Claudius - Family and early life

General consensus is that Claudius was murdered by poison — possibly contained in mushrooms — on October 13th, 54. There are various accounts, some of which implicate Halotus, his taster, and some Xenophon, his doctor[32]. Some say he died immediately, and some have him recovering only to be poisoned again. All implicate his wife, Agrippina, as the instigator. Now that Britannicus was approaching the age of majority, there was no need for Nero to be ...

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Claudius, Claudius - Claudius' affliction and personality, Claudius - Family and early life, Claudius - Accession as emperor, Claudius - Expansion of the empire, Claudius - Judicial and legislative affairs, Claudius - Public works, Claudius - Claudius and the Senate, Claudius - The Secretariat and centralization of powers, Claudius - Religious reforms and games, Claudius - Marriages and personal life, Claudius - Death, deification, and reputation, Claudius - Scholarly works and their impact, Claudius - Claudius in fiction, Claudius - Footnotes

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Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (August 1, 10 BC–October 13, 54), previously Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus, was the fourth Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from January 24, 41 to his death in 54. Born in Lugdunum in Gaul (modern-day Lyon, France), to Drusus and Antonia Minor, he was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy. Claudius was considered a rather unlikely man to become emperor. He was reportedly afflicted with some type of disability, and his family had virtu ...

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• Claudius - Claudius' affliction and personality
• Claudius - Family and early life
• Claudius - Accession as emperor
• Claudius - Expansion of the empire
• Claudius - Judicial and legislative affairs
• Claudius - Public works
• Claudius - Claudius and the Senate
• Claudius - The Secretariat and centralization of powers
• Claudius - Religious reforms and games
• Claudius - Marriages and personal life
• Claudius - Death deification and reputation
• Claudius - Scholarly works and their impact
• Claudius - Claudius in fiction
• Claudius - Footnotes

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Claudius was born Tiberius Claudius Drusus on August 1, 10 BC in Lugdunum, Gaul, on the day of the dedication of an altar to Augustus. He was the third child of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia Minor, the two older children being Germanicus and Livilla. Antonia may have had two other children as well, but both died young. His maternal grandparents were Mark Antony and Octavia, Caesar Augustus' sister. His paternal grandparents were Livia, Augustus' third wife, and Tiberius Claudius Nero. During his reign, Claudius revived the rumor that his father Dru ...

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Claudius, Claudius - Claudius' affliction and personality, Claudius - Family and early life, Claudius - Accession as emperor, Claudius - Expansion of the empire, Claudius - Judicial and legislative affairs, Claudius - Public works, Claudius - Claudius and the Senate, Claudius - The Secretariat and centralization of powers, Claudius - Religious reforms and games, Claudius - Marriages and personal life, Claudius - Death deification and reputation, Claudius - Scholarly works and their impact, Claudius - Claudius in fiction, Claudius - Footnotes

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Claudius was born Tiberius Claudius Drusus on August 1, 10 BC in Lugdunum, Gaul, on the day of the dedication of an altar to Augustus. He was the third child of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia Minor, the two older children being Germanicus and Livilla. Antonia may have had two other children as well, but both died young. His maternal grandparents were Mark Antony and Octavia, Caesar Augustus' sister. His paternal grandparents were Livia, Augustus's third wife, and Tiberius Claudius Nero. During his reign, Claudius revived the rumor that his father Dru ...

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Claudius, Claudius - Claudius' affliction and personality, Claudius - Family and early life, Claudius - Accession as emperor, Claudius - Expansion of the empire, Claudius - Judicial and legislative affairs, Claudius - Public works, Claudius - Claudius and the Senate, Claudius - The Secretariat and centralization of powers, Claudius - Religious reforms and games, Claudius - Marriages and personal life, Claudius - Death deification and reputation, Claudius - Scholarly works and their impact, Claudius - Claudius in fiction, Claudius - Footnotes

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On January 24, 41, Caligula was assassinated by a broad-based conspiracy (including Praetorian commander Cassius Chaerea and several Senators). There is no evidence that Claudius had a direct hand in the assassination, although he probably knew about the plot — particularly since he left the scene of the crime shortly before the event. However, after the deaths of Caligula's wife and daughter, it became apparent that Cassius intended to go beyond the terms of the conspiracy and wipe out the imperial family. In the chaos following the murde ...

