Claudius

  • Claudius (41-54 CE) was the fourth Roman Emperor and the first to be declared Emperor by the Praetorian Guard, the first to be born outside of Italy and the last Roman to speak Etruscan.
  • He walked with a limp, had a stammer and was unable to stand for long. He is notable for his successful invasion of Britannia.

1. BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS OF CLAUDIUS

  • NAME:
    • Tiberius Claudius Nero
    • As Emperor: Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus
  • CLAUDIUS’ DATES OF REIGN AS EMPEROR:
    • 25 January 41 CE – 13 October 54 CE.
  • FAMILY DYNASTY:
  • CLAUDIUS’ DATE OF BIRTH AND DEATH:
    • 1 August 10 BCE – 13 October 54 CE.
  • CLAUDIUS’ PLACE OF BIRTH AND DEATH:
  • CLAUDIUS’ PREDECESSOR:
  • CLAUDIUS’ SUCCESSOR:
  • CLAUDIUS’ RIGHT HAND MAN:
    • The four Freedmen: Narcissus, Pallas, Callistus and Polybius.
  • CLAUDIUS WAS HEIR TO THE THRONE BECAUSE:
    • Claudius was the first Emperor to be Proclaimed Emperor by the Praetorian Guard, and not the Roman Senate.
    • He was never adopted as the Heir by his Predecessors, despite being the Grandson of Octavia and a member of the Julio-Claudian Family.
  • CLAUDIUS’ FATHER:
  • CLAUDIUS’ MOTHER:
    • Antonia Minor
  • CLAUDIUS’ WIVES AND CHILDREN:
    • Plautia Urgulanilla (9-24 CE)
      • Claudius Drusus (died in his teens)
      • Claudia (b. 24 CE) she was born five months after Claudius divorced her Mother, as she was the illegitimate daughter of the Freedman, Boter, the reason why Claudius divorced her.
    • Aelia Paetina (28 CE-October 31 CE)
      • Claudia Antonia (30-66 CE)
    • Valeria Messalina (38/39-48 ACE)
      • Claudia Octavia (39/40-8 June 62 CE)
      • Britannicus (12 February 41 – 11 February 55 CE)
    • Agrippina the Younger (1 January 49 – 19/23 March 59 CE)
  • DIED PEACEFULLY OR ASSASSINATED
    • Either: he was assassinated by Locusta on instructions by his wife, Agrippina the Younger, by being fed a plate of mushrooms at a banquet.
    • Or: he died of old age. Roman Historians were divided.
  • BURIAL PLACE

2. GOOD OR BAD EMPEROR

  • CLAUDIUS’ CHARACTER
    • He suffered Infantile Paralysis at birth or Polio and as a result, walked with a permanent limp and had a stutter. Before becoming Emperor, Claudius claimed he had exaggerated his ailments to save his own life, thus avoiding execution by Caligula.
    • He had a stammer, suffered slight shaking and could not stand for long. Despite all this, he was a prolific writer, sat in the Senate and joined in all the Debates, regularly sat as a Judge in Court and issued up to 20 Edicts a day.
    • Suetonius, Dio Cassius and Tacitus all seem to agree that Claudius was a Fool easily manipulated by his advisers.
  • CLAUDIUS’ POPULARITY
    • Tacitus, Suetonius and Dio Cassius all portray Claudius as weak and foolish, and easily manipulated by his advisers.
    • There were eight plots against him during his reign.
    • Nonetheless, after his death, he was immediately deified by Nero and the Roman Senate, so he must have been popular, unlike Caligula.
  • THE REASON CLAUDIUS WAS FAMOUS
    • He was the first Emperor to successfully invade and permanently occupy Britannia.
    • He was the first Emperor to place Freedmen in charge of State Departments, instead of Senators.
    • He was the first Emperor to be proclaimed Emperor by the Praetorian Guard and not by the Roman Senate.
  • FAMOUS QUOTES MADE BY CLAUDIUS
    • ‘Acquaintance lessens fame’
    • ‘No one is free who does not lord over himself’
    • ‘Say not always what you know, but always know what you say’
    • ‘To do no evil is good, to intend none is better’
    • ‘No one is more miserable than the person who wills everything and can do nothing’

