History
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus, popularly
known simply as Tiberius, was the Roman emperor
at the time of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Tiberius reigned for 23 years, from 14 to 37
A.D. By most accounts, Tiberius was not a sociable
man. According to Suetonius (Emperor Hadrian's
personal secretary) After briefly mentioning
some of the successes of Tiberius, Suetionus
goes into depth regarding his madness. He would
have sex with people of all ages and sexes.
He was very cruel to his subjects. He would
arbitrarily have people executed, for crimes
as harmless as speaking ill of Augustus. Suetonius
describes one example of Tiberius' madness
where Tiberius would force a subject to drink
large quantities of wine. He would then have
their genitals tied so tightly that they could
not urinate.
Tiberius died of natural causes. Suetonius
describes the sheer joy expressed by the
Romans upon his death. He mentions people
dancing in the streets. Upon his death, the
Romans felt as though they emerged from a
nightmare. Little did they know, but their
nightmare was just beginning.
The Sea of Tiberius
Tiberias is
a town on the western shore of the Sea of
Galilee,
Lower Galilee, Israel. It was named in
honour of the emperor Tiberius. Tiberias
was built at about AD 20 by Herod Antipas,
the
son of Herod the Great on the
site of the destroyed village of Rakkat,
and it became the capital of his realm in
Galilee.
John 6:1 After these
things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee,
which is the
Sea of Tiberias.
Sword of Tiberius
This detail (pictured on the left) of
the tinned and gilded scabbard shows the Roman
emperor
Tiberius
symbolically presenting his recent victories
to his stepfather, the emperor Augustus. Augustus
is semi-nude, and sits in the pose of Jupiter,
flanked by Victory and Mars Ultor ('the Avenger'),
while Tiberius, in military dress, presents Augustus
with a statuette of Victory.
Jesus and the Tribute Penny
Matthew 22:17 Tell
us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful
to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?
But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt me, you hypocrites?
Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.
And he saith unto them, Whose is this image
and superscription?
They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he
unto them, Render therefore
unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's;
and unto God the things that are God's.
The Villa Jovis
"Villa of Jupiter" is
a Roman palace on Capri built by emperor Tiberius
who ruled from there between
AD 27 and AD 37. It is the largest of the twelve
Tiberian villas on Capri mentioned by Tacitus
(Roman historian)
Scriptures
Luke 3:1 Now in the
fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar,
Pontius Pilate being governor
of Judaea.
John 6:1 After these
things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee,
which is the Sea of Tiberias. |
