Claudius

Claudius
Antonia the Younger

Roman imperial dynasties
Great Cameo of France
Julio-Claudian dynasty
Chronology
Augustus 27 BC – AD 14
Tiberius AD 14–37
Caligula AD 37–41
Claudius AD 41–54
Nero AD 54–68
Preceded by Roman Republic Followed by Year of the Four Emperors
v t e

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus^[b] (/ˈklɔːdiəs/; Latin: [tɪˈbɛriʊs ˈklau̯diʊs ˈkae̯sar au̯ˈɡʊstʊs gɛrˈmaːnɪkʊs]; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Minor at Lugdunum in Roman Gaul, where his father was stationed as a military legate. He was the first Roman emperor to be born outside Italy.

As he had a limp and slight deafness due to sickness at a young age, he was ostracized by his family and was excluded from public office until his consulship (which was shared with his nephew, Caligula, in 37). Claudius's infirmity probably saved him from the fate of many other nobles during the purges throughout the reigns of Tiberius and Caligula, as potential enemies did not see him as a serious threat. His survival led to his being declared emperor by the Praetorian Guard after Caligula's assassination, at which point he was the last adult male of his family.

Despite his lack of experience, Claudius was an able and efficient administrator. He expanded the imperial bureaucracy to include freedmen, and helped restore the empire's finances after the excesses of Caligula's reign. He was also an ambitious builder, constructing new roads, aqueducts, and canals across the Empire. During his reign, the Empire started its successful conquest of Britain. Having a personal interest in law, he presided at public trials, and issued edicts daily. He was seen as vulnerable throughout his reign, particularly by elements of the nobility. Claudius was constantly forced to shore up his position, which resulted in the deaths of many senators. Those events damaged his reputation among the ancient writers, though more recent historians have revised that opinion. Many authors contend that he was murdered by his own wife, Agrippina the Younger. After his death at the age of 63, his grandnephew and legally adopted step-son, Nero, succeeded him as emperor.

Family and youth

Early life

Claudius was born on 1 August 10 BC at

In 9 BC, Claudius's father Drusus died on campaign in Germania from a fall from a horse. Claudius was then raised by his mother, who never remarried. When his disability became evident, the relationship with his family turned sour. Antonia referred to him as a monster, and used him as a standard for stupidity. She seems to have passed her son off to his grandmother Livia for a number of years.[6]

Livia was a little kinder, but nevertheless sent Claudius short, angry letters of reproof. He was put under the care of a former mule-driver

When Claudius returned to the narrative later in life, he skipped over the wars of the Second Triumvirate altogether; but the damage was done, and his family pushed him into the background. When the Arch of Pavia was erected to honor the Imperial clan in AD 8, Claudius's name (now Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus after his elevation to pater familias of the Claudii Nerones on the adoption of his brother) was inscribed on the edge, past the deceased princes, Gaius and Lucius, and Germanicus's children. There is some speculation that the inscription was added by Claudius himself decades later, and that he originally did not appear at all.^[10]

When Augustus died in AD 14, Claudius – then aged 23 – appealed to his uncle Tiberius to allow him to begin the cursus honorum. Tiberius, the new Emperor, responded by granting Claudius consular ornaments. Claudius requested office once more and was snubbed. Since the new emperor was no more generous than the old, Claudius gave up hope of public office and retired to a scholarly, private life.

Despite the disdain of the Imperial family, it seems that from very early on the general public respected Claudius. At Augustus's death, the

During the period immediately after the death of Tiberius's son, Drusus, Claudius was pushed by some quarters as a potential heir to the throne. This again suggests the political nature of his exclusion from public life. However, as this was also the period during which the power and terror of the commander of the Praetorian Guard, Sejanus, was at its peak, Claudius chose to downplay this possibility. After the death of Tiberius, the new emperor Caligula (the son of Claudius's brother Germanicus) recognized Claudius to be of some use. He appointed Claudius his co-consul in 37 to emphasize the memory of Caligula's deceased father Germanicus.

Despite this, Caligula tormented his uncle: playing practical jokes, charging him enormous sums of money, humiliating him before the Senate, and the like. According to Cassius Dio, Claudius became sickly and thin by the end of Caligula's reign, most likely due to stress.^[11] A possible surviving portrait of Claudius from this period may support this.

Assassination of Caligula (AD 41)

On 24 January 41, Caligula was assassinated in a

Proclaiming Claudius Emperor, 1867.

Detail from A Roman Emperor 41 AD, c. 1871.

Two drastically different oil paintings by Lawrence Alma-Tadema of Claudius being proclaimed emperor by Gratus.

In the chaos following the murder, Claudius witnessed the German guard cut down several uninvolved noblemen, including many of his friends. He fled to the palace to hide. According to tradition, a Praetorian named Gratus found him hiding behind a curtain and suddenly declared him princeps.^[13] Claudius was spirited away to the Praetorian camp and put under their protection.

The Senate met and debated a change of government, but this devolved into an argument over which of them would be the new princeps. When they heard of the Praetorians' claim, they demanded that Claudius be delivered to them for approval, but he refused, sensing the danger that would come with complying. Some historians, particularly

Claudius took several steps to legitimize his rule against potential usurpers, most of them emphasizing his place within the Julio-Claudian family. He adopted the name "Caesar" as a cognomen, as the name still carried great weight with the populace. To do so, he dropped the cognomen "Nero", which he had adopted as pater familias of the Claudii Nerones when his brother Germanicus was adopted. As Pharaoh of Egypt, Claudius adopted the royal titulary Tiberios Klaudios, Autokrator Heqaheqau Meryasetptah, Kanakht Djediakhshuemakhet ("Tiberius Claudius, Emperor and ruler of rulers, beloved of Isis and Ptah, the strong bull of the stable moon on the horizon").^[19]

