Augustus Dies

Church History: Augustus dies. Tiberius Sole becomes Emperor (A.D.14–37)
With Tiberius's departure, succession rested solely on Augustus' two young grandsons, Lucius and Gaius Caesar. The situation became more precarious in AD 2 with the death of Lucius; Augustus, with perhaps some prompting from Livia, allowed Tiberius to return to Rome as a private citizen and nothing more.13 In AD 4, Gaius was killed in Armenia and, to paraphrase Tacitus, Augustus had no other choice but to turn to Tiberius.

The death of Gaius in AD 4 initiated a flurry of activity in the household of Augustus. Tiberius was adopted as full son and heir. In turn, Tiberius was required to adopt his nephew, Germanicus, the son of his brother Drusus and Augustus' niece Antonia Minor.14 16 Along with his adoption, Tiberius received tribunician power as well as a share of Augustus's maius imperium, something that even Marcus Agrippa may never have had.17 In AD 7, Postumus was disowned by Augustus and banned to the island of Planasia, to live in solitary confinment.18 19 Thus, when in AD 13, the powers held by Tiberius were made equal, rather than second, to Augustus's own powers, he was for all intents and purposes a "co-princeps" with Augustus, and in the event of the latter's passing, would simply continue to rule without an interregnum or possible upheaval.

Augustus died in AD 14, at the age of seventy-six. He was buried with all due ceremony and, as had been arranged beforehand, deified, his will read, and Tiberius confirmed as his sole surviving heir.