3. CLAUDIUS’ EARLY LIFE

4. REIGN OF CLAUDIUS

  • CLAUDIUS’ RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ROMAN SENATE:
    • Claudius tried to have good relations with the Senate, always sitting in the Senate House and waiting for his turn to speak. He added new members to the Patrician Class, but Senators who no longer qualified for office were dropped.
    • As he withdrew many positions in the Imperial Service from the Senate, he attracted continual conspiracies, often from the Governors of Provinces. He was continually accused of being ruled by his Freedmen.
    • According to Suetonius, 35 Senators and 300 Knights were executed during Claudius’ Reign, on various charges, sometimes without a Public Trial.
  • PLOTS AND CONSPIRACIES AGAINST CLAUDIUS:
    • Scribonianus (41 CE)
      • The Governor of Dalmatia was proclaimed Emperor by his Legions and the Senator Vinicianus waited in Rome for his arrival. When he announced his intention to restore the Republic, the Legions revolted and Scribonianus was forced into exile where he committed suicide, as did Vinicianus.
    • Appius Junius Silanus (42 CE)
      • He was Governor of Hispania Tarraconensis. He was married to Domitia Lepida, a beautiful and wealthy member of the Julio-Claudian family. He was falsely accused of plotting to assassinate Claudius by his wife, the Empress Valeria Messalina, after he refused her advances, and promptly executed.
    • Asinius Gallus and Statilius Corvinus (46 CE)
      • They were exiled for their part in a Plot.
    • Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (47 CE)
      • He was married in 43 CE to Claudia Antonia, Claudius’ daughter by his second wife Aelia Paetina. Dio Cassius states Valeria Messalina (Claudius’ third wife) had Gnaeus Pompeius assassinated as being too much of a threat to her son, Britannicus. She also had his parents assassinated, Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi c.44 CE Governor of Mauretania who was a direct descendent of Crassus the Triumvir, and his wife Scribonia, on false charges of conspiracy.
    • Valerius Asiaticus (47 CE)
      • He was accused of treason charges brought by the Informer, Rufus, and forced to commit suicide. Tacitus states that Valeria Messalina was responsible as she wanted his estates.
    • Lusiius Saturninus, Cornelius Lupus, Governor of Crete and Cyrenaica and Pompeius Pedo (47 CE)
      • Three Roman Consuls were also involved in another Plot and executed.
    • Valeria Messalina (48 CE)
      • Claudius’ wife and her lover, the Senator Gaius Silius, were executed by Claudius. She had forced Gaius Silius to marry her whilst both of them were still married, and involved him in a plot to assassinate Claudius. The Plot and marriage was revealed to Claudius by the freedman, Narcissus.
      • Her body was given to Domitia Lepida, whose husband Messalina had had executed on a false charge. In 54 CE Claudius’ fourth wife Agrippina the Younger had Lepida executed on false charges, before Claudius died. At the least, these women all correctly assessed each other as dangerous.
    • Agrippina the Younger (54 CE)
      • Finally, Claudius’ fourth wife, in order to protect her son Nero as named Heir and unable prevent Claudius changing his will in favour of his own son Germanicus, had Claudius poisoned, supposedly by the Roman Poisoner Locusta.
      • Agrippina the Younger had Narcissus, Claudius’ faithful Freedman sent away from Rome on business, presumably to keep him out of the way. When he returned, Claudius was dead and she had Narcissus executed a few weeks later. Just before Narcissus was arrested, he burnt all of Claudius’ Letters, so that Nero could not use them to discredit Claudius.
  • CLAUDIUS’ DOMESTIC POLICY:

  • Claudius and the Freedmen:

