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However, it seems certain that Tiberius treated the Senate in a very high-handed fashion and executed many Senators for real and imagined crimes. This was to change the relationship between Emperors and the Senate. Instead of the Senate being a partner in the government of Rome as envisaged by Augustus it increasingly became subservient to the Emperor.<ref> Tacitus, <i>Annals</i>, iv</ref> In effect, this meant that the Senate was unable to check the power of the Emperor. This is seen in the contempt of Caligula and Nero for that body and its members. Tiberius played a part in the development of Imperial autocracy. This helped to change the system envisaged by Augustus, from one that was a partnership between the Emperor as the first of citizens to one where they were the absolute rulers of the Roman World.<ref> Shotter, p. 115</ref>
The other way that Tiberius helped to create an autocracy was the changes that he introduced to the treason laws. Any offense or threat against the Emperor, by word or deed, was a ‘crime of majestas’ or treason.<ref>Tacitus, iv</ref> Under Tiberius anything could be construed as an act of treason, even defacing a coin with the portrait of the Emperor was considered an act of treason.<ref>Tacitus, iv</ref>. To enforce the laws of treason, an army of informers were paid to spy on the citizenry, these were the notorious ‘delatores.’<ref> Suetonius, iii</ref> The expansion of the treason laws stifled dissent but also all debate. The treason laws led to a series trials and the executions of many prominent Romans.<ref> Shotter, 134</ref>
====Imperial Cult====
