The Reign of Tiberius Claudius Caesar
Tiberius Claudius Caesar (63 A.D. – 100 A.D.) became Emperor of Rome at the tender age of 17 upon the death of his father Tiberius Quirinius. Tiberius IV unfortunately, was not his father’s nor his grandfather’s son. Although, raised both on the literary works of the Greeks and on the Scriptures, Tiberius very quickly rejected both his baptism and the Christian faith.
There is strong evidence to suggest that Tiberius Claudius had been exposed at some point to the writings of Nero, most especially his
Journal of Love Sonnets. Like Nero he considered Christianity a religion for stoics; not for one such as he who was a hedonist through and through.
Shortly after his reign began Claudius lifted the restrictions on the pagan temples, much to the delight of the pagan members of the Senate. He also abolished the “sin tax” on the brothels, many of which had been moved outside the city so that patrons would not have to pay the tax.
He expelled from his court the current Bishop of Rome Evaristus. During the times from the time of Caligula until Claudius the bishops of Rome had been the advisors to the Emperor. Now, they found themselves banished from his presence which further delighted the pagan members of the Senate.
Claudius immersed himself in lavish dinner parties to which he would invite many of his friends in the Senate and some of the wealthiest of Rome. These parties were known to last for days.
But it was not long before Claudius found himself becoming more and more discontent with the city of Rome. According to his contemporaries he found Rome “a dirty loathsome hive of humanity.” He longed for a place of his own away from this “clamoring mass.”
Thus, Tiberius Claudius sought to find a place to build a palace-resort for himself and his friends where he could truly in his words “enjoy myself in the style of a true emperor.”
He quickly discovered a perfect site for his new palace; a volcanic lake south of Rome, named Lake Nemi greatly enticed him with its view. It did not take long for him to settle on the lake as the perfect place to build his resort/palace.
Tiberius Claudius spared no expense in building his Pleasure Palace. It was huge and ornate requiring tons of marble and granite to be mined to build its elaborate buildings. A statue of rose quartz of the Emperor 15 feet high graced the entryway into the main palace. A temple to Bacchus with a large statue of the god done in marble and gilded with gold leaf was also built. Vast gardens and fountains adorned the palatial estate. Baths with both hot and cold running water were built as were huge banqueting halls equipped with rotating tables at which guests would be seated for the huge banquets. Frescoes and mosaics were commissioned by the finest artisans in Rome. All of them depicting the dalliances of the Greco/Roman deities.
The building of the Palace of Claudius took 8 years. On his 25th birthday Claudius left Rome in the charge of a loyal member of the 3rd legion and with great pomp and ceremony moved into his new pleasure palace.
Now Claudius proceeded to devote himself totally to nothing else but his own pleasure. In an amphitheater lavish plays and gladiatorial combats were performed for his amusement. He even ordered his servants to procure a collection of fine athletes to be trained as gladiators so they would “go up against the best poor Rome can offer.”
But all of this had a price tag, a big one. Within three years of his moving to his Palace of Pleasures the Empires’ coffers were starting to run dry due to the excesses of Claudius. Nor, was Claudius interested in the day-to-day running of the Empire. “After all, that is what my governors are for.” He is said to have remarked when confronted about this.
As indicated earlier the pagan Senators of Rome and the wealthy members of the aristocracy who were not Christian had at first welcomed the young Emperor’s rise to power. But now, some of them spoke fondly of “the days of the good Emperors,” referring to Claudius and his successors up to Claudius’ father.
Tiberius hedonistic lifestyle was going to bankrupt Rome if something wasn’t done soon. Evaristus prayed and fasted to the point of eventually losing his health in the hope that Claudius would come to his senses.
Finally, during a late-night feast at the Palace of Pleasures a slip of the tongue would cost Claudius the throne. Claudius had invited several Senators and other nobility from Rome for one of his weekend celebrations. At the feast Claudius tried to approach the daughter of one of the Senators asking if she would like to sleep with the Emperor that night. The young lady, who was of some considerable good breeding very politely refused. Whereupon Claudius petulantly said, “What then? Do you refuse me? Why, is it not an honor to be called to share the bed of a god?”
It was the wrong thing to say. The declaration made by Claudius’ grandfather, Tiberius Gemellus Caesar was still very much in effect, namely any Emperor who claimed divinity automatically forfeited the crown. And the father of the young lady that Claudius’ had wanted to bed was more then able to get the required two witnesses and bring the matter before the entire Senate once he returned to Rome.
The Senate by and large were now thoroughly disgusted with Claudius and his excesses. When the Senator had brought the issue before the Senate the vote to depose Claudius was near unanimous. And his governor in Rome, one Titus Aurelius was sent to arrest Claudius.
Titus Aurelius was the general of the 3rd Legion and the governor of Rome appointed by Claudius. He had also been raised in one of the Houses of Caligula and was if not a devout believer, still a very devoted member of the Church. (While Claudius showed no interest in Christianity likewise, he did nothing to actually impede or persecute the faith.)
Titus arrived at Claudius’ Pleasure Palace barely three days later with a large squad of loyal soldiers and proceeded to arrest the unfortunate Claudius bringing him back to Rome in chains practically naked! (Claudius had been in the middle of another one of his orgies.)
Brought before the Senate, the unfortunate Claudius was stripped of his crown. He might well have been executed but Timmaeus, the new Bishop of Rome surprisingly interceded for the man. Timmaeus felt that losing the crown was a just punishment in and of itself and any further punishment was simply vengeance seeking.
But Claudius’ days of pleasure seeking were over. He was exiled from Rome and forced to take up residence in a small town near the Italian Alps. He was allotted a small house there with a bedroom, living room, and a small bath. It was nowhere near the grand home he had known but it was not a hovel either.
Claudius would henceforth subsist on a diet of fruits and vegetables, bread, and water. The punishment of exile and a “penance” fast would soon become a popular means of punishment for more wealthy citizens convicted of crimes in Rome.
Claudius would remain in exile to his death in 100 A.D. Tradition says that Claudius became a Christian and was baptized a few months before his death but there is no way of verifying this apocryphal story.
As for his Palace of Pleasures, it would slowly fall into ruin, abandoned and later plundered for some of the stones and fine pieces of art that were there. Eventually the ruins would disappear and not be rediscovered until they were uncovered in 1957 by an Italian archeological team.
