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97-629: The site is identified by its inscriptions. The Cibyratic plain is about 300 m above sea level. Cibyratis comprised the highest part of the basin of the Xanthus (river) , and all the upper and probably the middle part of the basin of the Indus river , for Strabo describes Cibyratis as reaching the Rhodian Peraea . Mount Cragus ( Babadağ ) at 6,500 feet (1,969 m) bounded it on the west and separated it from Caria. Pliny's brief description states that

194-477: A Roman client state and end the threat it posed on the Roman- Parthian border. Augustus was able to reach a compromise whereby the standards were returned, and Armenia remained a neutral territory between the two powers. Tiberius married Vipsania Agrippina , the daughter of Augustus's close friend and most famed general, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa . He was appointed to the position of praetor , and

291-422: A boar with a javelin to open soldiers' games, which severely limited his mobility in his final days. Since the 20th century, much scholarship has been dedicated to Tiberius's psychological profile. Modern assessments tend to agree that he likely suffered from lifelong major depressive disorder . Additionally, while wine consumption was a regular part of Roman life, contemporary sources note he consumed more than

388-510: A book-length psychological assessment of the Emperor, which further argued he suffered from some kind of anxiety disorder . Had he died before AD 23, he might have been hailed as an exemplary ruler. Despite the overwhelmingly negative characterisation left by Roman historians, Tiberius left the imperial treasury with nearly 3 billion sesterces upon his death. Rather than embark on costly campaigns of conquest, he chose to strengthen

485-718: A bust of Serapis and a statue of Asclepius . In the 2020 excavation season, another statue of Asclepius and the head of a bust of Serapis were found in Kibyra, date back to 2nd century A.D. In 2021, archaeologists found 30 graves in a basilica church. The researchers believe that many of them belonged to the important clergy of the city. 37°09′36″N 29°29′21″E  /  37.1601°N 29.4892°E  / 37.1601; 29.4892 Xanthus (river) Xanthos or Xanthus , also referred to by scholars as Arna , its Lycian name, ( Turkish : Ksantos , Lycian : 𐊀𐊕𐊑𐊏𐊀 Arñna , Greek : Ξάνθος , Latin : Xanthus )

582-405: A chisel, or other sharp tool. Two artists of Cibyra were more famous for their knavery than for their artistic skill. Another earthquake struck in 417 and the city could not all be rebuilt. The last residents left the city in the 8th century for the settlement of Horzum now known as Gölhisar. The ruins cover the crest of a hill between 300 and 400 feet above the level of the plain. The stone for

679-525: A court room for the law centre of Asia Minor in the Imperial Roman Period, where important trials were held. The facade was covered with marble. Coloured marble columns and marble cladding decorated the facade of the stage. The orchestra floor was 9.80 X 5.80 m and was covered with very finely cut white, red, purple and gray marble slabs in opus sectile . In the centre of the orchestra was an exquisite Medusa . The proskena facade facing

776-504: A dark, reclusive and sombre ruler who never really wanted to be emperor; Pliny the Elder called him "the gloomiest of men". Tiberius was born in Rome on 16 November 42 BC to Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla . Both of his biological parents belonged to the gens Claudia , an ancient patrician family that came to prominence in the early years of the republic. His mother

873-592: A new city. The move to the city is supported by archaeological finds at the Uytuptnar site about 18 km away from Cibyra where ruins from the early Iron Age were probably the previous settlements dating from around 3-4th c. BC before the great move. During Eumenes II sovereignty (197-159 BC), Cibyra seems to have been ruled by the Kingdom of Pergamon . The city grew to be powerful in the second century BC, Ancient sources and other written documents indicate that Kibyra

970-597: A part. Tacitus understood this to be Tiberius's innermost reason for moving to Rhodes, a reflection of his hatred of Julia and his longing for Vipsania. Tiberius, forbidden to see the woman he loved, found himself married to a woman he loathed, and publicly humiliated by her nighttime escapades in the Roman Forum . Whatever Tiberius's motives, his withdrawal was almost disastrous for Augustus's succession plans. Gaius and Lucius were still in their early teens, and Augustus, now 57 years old, had no immediate successor. There

1067-545: A picture of how Tiberius was perceived by the Roman senatorial class, and what his impact on the Principate was during his 23 years of rule. The affair of Sejanus and the final years of treason trials permanently damaged Tiberius's image and reputation. After Sejanus's fall, Tiberius's withdrawal from Rome was complete; the empire continued to run under the inertia of the bureaucracy established by Augustus, rather than through

