Principate Of Tiberius Research Paper

Assess the benefits that the Principate of Tiberius brought to Rome and the provinces in this period

The Principate of Tiberius provided stability and prosperity to Rome and its provinces, consolidating the policies and practices established by Augustus. Tiberius worked cooperatively with the Senate and introduced reforms which benefited rule in the provinces and strengthened administration of the empire. While he provided careful oversight of the administration of the Roman Empire and the army, increasingly he sought to delegate his role. He distanced himself from the people with the introduction of the maiestas trials and from the central control of his government by retiring to Capri and relying on Sejanus for information.

As princeps,
He transferred the election of magistrates from the Popular Assemblies to the Senate and paid special attention to his choice of governors and civil servants, ensuring there was more control over who was given power and that they were in the position for a longer term, so they would be able to carry out their position successfully. This also allowed him to have control from a distance when he was in Rome dealing with the provinces and later when he retired to Capri. He was concerned with maintaining public order in Rome and Italy, and according to Salmon, despite his retirement to Capri “he neglected neither Italy nor the Empire. Even Rome, a place for which he entertained obvious dislikes”. Garzetti describes him as “a shrewd administrator, generous, but also economical”. In keeping the provinces stable, Tiberius aimed not at expanding the territory but putting money back into the already existing empire. When cities in the Asian provinces were destroyed by earthquakes, Tiberius made the inhabitants exempt from paying tax for five years, and he lent the treasury money from his own wealth. The provinces saw Rome cared for its subjects, and consequently Tiberius became very popular in the provinces. Tiberius provided large subsidies to lower grain prices, interest free loans to alleviate a financial crisis and reduced sales taxes. As well as this, he protected
Following Augustus’ advice not to extend the empire beyond its present frontiers, except when necessary for security had meant that less troops were needed to maintain the borders and money wasn’t spent on wars. As a result, Tiberius was able to retain more money in the treasury to spend on Romanising the provinces and tying them closer to Rome. Tiberius strengthened the eastern frontiers of the empire with diplomacy rather than aggression and limited the annexation of client-kingdoms once they were Romanised. The army maintained strong allegiance to Tiberius throughout his reign, and as Tiberius had had a long and successful military career before being princeps was able to keep strict discipline amongst the legions. Scullard comments, “He was popular with the army”. Tiberius recruited soldiers from the Romanised people in the provinces as well as the descendants of veterans as he felt the Italians who were enlisting were lazy. He also delegated any military campaigns to able generals though he took away the title of ‘Imperator’ to victorious generals, reserving it for members of the imperial family. Tiberius understood the benefits to the principate of maintaining control of a strong, well-trained