Tiberius meanwhile in the name of Germanicus gave every one of the city populace three hundred sesterces, and nominated himself his colleague in the consulship.Still, failing to obtain credit for sincere affection, he resolved to get the young prince out of the way, under pretence of conferring distinction, and for this he invented reasons, or eagerly fastened on such as chance presented.
King Archelaus had been in possession of Cappadocia for fifty years, and Tiberius hated him because he had not shown him any mark of respect while he was at Rhodes.This neglect of Archelaus was not due to pride, but was suggested by the intimate friends of Augustus, because, when Caius Caesar was in his prime and had charge of the affairs of the East, Tiberius's friendship was thought to be dangerous.When, after the extinction of the family of the Caesars, Tiberius acquired the empire, he enticed Archelaus by a letter from his mother, who without concealing her son's displeasure promised mercy if he would come to beg for it.Archelaus, either quite unsuspicious of treachery, or dreading compulsion, should it be thought that he saw through it, hastened to Rome.There he was received by a pitiless emperor, and soon afterwards was arraigned before the Senate.In his anguish and in the weariness of old age, and from being unused, as a king, to equality, much less to degradation, not, certainly, from fear of the charges fabricated against him, he ended his life, by his own act or by a natural death.His kingdom was reduced into a province, and Caesar declared that, with its revenues, the one per cent.tax could be lightened, which, for the future, he fixed at one-half per cent.
During the same time, on the deaths of Antiochus and Philopator, kings respectively of the Commageni and Cilicians, these nations became excited, a majority desiring the Roman rule, some, that of their kings.The provinces too of Syria and Judaea, exhausted by their burdens, implored a reduction of tribute.
Tiberius accordingly discussed these matters and the affairs of Armenia, which I have already related, before the Senate."The commotions in the East," he said, "could be quieted only by the wisdom, of Germanicus; own life was on the decline, and Drusus had not yet reached his maturity." Thereupon, by a decree of the Senate, the provinces beyond sea were entrusted to Germanicus, with greater powers wherever he went than were given to those who obtained their provinces by lot or by the emperor's appointment.
Tiberius had however removed from Syria Creticus Silanus, who was connected by a close tie with Germanicus, his daughter being betrothed to Nero, the eldest of Germanicus's children.He appointed to it Cneius Piso, a man of violent temper, without an idea of obedience, with indeed a natural arrogance inherited from his father Piso, who in the civil war supported with the most energetic aid against Caesar the reviving faction in Africa, then embraced the cause of Brutus and Cassius, and, when suffered to return, refrained from seeking promotion till, he was actually solicited to accept a consulship offered by Augustus.But beside the father's haughty temper there was also the noble rank and wealth of his wife Plancina, to inflame his ambition.He would hardly be the inferior of Tiberius, and as for Tiberius's children, he looked down on them as far beneath him.He thought it a certainty that he had been chosen to govern Syria in order to thwart the aspirations of Germanicus.Some believed that he had even received secret instructions from Tiberius, and it was beyond a question that Augusta, with feminine jealousy, had suggested to Plancina calumnious insinuations against Agrippina.For there was division and discord in the court, with unexpressed partialities towards either Drusus or Germanicus.Tiberius favoured Drusus, as his.
son and born of his own blood.As for Germanicus, his uncle's estrangement had increased the affection which all others felt for him, and there was the fact too that he had an advantage in the illustrious rank of his mother's family, among whom he could point to his grandfather Marcus Antonius and to his great-uncle Augustus.
Drusus, on the other hand, had for his great-grandfather a Roman knight, Pomponius Atticus, who seemed to disgrace the ancestral images of the Claudii.Again, the consort of Germanicus, Agrippina, in number of children and in character, was superior to Livia, the wife of Drusus.Yet the brothers were singularly united, and were wholly unaffected by the rivalries of their kinsfolk.
Soon afterwards Drusus was sent into Illyricum to be familiarised with military service, and to win the goodwill of the army.Tiberius also thought that it was better for the young prince, who was being demoralised by the luxury of the capital, to serve in a camp, while he felt himself the safer with both his sons in command of legions.
However, he made a pretext of the Suevi, who were imploring help against the Cherusci.For when the Romans had departed and they were free from the fear of an invader, these tribes, according to the custom of the race, and then specially as rivals in fame, had turned their arms against each other.The strength of the two nations, the valour of their chiefs were equal.But the title of king rendered Maroboduus hated among his countrymen, while Arminius was regarded with favour as the champion of freedom.