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Claudius, Claudius - Claudius' affliction and personality, Claudius - Family and early life, Claudius - Accession as emperor, Claudius - Expansion of the empire, Claudius - Judicial and legislative affairs, Claudius - Public works, Claudius - Claudius and the Senate, Claudius - The Secretariat and centralization of powers, Claudius - Religious reforms and games, Claudius - Marriages and personal life, Claudius - Death deification and reputation, Claudius - Scholarly works and their impact, Claudius - Claudius in fiction, Claudius - Footnotes

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The historian Suetonius describes the physical manifestations of Claudius' affliction in detail[1]. 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 excited. The Stoic Seneca states in his Apocolocyntosis that Claudius' voice belonged to no land animal, and that his hands were weak as well[2]. However, he showed no physical deformity, as Suetonius notes that when c ...

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Claudius, Claudius - Claudius' affliction and personality, Claudius - Family and early life, Claudius - Accession as emperor, Claudius - Expansion of the empire, Claudius - Judicial and legislative affairs, Claudius - Public works, Claudius - Claudius and the Senate, Claudius - The Secretariat and centralization of powers, Claudius - Religious reforms and games, Claudius - Marriages and personal life, Claudius - Death deification and reputation, Claudius - Scholarly works and their impact, Claudius - Claudius in fiction, Claudius - Footnotes

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Under Claudius, the empire underwent its first major expansion since the reign of Augustus. The provinces of Thrace, Mauretania, Noricum, Pamphylia, Lycia, and Judea were annexed during his term. The most important conquest was that of Britannia. In 43, Claudius sent Aulus Plautius with four legions to Britain after an appeal from an ousted tribal ally. Britain was an attractive target for Rome because of its material wealth — particularly mines and slaves. It was also a safe haven for Gallic rebels and the like, and so could not be ...

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Claudius, Claudius - Claudius' affliction and personality, Claudius - Family and early life, Claudius - Accession as emperor, Claudius - Expansion of the empire, Claudius - Judicial and legislative affairs, Claudius - Public works, Claudius - Claudius and the Senate, Claudius - The Secretariat and centralization of powers, Claudius - Religious reforms and games, Claudius - Marriages and personal life, Claudius - Death deification and reputation, Claudius - Scholarly works and their impact, Claudius - Claudius in fiction, Claudius - Footnotes

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General consensus is that Claudius was murdered by poison — possibly contained in mushrooms — on October 13, 54. There are various accounts, some of which implicate Halotus, his taster, and some Xenophon, his doctor[33]. Some say he died immediately, and some have him recovering only to be poisoned again. All implicate his wife, Agrippina, as the instigator. Now that Britannicus was approaching the age of majority, there was no need for Nero to be heir in case of Claudius' death. There was now no ...

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Claudius, Claudius - Claudius' affliction and personality, Claudius - Family and early life, Claudius - Accession as emperor, Claudius - Expansion of the empire, Claudius - Judicial and legislative affairs, Claudius - Public works, Claudius - Claudius and the Senate, Claudius - The Secretariat and centralization of powers, Claudius - Religious reforms and games, Claudius - Marriages and personal life, Claudius - Death deification and reputation, Claudius - Scholarly works and their impact, Claudius - Claudius in fiction, Claudius - Footnotes

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The emperor Claudius was the protagonist of the books I, Claudius (1934) and Claudius the God (1935) by Robert Graves. The books are written from a first-person perspective, giving the impression of having been written by Claudius himself as his autobiography. Graves's fictive artifice that they were recently discovered translations of writings by Claudius extended even to the point of Claudius relating a visit to an oracle who predicted their discovery "nineteen hundred year or near" later. Graves's two books were the basis fo ...

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Claudius, Claudius - Claudius' affliction and personality, Claudius - Family and early life, Claudius - Accession as emperor, Claudius - Expansion of the empire, Claudius - Judicial and legislative affairs, Claudius - Public works, Claudius - Claudius and the Senate, Claudius - The Secretariat and centralization of powers, Claudius - Religious reforms and games, Claudius - Marriages and personal life, Claudius - Death deification and reputation, Claudius - Scholarly works and their impact, Claudius - Claudius in fiction, Claudius - Footnotes

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The emperor Claudius was the protagonist of the books I, Claudius (1934) and Claudius the God (1935) by Robert Graves, which were both written in the first-person to give the reader the impression that they are Claudius' autobiography. Graves employed fictive artifice to suggest that they were recently discovered, genuine translations of Claudius' writings. To this end I, Claudius even includes a fictional account of his visit to an oracle, who predicted that the document would be r ...

