提比略隐退罗德岛:罗马帝国早期帝位递嬗机制研究

Tiberius' Retirement to Rhodes:A Study of the Mechanism of the Transfer of Power in the Early Roman Empire

公元前6年,提比略第一次被授予为期五年的保民官权力。随后,奥古斯都安排他赴亚美尼亚处理因国王提格拉尼斯三世之死所引发的危机。然而,提比略却在此时出人意料地作出去罗德岛隐居的决定。针对这一突发事件背后的动机,保存在古代作品中的记载众说纷纭。实际上,在提比略赴东方任职前夕,围绕"元首继承"问题,奥古斯都与提比略发生了严重分歧,这是导致提比略去职归隐的最主要原因。这一案例从一侧面反映了罗马帝国早期帝位家族过继的特点。

In 6BC,Tiberius was made tribune for the first time,with a five year term.Augustus subsequently dispatched him to Armenia to deal with a crisis caused by the death of King Tigranes III.However,Tiberius unexpectedly took the decision to retire to Rhodes.The records preserved in ancient writings have conflicting accounts of the motives behind this episode.In fact,a serious disagreement around the issue of 'succession to the Princep'had occurred between Augustus and Tiberius just before the latter departed to take up his post in the East,and that was the most important reason for his withdrawal.This case casts light on one facet of the transfer of imperial power within a family during the early Roman Empire.