While Claudius had never been formally adopted either by Augustus or his successors, he was nevertheless the grandson of Augustus's sister Octavia, and so he felt that he had the right of family. He also adopted the name "Augustus" as the two previous emperors had done at their accessions. He kept the honorific "Germanicus" to display the connection with his heroic brother. He deified his paternal grandmother Livia to highlight her position as wife of the divine Augustus. Claudius frequently used the term "filius Drusi" (son of Drusus) in his titles, to remind the people of his legendary father and lay claim to his reputation.^[20]

Since Claudius was the first emperor proclaimed on the initiative of the Praetorian Guard instead of the Senate, his repute suffered at the hands of commentators (such as

Pliny the Elder noted, according to the 1938 Loeb Classical Library translation by Harris Rackham, "... many people do not allow any gems in a signet-ring, and seal with the gold itself; this was a fashion invented when Claudius Cæsar was emperor."^[23]

Claudius restored the status of the peaceful Imperial Roman provinces of

Under Claudius, the Empire underwent its first major expansion since the reign of Augustus. The provinces of Thrace, Noricum, Lycia, and Judea were annexed (or put under direct rule) under various circumstances during his term. The annexation of Mauretania, begun under Caligula, was completed after the defeat of rebel forces, as well as the official division of the former client kingdom into two Imperial provinces.^[27][28] The most far-reaching conquest was that of Britannia.^[29]

In 43, Claudius sent Aulus Plautius with four legions to Britain (Britannia) after an appeal from an ousted tribal ally. Britain was an attractive target for Rome because of its material wealth: mines and the potential of slave labor, as well as being a haven for Gallic rebels. Claudius himself traveled to the island after the completion of initial offensives, bringing with him reinforcements and elephants. The Roman colonia of Colonia Claudia Victricensis was established as the provincial capital of the newly established province of Britannia at Camulodunum, where a large temple was dedicated in his honour.

He left Britain after 16 days, but remained in the provinces for some time. The Senate granted him a

Claudius conducted a census in 48 that found 5,984,072 (adult male) Roman citizens^[30] (women, children, slaves, and free adult males without Roman citizenship were not counted), an increase of around a million since the census conducted at Augustus's death. He had helped increase this number through the foundation of Roman colonies that were granted blanket citizenship. These colonies were often made out of existing communities, especially those with elites who could rally the populace to the Roman cause. Several colonies were placed in new provinces or on the border of the Empire to secure Roman holdings as quickly as possible.

Judicial and legislative affairs

Claudius personally judged many of the legal cases tried during his reign. Ancient historians have many complaints about this, stating that his judgments were variable and sometimes did not follow the law.^[31][32] He was also easily swayed. Nevertheless, Claudius paid detailed attention to the operation of the judicial system. He extended the summer court session, as well as the winter term, by shortening the traditional breaks. Claudius also made a law requiring plaintiffs to remain in the city while their cases were pending, as defendants had previously been required to do. These measures had the effect of clearing out the docket. The minimum age for jurors was also raised to 25 to ensure a more experienced jury pool.^[33]

Claudius also settled disputes in the provinces. He freed the island of

Numerous edicts were issued throughout Claudius's reign. These were on a number of topics, everything from medical advice to moral judgments. A famous medical example is one promoting yew juice as a cure for snakebite.^[37] Suetonius wrote that he is even said to have thought of an edict allowing public flatulence for good health.^[38] One of the more famous edicts concerned the status of sick slaves. Masters had been abandoning ailing slaves at the temple of Aesculapius on Tiber Island to die instead of providing them with medical assistance and care, and then reclaiming them if they lived. Claudius ruled that slaves who were thus abandoned and recovered after such treatment would be free. Furthermore, masters who chose to kill slaves rather than take care of them were liable to be charged with murder.^[39]

Public works

Claudius embarked on many public works throughout his reign, both in the capital and in the provinces. He built or finished two

The port at Ostia was part of Claudius's solution to the constant grain shortages that occurred in winter, after the Roman shipping season. The other part of his solution was to insure the ships of grain merchants who were willing to risk travelling to Egypt in the off-season. He also granted their sailors special privileges, including citizenship and exemption from the Lex Papia Poppaea, a law that regulated marriage. In addition, he repealed the taxes that Caligula had instituted on food, and further reduced taxes on communities suffering drought or famine.

The last part of Claudius's plan to avoid famine was to increase the amount of arable land in Italy. This was to be achieved by draining the

A tunnel was dug through the lake bed, but the plan was a failure. The tunnel was crooked and not large enough to carry the water, which caused it to back up when opened. The resultant flood washed out a large gladiatorial exhibition held to commemorate the opening, causing Claudius to run for his life along with the other spectators. The draining of the lake continued to present a problem well into the Middle Ages. It was finally achieved by the Prince Torlonia in the 19th century, producing over 160,000 acres (650 km²) of new arable land.^[42] He expanded the Claudian tunnel to three times its original size.

Senate

Because of the circumstances of his accession, Claudius took great pains to please the

Claudius set about remodeling the Senate into a more efficient, representative body. He chided the senators about their reluctance to debate bills introduced by himself, as noted in the fragments of a surviving speech:

If you accept these proposals, Conscript Fathers, say so at once and simply, in accordance with your convictions. If you do not accept them, find alternatives, but do so here and now; or if you wish to take time for consideration, take it, provided you do not forget that you must be ready to pronounce your opinion whenever you may be summoned to meet. It ill befits the dignity of the Senate that the consul designate should repeat the phrases of the consuls word for word as his opinion, and that every one else should merely say 'I approve', and that then, after leaving, the assembly should announce 'We debated'.^[43]

In 47, he assumed the office of

.

Nevertheless, many in the Senate remained hostile to Claudius, and many plots were made on his life. This hostility carried over into the historical accounts. As a result, Claudius reduced the Senate's power for the sake of efficiency. The administration of Ostia was turned over to an Imperial procurator after construction of the port. Administration of many of the empire's financial concerns was turned over to Imperial appointees and freedmen. This led to further resentment and suggestions that these same freedmen were ruling the Emperor.

Plots and coup attempts

Several coup attempts were made during Claudius's reign, resulting in the deaths of many senators.

