He was almost an old man by ancient standards when he ascended the throne as the second emperor of Rome in 14 AD: Tiberius Claudius Nero. His exceedingly ambitious mother, Livia Drusilla, had paved the way for him through murder. After an initially mild reign, Tiberius, prone to melancholy, suspicious and gloomy, retreated to the island of Capri for the last years of his life. He left the governance to the Praetorian Prefect Sejanus, a ruthless man who established an unprecedented reign of terror in Rome. Just in time, he was deposed by the emperor and sentenced to death for treason. However, Tiberius's refusal to return to Rome soon gave rise to wild rumors about the cruelty and sexual depravity of the old man. The Romans called him "Biberius," the drinker. And when he died (37 AD), the a.