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Claudius

Claudius I (Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus), 10 BC - 54 AD

Claudius was emperor of the Roman Empire from 41 to 54 AD . After his death he was deified, the first emperor that had achieved the honor since Augustus. The two previous emperors, Tiberius and Caligula were infamous for their ruthlessness and perversity. Claudius ruled efficiently and fairly.

Claudius was the son of Antonia, Marc Antony's daughter. His childhood was wretched. He limped and stuttered and suffered all manner of bad health. His mother called him "... a monster. Something which nature began but never finished".He was considered an "idiot" by his family, and a source of constant embarrassment for the emperor Augustus and his wife, Livia. In reality, though, Claudius was rather clever, having found a way to survive the brutal reigns of both Tiberius and Caligula by playing the fool.

He served no governmental post due to his infirmities of body and supposed infirmities of mind until his nephew (the son of Germanicus, Claudius' brother) Caligula, appointed him co-consul at the beginning of his reign. It is said, however, that Caligula did this so that Claudius could always be around as a butt for his practical jokes. Once, while Caligula was on a campaign, Claudius came to the camp as a messenger from Rome. Caligula took offense at the senate for sending Claudius, looking on the act as a kind of chastisement, and had Claudius thrown into the sea fully clothed. When he returned, Caligula laughed so much at how ridiculous Claudius looked that he forgot to have him assassinated, a common practice for those who displeased the emperor at that time.

A few years later, Caligula was assassinated by some of his soldiers, who went looking for the rest of the royal family. Their intention was to wipe out the Caesars, thus restoring the republic. The praetorian guards, the emperor's personal bodyguards, were trying to locate these assassins, and had already killed some innocent senators who were standing over Caligula's body when it was found. These guards found Claudius hiding behind a curtain. They were just about to kill him, when one of them recognized Claudius. Claudius had always been respected and somewhat pitied by the guards.

The praetorian guards owed their livelihood to the existence of an Emperor at Rome. No emperor and a republican Rome meant no praetorian guard. So the praetorian guard, a powerful force in Rome, recognizing a member of the royal family, proclaimed Claudius emperor.

Claudius wasn't too happy about that, but what could he do? When an entire army proclaims you emperor you try not to argue too much. Claudius' boyhood friend, King Herod Agrippa from Judea, convinced him that he might do a lot more good for Rome as a live emperor than as a dead member of the royal family. So, at age 50, Claudius reluctantly accepted the honor.

Most of Claudius' infirmities vanished when he took the throne. Even his stutter all but disappeared, which is why historians contend that Claudius only played the fool as a matter of survival in the brutal reigns of Tiberius and Caligula. I think, though, that his complaints before his accession were more a matter of profound insecurity than a calculated recipe for survival.

His public works were few but important as emperor. He constructed an important aqueduct and built a harbor at the Roman seaport at Ostia.

He ruled fairly and leniently until his death. Some historians believe that he was murdered by his wife (and niece, Caligula's sister) Agippina so that she could put her son, Nero, on the throne. The poison, they say, was administered to Claudius in a mushroom on the end of Agrippina's fork at the dinner table.