His reign was rife with political intrigue. To seal the deal, Tiberius was compelled to adopt his 18-year old nephew Germanicus as heir and successor. The year 4 AD saw Augustus adopt Tiberius, adding, "This I do for reasons of state." This statement shows a reluctance to make Tiberius his heir, and Tiberius seems to have been unenthusiastic in that role. The deaths of Gaius and Lucius resulted in Augustus forcing Tiberius out of his early retirement. Ten years later the unhappy marriage had failed miserably, and she was exiled for adultery. It was after the death of Agrippa in 12 BC that Augustus forced the reluctant Tiberius to divorce his wife Vipsania and marry his widowed daughter, Julia. Tiberius was groomed by Augustus to succeed him, but he was the fourth choice after Agrippa, the husband of Augustus's daughter Julia, and their sons Gaius and Lucius, all three of whom predeceased Augustus. Pliny the Elder called him tristissimus hominum, "the gloomiest of men." He came to be known as a reclusive and dark emperor who did not want to be emperor. Tiberius was among Rome's great generals. Tiberius much later married Augustus' daughter, Julia the Elder, and was eventually adopted by Augustus.
His mother divorced his father and married Octavian (Augustus) in 39 BC, thereby making him a step-son of Octavian. Tiberius (Tiberius Caesar Dīvī Augustī Fīlius Augustus), 16 November 42 BC-16 March 37 AD, served as Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Provenance: Triton IX, 10-11 January 2006, lot 1382 The reverse features PONTIF MAXIM, with the likeness of Livia as Pax seated right, holding sceptre and branch, the chair legs plain and over double line The obverse features a laureated head facing right, with TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS around. Tiberius (AD 14-37), AR Denarius, (or Tribute Penny), Lugdunum, post AD 16.