Roman Emperor: Claudius 41 AD – 54 AD

1. Roman Emperor: Claudius41 AD – 54 AD BY: MICHELLE BZIKOT, EVELINA KURAYEVA, AND MARY A. GASPARIAN

2. Before He Was an Emperor • Claudius Nero Germanicus, simply known as Claudius • Born in Gaul to Nero Drusus and Antonia in 10 BC • had a bad childhood often neglected due to his limp and mild deafness • Fourth ruler of the Julio-Claudian dynasty from 41 AD to 54 AD

3. How Did He Become Emperor? • Before Claudius was emperor, it was his nephew, Caligula • Caligula was assassinated on January 24, 41 AD • No one knows the details of that day, however this is the rumored story: Claudius was frightened after the assassination, so he hid behind a curtain until a Praetorian found him and declared him emperor

4. As a Military Leader 1. was very successful in conquering lands 2. some places include: • Mauretania (North Africa) • Thrace (the Balkans) • Lycia (part of Turkey) 3. greatest conquests  Britannia (present day Great Britain) in sixteen days

5. Improvements: Public Works 1. built two aqueducts, which supplied the whole city of Rome with water (the Aqua Claudia and Anio Novus) 2. expanded on canals and ports to easily trade with nations such as present day France and Germany 3. some important routes/roads built were: • -river of Rhine to the sea • -road from Italy to Germany • -built a canal on the Tiber to Portus

6. Changes to the Judicial System • he had many reforms on the Roman judicial system • he made sure everyone on the jury was older than 25 so the decisions would be reasonable • also had the plaintiff of a trial stay in the city as the defendant does

7. Legislative Affairs • the island of Rhodes was freed for their good faith • excused people of Troy from taxes • when Greeks and Jews had a dispute  he confirmed Jewish rights in the city but also forbade them to move in more families as a group • he then confirmed the rights and freedoms of all the Jews in the Empire

8. Effect on Roman Life and Culture • made laws pertaining to freeing slaves and woman privileges • when he came back from conquering land, the population was over five million, so he granted everybody a free citizenship • rebuilt Pompey’s theatre after it had been lost to a fire. • set two aqueducts which supplied water • wrote about the Etruscan and Carthaginian cultures • added three new letters, and in modern timewe use two of them, the letters W and Y

9. Weaknesses of Claudius • was manipulated former slaves who were his close advisers and secretaries and allowed himself to be misled by them • a puppet in the hands of his private secretary, who seems to have had the most to do with the day-to-day running of the Empire • tried hundreds of cases himself, and many of these cases were conducted in complete violation of the rules of a fair trial (he ended up punishing the innocent and freeing the guilty) • had quite a few disabilities such as speech impartment, severe clumsiness, infinite paralysis, and many other diseases

10. Leading to the Death of Claudius • very vulnerable  his wives cheated on him many time , but he turned a blind eye which led to his wives being his worst enemies • his new wife would soon sabotage him to make her son, Nero emperor next • was on very shaky ground with the senate which would soon lead to them plotting against Claudius

11. Death • Claudius decided to marry a second time to his niece, Agrippina • her own son, Nero, was the boy she planned to make an emperor • Agrippina removed all her rivals and convinced Claudius to disinherit his own son, Britannicus • she hired a doctor to get him out of the way, and put a feather dipped in poison down his throat • Claudius died in 54 AD, at the age of 63