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1164-410: A pillow. Seneca the Elder also reports Tiberius having died a natural death. According to Cassius Dio , Caligula, fearing that the emperor would recover, refused Tiberius's requests for food, insisting that he needed warmth, not food; then, assisted by Macro, he smothered the emperor in his bedclothes. Neither Josephus, Pliny, nor Philo relate the story of Tiberius's suffocation, stating simply

1261-550: A replacement. In AD 26, Tiberius moved to an imperial villa-complex he had inherited from Augustus, on the island of Capri . It was just off the coast of Campania, which was a traditional holiday retreat for Rome's upper classes, particularly those who valued cultured leisure ( otium ) and a Hellenised lifestyle. Lucius Aelius Sejanus had served the imperial family for almost twenty years when he became Praetorian Prefect in AD ;15. As Tiberius became more embittered with

1358-460: A road led from Cibyra to Laodicea on the Lycus . Manlius demanded and got from Moagetes I, the tyrant of Cibyra, 100 talents and 10,000 medimni of wheat. Livy says that Moagetes controlled Syleum and Alimne, in addition to Cibyra. William Smith suggested that Alimne could be identified with the remains of a large town on an island in lake Gölhisar (east of modern Gölhisar ), which were connected to

1455-641: A sacred spring close to the River Xanthus, and obtained from there an inscribed bronze tablet that predicted that the Greeks would destroy the Persian Empire. Reports on the city's surrender to Alexander the Great differ: Arrian reports a peaceful surrender, but Appian claims that the city was sacked. After Alexander's death, Xanthos was captured by Ptolemy I Soter from Antigonos . Xanthus

1552-406: A series of purge trials of Senators and wealthy equestrians in the city of Rome, removing those capable of opposing his power as well as extending the imperial (and his own) treasury. Germanicus's widow Agrippina the Elder and two of her sons, Nero Julius Caesar and Drusus Caesar were arrested and exiled in AD 30 and later all died in suspicious circumstances. In Sejanus's purge of Agrippina

1649-613: A small chapel, and another large basilica on the acropolis. In the sixth century, earthquakes damaged many buildings, and they were repaired. The city wall was also reinforced because of the Arab threat. The city was subsequently destroyed and deserted. Xanthus was a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archbishopric of Myra . In the Eastern Orthodox Church , Xanthoupolis was a titular diocese under

1746-469: A son, Drusus Julius Caesar . After Agrippa died, Augustus insisted that Tiberius divorce Vipsania and marry Agrippa's widow, Augustus' own daughter (Tiberius's step-sister) Julia . Tiberius reluctantly gave in. This second marriage proved scandalous, deeply unhappy, and childless; ultimately, Julia was sent into exile by her father. Tiberius adopted his nephew, the able and popular Germanicus , as heir. On Augustus's death in 14, Tiberius became princeps at

1843-480: A young man, he was considered attractive by Roman beauty standards. Even in adulthood, he was prone to severe acne outbreaks. He wore his hair cut short at the front and sides but long in the back so it covered the nape of his neck in a style similar to the mullet , which Suetonius claims was a family tradition of the Claudian gens. This assertion is confirmed by busts of other Claudian men, who were depicted with

1940-482: Is during this time that the question of Augustus's heir became most acute, and while Augustus had seemed to indicate that Agrippa and Marcellus would carry on his position in the event of his death, the ambiguity of succession became Augustus's chief problem. In response, a series of potential heirs seem to have been selected, among them Tiberius and his brother Drusus. In 24 BC, at the age of seventeen, Tiberius entered politics under Augustus's direction, receiving

2037-411: Is on the densely occupied southwest corner of the hill and had an orchestra with a Medusa mosaic floor, unlike any other in the world. From text written on the mosaic floors in front of the odeon, the building was first built in the second half of 2nd c. AD for the city council assembly ( Bouleuterion ) but shortly afterwards, a stage ( skena ) was added to the building to make it into a theatre and

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2134-634: The Athenian Kimon . Xanthos was later rebuilt in stone. The Nereid Monument , the Tomb of Payava , and the original sculptures of the Harpy Tomb are exhibited in the British Museum . The Harpy Tomb itself is located in its original location at Xanthos, now with replica reliefs. The archeological excavations and surface investigations at Xanthos have yielded inscriptions in both

2231-865: The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , whose bishop assisted the Metropolitan Province of Smyrna, part of the larger Province of Asia Minor. Its last known bishop was Father Ignatios, later Metropolitan of Libya under the Patriarchate of Alexandria , who presided over this diocese from 1863 to 1884. In the Catholic Church, the diocese was nominally restored in 1933 as the Titular bishopric of Xanthus . Excavations at Xanthos have shown that wooden structures were destroyed in c.  470 BC , probably by