Appius Silanus was executed early in Claudius's reign under questionable circumstances.^[39] Shortly after this, a large rebellion was undertaken by the Senator Vinicianus and Scribonianus - governor of Dalmatia

- and gained quite a few senatorial supporters. It ultimately failed because of the reluctance of Scribonianus' troops, which led to the suicide of the main conspirators.

Many other senators tried different conspiracies and were condemned. Claudius's son-in-law Pompeius Magnus was executed for his part in a conspiracy with his father Crassus Frugi. Another plot involved the consulars Lusius Saturninus, Cornelius Lupus, and Pompeius Pedo.

In 46,

Valerius Asiaticus was executed without public trial for unknown reasons. Ancient sources say the charge was adultery

, and that Claudius was tricked into issuing the punishment. However, Claudius singles out Asiaticus for special damnation in his speech on the Gauls, which dates over a year later, suggesting that the charge must have been much more serious.

Asiaticus had been a claimant to the throne in the chaos following Caligula's death and a co-consul with Titus Statilius Taurus Corvinus. Most of these conspiracies took place before Claudius's term as

Gaius Silius in the year after his Censorship, 48, is detailed in book 11 of Tacitus' Annal. This section of Tacitus' history narrates the alleged conspiracy of Claudius's third wife, Messalina. Suetonius states that a total of 35 senators and 300 knights were executed for offenses during Claudius's reign.^[39]

Needless to say, the responses to these conspiracies could not have helped Senate–emperor relations.

Secretariat and centralization of powers

Claudius was hardly the first emperor to use freedmen to help with the day-to-day running of the Empire. He was, however, forced to increase their role as the powers of the princeps became more centralized and the burden of running the government became larger. Claudius did not want free-born magistrates to serve under him as if they were not peers.

The secretariat was divided into bureaus, with each being placed under the leadership of one freedman. Narcissus was the secretary of correspondence. Pallas became the secretary of the treasury. Callistus became secretary of justice. There was a fourth bureau for miscellaneous issues, which was put under Polybius until his execution for treason. The freedmen could also officially speak for the Emperor, as when Narcissus addressed the troops in Claudius's stead before the conquest of Britain.^[44]

Since these were important positions, the senators were aghast at their being placed in the hands of former slaves and "well-known eunuchs".^[45] If freedmen had total control of money, letters and law, it seemed it would not be hard for them to manipulate the Emperor. This is exactly the accusation put forth by ancient sources. However, these same sources admit that the freedmen were loyal to Claudius.^[44]

He was similarly appreciative of them and gave them due credit for policies where he had used their advice. However, if they showed treasonous inclinations, the Emperor punished them with just force, as in the case of Polybius and Pallas's brother, Felix. There is no evidence that the character of Claudius's policies and edicts changed with the rise and fall of the various freedmen, suggesting that he was firmly in control throughout.

Regardless of the extent of their political power, the freedmen did manage to amass wealth through their positions. Pliny the Elder notes that several of them were richer than

Crassus, the richest man of the Republican era.^[46]

Religious reforms

Claudius, as the author of a treatise on Augustus's religious reforms, felt himself in a good position to institute some of his own. He had strong opinions about the proper form for state religion. He refused the request of Alexandrian Greeks to dedicate a temple to his divinity, saying that only gods may choose new gods. He restored lost days to festivals and got rid of many extraneous celebrations added by Caligula. He re-instituted old observances and archaic language.

Claudius was concerned with the spread of eastern mysteries within the city and searched for more Roman replacements. He emphasized the

Druidism, because of its incompatibility with the Roman state religion and its proselytizing activities.^[47]

Public games and entertainments

According to Suetonius, Claudius was extraordinarily fond of games. He is said to have risen with the crowd after gladiatorial matches and given unrestrained praise to the fighters.[48] Claudius also presided over many new and original events. Soon after coming into power, Claudius instituted games to be held in honor of his father on the latter's birthday.^[16] Annual games were also held in honour of his accession, and took place at the Praetorian camp where Claudius had first been proclaimed Emperor.^[49]

Claudius organised a performance of the Secular Games, marking the 800th anniversary of the founding of Rome. Augustus had performed the same games less than a century prior. Augustus's excuse was that the interval for the games was 110 years, not 100, but his date actually did not qualify under either reasoning.^[49] Claudius also presented staged naval battles to mark the attempted draining of the Fucine Lake, as well as many other public games and shows.

At Ostia, in front of a crowd of spectators, Claudius fought an orca which was trapped in the harbour. The event was witnessed by Pliny the Elder:

A killer whale was actually seen in the harbour of Ostia in battle with the Emperor Claudius; it had come at the time when he was engaged in completing the structure of the harbour, being tempted by the wreck of a cargo of hides imported from Gaul, and in glutting itself for a number of days had furrowed a hollow in the shallow bottom and had been banked up with sand by the waves so high that it was quite unable to turn round, and while it was pursuing its food which was driven forward to the shore by the waves its back projected far above the water like a capsized boat. Caesar gave orders for a barrier of nets to be stretched between the mouths of the harbour and setting out in person with the praetorian cohorts afforded a show to the Roman public, the soldiery hurling lances from the vessels against the creatures when they leapt up alongside, and we saw one of the boats sunk from being filled with water owing to a beast's snorting.^[50]

Claudius also restored and adorned many public venues in Rome. At the

Pompey's Theatre after it had been destroyed by fire, organising special fights at the re-dedication, which he observed from a special platform in the orchestra box.^[49]

Marriages and personal life

Suetonius and the other ancient authors accused Claudius of being dominated by women and wives, and of being a

womanizer.^[52][53]

Claudius married four times, after two failed betrothals. The first betrothal was to his distant cousin

Livia Medullina Camilla

, which ended with Medullina's sudden death on their wedding day.

Plautia Urgulanilla

Claudius Drusus. Drusus died of asphyxiation in his early teens, shortly after becoming engaged to Junilla, daughter of Sejanus

.