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Claudius, Claudius - Claudius' affliction and personality, Claudius - Family and early life, Claudius - Accession as emperor, Claudius - Expansion of the empire, Claudius - Judicial and legislative affairs, Claudius - Public works, Claudius - Claudius and the Senate, Claudius - The Secretariat and centralization of powers, Claudius - Religious reforms and games, Claudius - Marriages and personal life, Claudius - Death deification and reputation, Claudius - Scholarly works and their impact, Claudius - Claudius in fiction, Claudius - Footnotes

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Claudius wrote copiously throughout his life. Arnaldo Momigliano[35] states that during the reign of Tiberius — which covers the peak of Claudius' literary career — it became impolitic to speak of republican Rome. The trend among the young historians was to either write about the new empire or obscure antiquarian subjects. Claudius was the rare scholar who covered both. Besides the history of Augustus' reign that caused him so much grief, his major works included an Etruscan history and eight vol ...

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Claudius, Claudius - Claudius' affliction and personality, Claudius - Family and early life, Claudius - Accession as emperor, Claudius - Expansion of the empire, Claudius - Judicial and legislative affairs, Claudius - Public works, Claudius - Claudius and the Senate, Claudius - The Secretariat and centralization of powers, Claudius - Religious reforms and games, Claudius - Marriages and personal life, Claudius - Death deification and reputation, Claudius - Scholarly works and their impact, Claudius - Claudius in fiction, Claudius - Footnotes

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Claudius' love life was unusual for an upper-class Roman of his day. As Edward Gibbon mentions, of the first fifteen emperors, "Claudius was the only one whose taste in love was entirely correct" - the implication being that he was the only one not to take men or boys as lovers. Gibbons based this on Suetonius' factual statement that "He had a great passion for women, but had no interest in men."[25] Suetonius and the other ancient authors actually used this against Claudius. They accused him of being dominated by these same women ...

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Claudius, Claudius - Claudius' affliction and personality, Claudius - Family and early life, Claudius - Accession as emperor, Claudius - Expansion of the empire, Claudius - Judicial and legislative affairs, Claudius - Public works, Claudius - Claudius and the Senate, Claudius - The Secretariat and centralization of powers, Claudius - Religious reforms and games, Claudius - Marriages and personal life, Claudius - Death deification and reputation, Claudius - Scholarly works and their impact, Claudius - Claudius in fiction, Claudius - Footnotes

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Claudius personally judged many of the legal cases tried during his reign. Ancient historians have many complaints about this, stating that his judgements were variable and sometimes did not follow the law[18]. 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 t ...

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Claudius, Claudius - Claudius' affliction and personality, Claudius - Family and early life, Claudius - Accession as emperor, Claudius - Expansion of the empire, Claudius - Judicial and legislative affairs, Claudius - Public works, Claudius - Claudius and the Senate, Claudius - The Secretariat and centralization of powers, Claudius - Religious reforms and games, Claudius - Marriages and personal life, Claudius - Death deification and reputation, Claudius - Scholarly works and their impact, Claudius - Claudius in fiction, Claudius - Footnotes

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Claudius personally judged many of the legal cases tried during his reign. Ancient historians have many complaints about this, stating that his judgements were variable and sometimes did not follow the law[18]. 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 re ...

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Claudius, Claudius - Claudius' affliction and personality, Claudius - Family and early life, Claudius - Accession as emperor, Claudius - Expansion of the empire, Claudius - Judicial and legislative affairs, Claudius - Public works, Claudius - Claudius and the Senate, Claudius - The Secretariat and centralization of powers, Claudius - Religious reforms and games, Claudius - Marriages and personal life, Claudius - Death deification and reputation, Claudius - Scholarly works and their impact, Claudius - Claudius in fiction, Claudius - Footnotes

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Claudius embarked on many public works throughout his reign, both in the capital and in the provinces. He built two aqueducts, the Aqua Claudia, begun by Caligula, and the Anio Novus. These entered the city in 52 and met at the famous Porta Maggiore. He also restored a third, the Aqua Virgo. He paid special attention to transportation. Throughout Italy and the provinces he built roads and canals. Among these was a large canal leading from the Rhine to the sea, as well as a road from Italy to Germany — both begun by his father, Drusu ...