2328-657: The First Mithridatic War , the Roman general Lucius Licinius Murena deposed the last tyrant of Cibyra, Moagetes II, who was the son of one Pancrates, and dissolved the Tetrapolis. Balbura and Bubon were assigned to the Lycian League . Writing at the beginning of the 1st century AD, Strabo says that the Cibyratae spoke four languages: Pisidian , Solymian , Greek , and Lydian . This makes Cibyra

2425-783: The Lycian language and Greek, including bilingual texts that are useful in the understanding of Lycian. The Xanthian Obelisk , otherwise known as the Inscribed Pillar, is a trilingual stele which was found in the city; it records an older Anatolian language conventionally known as the Milyan . Xanthos is located near to the modern village of Kınık . Xanthos was added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site , along with nearby Letoon , in 1988. Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( / t aɪ ˈ b ɪər i ə s / ty- BEER -ee-əs ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37)

2522-650: The Lycians , and later for the Persians , Greeks and Romans who in turn conquered the region. Xanthos influenced its neighbours architecturally; the Nereid Monument directly inspired the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus in the region of Caria . The acropolis of Xanthos dates from the 8th century BCE. The city was mentioned by ancient Greek and Roman writers. The Greek historian Strabo noted that Xanthos

2619-458: The Persians defeated a small Lycian army in the flatlands to the north of the city in c.  540 BC . The Lycians retreated into the city, which Harpagus then besieged. The Lycians destroyed their acropolis , and killed their wives, children and slaves, before engaging the enemy in a suicidal attack. During the Persian occupation, a local leadership was installed and by 520 BC it

2716-573: The Princeps to the death of Germanicus is unknown; rather than continuing to stand trial when it became evident that the Senate was against him, Piso committed suicide. In AD 22, Tiberius shared his tribunician authority with his son Drusus, and began making yearly excursions to Campania that reportedly became longer and longer every year. In AD 23, Drusus died in mysterious circumstances, and Tiberius seems to have made no effort to elevate

2813-504: The consulship . He was cremated with all due ceremony and, as had been arranged beforehand, deified , his will read, and Tiberius, now a middle-aged man at 55, was confirmed as his sole surviving heir. Tiberius peacefully took power, unchallenged by any rivals. On 17 September Tiberius called the Senate in order to validate his position as Princeps , and, as had Augustus before him, grant himself its powers. Tiberius already had

2910-466: The standards of the legions under the command of Marcus Licinius Crassus (53 BC) (at the Battle of Carrhae ), Decidius Saxa (40 BC), and Mark Antony (36 BC) and, after negotiations with Parthia's King Phraates IV , either Augustus or Tiberius, or perhaps both together, were able to reclaim them for Rome. Tiberius then led a sizeable force into Armenia , presumably to establish it as

3007-536: The Elder and her family, Caligula , Agrippina the Younger , Julia Drusilla , and Julia Livilla were the only survivors. In 31, Sejanus held the consulship with Tiberius in absentia , and began his play for power in earnest. Precisely what happened is difficult to determine, but Sejanus seems to have covertly attempted to court those families who were tied to the Julians and attempted to ingratiate himself with

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3104-521: The Julian family line to place himself, as an adopted Julian, in the position of Princeps , or as a possible regent . Livilla was later implicated in this plot and was revealed to have been Sejanus's lover for several years. The plot seems to have involved the two of them overthrowing Tiberius, with the support of the Julians, and either assuming the Principate themselves, or serving as regent to

3201-601: The administrative and political powers of the Princeps , but he lacked the titles of Augustus and Pater Patriae ("Father of the country"), and refused the Civic Crown . Like Augustus before him, Tiberius may have sought to represent himself as a reluctant yet devoted public servant, no more than an ordinary citizen who wanted to serve the state and people to the best of his ability, but his refusal of these titular, quasi-religious honours, and his reluctance to accept

3298-423: The age of 55. He seems to have taken on the responsibilities of head of state with great reluctance and perhaps a genuine sense of inadequacy in the role, compared to the capable, self-confident and charismatic Augustus. From the outset, Tiberius had a difficult, resentful relationship with the Senate and suspected many plots against him. Nevertheless, he proved to be an effective and efficient administrator. After

3395-417: The age of nine, delivered the eulogy for his biological father at the rostra . In 29 BC, he rode in the triumphal chariot along with his adoptive father Octavian in celebration of the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra at Actium . In 23 BC, Emperor Augustus became gravely ill, and his possible death threatened to plunge the Roman world into even more civil conflict. Historians generally agree that it