Claudius later divorced Urgulanilla for adultery and on suspicion of murdering her sister-in-law Apronia. When Urgulanilla gave birth after the divorce, Claudius

repudiated

the baby girl, Claudia, as the father was allegedly one of his own freedmen. Later, this action made him the target of criticism by his enemies.

Aelia Paetina

Soon after, (possibly in 28) Claudius married Aelia Paetina, a relative of Sejanus, if not Sejanus's adoptive sister. During their marriage, Claudius and Paetina had a daughter, Claudia Antonia. He later divorced her after the marriage became a political liability. One version suggests that it may have been due to emotional and mental abuse by Paetina.^[54]

Valeria Messalina

Some years after divorcing Aelia Paetina, in 38 or early 39, Claudius married

Valeria Messalina, who was his first cousin once removed (Claudius's grandmother, Octavia the Younger, was Valeria's great-grandmother on both her mother and father's side) and closely allied with Caligula's circle. Shortly thereafter, she gave birth to a daughter, Claudia Octavia. A son, first named Tiberius Claudius Germanicus, and later known as Britannicus

, was born just after Claudius's accession.

This marriage ended in tragedy. The ancient historians allege that Messalina was a

Ostia

.

Sources disagree as to whether or not she divorced the Emperor first, and whether the intention was to usurp the throne. Under Roman law, the spouse needed to be informed that he or she had been divorced before a new marriage could take place; the sources state that Claudius was in total ignorance until after the marriage.^[56] Scramuzza, in his biography, suggests that Silius may have convinced Messalina that Claudius was doomed, and the union was her only hope of retaining her rank and protecting her children.^[57][58][59] The historian Tacitus suggests that Claudius's ongoing term as Censor may have prevented him from noticing the affair before it reached such a critical point, after which she was executed.^[60]

Agrippina the Younger

Claudius married once more. Ancient sources tell that his freedmen put forward three candidates, Caligula's third wife Lollia Paulina, Claudius's divorced second wife Aelia Paetina and Claudius's niece Agrippina the Younger. According to Suetonius, Agrippina won out through her feminine wiles. She gradually seized power from Claudius and successfully conspired to eliminate his son's rivals, opening the way for her son to become emperor.^[61]

The truth is probably more political. The attempted coup d'état by Silius and Messalina probably made Claudius realize the weakness of his position as a member of the Claudian (but not the Julian) family. This weakness was compounded by the fact that he did not yet have an obvious adult heir, Britannicus being just a boy. Agrippina was one of the few remaining descendants of Augustus, and her son Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (the future Nero) was one of the last males of the Imperial family. Coup attempts might rally around the pair and Agrippina was already showing such ambition. It has been suggested that the Senate may have pushed for the marriage, an attempt to end the feud between the Julian and Claudian branches.^[62]

This feud dated back to Agrippina's mother's actions against Tiberius after the death of her husband Germanicus (Claudius's brother), actions that Tiberius had punished. In any case, Claudius accepted Agrippina and later adopted the mature Ahenobarbus as his son, renaming him as 'Nero Claudius Caesar'.

Nero was married to Claudius's daughter Octavia, made joint heir with the underage

Postumus Agrippa and his stepson Tiberius as joint heirs,^[63] and Tiberius had named Caligula as his joint heir with his grandson Tiberius Gemellus. Adoption of adults or near adults was an old tradition in Rome when a suitable natural adult heir was unavailable, as was the case during Britannicus's minority. Claudius may have previously looked to adopt one of his sons-in-law to protect his own reign.^[64]

Valeria Messalina

, which told against him. Nero was more popular with the general public as both the grandson of Germanicus and the direct descendant of Augustus.

Affliction and personality

The historian Suetonius describes the physical manifestations of Claudius's condition in relatively good detail.^[65] His knees were weak and gave way under him and his head shook. He stammered and his speech was confused. He slobbered and his nose ran when he was excited. The Stoic Seneca states in his Apocolocyntosis that Claudius's voice belonged to no land animal, and that his hands were weak as well.^[66]

Roman god Jupiter

However, he showed no physical deformity, as Suetonius notes that when calm and seated he was a tall, well-built figure of dignitas.^[65] When angered or stressed, his symptoms became worse. Historians agree that this condition improved upon his accession to the throne.^[67] Claudius himself claimed that he had exaggerated his ailments to save his life.^[68]

Modern assessments of his health have changed several times in the past century. Prior to

Claudius novels, first published in the 1930s. The New York Times wrote in 1934 that Claudius suffered from infantile paralysis (which led to his limp state) and measles (which made him deaf) at seven months of age, among several other ailments.^[69] Polio does not explain many of the described symptoms, however, and a more recent theory implicates cerebral palsy as the cause.^[54] Tourette syndrome has also been considered a possibility.^[70][71]

As a person, ancient historians described Claudius as generous and lowbrow, a man who sometimes lunched with the plebeians.^[72][73] They also paint him as bloodthirsty and cruel, over-fond of gladiatorial combat and executions, and very quick to anger; Claudius himself acknowledged the latter trait, and apologized publicly for his temper.^[74][75] According to the ancient historians he was also excessively trusting, and easily manipulated by his wives and freedmen,^[39][76] but at the same time they portray him as paranoid and apathetic, dull and easily confused.^[77][78]

Claudius's extant works present a different view, painting a picture of an intelligent, scholarly, well-read, and conscientious administrator with an eye to detail and justice. Thus, Claudius becomes an enigma. Since the discovery of his "Letter to the Alexandrians", much work has been done to rehabilitate Claudius and determine the truth.^{[citation needed]}

Scholarly works and their impact

Claudius wrote copiously throughout his life. Arnaldo Momigliano states that during the reign of Tiberius, which covers the peak of Claudius's literary career, it became impolitic to speak of republican Rome. The trend among the young historians was either to write about the new empire or about obscure antiquarian topics. Claudius was the rare scholar who covered both.^[79]

Besides his history of Augustus' reign that caused him so much grief, his major works included

Asinius Gallus

. Modern historians have used this to determine the nature of his politics and of the aborted chapters of his civil war history.

