Tiberius Caesar, who was formerly known as Tiberius Claudius Nero was born in 42 BC on the 16th November. His predecessors were in a long line of successful and talented members of the Claudian family. They had been set firmly at the heart of the respublica through their aristocratic patronage, and it was rare that any generation had not seen a Claudian exercising such a dominant role in the workings of the republic. Both of Tiberius" parents were Claudians, although his father (who held the same name) was less distinguished as his mother, Livia Drusilla and her lineage. Her name was derived from the Livii Drusi, another influential Roman family. Livia's branch of the Claudian family boasted many significant figures, including Appius Claudius Pulcher (consul in 143 BC and leader of a faction with his son-in-law, Tiberius Gracchus), and Publius Clodius Pulcher (tribune in 58 BC and arch-enemy of Cicero). .
The adopted son of Julius Caesar, Octavian, who had in the same year of Tiberius" birth, along with Marc Antony, avenged the assassination of his adoptive father by defeating Brutus and Cassius, made an important political and personal move. His decision was to divorce his wife Scribonia and facilitate a divorce between Tiberius" parents, Tiberius Nero and the pregnant Livia. Octavian ignored all objections, religiously and morally, and married Livia, resulting on one of the most influential marriages in all of Roman history. Livia's sons Tiberius and Nero Drusus had become the stepsons of the man who would become Augustus Caesar. .
Tiberius" development occurred during the establishment of the Augustan principate, and as he took a prominent role in the victory parades following Actium, he was associated with the new order. This is evident when in AD14, in his appointment as princeps, Tiberius found no qualms in reinstating the traditional values that the respublica held.
Possibly one of the most happiest and rewarding parts of Tiberius" life (but also a further way for Augustus to secure connections with a powerful family) was his marriage to Vipasania Agrippina - the daughter of Marcus Agrippa, who was an old and trusted friend of Augustus.