3492-478: The audience was made of thin coloured marble plates decorated with motifs on the doors and columns. A stoa in front of the odeon has nine columns and a mosaic floor whose text records its construction year as 249-254 AD. The mosaic was sponsored by Aurelius Sopatros and the Klaudius Theodoros brothers. The stadium, 650 feet in length and 80 in breadth, is at the lower extremity of the ridge on which

3589-581: The bonuses promised to them by Augustus, and showed early signs of mutiny when it was clear that a response from Tiberius was not forthcoming. Germanicus and Tiberius's son, Drusus Julius Caesar , were dispatched with a small force to quell the uprising and bring the legions back in line. Germanicus took charge of the mutinous troops and led them on a short campaign across the Rhine into Germanic territory, promising that whatever treasure they could grab would count as their bonus. Germanicus's forces took over all

3686-670: The buildings is limestone from the neighbourhood. There are no traces of city walls. One of the chief buildings is a theatre in fine preservation: the diameter is 266 feet. The seats command a view of the Cibyratic plain, and of the mountains towards the Milyas. On the platform near the theatre are the ruins of several large buildings supposed to be temples, some of the Doric and others of the Corinthian order. The Odeon or music theatre

3783-506: The buildings preserved in the city were erected after the earthquake. Subsequent Roman emperors assisted in reconstruction of the city, particularly Claudius after whom the grateful citizens added Caesarea to its name as indicated by an inscription referring to "The Council and People of the Caesarean Cibyrites" ( Καισαρεων Κιβυρατων ἡ βουλη και ὁ δημος ) and by the legend "Caesareans" ( Καισαρεων ), which appears on some of

3880-467: The city from flames. In his words, 150 “did not escape having their lives saved.” Plutarch explains such suicidal behavior by the city’s similar response to Persian conquest generations earlier. It was rebuilt under Mark Antony . Most of the buildings visible today were built during the Later Empire. The town took on a grid plan. A large piazza with porticoes was built in the west, probably where

3977-419: The city stands. It was used not only for races, but also for gladiator fights as indicated by the extensive gladiator friezes discovered. The hillside was partly excavated to make room for it; and on the side formed out of the slope of the hill were ranged 21 rows of seats, which at the upper extremity of the stadium turned so as to make a theatre-like termination. This part of the stadium is very perfect, but

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4074-454: The classical agora was. There was also a triple-naved building which may have started as a pagan basilica and then become a church. There was probably a large porticoed avenue terminated with. a gateway. Xanthos, like the rest of Lycia, prospered in the later Roman period. Luxury houses were built on the Lycian acropolis. Several churches were also built, including a large basilica (74m x 29m),

4171-590: The clear candidate for succession. As such, in 12 BC he received military commissions in Pannonia and Germania , both areas highly volatile and of key importance to Augustan policy. In 6 BC, Tiberius launched a pincer movement against the Marcomanni . Setting out northwest from Carnuntum on the Danube with four legions, Tiberius passed through Quadi territory in order to invade Marcomanni territory from

4268-455: The coins of Cibyra. They also initiated games and started dating a new era from the year of 25 AD. Hadrian , while travelling through the eastern provinces of the Empire, arrived at Kibyra in 129 and granted many privileges to its inhabitants. Cibyra was the centre of a conventus (an assize district), which contained twenty-five cities, according to Pliny the Elder . Laodicea on the Lycus

4365-454: The conclusion of the lustral ceremonies." Thus, according to Suetonius, these ceremonies and the declaration of his "co-Princeps" took place in the year AD 12, after Tiberius's return from Germania. "But he was at once recalled, and finding Augustus in his last illness but still alive, he spent an entire day with him in private." Augustus died on 19 August AD 14, a month before his 76th birthday and exactly 56 years after he first assumed

4462-454: The date and location of his death, contradictory accounts exist of the precise circumstances. Tacitus relates that the emperor appeared to have stopped breathing, and that Caligula, who was at Tiberius's villa, was being congratulated on his succession to the empire, when news arrived that the emperor had revived and was recovering his faculties. He goes on to report that those who had moments before recognized Caligula as Augustus fled in fear of

4559-492: The date of his death and/or the length of his reign. Modern medical analysis has concluded Tiberius most likely died as a result of myocardial infarction . After his death, the Senate refused to vote Tiberius the divine honours that had been paid to Augustus, and mobs filled the streets yelling "To the Tiber with Tiberius!" (the bodies of criminals were typically thrown into the river, instead of being buried or burnt). However,

4656-499: The death of Lucius. Augustus, with perhaps some pressure from Livia, allowed Tiberius to return to Rome as a private citizen and nothing more. In AD 4, Gaius was killed in Armenia, and Augustus had no other choice but to turn to Tiberius. The death of Gaius initiated a flurry of activity in the household of Augustus. Tiberius was adopted in 26 June as full son and heir, and in turn he was required to adopt his nephew Germanicus ,

