danube swelled and destroyed the bridges that kept him supplied and his scouts found it difficult to move in the horrific weather. But by the afternoon the weather cleared and although the ground remained waterlogged Arminius ordered his army to deploy in battle formation, which Maroboduus responded to by deploying his own army. Both were of similar size, roughly 30,000 warriors each, but Maroboduus had an edge in cavalry bringing over two thousand men on horseback while Arminius could muster only half that.


Arminius, conscious of the need to conserve his own army and desiring to enlist the bulk of his enemies, fought conservatively as did Maroboduus who believed that he could play for time and await reinforcements, not knowing that the storm had brought Drusus’ march to a crawl. The muddy ground, the late hour and the timidness of the commanders led to both sides avoiding a large melee, instead hurling insults and a handful of stones, javelins and arrows from the few bows that had been kept dry before retiring for the night. As they withdrew a group of Maroboduus’ cavalry attempted to attack the rear of the Arminius’ army but became bogged down in a particularly thick patch of mud and were unable to escape when set upon by a group of infantry that noticed their enemies’ distress and promptly butchered them.


During the night the rain resumed although at a constant heavy fall and without the freezing winds that made it difficult to light fires under cover, the rain continued on and off the next day and rather than give battle both sides remained in camp and sent small parties out to forage, hunt and fell trees, waiting for the weather to clear. When night fell Arminius’ troops withdrew to camp but Maroboduus’ remained out, gathering would under the cover of rain and darkness.


Like Maroboduus Arminius believed that Drusus was drawing closer every second and with the poor weather and possibility of imminent battle he was unwilling to send out his cavalry to scout for the Romans. Every hour that passed added to his anxiety so when he awoke the next morning to see that the sun was shining and the ground had dried Arminius deployed his army, keen to end the battle today but Maroboduus, having just topped off his food and believing Drusus could only be two or three days away, kept his army fortified in camp and dared Arminius to either starve him out or assault his fortifications, reinforced during the night with a palisade and wooden stakes. Arminius surrounded Maroboduus’ camp and as the hour grew late his men lit campfires but the next morning the Marcomanni found only ashes, Arminius and his army had withdrawn during the night. Maroboduus dispatched riders to pursue Arminius but they were already far gone and another bout of bad weather at midday forced an end to the pursuit and wiped away any tracks. When Drusus army arrived five days later all that Maroboduus knew was that Arminius had marched north into the heavily forested interior.


***


*OTL Bohemia and Bavaria north of the Danube.

 

[Sertorius126]

Claudius was older and was often overlooked and so was free to refuge in his beloved libraries...
Caligula was a child who had seen his own family destroyed as his mother and older brothers killed by order of Tiberius and his sisters unhappily married off and surely spent a lot of time asking himself when would be the moment in which hew also would be killed...
Here first Caligula will be of a little importance as he has two older brothers plus will have his family all alive and close so will be a totally different person (and remember who Agrippina Maior accused Tiberius and Livia to be the responsable of the death of her husband Germanicus)

Except Claudius’ mother thought he was a half made abomination, his sister thought him the most despicable of man and his grandmother thought he was an utter idiot, also, his brother was often away and died young. He had no family member who ever loved him, his best friends were his servants. Claudius could have been a man filled with hatred and anger more bloodthirsty than Caligula ever was, but he wasn’t, because he just didn’t have it in him, Caligula did. There’s no telling how Gaius would have been with his family still alive, very probably a more balanced human being, but his mother was a scheming hag not very much unlike her daughter and maybe his brothers would have belittled him like Titus and Vespasian used to do with Domitian. Gaius, regardless of his vicissitudes, had an ego bordering on pathological narcissism, and I don’t see him taking well to such a domineering mother. All things considered, he could have been very much the same, only with less power to him.