Tiberius, The First Worst Roman Emperor
Public DomainTiberius was ineffective and disliked as emperor.
Though he’s last on this list, Tiberius was arguably the first worst Roman emperor. He succeeded the first emperor, his stepfather Augustus, and swiftly developed a bad reputation.
Born in 42 B.C.E., Tiberius had many reasons to be bitter by the time he came to power in 14 C.E. For one, Augustus had forced him to divorce his beloved wife in order to marry Augustus’ daughter, Julia. For another, he spent years in quasi-exile while living in Rhodes, as Augustus prevented his return to the city.
Upon Augustus’ death, however, Tiberius became emperor. Though Tiberius did some good, like improving Rome’s finances, he was widely disliked. Tiberius lacked Augustus’ ability to get along with the Senate, and he once complained that governing Rome was like “holding a wolf by the ears.”
Sailko/Wikimedia CommonsA statue of Tiberius, the second emperor of Rome.
Tiberius was so disliked, in fact, that when his charismatic, would-be successor, Germanicus, died, many believed that Tiberius had had him poisoned.
In the end, Tiberius spent many of his final years in self-imposed exile in Capri, where he spent his days drinking wine and studying the stars. After he died in 37 C.E., Germanicus’ son, Caligula, became emperor.
When it came to Rome’s emperors, some were good, some were middling, and some were downright terrible. These nine, however, were arguably the worst men to ever reign over the Roman Empire.
After reading about the worst Roman emperors, look through these surprising facts about life in ancient Rome. Or, discover the Roman military punishment of decimation, which involved killing 10 percent of a unit that was accused of wrongdoing.
