100-548: The Delphi Inscription , or Gallio Inscription ( Fouilles de Delphes III 4:286 ; SIG, II, 801d ), is the name given to the collection of nine fragments of a letter written by the Roman emperor Claudius in 52 CE which was discovered early in the 20th century at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi , Greece . The reconstructed inscription begins thus: The reference to proconsul Gallio in
200-403: A conspiracy with his father Crassus Frugi . Another plot involved the consulars Lusius Saturninus , Cornelius Lupus , and Pompeius Pedo. In 46, Asinius Gallus , grandson of Asinius Pollio , and Titus Statilius Taurus Corvinus were exiled for a plot hatched with several of Claudius's own freedmen. Valerius Asiaticus was executed without public trial for unknown reasons. Ancient sources say
300-526: A cunning and effective advisor to her husband, whom she loves passionately. Luke Devenish's "Empress of Rome" novels, Den of Wolves (2008) and Nest of Vipers (2010), have Livia as a central character in a fictionalized account of her life and times. Livia plays an important role in two Marcus Corvinus mysteries by David Wishart, Ovid (1995) and Germanicus (1997). She is mentioned posthumously in Sejanus (1998). The 2021 Sky Atlantic series Domina relates
400-471: A direct hand in the assassination, although it has been argued that he knew about the plot – particularly since he left the scene of the crime shortly before his nephew was murdered. However, after the deaths of Caligula's wife and daughter , it became apparent that Cassius intended to go beyond the terms of the conspiracy and wipe out the Imperial family. In the chaos following the murder, Claudius witnessed
500-425: A fall from a horse. Claudius was then raised by his mother, who never remarried. When his disability became evident, the relationship with his family turned sour. Antonia referred to him as a monster, and used him as a standard for stupidity. She seems to have passed her son off to his grandmother Livia for a number of years. Livia was a little kinder, but nevertheless sent Claudius short, angry letters of reproof. He
600-688: A foster child at the house of Octavian; the second left Tiberius with a lasting emotional scar, since he had been forced for dynastic considerations to abandon the woman he loved. The Roman tribe Livia was named in her honor. The ancient sources all agree that Livia was Augustus' best confidant and counselor, but the extent of her influence remained disputed due to the numerous attempts by her political enemies to defame her dynasty. According to Suetonius, who had access to imperial records, Augustus would write down lists of items to be discussed with Livia, and then take careful notes of her replies to be consulted again later. In Tacitus' Annals , meanwhile, Livia
700-423: A large temple was dedicated in his honour . He left Britain after 16 days, but remained in the provinces for some time. The Senate granted him a triumph for his efforts. Only members of the Imperial family were allowed such honours, but Claudius subsequently lifted this restriction for some of his conquering generals. He was granted the honorific "Britannicus" but only accepted it on behalf of his son, never using
800-476: A large rebellion was undertaken by the Senator Vinicianus and Scribonianus - governor of Dalmatia - and gained quite a few senatorial supporters. It ultimately failed because of the reluctance of Scribonianus' troops, which led to the suicide of the main conspirators. Many other senators tried different conspiracies and were condemned. Claudius's son-in-law Pompeius Magnus was executed for his part in
900-458: A law requiring plaintiffs to remain in the city while their cases were pending, as defendants had previously been required to do. These measures had the effect of clearing out the docket. The minimum age for jurors was also raised to 25 to ensure a more experienced jury pool. Claudius also settled disputes in the provinces. He freed the island of Rhodes from Roman rule for their good faith and exempted Ilium ( Troy ) from taxes. Early in his reign,
1000-436: A long life". In the popular fictional work I, Claudius by Robert Graves —based on Tacitus' innuendo—Livia is portrayed as a thoroughly Machiavellian , scheming political mastermind. Determined never to allow republican governance to flower again, as she felt they led to corruption and civil war, and devoted to bringing Tiberius to power and then maintaining him there, she is involved in nearly every death or disgrace in
