Rome enjoyed an uninterrupted period of peace, thanks to Augustus's achievements, who established an Imperial system, with Republican trappings to appease the sensibilities of the senatorial elite, that provided stability to Rome and its provinces. The man usually regarded as the first Emperor also found the Julian-Claudian dynasty.
Augustus had been able to hand over power to his step-son Tiberius who proved to be an able administrator if an autocratic ruler. However, under Tiberius, many members of the Julian-Claudian dynasty were either executed or exiled. After Tiberius died, he was succeeded by his grand-nephew, Gaius, better known as Caligula.
He soon revealed himself to be extraordinarily unstable. He killed many members of the senatorial elite and continued the practice of Tiberius of killing or exiling his relatives to secure his position and power.
Rome was a formidable power, but the position of the Emperor was often precarious and threatened by constant conspiracies by senators, generals, and the machinations of their bodyguards, the Praetorian Guard.
Claudius was born in 10 BC in Gaul to Drusus and his wife Antonia, his grandfather was Mark Anthony, and his grandmother was Augustus's influential third wife. Therefore, he was a member of the Julian-Claudian dynasty. His father, the older brother of Tiberius, died in Germany. As Claudius grew, it became clear that he had some form of disability, which angered his mother, Antonia, and passed him to his grandmother Livia.
Claudius' condition improved somewhat in his teenage years, and he proved to be a capable scholar. The great Roman historian Livy was appointed his tutor, and Claudius proved a capable historian, who later wrote many histories that are now sadly lost.
His intellectual abilities did not lead him to become a public figure despite being an Imperial family member. However, the accession of Caligula meant that Claudius was thrust into public life as a consul. However, Caligula had contempt for Claudius, and he openly mocked and ridiculed him. The brutality and erratic behavior of Caligula led to his assassination by the Praetorian Guard.
After they had killed Caligula, they did not know how to proceed. It is alleged that Claudius was named as Caligula's successor in desperation because he was one of the last living members of the Julian-Claudian dynasty. Suetonius called his assumption of the Imperial dignity a "freak of fortune. Claudius most likely planned Caligula's death with the Praetorian guard. Once Caligula was dead, the Praetorian Guard installed an Emperor that they knew was competent and rational.
Claudius pardoned all the killers of his predecessor and secured the Senate's grudging support, who appeared to have been cowed by the Praetorian Guard.
To the surprise of many, he proved to be an energetic ruler and was not the Imperial guard's puppet. In 44 AD, Claudius ordered the invasion of Britain, and he visited the battlefront. He was also very interested in the Empire's administration, and he made some critical changes to the bureaucracy, and even his detractors noted that his administration was efficient.
Claudius was a great builder, and he was primarily concerned with the food supply for Rome and Italy. He rebuilt Ostia's port, vital for food imports, and began to drain the Fucine lake to increase arable land in central Italy, but it was only partially successful. Despite his intellectual labors, Claudius was a complex man, loved gambling and the games and under his reign. The games became even more lavish and spectacular. Claudius was the subject of several plots that led to several senators' execution, despite his wish to be on good terms with the senatorial class.
According to the ancient sources, Claudius married his first cousin Valeria Messalina, but she proved unfaithful and even bigamously married one of her many lovers.
The couple conspired against Claudius, and he had them executed. He later married his niece Agrippina the Younger. She even persuaded him to appoint her son Nero to the position of co-Emperor with his son, Britannicus. Both were executed. Claudius then married his niece Agrippina the Younger who with her son Domitius, was the only surviving direct descendant of Augustus.
Agrippina quickly appointed her own supporters to important positions and persuaded Claudius to adopt Domitius - who took the name Nero - as his son. Claudius died on 13 October 54 AD after being poisoned, probably on the orders of Agrippina who feared Claudius would appoint Britannicus his heir over her son Nero.
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Some historians have even argued that he helped plan or was at least aware of the plot on Caligula's life. He completed the Roman annexation of Britain.
Upon taking power, Claudius faced rabid opposition from Rome's senators, many of whom viewed him as a weak and illegitimate claimant to the throne. Claudius is a morally weak villain who values power and material things more than he values others. He differs from other men in the play because he is cunning, lacks morals, and is manipulative.
Other men in Hamlet seek justice and have strong morals that dictate their decisions. One theory is that he suffered from cerebral palsy. Claudius was sufficiently a figure of fun to survive the murderous reign of his nephew Caligula.
Found hiding behind curtains in the palace, shaking with fright, when Caligula was murdered in AD 41, he was made emperor by the Praetorian Guard. Claudius Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus. Claudius Lysias. According to Acts , Lysias was a Roman tribune and the commander chiliarch of the Roman garrison "cohort" Acts in Jerusalem.
Laertes succeeds in wounding Hamlet , though Hamlet does not die of the poison immediately. Hamlet then stabs Claudius through with the poisoned sword and forces him to drink down the rest of the poisoned wine. Claudius dies, and Hamlet dies immediately after achieving his revenge. An immediate cause for the invasion in AD 43 was that war between the Celtic tribes of the southeast threatened to disrupt trade with Rome.
This situation offered both a reason for invading and an opportunity to build an alliance with one tribe by offering military aid. Claudius As Emperor He brought relative peace to Rome with the restoration of the rule of law.
He built a new harbour at Ostia, established an imperial civil service, and brought about agrarian reform. When food riots broke out in the streets during a prolonged drought, he imported corn to feed the citizenry. Claudius had some real successes.
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