... the case of Appuleia Varnilla, a member of the imperial family. She was charged with treason for insulting Tiberious, his mother (Livia) and the defied Augustus, as well as for commiting adultery. There were however genuine cases of treason, such as Piso's attempt to re-enter his province of Syria by force, and there were those condemed for real conspiracies against Tiberious. The historian Tacticus disliked the emperor Tiberious emensly and described him 'frenzied with bloodshed'. His personal opioion of him affected his accounts of Tiberious' life so it it indeed possible they are exaggerated and misleading. Tacticus attempted to create in the minds of his readers the impression that the number and frequency of the treason trials increased as Tiberious' reign progressed. He builds up a picture of continous prosecutions, culminatuons in the so-called 'Reign of Terror (after 33 AD) during which many innocent men perished. However a careful study of Tacticus' account ...

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