h a wish
expressed in his will, his widow Livia was honored with the name Augusta.
Tiberius received the title of Augustus and the other honors and powers
which his predecessor had made the prerogatives of the princeps. His
_imperium_, however, was conferred for life, and not for a limited period.
The ease of his succession shows how solidly the principate was
established at the death of its founder.

*Character and policy.* Tiberius was now fifty-six years of age. He had
spent the greater part of his life in the public service, and consequently
had a full appreciation of the burden of responsibility which the princeps
must assume. He was the incarnation of the old Roman sense of duty to the
state, and at the same time exhibited the proud reserve of the Roman
patricians. Stern in his maintenance of law and order, he made an
excellent subordinate, but when called upon to guide the policy of state,
he displayed hesitation and lack of decision. The incidents of his
marriage with Julia and his exile had rendered him bitter and suspicious,
and he utterly lacked the personal charm and adaptability of his
predecessor. Thus he was temperamentally unsuited to the position he was
called upon to fill and this was responsible for his frequent
misunderstandings with the Senate. Such an incident occurred in the
meetings of the Senate after the death of Augustus. Tiberius, conscious of
his unpopularity, sought to have the Senate press upon him the appointment
as the successor of Augustus, and so feigned reluctance to accept, a
course which made the senators suspect that he was laying a trap for
possible rivals. Yet there was no princeps who tried more conscientiously
to govern in the spirit of Augustus, or upheld more rigidly the rights and
dignity of the Senate. At the beginning of his principate he transferred
from the Assembly to the Senate the right of the election to the
magistracies, thus relieving the senators from the expense and annoyance
of canvassing the populace.

*Mutinies in Illyricum and on the Rhine.* Two serious mutinies followed
the accession of Tiberius, one in the army stationed in Illyricum, the
other among the legions on the Rhine. Failure to discharge those who had
completed their terms of service and the severity of the service itself
were the grounds of dissatisfaction. The Illyrian mutiny was quelled by
the praetorian prefect Lucius Aelius Seianus; the army of the Rhine was
brought back to its allegiance by