    • Claudius consolidated the use of Freedmen instead of Senators to run the Roman Empire, as he could not trust the Senators who had become hostile to him. He created four separate Departments within the Imperial Secretariat with a Freedman in charge of each one:
      1. Narcissus was made ‘Praepositus ab Epistulis’ (Secretary of Correspondence)
      2. Pallas was made Secretary of the Treasury.
      3. Callistus was made Secretary of Justice and Law.
      4. Polybius was made Secretary of Miscellaneous Affairs. He was executed for Treason by Messalina, possibly after they ceased to be lovers.
    • The Freedmen could act as personal representatives of the Roman Emperor. Narcissus was sent to resolve a Mutiny of the Legions prior to the Invasion of Britannia where he succeeded in restoring order by personally addressing the Legions.
    • These Freedmen became the wealthiest men in Rome.

  • Unusual Edicts that Claudius issued:

    • The use of the Juice of a Yew tree as an antidote to snakebite.
    • Good Health to be promoted by performing Flatulence in Public.
    • Sick slaves who were left to die in the Temple of Aesculapius on Tiber Island, but survived, were to be freed. Masters could be prosecuted for murder charges if they killed their sick slaves, instead of sending them to be cured.

  • Claudius and the Judiciary:

    • Claudius paid close attention to Judicial matters.
    • He sat as a Judge on many cases.
    • Claudius passed a law requiring The Plaintiff as well as the Defendant to remain in the city whilst a case was pending. This reduced the backlog of cases, whose resolution had been delayed by the absence of one party or the other.
    • He raised the minimum age of Jurors to 25 years old to ensure greater experience.
  • CLAUDIUS AND THE PROVINCES:
  • GREECE:
    • The island of Rhodes was made free of Roman Rule, although it was later attached to Asia under Vespasian.
    • The city of Troy was exempted from paying Taxes.
    • Macedonia and Achaea were changed from being Imperial Provinces to become Senatorial Provinces.
  • EGYPT:
    • He sent a ‘Letter to the Alexandrians’, in Egypt, to resolve the dispute that had led to Riots in the city between the Greeks and Jews. The Letter confirmed the Rights of Jews but included certain prohibitions.
  • GAUL:
    • In 48 CE, Claudius gave a speech to the Roman Senate permitting the Gauls to enter the Roman Senate. The speech is preserved in a bronze tablet known as the Lyon Tablet, which exists today. Claudius was himself born in Lyon (Lugdunum).
  • CLAUDIUS AND RELIGIOUS REFORMS:
    • Where Festivals had had days removed, these were restored, but Caligula‘s added celebrations were cancelled.
    • He restored the Eleusinian Mysteries to counter the rise of Eastern Religions.
    • The Haruspices, Roman Soothsayers, were brought back, and the practice of Soothaying continued up until 393 CE.
    • Claudius sent a letter to all the Provinces, confirming the Rights and Freedoms of Jews throughout the Empire.

