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Tiberius II
Timeline: Western Roman Glory

Western Roman Emperor
August 12, 525 - September 22, 556

Predecessor Romulus Augustus
Successor Fredericus
Imperator Augustus (Western Roman Emperor)
Born September 7, 492
Ravenna
Died September 22, 556
Ravenna
Profession Royalty


Tiberius Orestius Caesar Augustus Vandalicus Africanus Britannicus, more commonly known as Tiberius II, was Emperor of the Western Roman Empire from August 12 525 to September 22 556, the second from the Orestian Dynasty.

Inheriting a largely territorially restored Empire from his father, Romulus Augustus, Tiberius' initial concerns were with the solidity of the Western Imperial Throne, but they eventually gave way (as his position became more and more secure) to an obsession with reconquest, which culminated in the return to, and complete conquest of, Britannia.

Early Life[]

Tiberius was born on September 7 492 to Emperor Romulus Augustus and his wife, Claudia. Two months after his birth, he was elevate to the rank of Caesar (Junior Emperor; effectively a Crown Prince in practice). Throughout his youth, Tiberius bore witness to the world of the Romans in the West being restored under his father. From a young age, he was expected to succeed his father, and, as such, was heavily educated through both theory and practical practice. Towards the end of his father's reign, the young Caesar would end up joining his younger brother on campaign in the eastern Empire, culminating in the latter's ascension to the throne in the east two days before their father's death (and therefore two days before Tiberius took the throne in the west).

Reign[]

After the death of Romulus Augustus, Tiberius returned to Ravenna in order to to properly take control. Once he firmly secured his succession, he concentrated on killing off family members he considered a threat to his position and playing problem officials off against each other while he worked to consolidate his own power and that of his own officials. This would become something of an obsession to him, but when it had been resolved, he was left with a void in prerogative which he quickly filled with the notion of conquest.

His first goal was to complete the reconquest of Hispania, partially completed by his father. Due to heavy resistance by the barbarians and several defections, the campaign was a near disaster until Tiberius himself arrived and took command of the troops himself. A combination of reinforcements brought in by the Emperor, his inspiring presence and his tactical skill ultimately lead to the campaign being a success within 6 months of his arrival.

After reclaiming Hispania, the Emperor shifted has attention to North Africa, seeking to reconquer Carthage. Utilizing forces built up by his father with the expressed purpose of accomplishing this mission, Tiberius entered into Carthage merely 2 months after the completion of the reconquest of Hispania. Seizing control of the surrounding area would prove to take far longer, requiring around a year and a half to reconquer the majority of the Western Empire's North Africa, as well as Libyan provinces which had formerly belonged to the crumbling Eastern Roman Empire before their fall to the barbarians.

Once North Africa was under his control, Tiberius focused on consolidating Roman Power in the reclaimed territories to re-romanize them. This would be the defining prerogative of the Emperor and his policies up until 542, when his brother, the Eastern Emperor Marcus, requested his assistance in bringing lasting conquest to Persia. Tiberius, partly out of greed, partially out of legitimate concern, agreed to assist in the conquest of Persia if the Eastern/Western Borders were moved so that the entirety of the western Balkans would fall under Western Control, even the Greek Peninsula itself, so as to allow both the West and East to grow from the conquest of Persia, not just the latter. Marcus, believing this to be a tolerable loss and fearful that instead of helping him, his brother would turn on him if he did not agree, Marcus accepted the arrangement.

Tiberius would directly join Marcus on campaign against the Persians, fighting them for around two years while Tiberius' new wife, Fausta, served as the de facto regent of the Western Empire, ordering further military activities in North Africa and against the Germanic Tribes.

As the Persian campaign neared its conclusion and Marcus began working on consolidating power in his new territory, Tiberius returned to Ravenna, having his wife executed due to her alleged plot to replace him with a lover she was alleged to have taken while Tiberius was on campaign. It is believed that Tiberius actually did this as to make him free to marry a Persian slave girl he had brought back with him. Shortly after marrying her, he had his first of many children, a son named Fredericus, whom he shortly thereafter made Caesar.

In 549, Tiberius would launch and head his final campaign. Crossing the channel between Gaul and Britannia, he entered the British Isles and began to reconquer them. By the end of 551, he had reconquered all of what had once been held by the Romans in Britannia and began to push into new territories in the isles, with the goal of completely conquering Britannia in its entirety to put an end to the threat of a Celtic invasion from Scotland once and for all. This goal would at last be completed in 553, under a year before the Emperor's death. Arriving in Ravenna several months later, Tiberius quickly fell ill and, with Fredericus, his wife, and two of his other children by his side, he passed away on September 22, in the year 559.

While he was praised as much as Romulus by his contemporaries (partly by his own merits, partly by the lasting political influence of his father even long after his death), Tiberius today is not held in the level high praise his father held, largely overshadowed by him. Even still, the Emperor was responsible for the final reconquest of all of the lost territories of the Western Roman Empire, alongside several new expansions.

Tiberius would be succeeded without incident by his son, Fredericus.

Predecessor: Romulus Augustus Orestius (Western Roman Glory) Successor:
Romulus Augustus Romulus Augustus

Emperor of the Western Roman Empire
515-556

Fredericus





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