4753-565: The deaths of his nephew Germanicus in AD 19 and his son Drusus in 23, Tiberius became reclusive and aloof. In 26 he removed himself from Rome and left administration largely in the hands of his ambitious praetorian prefect Sejanus , whom he later had executed for treason, and then Sejanus's replacement, Macro . When Tiberius died, he was succeeded by his grand-nephew and adopted grandson, Germanicus's son Caligula , whose lavish building projects and varyingly successful military endeavours drained much of

4850-460: The disfigurement of his face may have been contributing factors to his retreat to Capri, and noted that he regularly attempted to cover his sores with plaster . Despite this, Suetonius reports that Tiberius enjoyed good general health for the duration of his reign. Late in life he suffered from a poor pulse, which modern scholars believe may have been a sign of heart disease . Shortly before his death, he suffered an injury to his back while killing

4947-599: The east. Meanwhile, general Gaius Sentius Saturninus would depart east from Moguntiacum on the Rhine with two or three legions, pass through newly annexed Hermunduri territory, and attack the Marcomanni from the west. The campaign was a resounding success, but Tiberius could not subjugate the Marcomanni because he was soon summoned to the Rhine frontier to protect Rome's new conquests in Germania. He returned to Rome and

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5044-462: The emperor was cremated, and his ashes were placed in the Mausoleum of Augustus . In his will , Tiberius nominated Caligula and Tiberius Gemellus as his joint heirs. Caligula's first act on becoming Princeps was to void Tiberius's will. Suetonius describes Tiberius as being pale skinned, broad shouldered, left-handed , and exceptionally strong and tall for a Roman, although he had poor posture. Suetonius and Paterculus both write that, as

5141-408: The emperor's wrath, while Macro took advantage of the chaos to have Tiberius smothered with his own bedclothes. Suetonius reports that, upon recovering after an illness, and finding himself deserted by his attendants, Tiberius attempted to rise from his couch, but fell dead. Suetonius further reports several rumours, including that the emperor had been poisoned by Caligula, starved, and smothered with

5238-556: The entrance to this avenue of tombs was a massive triumphal arch of Doric architecture, now in ruins. The inscriptions from the site are collected in IK Kibyra , volume 60 of the Inschriften Griechischer Städte aus Kleinasien  [ de ] series. That corpus contains 448 Greek and Latin inscriptions, ranging in date from the second century BC to Late Antiquity . In 2019, archaeologists found

5335-418: 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. The result was a stronger, more consolidated empire, ensuring the imperial institutions introduced by his adoptive father would remain for centuries to come. Of the authors whose texts have survived, only four describe

5432-407: The eyes of Tiberius, who thereafter refers to him as his Socius Laborum (Partner of my labours). Tiberius had statues of Sejanus erected throughout the city, and Sejanus became more and more visible as Tiberius began to withdraw from Rome altogether. Finally, with Tiberius's withdrawal in AD 26, Sejanus was left in charge of the entire state mechanism and the city of Rome. Sejanus's position

5529-485: The four innocent people to be condemned fell victims to the excessive zeal of the Senate, not to the emperor's tyranny. While Tiberius was in Capri, rumours abounded as to what exactly he was doing there. Suetonius records the rumours of lurid tales of sexual perversity, including graphic depictions of child molestation, cruelty, and most of all his paranoia. While heavily sensationalised, Suetonius's stories at least paint

5626-684: The full powers of a princeps were taken as insults to the elite who offered them; signs of hypocrisy, not humility. According to Tacitus, Tiberius derided the Senate as "men fit to be slaves". Antagonism between Tiberius and his senate seems to have been a feature of his rule. In his first few years as emperor, Tiberius seems to have wanted the Senate to act alone, with no reference to him or his responsibilities as "first Senator". His direct orders were rather vague, inspiring debates on what he actually meant, rather than passing his legislation. The Roman legions in Pannonia and Germania had not been paid

5723-457: The governor of Syria, of poisoning him. The Pisones had been longtime supporters of the Claudians, and had allied themselves with the young Octavian after his marriage to Livia, the mother of Tiberius. Germanicus's death and accusations indicted the new Princeps . Piso was placed on trial and, according to Tacitus, threatened to implicate Tiberius. Whether the governor actually could connect

5820-605: The last locality where the Lydian language, by then extinct in Lydia itself according to extant accounts, is attested. Cibyra was heavily damaged by an earthquake in 23 AD in the time of Tiberius , who recommended a Senatus Consultum be enacted relieving it from payment of taxes (tributum) for three years. In the passage discussing these events, Tacitus calls it the civitas Cibyratica apud Asiam (Cibyratic community in Asia). Most of

