Rome’s first emperor, Augustus, is dead. The Empire’s new leader, Tiberius, is vulnerable. As mutinous legions rise and Tiberius struggles to control even his own formidable mother, Livia, the ripples of uncertainty reach even the shores of Tomis on the Black Sea. There, the exiled poet Ovid dares to hope that a new emperor will […]
Tiberius: 2,000 years of slander
The historian Lindsay Powell revisits the ancient sources and comes to a different conclusion about Tiberius Caesar, revealing a 2,000-year-old story of slander against Rome’s second emperor. Something strange happens in the mind of a historian while doing research about long dead people. Printed words evoke feelings, photographs morph into flesh, and unfamiliar names take […]
Tiberius by Lindsay Powell
History has not been kind to the memory of Tiberius Caesar (42BC to AD37), second emperor of the Romans. His reputation for capable generalship and sensible civic leadership are marred by reports of cruelty, treason trials and sexual depravity. Some historians have described him as a ‘tyrant’ or even a ‘monster’. But does he deserve […]