He proposed a reform of the Latin alphabet by the addition of three new letters; he officially instituted the change during his censorship but they did not survive his reign. Claudius also tried to revive the old custom of putting dots between successive words (Classical Latin was written with no spacing). Finally, he wrote an eight-volume autobiography that Suetonius describes as lacking in taste.^[81] Claudius (like most of the members of his dynasty) harshly criticized his predecessors and relatives in surviving speeches.^[82]

None of the works survived, but other sources' reference to him provide material for the surviving histories of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Suetonius quotes Claudius's autobiography once and must have used it as a source numerous times. Tacitus uses Claudius's arguments for the orthographical innovations mentioned above and may have used him for some of the more antiquarian passages in his annals. Claudius is the source for numerous passages of Pliny's Natural History.^[83]

The influence of historical study on Claudius is obvious. In his speech on Gallic senators, he uses a version of the founding of Rome identical to that of Livy, his tutor in adolescence. The speech is meticulous in details, a common mark of all his extant works, and he goes into long digressions on related matters.^{[citation needed]} This indicates a deep knowledge of a variety of historical subjects that he shared.^{[clarification needed]} Many of the public works instituted in his reign were based on plans first suggested by Julius Caesar. Levick believes this emulation of Caesar may have spread to all aspects of his policies.^[84]

His censorship seems to have been based on those of his ancestors, particularly Appius Claudius Caecus, and he used the office to put into place many policies based on those of Republican times. This is when many of his religious reforms took effect; also, his building efforts greatly increased during his tenure. In fact, his assumption of the office of Censor may have been motivated by a desire to see his academic labors bear fruit. For example, he believed (as most Romans did) that Caecus had used the power of the censorship office to introduce the letter "R" and so used his own term to introduce his new letters.^[85]

Death

Ancient historians agree that Claudius was murdered by poison – possibly contained in mushrooms or on a feather (ostensibly put down his throat to induce vomiting) – and died in the early hours of 13 October 54.^[86]

Nearly all implicate his final and powerful wife, Agrippina, as the instigator. Agrippina and Claudius had become more combative in the months leading up to his death. This carried on to the point where Claudius openly lamented his bad wives, and began to comment on Britannicus' approaching manhood with an eye towards restoring his status within the imperial family. Agrippina had motive in ensuring the succession of Nero before Britannicus could gain power.^[87]

Some implicate either his taster Halotus, his doctor Xenophon, or the infamous poisoner Locusta as the administrator of the fatal substance.^[88] Some say he died after prolonged suffering following a single dose at dinner, and some have him recovering only to be poisoned again.^[89] Among his contemporary sources, Seneca the Younger ascribed the emperor's death to natural causes, while Josephus only spoke of rumors of his poisoning.^[90]

Some historians have cast doubt on whether Claudius was murdered or merely died from illness or old age.^[c] Evidence against his murder include his serious illnesses in his last years, his unhealthy lifestyle and the fact that his taster Halotus continued to serve in the same position under Nero. Claudius had been so ill the year before that Nero vowed games for his recovery and the year of 54 seems to have been such an unhealthy year that one sitting member of each magistracy died within the span of a few months. He may even have died by eating a naturally poisonous mushroom, possibly Amanita muscaria.^[91] On the other hand, some modern scholars claim the near universality of the accusations in ancient texts lends credence to the crime.^[92] Claudius's ashes were interred in the Mausoleum of Augustus on 24 October 54, after a funeral similar to that of his great-uncle Augustus 40 years earlier.

Legacy

Divine honours

Already, while alive, he received the widespread private worship of a living princeps^[93] and was worshipped in Britannia in his own temple in Camulodunum.

Claudius was deified by Nero and the Senate almost immediately.^[94]

Views of the new regime

Agrippina had sent Narcissus away shortly before Claudius's death, and now had the freedman murdered.

The last act of this secretary of letters was to burn all of Claudius's correspondence – most likely so it could not be used against him and others in an already hostile new regime. Thus Claudius's private words about his own policies and motives were lost to history. Just as Claudius had criticized his predecessors in official edicts, Nero often criticized the deceased Emperor, and many Claudian laws and edicts were disregarded under the reasoning that he was too stupid and senile to have meant them.^[95]

Seneca's Apocolocyntosis mocks the deification of Claudius and reinforces the view of Claudius as an unpleasant fool; this remained the official view for the duration of Nero's reign. Eventually Nero stopped referring to his deified adoptive father at all. Claudius's temple was left unfinished after only some of the foundation had been laid down. Eventually the site was overtaken by Nero's Golden House.^[96]

Flavian and later perspectives

The

Flavians, who had risen to prominence under Claudius, took a different tack. They needed to shore up their legitimacy, but also justify the fall of the Julio-Claudians. They reached back to Claudius in contrast with Nero, to show that they were associated with a good regime. Commemorative coins were issued of Claudius and his son Britannicus, who had been a friend of Emperor Titus (Titus was born in 39, Britannicus was born in 41). When Nero's Golden House was burned, the Temple of Claudius was finally completed on the Caelian Hill.^[96]

However, as the Flavians became established, they needed to emphasize their own credentials more, and their references to Claudius ceased. Instead, he was lumped with the other emperors of the fallen dynasty. His state-cult in Rome probably continued until the abolition of all cults of dead Emperors by

Kalends of August.^[98] And such commemoration (and consequent feasting) probably continued until the Christianization and disintegration of the army in the late 4th century.^[97]

Views of ancient historians

The ancient historians Tacitus, Suetonius (in The Twelve Caesars), and Cassius Dio all wrote after the last of the Flavians had gone. All three were senators or equites. They took the side of the Senate in most conflicts with the Princeps, invariably viewing him as being in the wrong. This resulted in biases, both conscious and unconscious. Suetonius lost access to the official archives shortly after beginning his work. He was forced to rely on second-hand accounts when it came to Claudius (with the exception of Augustus's letters, which had been gathered earlier). Suetonius painted Claudius as a ridiculous figure, belittling many of his acts and crediting his good works to his retinue.^[99]

Tacitus wrote a narrative for his fellow senators and fitted each of the emperors into a simple mold of his choosing.^[100] He wrote of Claudius as a passive pawn and an idiot in affairs relating to the palace and public life. During his Censorship of 47–48 Tacitus allows the reader a glimpse of a Claudius who is more statesmanlike (XI.23–25), but it is a mere glimpse. Tacitus is usually held to have 'hidden' his use of Claudius's writings and to have omitted Claudius's character from his works.^[d] Even his version of Claudius's Lyons tablet speech is edited to be devoid of the emperor's personality. Dio was less biased, but seems to have used Suetonius and Tacitus as sources. Thus, the conception of Claudius as a weak fool, controlled by those he supposedly ruled, was preserved for the ages.