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Claudius, Claudius - Claudius' affliction and personality, Claudius - Family and early life, Claudius - Accession as emperor, Claudius - Expansion of the empire, Claudius - Judicial and legislative affairs, Claudius - Public works, Claudius - Claudius and the Senate, Claudius - The Secretariat and centralization of powers, Claudius - Religious reforms and games, Claudius - Marriages and personal life, Claudius - Death deification and reputation, Claudius - Scholarly works and their impact, Claudius - Claudius in fiction, Claudius - Footnotes

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Under Claudius, the empire underwent its first major expansion since the reign of Augustus. The provinces of Thrace, Mauretania, Noricum, Pamphylia, Lycia, and Judea were annexed during his term. The most important conquest was that of Britannia. In 43, Claudius sent Aulus Plautius with 4 legions to Britain after an appeal from an ousted tribal ally. Britain was an attractive target for Rome because of its material wealth — particularly mines and slaves. It was also a safe haven for Gallic rebels and the like, and so could not be le ...

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Claudius, Claudius - Claudius' affliction and personality, Claudius - Family and early life, Claudius - Accession as emperor, Claudius - Expansion of the empire, Claudius - Judicial and legislative affairs, Claudius - Public works, Claudius - Claudius and the Senate, Claudius - The Secretariat and centralization of powers, Claudius - Religious reforms and games, Claudius - Marriages and personal life, Claudius - Death deification and reputation, Claudius - Scholarly works and their impact, Claudius - Claudius in fiction, Claudius - Footnotes

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On January 24, 41, Caligula was assassinated by a broad-based conspiracy (including praetorian commander Cassius Chaerea and several Senators). There is no evidence that Claudius had direct hand in either the assassination , although he probably knew about the plot — particularly since he left the scene of the crime shortly before the event. However, after the deaths of Caligula's wife and daughter, it became apparent that Cassius intended to go beyond the terms of the conspiracy and wipe out the imperial family. In the chaos following the ...

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Claudius, Claudius - Claudius' affliction and personality, Claudius - Family and early life, Claudius - Accession as emperor, Claudius - Expansion of the empire, Claudius - Judicial and legislative affairs, Claudius - Public works, Claudius - Claudius and the Senate, Claudius - The Secretariat and centralization of powers, Claudius - Religious reforms and games, Claudius - Marriages and personal life, Claudius - Death deification and reputation, Claudius - Scholarly works and their impact, Claudius - Claudius in fiction, Claudius - Footnotes

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The historian Suetonius describes the physical manifestations of Claudius' affliction in detail[1]. 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 excited. The Stoic Seneca states in his Apocolocyntosis that Claudius' voice belonged to no land animal, and that his hands were weak as well^{See also:}

Claudius, Claudius - Claudius' affliction and personality, Claudius - Family and early life, Claudius - Accession as emperor, Claudius - Expansion of the empire, Claudius - Judicial and legislative affairs, Claudius - Public works, Claudius - Claudius and the Senate, Claudius - The Secretariat and centralization of powers, Claudius - Religious reforms and games, Claudius - Marriages and personal life, Claudius - Death deification and reputation, Claudius - Scholarly works and their impact, Claudius - Claudius in fiction, Claudius - Footnotes

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Because of the circumstances of his accession, Claudius took great pains to please the Senate. During regular sessions, the emperor sat amongst the Senate body, speaking in turn. When introducing a law, he sat on a bench between the consuls in his position as Tribune. He refused to accept all his predecessors' titles (including Imperator) at the beginning his reign, preferring to earn them in due course. He allowed the Senate to issue its own bronze coinage for the first time since Augustus. He also put the imperial province ...

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Claudius, Claudius - Claudius' affliction and personality, Claudius - Family and early life, Claudius - Accession as emperor, Claudius - Expansion of the empire, Claudius - Judicial and legislative affairs, Claudius - Public works, Claudius - Claudius and the Senate, Claudius - The Secretariat and centralization of powers, Claudius - Religious reforms and games, Claudius - Marriages and personal life, Claudius - Death deification and reputation, Claudius - Scholarly works and their impact, Claudius - Claudius in fiction, Claudius - Footnotes

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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 larger. This was partly due to the ongoing hostility of the senate, as mentioned above, but also due to his respect for the senators. Claudius did not want free-born magistrates to have to serve under him, as if they were not peers. The secretariat was divided into bureaus, with each being placed under the leadership ...

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Claudius, Claudius - Claudius' affliction and personality, Claudius - Family and early life, Claudius - Accession as emperor, Claudius - Expansion of the empire, Claudius - Judicial and legislative affairs, Claudius - Public works, Claudius - Claudius and the Senate, Claudius - The Secretariat and centralization of powers, Claudius - Religious reforms and games, Claudius - Marriages and personal life, Claudius - Death deification and reputation, Claudius - Scholarly works and their impact, Claudius - Claudius in fiction, Claudius - Footnotes

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