-Tiberius actually wasn't that bad of a ruler from an administrative perspective. He didn't get involved in foreign wars and usually resolved border disputes peacefully.
-Also spent lots of money on improving the infrastructure of the empire.
-It's possible that he never actually wanted to become emperor to begin with, or had become quickly disenchanted with it.
-It's also possible that Livia, his mother, had pushed him into the role.
-It is at this point in the story that Lucius Sejanus becomes important.
-Sejanus was a member of the Praetorian Guard.
-Who were the Praetorian Guard?
-Had more or less existed around 200 BC.
-Understood usually to just mean an elite group of soldiers who served as bodyguards to a general. The praetorium was the name of the tent of a Roman general in a camp.
-The actual Praetorian Guard as an official organization emerged when Augustus assumed control of the empire.
-Acted as a police force, gestapo, and bodyguards for the ruler and his family.
-Organized into five cohorts including 500 (later 1000) men each.
-Scattered in lodgings throughout the Italian peninsula in order to make them more hidden.
-Only three cohorts on active duty at any given time in the city of Rome.
-Were tightly controlled by Augustus, but once he died they began to grow in power.
-This was probably exacerbated when Tiberius decided to have all of the Praetorians lodged in a single giant barracks just outside of Rome (in addition to adding three cohorts to their ranks!).
-Additionally, the Praetorian Guard were controlled by two prefects under Augustus, but Tiberius changed this to just one.
-Lucius Sejanus was the first sole prefect to preside over this new order of the Praetorian Guard, and he was a man of Machiavellian principles, secretly transforming the Guard into a more political organization.
-Under this growth in power, Roman emperors would always kind of be at the mercy of the Praetorians.
-So who was Sejanus?
-Born into the equestrian class. His father was a Praetorian prefect under Augustus.
-Approved as the sole prefect of the new order of the Praetorian Guard by Tiberius in 15 AD.
-What did Sejanus want?
-Some sources say that he himself wanted to be princeps, but more likely is that he just wanted to be regent for the next princeps, presumably one of Tiberius' heirs.
-However, his obstacle was Drusus, Tiberius' son. Drusus was the heir, but too old to require a regent. Also, Drusus hated Sejanus, and the feeling was mutual.
-Once he became prefect, Sejanus came up with a plan...
-Drusus was married to Livilla ("Little Livia" AKA Claudia Livia Julia). If Drusus died and Sejanus married Livilla, then with Drusus out of the way he could ascend his equestrian status and enter into the true elite.
-Surprisingly, his plan kind of worked! He successfully seduced Livilla, and after they started having an affair Sejanus convinced Livilla that Drusus simply had to go.
-The plan worked, and in 23 AD Livilla had Drusus poisoned, resulting in his death :(
-Drusus' death was arguably when Tiberius really jumped the shark.
-Tiberius had invested heavily in Drusus as an heir, believing that Drusus was the key to getting the Senate and the people to warm up to his reign and legacy.
-It is unclear as to how much Tiberius actually loved his son, however... there are conflicting reports.
-Tiberius, unsuspecting of Sejanus' involvement, turned to him for support, trusting in him to do a bunch of administrative shit which Tiberius hated doing anyway. This allowed for Sejanus to amass more and more power.
-However, Tiberius forbade Sejanus from marrying Livilla due to his equestrian status.
-In response, Sejanus just decided to instead accumulate as much power as possible while simultaneously isolating Tiberius.
-Sejanus also began issuing treason charges against various members of Agrippina's family, who were still convinced that Tiberius had had Germanicus killed; this further fanned the flames of anger between the two parties.
-This caused Tiberius to become even more paranoid and withdrawn, taking longer and more frequent vacations into the countryside.
-Finally, in 26 AD, Tiberius decided to permanently leave Rome, and moved to the tiny island of Capri (off the coast of Campania). He would never return.
-What role did Livia (Tiberius' mom) play in all of this?
-Many rumored that she was truly controlling everything, and was omnipresent in his life. Also, they had a complicated relationship (in addition to a lot of disagreements).
-To be fair, Livia also didn't do much to try and refute this either.
-Did Tiberius leave Rome to get away from her? When she died in 29 AD, he claimed he was too busy to come to the funeral.
-Also, it was Livia (AKA "the Augusta") who also kept Sejanus from getting TOO powerful. Obviously, Sejanus was thrilled when she finally kicked the bucket.
-Sejanus also had to worry about Agrippina, as she also began claiming that her sons were the true heirs to the empire after Tiberius croaked (or were the rightful heirs to begin with and not Tiberius!).
-This began to cause tension within the family.
-Once Livia died, Sejanus immediately went after Agrippina, possibly on the orders of Tiberius, arresting her and other immediate members of her family on charges of treason.
-Drusus Caesar starved to death in prison (he was so hungry that he had eaten the stuffing from his bed!).
-Nero Caesar was exiled to island of Ponza (about 110 km west of modern-day Naples). He was later murdered (or perhaps just starved to death, it's unclear).
-Agrippina was exiled to the island of Pandataria (modern-day Ventotene; same place where Julia the Elder (Agrippina's mother) had been exiled). She eventually starved to death or perhaps was murdered.
-The only survivor of this purge was Agrippina's youngest son, Gaius (AKA Caligula!).
-After Agrippina and Livia were out of the way, Sejnaus, using Tiberius' paranoia, began to persecute people daily under treason charges, basically turning Rome into Nazi Germany.
-Of course, those persecuted were almost always personal enemies of Sejanus.
-31 AD- Sejanus finally attained the position of consul.
-Unfortunately, the records for this part of Roman history (via Tacitus) are lost, so it's kind of unclear what exactly happened, but we know that somehow Tiberius became aware of Sejanus' manipulations and power games, and began to believe that Sejanus was going to overthrow the regime.
-Sejanus was lured to the Senate, then arrested and convicted of treason.
-Naevius Sutorius Macro was then appointed prefect of the Praetorian Guard, and Sejanus was executed.
-Everyone in the city had hated Sejanus, so there were mobs who tore his body to shreds and then went on a rampage, killing anyone who had been friendly to him.
-Livilla was also arrested and executed.
-Around this time too, a dude named Yeshua of Nazareth was allegedly tried and executed by the Roman government in the province of Judea.
-This is of no significance to the major events going on at this point in the timeline of the empire, but of course it will be extremely important later on!
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