As time passed, Claudius was mostly forgotten outside of the historians' accounts. His books were lost first, as their antiquarian subjects became unfashionable. In the 2nd century, Pertinax, who shared his birthday, became emperor, overshadowing commemoration of Claudius.^[102]

In modern media

• The best known fictional representation of the Emperor Claudius was contained in the books
  Claudius the God (published in 1934 and 1935, respectively) by Robert Graves, both written in the first-person
  to give the reader the impression that they are Claudius's autobiography. Graves employed a fictive artifice to suggest that they were recently discovered, genuine translations of Claudius's writings. Claudius's extant letters, speeches, and sayings were incorporated into the text (mostly in the second book, Claudius the God), to add authenticity.
  • In 1937, director Josef von Sternberg attempted a film version of I, Claudius, with Charles Laughton as Claudius. However, the lead actress, Merle Oberon, had a near-fatal car accident and the movie was never finished. The surviving reels were featured in the BBC documentary The Epic That Never Was (1965). The motion picture rights for a new film eventually passed to producer Scott Rudin (b. 1958).^[103]
  • Graves's two books were the basis for a British television adaptation
    Masterpiece Theatre
    in 1977. The 1996 7-VHS release and the later DVD release of the television series, include The Epic That Never Was documentary.
  • A radio adaptation of the Graves novels by Robin Brooks and directed by Jonquil Panting, was broadcast in six one-hour episodes on BBC Radio 4 beginning 4 December 2010. The cast featured Tom Goodman-Hill as Claudius, Derek Jacobi as Augustus, Harriet Walter as Livia, Tim McInnerny as Tiberius and Samuel Barnett as Caligula.
  • In 2011, it was announced rights for a miniseries adaptation passed to HBO and BBC Two. Anne Thomopoulos and Jane Tranter, producers of the popular HBO–BBC2 Rome miniseries, were attached to the I, Claudius project. However, as of 2018, it has yet to be produced, and no release date is pending.
• The 1954 film Demetrius and the Gladiators also portrayed him sympathetically, played by Barry Jones.
• In the 1960 film Messalina, Claudius is portrayed by Mino Doro.
• On television, Freddie Jones portrayed Claudius in the 1968 British television series The Caesars.
• The 1975 TV Special Further Up Pompeii! (based on the Frankie Howerd sit-com Up Pompeii!) featured Cyril Appleton as Claudius.
• In the 1979 motion picture Caligula, where the role was performed by Giancarlo Badessi, Claudius is depicted as an idiot, in contrast to Robert Graves' portrait of Claudius as a cunning and deeply intelligent man, who is perceived by others to be an idiot.
• In the 1981 Franco-Italian film Caligula and Messalina, he was portrayed by Gino Turini (as John Turner).
• The 1985 made-for-television miniseries A.D. features actor Richard Kiley as Claudius. Kiley portrays him as thoughtful, but willing to cater to public opinion as well as being under the influence of Agrippina.
• In the 2004 TV film Imperium: Nero, Claudius is portrayed by Massimo Dapporto.
• He is portrayed in Season 3 of the Netflix documentary series Roman Empire, which focused on the reign of Caligula, by Kelson Henderson. The series concludes with Claudius's accession.
• There is also a reference to Claudius's suppression of a coup in the movie Gladiator, though that incident is entirely fictional.
• In the series Britannia (2018), Claudius visits Britannia, played by Steve Pemberton as a fool who is drugged by Aulus Plautius.
• He is portrayed by Derek Jacobi in the 2019 BBC film Horrible Histories: The Movie - Rotten Romans

In literature, Claudius and his contemporaries appear in the historical novel The Roman by Mika Waltari. Canadian-born science fiction writer A. E. van Vogt reimagined Robert Graves's Claudius story, in his two novels, Empire of the Atom and The Wizard of Linn.

The historical novel Chariot of the Soul by Linda Proud features Claudius as host and mentor of the young Togidubnus, son of King Verica of the Atrebates, during his ten-year stay in Rome. When Togidubnus returns to Britain in advance of the Roman army, it is with a mission given to him by Claudius.

See also

• Julio-Claudian family tree
• List of Roman emperors
• Temple of Claudius

Notes

1. Claudii Nerones in AD 4. Stuart^[4] and Levick^[5]
   somewhat ignore Suetonius and propose that his name was always Ti. Claudius Nero, and that he added Germanicus only in AD 4.
2. ^ Sometimes referred to as Claudius I, in reference to the later emperor Claudius Gothicus (Claudius II).
3. ^ Scramuzza 1940, pp. 92–93 says that tradition makes every emperor the victim of foul play, so we can't know if Claudius was truly murdered. The Emperor appears to have been seriously ill since at least 53. Levick 2015, pp. 76–77 raises the possibility that Claudius was killed by the stress of fighting with Agrippina over the succession, but concludes that the timing makes murder the most likely cause.
4. ^ Annales XI 14 is often thought to be a good example: the digression on the history of writing is actually Claudius's own argument for his new letters, and fits in with his personality and extant writings. Tacitus makes no explicit attribution – and so there exists the possibility that the digression is Tacitus's own work or derivative of another source.^[101]

