Robert Graves’ I, Claudius - Capturing a Strange Moment in History Tiberius' reign over the Roman Empire stretched the longest of any emperor during Claudius' lifetime. This may be a good reason why Robert Graves, in his historical novel published in 1934, “I, Claudius� devoted more than a third of it to the reign of Tiberius. “I, Claudius�, told through the eyes of the "half-wit" Claudius, records the history of the first Imperial family at Rome, including the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, and even Claudius himself. Livia, Augustus' wife and Tiberius' mother, played a crucial role throughout the reign of Augustus and Tiberius by eliminating all possible heirs other than her son to the throne of the emperor. By the use of poison and banishment, she was very successful in her aspirations and even manages to arrange for Caligula to succeed Tiberius, although she died several years before Tiberius. Tiberius also played a key role during this story, undergoing a change from a private army general to a mentally-sick Roman emperor.
