Ti. Claudius Nero Germanicus was born in 10 BCE and was the emperor of Rome from 41 to 54 CE. For much of his life, he was regarded as a dim-witted incompetent due to weakness and disfigurement as the result of a childhood illness as well as a crudeness of manners. (PBS.org,Roman Emperors.org) Claudius came to power in 41 CE amidst great turmoil in the empire. The previous emperor, his nephew Caligula, had been a hated figure whose reign was ended abruptly and significantly in a grisly assassination by members of his own bodyguard, the first open murder of an emperor in Roman history. (Roman Emperors.org) Following the death of Caligula, there was briefly talk amongst the Senate of reviving the Republic, but the discussion quickly devolved …show more content…
Freedmen were former slaves who had been freed by their masters but who generally continued to stay on as employees of their former masters. They were perfect choices of employee as they already knew the ins and outs of their masters’ households and were skilled at the tasks required of them. Despite being former slaves, freedmen often served in positions of importance acting as accountants, secretaries, and business administrators. Many wealthy Roman households had freedmen in their employ, and the emperor was no exception. However, freedmen working for the emperor had much more on their plates than simple household maintenance, for an imperial freedman was responsible for the administration of an entire empire. They handled the bureaucratic elements of government on the emperor’s behalf, dealing with letters, petitions, requests for money and so forth from the various Roman provinces and territories. Claudius was not the first emperor to employ freedmen, but he was arguably the first to endow them with as much political power as he did. (johndclare.net) Claudius greatly expanded the role of emperor to have much greater control over matters financial and judicial throughout the empire. Due to the increased complexity of administration under these new conditions, Claudius appointed many freedmen to act as superintendents of the …show more content…
(pbs.org) Shortly after Claudius came to power, it was decided that Britain was a potential problem that could no longer be ignored. Britain lay right on the outskirts of the empire, and there was the distinct possibility that the Britons could unite and begin mounting assaults on Roman territory. What’s more, Rome still harbored a deep longing to possess Britain’s famed stores of metal, some of which was rumored to be gold. (roman-empire.net) For Claudius’ own part, however, he coveted military glory. He was already popular with the soldiers, after all, they had been the ones to choose him as emperor, but he knew that it would take a famed conquest to cement their support. In 43 CE, Rome began an invasion of Britain with four legions of troops. This invasion would last for decades, well past Claudius’ lifetime, and the whole island was never successfully taken. Nevertheless, a great sum of property was taken and added to the mass of the empire. It was the biggest conquest of land since the time of Augustus. (Roman Emperors.org) The pinnacle of Claudius’ achievement in taking British territory came when he led his troops to victory at the Thames. Word had reached the emperor that his invasion was failing, and he immediately made the long trek to Britain himself where he led his troops to a grand victory, taking the barbarian capital city and conquering several tribes in the region. News of his victory