5917-497: The leadership of the Princeps . Suetonius records that he became paranoid , and spent a great deal of time brooding over the death of his son. During this period there was a short invasion by Parthia , and incursions on Roman territories by Dacian and Germanic tribes. Little was done to plan or secure Tiberius's succession . The Julians and their supporters were diminished in numbers and political influence, thanks to Sejanus, and Tiberius's immediate heirs were dead. Caligula ,

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6014-583: The mainland by an ancient causeway. Following the Treaty of Apamea in 188 BC, Cibyra became part of the Attalid Kingdom . In 133 BC, the last Attalid king, Attalus III left his kingdom to the Roman Republic , which reconstituted it as the province of Asia . It is not clear whether Cibyra formed part of the new province or was granted its freedom like the rest of Lycia. In 83 BC, during

6111-531: The other three cities had one vote, but Cibyra had two votes, since it could muster 30,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry. Cibyra is first mentioned by Livy in his account of Ganaeus Manlius Vulso 's operations in 189 BC during the Galatian War . Manlius approached Cibyra from the upper part of the Maeander river valley and through Caria . He probably advanced upon it by the valley of Karaook, through which

6208-614: The position of Princeps , he began to depend more and more upon the limited secretariat left to him by Augustus, and specifically upon Sejanus and the Praetorians. In AD 17 or 18, Tiberius had trimmed the ranks of the Praetorian Guard responsible for the defence of the city, and had moved it from encampments outside of the city walls into the city itself , giving Sejanus access to somewhere between 6000 and 9000 troops. The death of Drusus elevated Sejanus, at least in

6305-558: The position of quaestor , and was granted the right to stand for election as praetor and consul five years in advance of the age required by law. Similar provisions were made for Drusus. 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 BC, Tiberius went east to join Augustus . The Parthian Empire had previously captured

6402-416: The powers held by Tiberius were made equal, rather than second, to Augustus's own powers, he was for all intents and purposes a "co-Princeps" with Augustus, and, in the event of the latter's passing, would simply continue to rule without an interregnum or possible upheaval. However, according to Suetonius , after a two-year stint in Germania, which lasted from AD 10–12, "Tiberius returned and celebrated

6499-420: The result of post-traumatic stress disorder . Proponents of this theory believe the tales of Tiberius's lurid sexual exploits were contemporary exaggerations of sexual compulsivity as a means of coping with untreated trauma. Other modern diagnoses offered for Tiberius include obsessive compulsive personality disorder and Schizoid personality disorder ; the latter diagnoses was offered by Gregorio Marañón in

6596-462: The river Indus, which rises in the hills of the Cibyratae, has sixty perennial tributaries. The city is mentioned by ancient literary sources. According to Strabo, the Cibyratae ( Ancient Greek : Κιβυρᾶται ) were said to be descendants of Lydians who migrated and occupied the Cibyratis region and subdued the neighbouring Pisidians . A short time after their arrival they moved their settlement to

6693-468: The same hairstyle. Suetonius describes his eyes as being larger than average, while a passage in Pliny indicates they were grey or blue-grey; polychromy restoration on a bust of Tiberius depict him with grey eyes and hair. Suetonius reports he tended to talk with his hands , a habit others found unnerving, and which Augustus saw as an inherent character flaw. Both Cassius Dio and Tacitus record that by

6790-437: The seats on the hill side are much displaced by the shrubs that have grown up between them. The seats overlook the plain of Cibyra. The seats on the side opposite to the hill were marble blocks placed on a low wall built along the edge of the terrace, formed by cutting the side of the hill. Near the entrance to the stadium a ridge runs eastward, crowned by a paved way, bordered on each side by sarcophagi and sepulchral monuments. At

6887-557: The sole surviving son of Germanicus, or Tiberius's own grandson, Tiberius Gemellus , were possibly candidates. However, Tiberius only made a half-hearted attempt at the end of his life to make Caligula a quaestor , and thus give him some credibility as a possible successor, while Gemellus himself was still only a teenager and thus completely unsuitable for some years to come. Tiberius died in Misenum on 16 March AD 37, months before his 78th birthday. While ancient sources agree on

6984-458: The son of his brother Nero Claudius Drusus and Augustus's niece Antonia Minor . Along with his adoption, Tiberius received tribunician power as well as a share of Augustus's maius imperium , something that even Marcus Agrippa may never have had. In AD 7, Agrippa Postumus , a younger brother of Gaius and Lucius, was disowned by Augustus and banished to the island of Pianosa , to live in solitary confinement. Thus, when in AD 13,

