Sejanus had served the imperial family for almost twenty years when he became Praetorian Prefect in AD 15. The death of Drusus elevated Sejanus. Tiberius had statues of Sejanus erected throughout the city, and Sejanus became more and more visible as Tiberius began to withdraw from Rome altogether. Finally, with Tiberius's withdrawal to Capri in AD 26, Sejanus was left in charge of the entire state mechanism and the city of Rome.
Sejanus's position was not quite that of successor. The presence of Livia (the third wife and advisor of Augustus) seems to have checked his power for a time. Her death in AD 29 changed all that. Sejanus began a series of purge trials of Senators in Rome. Germanicus's widow Agrippina the Elder and two of her sons were arrested and exiled in AD 30 and later all died in suspicious circumstances.
In response, Tiberius manoeuvered cleverly. He knew an immediate condemnation of Sejanus might not succeed. Since he and Sejanus were then joint Consuls, Tiberius resigned his post of Consul, which forced Sejanus to do likewise. This removed much of Sejanus' legal powers and protection. Then, in AD 31, Sejanus was summoned to a meeting of the Senate, where a letter from Tiberius was read condemning Sejanus and ordering his immediate execution. Macro was appointed Praetorian Prefect, with the specific job of removing Sejanus. Sejanus was tried, and he and several of his colleagues were executed within the week.
More treason trials followed. Tacitus writes that Tiberius had been hesitant to act at the start of his reign, but now, towards the end of his life, he seemed to do so without compunction. However, Tacitus' portrayal of a tyrannical, vengeful emperor has been challenged by several modern historians. The prominent ancient historian Edward Togo Salmon notes in his work, "A history of the Roman world from 30 B.C. to A.D. 138":
The last years of Tiberius were notable for his complete absence from Rome, and his inactivity as Emperor. He was now an old man in his 70s, and left decisions to the officials in Rome. He did nothing to prevent the rise of his grandnephew Caligula, who was now popular with the people (as the only surviving son of germanicus) and who had the support of the Prefect Macro.
In 35, Tiberius would make both caligula and his own grandson Gemellus joint heirs, before dying two years later, in his 78th year. Some speculate Macro and Caligula hastened the old emperor’s death. Regardless, Caligula would succeed Tiberius as emperor.
14
14 is a year in the 1st century. It was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pompeius and Appuleius.
Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury (August 22, 1920 - June 5, 2012) was an American writer. His most famous works are "The Martian Chronicles" and "Fahrenheit 451". He also wrote big collections of short stories such as "Driving Blind."
He was born in Waukegan, Illinois to a Swedish mother. He graduated from a high school in Los Angeles, California. Many of his works are based on real life, such as "Dandelion Wine," a book about growing up in small-town Illinois. His other work includes movies, and screenplays. He won many awards. He died in his Los Angeles home.
He also wrote the short stories "Dark They Were and Golden Eyed" and "A Sound of Thunder."
Porpoise
Porpoises are mammals that live in the ocean. They are in the order "Cetacea". They form the family Phocoenidae. There are six species of porpoise.
Porpoises look much like dolphins, but they are different in some ways: They are smaller and more stout. They have spade-shaped teeth, rounded heads, blunt jaws, and triangular dorsal fins.
Cetology
Cetology is a type of science. It is the study of the cetaceans. It includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises.
Cetology is the branch of marine mammal science which studies approximately eighty species of whales, dolphins, and porpoise in the scientific order Cetacea. The term was created in the mid-19th century from the Greek cetus ("whale") and -ology ("study").
Cetologists, or those who study it, seek to understand and explain cetacean evolution, distribution, morphology, behavior, community dynamics, and other topics.
Primatology
Primatology is a type of science that is part of zoology, that studies primates (monkeys, apes, lemurs, and humans). Primatology is a part of physical anthropology.
Orangutan
Orangutans ("Pongo") are great apes belonging to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. There are two species of orangutan. They are from Southeast Asia. There are very few of them left, because loss of the jungle has reduced their habitat. There are orangutans on view at the Singapore zoo.
The name orangutan comes from two Malay words, "orang" which means "person", and "hutan" which means "forest"; so orangutan means "person of the forest".
Orangutans have red-brown hair. They have long arms. They can be strong like chimpanzees, gorillas and humans. They also have hands that are good for climbing. The "Sumatran Orangutan" is smaller and has longer hair than the "Bornean orangutan". Orangutans have suffered from forest loss and are on the very edge of extinction.
Orangutans are from the rainforests on the islands Borneo and Sumatra in Southeast Asia. They mostly live up in the trees. They eat fruit, leaves and bark and also insects and bird eggs. They drink water from rain that has been collected in leaves. Orangutans are not comfortable on the ground since they have to push themselves along with fists. Heavy adults move carefully through the trees, using their flexible feet to grasp the tree branches. Smaller orangutans swing with more ease.
An orangutan's diet consists mainly of fruit, they like ripe fruit. If they cannot find fruit they will eat bark, leaves and termites, rather than move to somewhere else to get food. About 60% of an orangutan's diet is fruit, 25% is leaves, 10% is bark and flowers, and 5% is termites and other insects.
After a pregnancy of 230–260 days the female gives birth to usually one baby, but sometimes two, every eight to nine years. The little ones stay with their mother for years, riding on their mother's back and learning to move through the forest. The young orangutans are playful and affectionate. When they are five or six years old, they become more independent and eventually go off on their own.
Greeting
Greetings are nice things to say when people meet each other. Greetings may be different from culture to culture. These are some greetings used a lot in the English language:
There are also ways to greet without talking, such as these:
Sunlight
Sunlight is the light and energy that comes from the Sun. When this energy reaches the earth's surface, it is called insolation. What we experience as sunlight is actually solar radiation. It is the radiation and heat from the Sun in the form of electromagnetic waves.
The atmosphere affects the amount of solar radiation received. When solar radiation travels through the atmosphere, some of it is absorbed by the atmosphere (16%). Some of it is scattered to space (6%). Some of it is reflected by clouds (28%). About 47% of it reaches the Earth's surface.
Without sunlight, there could not be life on the Earth. Plants need sunlight for the process of photosynthesis. During photosynthesis the plants use the energy of the sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide, to create glucose (sugar). The glucose can later be used by the plant for energy or animals eat the plant and the glucose in it. Plants need sunlight to grow green. Without enough sunlight but with enough water, the plant grows very tall very quickly, but looks yellow and dehydrated, although when touched, the leaves are very moist.