4. Rome’s Most Depraved Emperor
Notoriously debauched emperors such as Caligula, Nero, and Elagabalus, are better known because of their ostentatiously bizarre behavior and public displays of sexual deviancy. By contrast, Tiberius (42 BC – 37 AD, reigned 14 – 37 AD) was not as out of control as the aforementioned trio. However, he matched and likely exceeded them in perversion and depravity. He just preferred to be a depraved pervert in relative privacy and seclusion, rather than put it all out on public display. Rome’s other notoriously perverse rulers ascended the throne as teenagers or immature young men and went crazy with the sudden power. Tiberius, by contrast, was quite mature – in his mid-fifties – when he succeeded Augustus as emperor in 14 AD.