7081-610: The sorrow of each mourner and followed the rotting corpses, till they were dragged to the Tiber, where, floating or driven on the bank, no one dared to burn or to touch them. However, Tacitus's portrayal of a tyrannical, vengeful emperor has been challenged by some historians: Edward Togo Salmon notes in A History of the Roman World : In the whole twenty two years of Tiberius's reign, not more than fifty-two persons were accused of treason, of whom almost half escaped conviction, while

7178-441: The state. As Tacitus vividly describes, Executions were now a stimulus to his fury, and he ordered the death of all who were lying in prison under accusation of complicity with Sejanus. There lay, singly or in heaps, the unnumbered dead, of every age and sex, the illustrious with the obscure. Kinsfolk and friends were not allowed to be near them, to weep over them, or even to gaze on them too long. Spies were set round them, who noted

7275-595: The territory between the Rhine and the Elbe . They took control of the Teutoburg forest , where three Roman legions and their auxiliary cohorts, led by Publius Quinctilius Varus , had been annihilated by Germanic tribes several years before. Germanicus took back the legionary standards lost in that disaster, saving them from the disgrace of captivity. These bold and successful actions increased Germanicus's already high popular standing. After his return to Rome, Germanicus

7372-490: The time he became Emperor, Tiberius had gone bald. Tacitus further reports that the Emperor had lost most of his body fat and become abnormally thin, although he retained his physical strength. He also contracted a disfiguring facial ailment which may have been a severe case of herpes , an outbreak of which affected the Empire during his reign; Tiberius banned kissing at public functions in an effort to curtail its spread. Tacitus believed that embarrassment over his baldness and

7469-501: The triumph which he had postponed, accompanied also by his generals, for whom he had obtained the triumphal regalia. And before turning to enter the Capitol, he dismounted from his chariot and fell at the knees of his father, who was presiding over the ceremonies." "Since the consuls caused a law to be passed soon after this that he should govern the provinces jointly with Augustus and hold the census with him, he set out for Illyricum on

7566-455: The wealth that Tiberius had accumulated in the public and Imperial coffers through good management. Tiberius allowed the worship of his divine Genius in only one temple, in Rome's eastern provinces, and promoted restraint in the empire-wide cult to the deceased Augustus. When Tiberius died, he was given a sumptuous funeral befitting his office, but no divine honours. He came to be remembered as

7663-489: The young Tiberius Gemellus or possibly even Caligula . Those who stood in his way were tried for treason and swiftly dealt with. In AD 31 Sejanus was summoned to a meeting of the Senate, where a letter from Tiberius was read condemning Sejanus and ordering his immediate execution. Sejanus was tried, and he and several of his colleagues were executed within the week. As commander of the Praetorian Guard, he

7760-404: Was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus , the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Claudius Nero and his wife, Livia Drusilla . In 38 BC, Tiberius's mother divorced his father and married Augustus. Following the untimely deaths of Augustus's two grandsons and adopted heirs, Gaius and Lucius Caesar , Tiberius

7857-534: Was minting coins. By 516 BC Xanthos had been included in the first Nomos of Darius I in the tribute list. From Telmessos the army of Alexander the Great marched over the mountains to Xanthos. There representatives from each of the cities of the Lycian League, including the port of Phaselis , personally offered the Lycians' submission, which was accepted. Alexander was encouraged when he found

7954-481: Was also a member of the Livii family, an ancient plebeian but prominent family, through the adoption into it of his maternal grandfather. Little is recorded of Tiberius's early life. In 39 BC, his mother divorced his biological father and, though again pregnant by Tiberius Nero, remarried to Octavian , later known as Augustus. In 38 BC his brother, Nero Claudius Drusus , was born. In 32 BC, Tiberius, at

8051-548: Was an ancient city near the present-day village of Kınık , in Antalya Province , Turkey. The ruins are located on a hill on the left bank of the River Xanthos. The number and quality of the surviving tombs at Xanthos are a notable feature of the site, which, together with nearby Letoon , was declared to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. The city of Xanthos was a centre of culture and commerce for

8148-403: Was appointed as consul , and around this same time his son, Drusus Julius Caesar , was born. Agrippa's death in 12 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

8245-415: Was awarded a full triumph , which he celebrated in AD 17. It was the first full triumph held since Augustus's own in 29 BC. In AD 18 Germanicus was granted control over the eastern part of the empire, like Agrippa and Tiberius before him. This was interpreted as a sign that he would be Tiberius's successor; but Germanicus died just over a year later, having accused Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso ,

