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Large grain marble head believed to be a local (Mediolanum) copy of an official portrait of Roman emperor Claudius (41-54 CE). (Archaeological Museum, Milan)
His full name was Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. He ruled from 41 to 54 AD.
- He had the pedigree to rule. He was the nephew of both Mark Antony and Tiberius, the uncle of Caligula, great-nephew of Augustus, and the great-great-grandnephew of Julius Caesar.
- He suffered from many physical ailments, possibly cerebral palsy, and was ridiculed by his own family, who considered his condition a sign of weakness. He later claimed he had only pretended to be feeble and dimwitted to protect himself, and some scholars agree.
- He loved to gamble. He reportedly wagered 400,000 sesterces on a single roll of the dice (a soldier earned around 1,200 sesterces per year). Seneca said that his gambling was such a vice that he deserved to spend eternity in hell where he would eternally pick up dice and place them in a cup that has no bottom!
- He expelled the Jews from Rome around the year 49, because they “constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus”. Priscilla and Aquila left Rome at this time.
- He wasn’t active in politics until the age of 46 when his nephew Caligula appointed him co-consul. Because of his disabilities, Claudius was hidden by his family, leading to his being repeatedly passed over for public office. His uncle Emperor Tiberius would only appoint him to minor priesthoods. He therefore spent his days drinking, gambling and womanizing.
- He loved history and was an accomplished author. Claudius spent many lonely hours immersed in books and academic study. He wrote nearly 30 books on history, all in Greek.
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Proclaiming Claudius Emperor by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Public Domain, 1867
He was installed as emperor by the Praetorian Guard. In 41, a group of Praetorian Guards—the bodyguards of the Roman emperor—murdered Caligula, his wife, and his child. Legend says the 50-year-old Claudius ran and hid on a balcony, where he was found by the Praetorians. Instead of killing him, they saluted him as Rome’s new emperor, perhaps thinking he could be easily manipulated. That turned out not to be the case, but to be safe, he cemented the loyalty of the Praetorian Guard with 15,000 sesterces per man–five times a year’s pay.
- He relaunched the Roman annexation of Britain started by Julius Caesar. In 43, Claudius instructed his commander to halt before the final drive into Colchester so he could lead it, appearing to be the conqueror. He arrived–followed by Praetorian Guards, reinforcements, and innumerable clerks and servants–on a war elephant to accept the surrender of eleven kings. The Senate granted him a triumphalia and the honorific “Britannicus,” which he gave to his son, never using the title himself.
- He loved the law, and issued almost 20 edicts per day.
- He loved the games. Claudius watched chariot races and gladiatorial bouts tor hours at a time. He once staged a 19,000-man mock sea battle on a nearby lake with condemned prisoners as combatants. Historian Suetonius says they saluted the emperor with the phrase “morituri te salutant” (“those who are about to die salute you”). There is no evidence that this form of address was used on any occasion other than this, and certainly not by gladiators.
- He was married four times. Claudius’ first betrothal to a distant cousin was canceled for political reasons. His second bride-to-be died on their wedding day. He divorced his first wife on suspicion of adultery and murder, and then divorced his second for political reasons. Claudius’ third wife, his cousin Messalina, has been described as a scheming adulteress. Claudius had her and a lover executed. A year later he wed his 19-year-old niece Agrippina, who manipulated him into naming her son Nero as his successor and then murdered him.
- He was killed by poisonous mushrooms, but beyond that the facts get murky. Nearly all ancient historians say Agrippina engineered the plot to ensure Nero’s ascension to the throne. A few modern historians claim Claudius’ death could have been an accident caused by him unknowingly eating a “Death Cap.”
