General Notes

Claudius I (10 bc-ad54), Roman emperor (ad41-54).

Claudius was born Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus in Lugdunum (present-day Lyon, France). His father, Nero Claudius Drusus, was a younger brother of Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar, later the Roman emperor Tiberius. Claudius held no important public office until the age of 47, when he became consul during the reign of his nephew, Emperor Caligula. When the latter was assassinated in ad41, Claudius was proclaimed emperor by the Praetorian Guard, who found him hiding in the palace. The first acts of his reign gave promise of mild and just government; but in 42, when a conspiracy against his life was uncovered, he went into semiretirement. His wife Messalina became largely responsible for administering the government for a time. She practiced cruelties and extortions without restraint. Aside from the excesses perpetrated under the influence of Messalina, Claudius's reign was that of an able administrator, both in civil and military affairs. Mauretania (present-day northern Morocco and western Algeria) was made a Roman province; the conquest of Britain was begun; and the Roman armies fought successfully against the Germans. Judea and Thrace also became Roman provinces during his rule. Claudius expended enormous sums in building, especially in the construction of the famous Claudian Aqueduct. His administration was characterized by a decline in the power of the nobility and by the practice, later commonplace, of granting responsibility and wealth to the personal followers of the emperor, including former slaves.

In 48 Claudius ordered the execution of Messalina, who had indicated her contempt for him by publicly staging a mock marriage with her lover. He then defied widespread disapproval by marrying his niece, Agrippina the Younger, under whose influence he deprived his son by Messalina, Britannicus, of his heritage, adopting instead Agrippina's son by a former marriage, Nero, later emperor of Rome. Shortly thereafter Claudius was poisoned, presumably by Agrippina. Claudius is depicted by ancient historians as being neglected, sickly, and ridiculed before coming to power; his character during his reign is described as ignorant and malicious. Modern scholars, however, tend to discount their testimony and estimate him as shrewd and able.



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