IV. Claudius (The Julio-Claudian Dynasty IV)
Emperor: 41 AD to 54 AD
Born: August 1st 10 BC Died: October 13th 54 AD
Claudius was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54 AD, a member of the powerful Julio-Claudian dynasty. Because he was afflicted with sickness at a young age, his family ostracized him and excluded him from public office. His mother called him as a monster and used him as a standard for stupidity. Suetonius described him: “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 he was excited,” but “when calm and seated he was a tall, well-built figure of dignitas. When angered or stressed, his symptoms became worse.” Claudius' infirmity saved him during the purges of Tiberius and Caligula as they did not see him as a threat, and he was declared Emperor after Caligula's assassination. His infirmity is thought to have been cerebral palsy or Tourette’s syndrome.
He impressed his elders with his scholarship, and the great philosopher Livy was hired to be his tutor. He wrote books, including a history of the Civil Wars that was too critical of the then-reigning Augustus. His family squashed it, but the damage pushed him out of politics. He proposed a reform of the Latin alphabet by the addition of 3 new letters. Claudius also tried to revive the old custom of putting dots between successive words (Classical Latin was written with no spacing).
Emperor Caligula (the son of Claudius' brother Germanicus) appointed Claudius his co-consul in 37 to invoke the memory of Germanicus. Despite this, Caligula tormented his uncle: playing practical jokes, charging him huge sums of money, and humiliating him before the Senate. According to Cassius Dio, Claudius became very sickly and thin by the end of Caligula's reign, most likely due to stress.
Because he was made Emperor by the Praetorian Guard instead of the Senate, Claudius' reputation suffered. Moreover, he was the first Emperor who secured army loyalty through bribery. Thus, Claudius took great pains to please the Senate; he sat among the Senate body, speaking in turn. He did not accept titles at the start of his reign, preferring to earn them. He allowed the Senate to issue coinage for the first time since Augustus. Still, many senators hated Claudius, and many plots were made on his life.
Under Claudius, Thrace, Noricum, Pamphylia, Lycia, and Judea were annexed and Britain was conquered. Claudius proved to be an efficient administrator and builder, constructing roads, aqueducts, and canals. Personally interested in law, he presided at public trials, and issued up to twenty edicts a day.
Claudius married five times, mostly for political reasons. His wives gave him several daughters and a son, Brittanicus. He married his niece, Agrippina the Younger, after he realized he did not have an adult heir, Britannicus being just a boy. Agrippina and her son Nero were the only living descendants of Augustus, so future coup attempts could rally around them. Nero was made joint heir with Britannicus.
Claudius was murdered by poison – possibly in mushrooms or on a feather – possibly by his taster, his doctor, or the infamous poisoner Locusta. Some say he died following a single dose at dinner, and some have him recovering only to be poisoned again. All implicate his wife, Agrippina, as the pair had argued before his death. Claudius had begun to comment on Britannicus' approaching manhood, and Agrippina had motive in ensuring the succession of her son Nero.
After his death in 54, his grandnephew/adopted son Nero succeeded him as Emperor. Claudius' will had been changed before his death to either recommend Nero and Britannicus jointly or perhaps just Britannicus, who would have been considered an adult by Roman law only a few months later.