5. CLAUDIUS’ PERSONAL LIFE

  • CHILDHOOD:
    • Claudius had slight deformities as a child which produced a limp. These, he later said, he exaggerated, which saved him from Tiberius and Caligula, who did not see him as Roman Emperor material. That is how he survived their purges of rival Heirs in the family.
  • PERSONAL LIFE:
  • CLAUDIUS’ WIVES AND CHILDREN:
    • Claudius was married four times with children by three of his wives. Claudius was due to marry Livia Medullina, but she died unexpectedly on the day of their wedding in 9 CE.
    • Plautia Urgulanilla (9-24 CE)
      • She had a son, Claudius Drusus, but he did not survive beyond his teens. In 24 CE, Claudius divorced Plautia on grounds of adultery with the Freedman, Boter. Five months later she gave birth to a daughter, Claudia, whom Claudius declared to be the illegitimate daughter of Boter.
    • Aelia Paetina (28 CE-October 31 CE)
      • He but later divorced her, when her adopted brother Sejanus was executed for Treason. She produced a daughter, Claudia Antonia (30-66 CE)
    • Valeria Messalina (38/39-48 CE)
      • She produced two children, Claudia Octavia (39/40-8 June 62 CE) and Britannicus (12 February 41 – 11 February 55 CE). However, she had a succession of affairs culminating in her Public Marriage to her lover, Gaius Silius, whilst Claudius was out of Rome, as part of a plot to overthrow Claudius. The result was Claudius had Messalina, Silius and their friends executed.
    • Agrippina the Younger (1 January 49 – 19/23 March 59 CE)
      • In 50 CE Claudius adopted her son Nero, whose father was Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, to become joint Ruler along with his very young son, Germanicus. Nero was very popular as he was the grandson of Germanicus and also related to Augustus.
      • As Agrippina the Younger was a descendent of Augustus, Claudius hoped to combine the Julians with the Claudians and end any more attempts to usurp his position as Emperor. Agrippina was a very ambitious woman, who intended her son to become Emperor, one way or another. She exiled or had executed all of her rivals. The Ancient Historians are agreed that she poisoned Claudius. When Claudius was about to change his Will to exclude Nero, she ordered the Freedman Narcissus to leave Rome on business, and had Locusta poison Claudius with a dish of mushrooms.
  • PERSONAL INTERESTS:
    • Claudius was an academic who wrote many Scholarly works throughout his life, but all have been lost. Nonetheless, Suetonius, Tacitus and Pliny the Elder all quote from his works.
  • Works:
    • A History of the Reign of Augustus
    • An Etruscan history and an Etruscan Dictionary
    • Eight volumes on Carthaginian history
    • A book on Dice playing
    • An autobiography in eight volumes.
    • He added 3 new letters to the Latin Alphabet, but the practice did not survive.
    • He tried to reintroduce a dot between written Latin words, as these were written with no spacing.
  • LANGUAGES SPOKEN:
    • Latin and Greek
    • Etruscan
      • He was supposedly, the last Roman who could speak Etruscan.

6. THE CONSEQUENCES OF CLAUDIUS’ REIGN

  • EXPANSION OR CONTRACTION OF THE STATE UNDER CLAUDIUS:
  • ENRICHMENT OR BANKRUPTCY THE STATE
    • The Empire became more wealthy during his Reign.
  • CLAUDIUS’ MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS
    • The Invasion of Britannia.
    • The Centralisation of the Roman Empire. The administration of the Empire was steadily removed from the Roman Senate and centralised in the hands of Imperial Freedmen. Imperial Posts were increasingly decided by the Emperor and less and less by the Roman Senate.
    • The consolidation of the Cult of Roman Emperor in the Provinces, displacing local cults.
    • The continuation of the ‘Pax Augustus’ and the increase in the wealth of the Roman Empire.

7. THE SUCCESSION TO CLAUDIUS

    • Claudius’ natural Heir was his son Britannicus by his third wife Valeria Messalina.
    • However, his fourth wife, Agrippina the Younger had her own son Nero, whose father was Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, adopted by Claudius as his Heir. But by 54 CE he started to favour his own son over Nero. As a result Ancient Historians are fairly well agreed that Agrippina poisoned Claudius in order to protect her son Nero as Heir.
    • When Claudius died, although his will had been changed to include his son, Britannicus, as joint ruler with Nero, only Nero was old enough to become Roman Emperor.

8. BUILDINGS AND MONUMENTS BUILT BY CLAUDIUS

  • STATUES AND COINS:

9. BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • Classical Sources:
    • Suetonius:
      • The Lives of the Twelve Caesars Book V: The Life of Claudius
  • Modern Sources:
    • Robert Graves
      • ‘I Claudius’ Published in 1934.
      • ‘Claudius the God’ Published in 1935. Here he is portrayed as a highly intelligent and resourceful man, in contrast to the traditional view of him as an idiot.

10. FILMS and DvD’s

 

Colchester, Britain

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43 CE
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