Claudius (41 - 54 AD)
Family and Background
Youngest son of the elder Drusus (Tiberius' brother, who had died in 9
BC), brother of Germanicus
Principal Events (Foriegn)
- Conquest of Britain (begun in 43, though a stable administrative zone
on the island was really only established under Hadrian (117-138)
- Succesion crisis in Armenia (begins in 51, not resolved until 66)
Principal Events (Domestic)
- Completion of the harbor at Ostia (42-46)
- Conspiracy of Scribonianus in the Balkans (42)
- Easing of admission of aristocrats from Gaul to the senate (48)
- Conspiracy of Messalina (his wife) with Silius (48)
- Marriage to Agrippina the Younger (his niece) (49)
Outlines of Policy
Claudius appears to have suffered from crebral palsy in his youth, and
was regarded as unfit for public life by Augustus and Tiberius. He
therefore devoted hmself to intellectual projects (especially the
writing of history) until 37 AD, when Caligula brought him onto the
public stage (making him consul for). He appears to have played a
role in the conspiracy against his nephew in 41, and was elevated to
the throne through the intervention of one faction in the praetorian
guard. Lacking a solid base in public life, he devoted himself to the
enhancement of his personal popularity with the plebs through various
building projects (most notably the completion of the harbor at Ostia)
and the army. He had a reputation for dullness, and lacked facility
as a public speaker. Towards the end of his life he appears to have
beenm little more than a figurehead for powerful freedmen in the
palace who say to the day-to-day administration of the empire
Further Reading
Tacitus, Annals 11-12;
Suetonius, Claudius;
Cassius Dio, History of Rome 60-61;
A. Garzetti, From Tiberius to the Antonines;
B. Levick, Claudius.