8342-520: Was considered healthy by Roman standards; in the legions he earned the nickname "Biberius" (from bibere , "to drink"). This has led modern writers to conclude he probably suffered from alcoholism . As the Julio-Claudian Emperor who saw the most frontlines combat, and the one who actually led troops into battle, modern writers have concluded Tiberus' erratic and paranoid behavior later in life, as well as his alcohol intake, may have been

8439-819: Was consul for a second time in 7 BC, and in 6 BC was granted tribunician power ( tribunicia potestas ) and control in the East, positions that Agrippa had held before him. In 6 BC, while on the verge of accepting command in the East and becoming the second-most powerful man in Rome, Tiberius announced his withdrawal from politics and retired to Rhodes . The motives for Tiberius's withdrawal are unclear. Some historians have speculated that Tiberius and Drusus were only ever intended as caretakers, and would have been swept aside once Julia's two sons by Agrippa, Gaius and Lucius , were adopted as Augustus's heirs and came of age. The promiscuous, and very public behaviour of his unhappily married wife, Julia, may have also played

8536-469: Was designated Augustus's successor. Prior to this, Tiberius had proved himself an able diplomat and one of the most successful Roman generals : his conquests of Pannonia , Dalmatia , Raetia , and (temporarily) parts of Germania laid the foundations for the empire 's northern frontier. Early in his career, Tiberius was happily married to Vipsania , daughter of Augustus's friend, distinguished general and intended heir, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa . They had

8633-542: Was famous for its blacksmithing, leather processing and horse breeding. Other research shows that pottery production was very intense in the area also. Its territory extended between Pisidia and the adjoining Milyas to Lycia and the Peraea of the Rhodians . At this time it joined with three neighbouring Lycian towns, Bubon , Balbura , and Oenoanda , to form a confederation called the Tetrapolis. Within this confederation,

8730-553: Was in the Roman province of Lycia . In 42 BC Brutus came to Lycia in the Roman Civil Wars , to obtain funds for his campaign in that year before the Battle of Philippi . The Lycian League refused to contribute; Brutus besieged Xanthos and the city was once again destroyed and only 150 Xanthian men survived the carnage. But Plutarch describes the carnage as self-inflicted, with Brutus and his Romans trying but unable to save

8827-479: 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. Soon afterwards, Tiberius met with Augustus, and steps were taken to ensure that Tiberius and Vipsania would never meet again. Tiberius continued to be elevated by Augustus, and after Agrippa's death and his brother Drusus's death in 9 BC, seemed

8924-802: Was no longer a guarantee of a peaceful transfer of power after Augustus's death, nor a guarantee that his family, and therefore his family's allies, would continue to hold power should the position of Princeps survive. Somewhat melodramatic stories tell of Augustus pleading with Tiberius to stay, even going so far as to stage a serious illness. Tiberius's response was to anchor off the shore of Ostia until word came that Augustus had survived, then sailing straightway for Rhodes. Tiberius reportedly regretted his departure and requested to return to Rome several times, but each time Augustus refused his requests. With Tiberius's departure, succession rested solely on Augustus's two young grandsons, Lucius and Gaius Caesar. The situation became more precarious in AD 2 with

9021-463: Was not quite that of successor; he had requested marriage in AD 25 to Tiberius's niece, Livilla , though under pressure quickly withdrew the request. While Sejanus's Praetorians controlled the imperial post, and therefore the information that Tiberius received from Rome and the information Rome received from Tiberius, the presence of Livia seems to have checked his overt power for a time. Her death in AD 29 changed all that. Sejanus began

9118-460: Was one of the chief cities of this Conventus. The poet Horace mentions Cibyra as a place of great trade William Smith notes that its position does not seem very favourable for commerce, since it is neither on the sea nor on a great road, and suggests that the city might have exported grain of the Indus valley. Iron ore was plentiful in Cibyratis and a peculiarity was that its iron was easily cut with

9215-511: Was replaced by Naevius Sutorius Macro . Tacitus claims that more treason trials followed and that whereas Tiberius had been hesitant to act at the outset of his reign, now, towards the end of his life, he seemed to do so without compunction. The hardest hit were those families with political ties to the Julians. Even the imperial magistracy was hit, as any and all who had associated with Sejanus or could in some way be tied to his schemes were summarily tried and executed, their properties seized by

9312-701: 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 , conquering Raetia . In 15 BC he discovered the sources of the Danube , and soon afterward the bend of the middle course. Returning to Rome in 13 BC, Tiberius

9409-591: Was the largest city in Lycia . The important religious sanctuary of Leto at Letoon , 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south of Xanthos, dates from the late 6th century BC, and was closely associated with the city and linked by a sacred road. The Greek historians Herodotus and Appian both described the conquest of the city by the Median general Harpagus on behalf of the Persian Empire , According to Herodotus,

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