References

1. ^ Suetonius, Claudius 2.1; "Claudius was born at Lugdunum on the Kalends of Augustus in the consulship of Iullus Antonius and Fabius Africanus, the very day when an altar was first dedicated to Augustus in that town, and he received the name of Tiberius Claudius Drusus. Later, on the adoption of his elder brother into the Julian family, he took the surname [of] Germanicus".
2. ^ Simpson, pp. 365–366.
3. ^ Hurley, p. 68.
4. ^ Stuart, p. 318 (note 7).
5. ^ Levick 2015, pp. 11, 21–22.
6. ^ Cassius Dio, 60, 2.
7. ^ Suetonius, Claudius 2.
8. ^ Suetonius, Claudius 4.
9. ^ Scramuzza 1940, p. 39.
10. ^ ^{a b} Stuart.
11. ^ Cassius Dio, 60, 2; Suhr 1955 suggests that this must refer to before Claudius came to power.
12. ^ Major 1992.
13. ^ ^{a b} Josephus, Antiquitates Iudiacae XIX. Cassius Dio, Historia Romana, 60 1.3
14. ^ Josephus, Ant. Iud. XIX.
15. Bellum Judaicum II
    , 204–233.
16. ^ ^{a b} Suetonius, Claudius 11.
17. ^ Josephus, Ant. Iud. XIX, 268–269.
18. ^ Cassius Dio, 50 3, 4.
19. ^ "Claudius". The Royal Titulary of Ancient Egypt. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
20. ^ Levick 2015, p. 51.
21. ^ Suetonius, Claudius 10.
22. ^ "Coin, Museum No. R1874,0715.4". British Museum Online Collection. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
23. ^ Pliny the Elder, Book 33,6 .
24. ^ Suetonius, Claudius 25.3.
25. ^ Cassius Dio, 60.24.
26. ^ "Head of the Emperor Claudius". British Museum.
27. ^ Pliny the Elder, 5.1–5.2.
28. ^ Cassius Dio, 60.8, 60.9.
29. ^ Scramuzza 1940, chapter 9.
30. ^ Scramuzza 1940, Chap. 7, p. 142.
31. ^ Suetonius, Claudius 15.
32. ^ Cassius Dio, 61, 33.
33. ^ Scramuzza 1940, chapter 6.
34. ^ Josephus, Ant. Iud. XIX.5.3 (287).
35. ^ Scramuzza 1940, chapter 7, p. 129.
36. ^ Scramuzza 1940, chapter 7.
37. ^ Suetonius, Claudius 16.
38. ^ Suetonius, Claudius 32.
39. ^ ^{a b c d} Suetonius, Claudius 29.
40. ^ Tacitus, XII, 57.
41. ^ Acts 11:28 KJV https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page%3AKJV_1772_Oxford_Edition%2C_vol._2.djvu/370
42. ^ Scramuzza 1940, chapter 9, pp. 173–174.
43. ^ English translation of Berlin papyrus by W.D. Hogarth, in Momigliano 1934.
44. ^ ^{a b} Tacitus, XII 65. Seneca Ad Polybium.
45. ISBN 978-1-55876-200-8
    .
46. ^ Pliny the Elder, XXXIII xlvii 133–137.
47. ^ Suetonius, Claudius 25.
48. ^ Suetonius, Claudius 12.
49. ^ ^{a b c} Suetonius, Claudius 21.
50. ^ Pliny the Elder, Book IX, 14–15.
51. ^ Humphrey 1986, pp. 100–101.
52. ^ Suetonius, Claudius 25.5, 29.1.
53. ^ Cassius Dio, 60.2.4.
54. ^ ^{a b} Leon 1948.
55. ^ Tacitus, IX 10; Cassius Dio, 61.31; Pliny the Elder, X 172.
56. ^ Levick 2015, p. 74.
57. ^ Scramuzza 1940, p. 90.
58. ^ Momigliano 1934, pp. 6–7.
59. ^ Levick 2015, p. 73.
60. ^ Tacitus, XI. 25–38..
61. ^ Suetonius, Claudius 26.
62. ^ Scramuzza 1940, pp. 91–92. See also Tacitus, XII 6, 7 and Suetonius, Claudius 26
63. ^ Levick 2015, pp. 80–81. See also Scramuzza 1940, p. 92
64. ^ Oost 1958.
65. ^ ^{a b} Suetonius, Claudius 30.
66. ^ Seneca the Younger, 5, 6.
67. ^ Suetonius, Claudius 31.
68. ^ Suetonius, Claudius 38.
69. ^ Jack, Peter Monro (10 June 1934). "Robert Graves's Story of a Flagrant Age in Rome: 'I, Claudius' Is a Brilliant Picture of Rome During the Reigns of Augustus, Tiberius and Caligula". The New York Times. p. BR4. Retrieved 30 May 2023 – via ProQuest.
70. ^ Burden, George. The Imperial Gene Archived 11 June 2001 at the Wayback Machine, The Medical Post, 16 July 1996. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
71. S2CID 205664150
    .
72. ^ Suetonius, Claudius 5, 21, 40.
73. ^ Cassius Dio, 50.2, 5, 12, 31.
74. ^ Suetonius, Claudius 34, 38.
75. ^ Tacitus, XII 20.
76. ^ Cassius Dio, 50.2,8.
77. ^ Suetonius, Claudius, 35–37, 39–40.
78. ^ Cassius Dio, 50, 2–3.
79. ^ Momigliano 1934, pp. 4–6.
80. ^ Harvey Sir Paul (1937). "Claudius". The Oxford Companion To Classical Literature. Oxford At The Clarendon Press. p. 107.
81. ^ Suetonius, Claudius 41.
82. ^ See Claudius's Tabula clesiana, in which he refers to the "obstinate retirement" of Tiberius. See also Josephus, Ant Iud. XIX, where an edict of Claudius refers to Caligula's "madness and lack of understanding."
83. ^ See Momigliano 1934, Chap. 1, note 20 (p. 83). Pliny the Elder credits him by name in Book VII 35.
84. ^ Levick 1978.
85. Varro
    's account of the introduction
86. ^ Tacitus, XII 66–67.
87. ^ Suetonius, Claudius 43.
88. ^ Accounts of his death: Suetonius, Claudius 43, 44; Tacitus, XII 64, 66–67; Josephus, Ant. Iud. 19.148, 151; Cassius Dio, 61, 34; Pliny the Elder, II xxiii 92, XI lxxiii 189, XXII xlvi 92
89. ^ Suetonius, 44.
90. ^ Josephus, Ant Iud. 19:67; 20:148.
91. ^ Aveline 2004, pp. 473–474
92. ^ Levick 2015 also as opposed to the murder of Augustus, which is only found in Tacitus and Dio where he quotes Tacitus. Suetonius, an inveterate gossip, doesn't mention it at all.
93. ISBN 978-0-19-927548-9^{[page needed}
    ]
94. ^ Suetonius, Nero, 9.
95. ^ Suetonius, Nero, 33.
96. ^ ^{a b} Levick 2015.
97. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-927548-9
    pp. 356–341, 367
98. ISBN 978-0-7486-2304-4
    .
99. ^ Scramuzza 1940, p. 29.
100. ^ Vessey 1971.
101. ^ Griffin 1990.
102. ^ Levick 2015, p. 229.
103. ^ "I, Claudius (2009) – Synopsis". Archived from the original on 5 January 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
104. ^ I, Claudius, 6 November 1977, retrieved 14 April 2016

