Customer Reviews

Tiberius Caesar

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A middling work, interesting to read, and a good introduction to Tiberius and his world. But the book never delves deeply into any given topic. That's not too surprising, considering the paucity of sources on Tiberius outside of Tacitus and Suetonius. Still, I was left feeling that the picture could have been painted more convincingly. The author veers in different directions. At one point, Germanicus is a mere "cypher" next to his wife Agrippina, who is (according to Baker) the potent, determined head of the Julian party. At another point, Agrippina is a political non-entity. Julia herself remains a mere abstraction. And Tiberius' mother Livia is hardly mentioned until fairly late in the chronology of his life. Even Sejanus, in spite of the vivid nickname "The Tuscan" and a few salacious details, never comes aive as a person.

Also, the concluding chapter is full of empty platitudes and sweeping generalizations, many of them concerning events that took place centuries after Tiberius, and few of which are supportable. That chapter was very disappointing, and would be savaged by serious historians.

Nevertheless, the book was a good quick read, and as I mentioned before, a good first primer on Tiberius. The accounts of the German campaigns are particularly good, and well-provided with maps. They're by no means detailed, but the overall story is told very well, and the campaigns are woven into the overall story of Tiberius' early career and later reign.

The author clearly rejects the view of Tiberius presented by Tacitus and Suetonius. He's undecided as to whether Tiberius murdered Postumus or Germanicus, or whether the stories about his debaucheries were true. (He highly doubts the latter.) He considers Tiberius to have been a sober, serious statesman who did his best to look out for the empire's best interests.

In summary, the book is not terribly demanding on the reader, but not empty-headed fluff either. I plan on getting his book on Constantine.

A very interesting biography of an emperor who is not that well known. Interesting facts and information on him and his rise to power, his relations, and his last years.