He was the uncle of Caligula and Tiberius. He was the first Roman Emperor to born outside of Italy. He was then raised by his mother, Antonia, who never remarried. As a child, Claudius struggled with illness. He had several health issues including stammering, a lisp, he tended to drool from the mouth, and he had a limp when he walked. His mother, Antonia, the daughter of Marc Antony, even realized he was not well. She felt considered him a monster that Mother Nature put aside.
The family tried hard to shelter Claudius from politics for his health reasons. Because of his health issues, Claudius was not targeted by Tiberius or Caligula. He was the brunt of many jokes, though by Caligula.
Augustus, at one point, noticed that Claudius was becoming an excellent orator and was pleased. None, the less Claudius spent most of his free time studying law, history, and writing history. Some historians think this led Claudius to a life of drinking and gambling. Claudius married four different times throughout his lifetime. Britain was an attractive target for Rome because of its wealth — particularly mines and slaves.
It was also a haven for Gallic rebels and the like, and so could not be left alone much longer. Claudius himself traveled to the island after the completion of initial offensives, bringing with him reinforcements and elephants. The Senate granted him a Roman triumph for his efforts: in the Roman Empire only members of the imperial family were allowed such honors.
Claudius later lifted this restriction for some of his generals. When the British general Caractacus was captured in 50, Claudius granted him his life. Caractacus lived out his days on land provided by the Roman state, an unusual end for an enemy commander. Claudius conducted a census in 48 AD that found 5,, Roman citizens, an increase of about a million since the census conducted at Augustus' death.
Claudius married four times. His first marriage, to Plautia Urgulanilla, occurred after two failed betrothals. During their marriage she gave birth to a son, Claudius Drusus.
Unfortunately, Drusus died of asphyxiation in his early teens, shortly after becoming engaged to Junilla, the daughter of Sejanus. Claudius later divorced Urgulanilla for adultery and on suspicion of murdering her sister-in-law Apronia.
When Urgulanilla gave birth after the divorce, Claudius repudiated the baby girl, Claudia, as the father was one of his own freedmen. During their marriage, Claudius and Paetina had a daughter, Claudia Antonia.
Some years after divorcing Aelia Paetina, in 38 or early 39 AD , Claudius married Valeria Messalina, who was his first cousin once removed and closely allied with Caligula's circle. Shortly thereafter, she gave birth to a daughter Claudia Octavia. A son, first named Tiberius Claudius Germanicus, and later known as Britannicus, was born just after Claudius' accession. This marriage ended in tragedy. Messalina was regularly unfaithful to Claudius and manipulated his policies in order to amass wealth.
The result was the execution of Silius, Messalina, and most of her circle. Claudius made the Praetorians promise to kill him if he ever married again. Despite this declaration, Claudius did marry once more, his niece Agrippina the Younger. Agrippina's son Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus the Emperor Nero was one of the last males of the imperial family.
Future coup attempts could rally around the pair, and Agrippina was already showing such ambition. In any case, Claudius accepted Agrippina, and later adopted the newly mature Nero as his son.
Nero was made joint heir with the underage Britannicus, married to Octavia and heavily promoted. Nero was popular with the public as the grandson of Germanicus and the direct descendant of Augustus. The consensus of ancient historians was that Claudius was murdered by poison, and died in the early hours of 13 October, 54 AD.
Accounts vary greatly, but nearly all implicate his last wife, Agrippina, as the instigator. Agrippina had motive in ensuring the succession of Nero before Britannicus could gain power. Claudius was described as physically repulsive, weak, and easily manipulated by his wives and companions by Suetonius , but this historian cannot be entirely trusted.
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. Nero became Emperor. Search term:. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets CSS enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience.
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