Bibliography

Ancient sources

• Apocolocyntosis divi Claudii. Translated by Allan Perley Ball. Columbia University Press
  .
• Gaius Plinius Secundus (1961) [c. 77 AD]. Natural History. Translated by H. Rackham; W.H.S. Jones; D.E. Eichholz. Harvard University Press
  .
• Josephus (1737) [c. 96 AD]. "Chapters XIX–XX". Antiquities of the Jews. Translated by William Whiston. Harvard University Press.
• The Annals. Translated by Frederick W. Shipley. Loeb Classical Library
  .
• Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (1914) [c. AD 121]. "Life of Claudius". The Twelve Caesars. Translated by John Carew Rolfe. Loeb Classical Library
  .
• Roman History. Translated by Earnest Cary. Loeb Classical Library
  .

Modern sources

• Aveline, John (2004). "The Death of Claudius". Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte. 53 (4): 453–475.
  JSTOR 4436743
  .
• Griffin, Miriam (1990). "Claudius in Tacitus". The Classical Quarterly. 40 (2): 482–501.
  S2CID 170810972
  .
• Humphrey, John H. (1986). Roman Circuses: Arenas for Chariot Racing. University of California Press.
  ISBN 978-0-520-04921-5
  .
• Hurley, Donna W., ed. (2001). Suetonius: Diuus Claudius. Cambridge University Press.
  ISBN 0-521-59325-5
  .
• Levick, B. M. (1978). "Antiquarian or Revolutionary? Claudius Caesar's Conception of His Principate". The American Journal of Philology. 99 (1): 79–105.
  JSTOR 293870
  .
• ISBN 978-0-415-70357-4
  .
• Leon, Ernestine F. (1948). "The Imbecillitas of the Emperor Claudius". Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association. 79: 79–86.
  JSTOR 283354
  .
• Major, Ann (1992). "Was He Pushed or Did He Leap? Claudius' Ascent to Power". Ancient History. 22: 25–31.
• Momigliano, Arnaldo (1934). Claudius, the Emperor and His Achievement. Translated by W.D. Hogarth. W. Heffer and Sons.
• Oost, Stewart Irvin (1958). "The Career of M. Antonius Pallas". The American Journal of Philology. 79 (2): 113–139.
  JSTOR 292103
  .
• Ruth, Thomas De Coursey (1916). The problem of Claudius: Some aspects of a character study. Johns Hopkins University.
• Ryan, F. X. (1993). "Some Observations on the Censorship of Claudius and Vitellius, A.D. 47-48". The American Journal of Philology. 114 (4): 611–618.
  JSTOR 295428
  .
• Scramuzza, Vincent (1940). The Emperor Claudius. Harvard University Press.
  ISBN 9780598740687
  .
• Simpson, C.J. (1981). "The Early Name of the Emperor Claudius" (PDF). Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 29: 363–368.
• Stuart, Meriwether (1936). "The Date of the Inscription of Claudius on the Arch of Ticinum".
  S2CID 191396418
  .
• Suhr, Elmer G. (1955). "A Portrait of Claudius". American Journal of Archaeology. 59 (4): 319–322.
  S2CID 192971087
  .
• Vessey, D. W. T. C. (1971). "Thoughts on Tacitus' Portrayal of Claudius". The American Journal of Philology. 92 (3): 385–409.
  JSTOR 292801
  .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Claudius.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Claudius".

• Works by Claudius
  • Claudius' Letter to the Alexandrians
  • Lyon Tablet
    • Second half of the Lyons Tablet
    • Tacitus' version of the Lyons Tablet speech
  • Edict confirming the rights of the people of Trent. Full Latin text here.
• Biography from De Imperatoribus Romanis
• Claudius Page
• Claudius I at BBC History

Claudius Julio-Claudian dynasty Born: 1 August 10 BC Died: 13 October AD 54
Roman emperors
Preceded by Caligula	Roman emperor 41–54	Succeeded by Nero
Political offices
Preceded by G. Petronius Pontius Nigrinus	Roman consul 37 (suffect) with Caligula	Succeeded by G. Caninius Rebilus
Preceded by Gn. Sentius Saturninus	G. Caecina Largus (42) L. Vitellius II (43)	Succeeded by T. Statilius Taurus G. Sallustius Passienus Crispus
Preceded by M. Junius Silanus G. Terentius Tullius Geminus	Roman consul III 47 with L. Vitellius III	Succeeded by A. Vitellius L. Vipstanus Poplicola Messalla
Preceded by Camerinus Antistius Vetus M. Suillius Nerullinus	Roman consul IV 51 with Ser. Cornelius Scipio Salvidienus Orfitus	Succeeded by Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix L. Salvius Otho Titianus