| Emperors between AD 14 - AD 98 |
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Tiberius Caligula Claudius Nero Year of the Four Vespasian Titus Domitian Nerva
Claudius A.D. 41-54
Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus, born in Gaul, became the third emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Having been adopted by Tiberius, he might have become emperor in place of Caligula. But he had been born with defects that left him unable to refrain from drooling, limping, and stuttering. Most of his family shunned him and kept him out of public view, although Augustus felt there was potential in him. (Possibly this forced isolation was the way he successfully passed through the turmoil of imperial family life as he was growing up. In his solitude he studied and composed history texts.) Caligula, who seemed to enjoy cruel jokes, made his uncle Claudius consul, a public position where more cruel jokes could be played on the frail man.
Caligula's assassination -- the first openly acknowledged murder of an emperor -- provoked panic and confusion. Guards were looting the palace and different factions were killing each other. One story says that some guardsmen found Claudius hiding behind a curtain, declared him emperor, and brought him to their camp. Another story says that, in face of the need for an emperor, Claudius was chosen because he was the only surviving member of the Julio-Claudian house. A third theory has it that Claudius himself was in on the plot to remove Caligula.
The Senate met to discuss whether Caligula's murder was the opportunity they needed to restore the Republic. Ambition thwarted this course when several senators counter-proposed themselves as the next emperor. That discussion ended when word came that the soldiers had named Claudius. It is said that senators sent word ordering Claudius to step down. But their emissary was so intimidated by the soldiers that instead he brought Claudius to the Senate house to be confirmed emperor by them.
Fearing their lack of control over the military, many in the Senate either fled to the Temple of Jupiter Victor or left the city for their country homes. Those who remained went to the Praetorian Camp to welcome the new princeps and formally invest him on 25 January A.D. 41. He was hailed as Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. Claudius was not of Julius Caesar's lineage and so, according to traditional Roman naming conventions, would not have inherited the name of Caesar. At this point in history, therefore, the word changed forever from being a family name to a title meaning "ruler" and started its evolution into "Kaisar," "Czar," and perhaps even "Shah."
Claudius was a different sort of emperor. He went after the assassins of Caligula and executed them to demonstrate that he would not condone murder of an emperor and a relative. He named ordinary citizens, even Gauls, to political offices. He opened up more opportunity to provincials to become citizens. He understood the need to support the military and, when opportunity presented itself, he annexed Britain as a province. This was the first major expansion of the empire since the death of Augustus. He converted some kingdoms into provinces but if a kingdom seemed stable it was left to itself.
Claudius showed a rather less kindly persona in his enjoyment of the execution of defeated gladiators, in conducting 'kangaroo courts', and in ruthlessly executing anyone who seemed a threat. On the home front, his wife Messalina may have given him a daughter and son, but she mocked her marriage with open orgies and liaisons. One particularly offensive 'party' raised such a scandal that she and her consort were both executed. Within months Claudius had married his own niece, Agrippina, the daughter of Agrippina and Germanicus (yes, the repetition of names in each generation can be confusing!).
An ambitious woman, Agrippina is worth a story by herself. From a previous marriage she had a son, Domitius, whom Claudius adopted. This boy was renamed Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus Caesar. Claudius already had a son, Britannicus, who was three years younger than Domitius-Nero. But it was young Nero whom Claudius chose to groom as his successor and to marry to his daughter, Octavia. According to Tacitus, Agrippina decided to hasten the succession by poisoning Claudius with a 'treated mushroom.' Unfortunately (at least in Agrippina's eyes) the poison was not fatal, so a second dose was administered and proved more effective. Sixteen-year-old Nero was named emperor on 13 October A.D. 54.
The television series "I Claudius" is based on Robert Graves's historical fiction novels. It depicts Claudius as a kind, intelligent, introspective man victimized by loyalty and over-trustfulness. If you watch the series, keep in mind that, while accurate in some ways, it shows just one side of the man.
Sources:
The Oxford Classical Dictionary
http://www.roman-emperors.org
-- J.Jahnige, November 2003
Tiberius Caligula Claudius Nero Year of the Four Vespasian Titus Domitian Nerva
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