1100-504: A lot of his time with the latter, as well as the philosopher Athenodorus . Augustus, according to a letter, was surprised at the clarity of Claudius's oratory. Claudius' work as a historian damaged his prospects for advancement in public life. According to Vincent Scramuzza and others, he began work on a history of the Civil Wars that was either too truthful or too critical of Octavian, then reigning as Caesar Augustus . In either case, it
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#17330924530911200-537: A means to secure army loyalty and rewarded the soldiers of the Praetorian Guard that had elevated him with 15,000 sesterces. Tiberius and Augustus had both left gifts to the army and guard in their wills , and upon Caligula's death the same would have been expected, even if no will existed. Claudius remained grateful to the guard, issuing coins with tributes to the Praetorians in the early part of his reign. Pliny
1300-524: A million since the census conducted at Augustus's death. He had helped increase this number through the foundation of Roman colonies that were granted blanket citizenship . These colonies were often made out of existing communities, especially those with elites who could rally the populace to the Roman cause. Several colonies were placed in new provinces or on the border of the Empire to secure Roman holdings as quickly as possible. Claudius personally judged many of
1400-507: A necessarily cruel means to what she firmly considers a noble aspiration: the common good of the Romans, achievable only under strict imperial rule. In John Maddox Roberts 's short story "The King of Sacrifices," set in his SPQR series , Livia hires Decius Metellus to investigate the murder of one of Julia the Elder 's lovers. In Antony and Cleopatra by Colleen McCullough , Livia is portrayed as
1500-429: A personal interest in law , he presided at public trials, and issued edicts daily. He was seen as vulnerable throughout his reign, particularly by elements of the nobility. Claudius was constantly forced to shore up his position, which resulted in the deaths of many senators . Those events damaged his reputation among the ancient writers, though more recent historians have revised that opinion. Many authors contend that he
1600-501: A principal beneficiary of the climate of adulation that Augustus had done so much to create, and which Tiberius despised ("a strong contempt for honours", Tacitus, Annals 4.37). In AD 24, whenever she attended the theatre, a seat among the Vestals was typically reserved for her ( Annals 4.16), but this may have been intended more as an honor for the Vestals than for her (cf. Ovid, Tristia , 4.2.13f, Epist. ex Ponto 4.13.29f). Livia played
1700-595: A son of Pompey Magnus , who opposed the Second Triumvirate from his base in Sicily . Later, Livia, her husband Tiberius Nero and their two-year-old son, Tiberius, moved on to Greece . After peace was established between the Triumvirate and the followers of Sextus Pompeius, a general amnesty was announced, and Livia returned to Rome, where she was personally introduced to Octavian in 39 BC. At this time, Livia already had
1800-454: A son, the future emperor Tiberius , and was pregnant with the second, Nero Claudius Drusus (also known as Drusus the Elder). Legend said that Octavian fell immediately in love with her, despite the fact that he was still married to Scribonia . Octavian divorced Scribonia on 30 October 39 BC, the very day that she gave birth to his daughter Julia the Elder . Seemingly around that time, when Livia
1900-693: A statue to Augustus in the center of Rome, placing her own name even before that of Tiberius. Ancient historians give as a reason for Tiberius' retirement to Capri his inability to endure his mother any longer. Until AD 22 there had, according to Tacitus, been "a genuine harmony between mother and son, or a hatred well concealed;" Dio tells us that at the time of his accession already Tiberius heartily loathed her. In AD 22 she had fallen ill, and Tiberius hastened back to Rome in order to be with her. But in AD 29 when she finally fell ill and died, he remained on Capri, pleading pressure of work and sending Caligula to deliver
2000-514: A vital role in the formation of her children Tiberius and Drusus. Attention focuses on her part in the divorce of her first husband, father of Tiberius, in 39/38 BC. Her role in this is unknown, as well as in Tiberius's divorce of Vipsania Agrippina in 12 BC at Augustus's insistence: whether it was merely neutral or passive, or whether she actively colluded in Caesar's wishes. The first divorce left Tiberius
2100-527: A woman of proud and queenly attributes, faithful to her imperial husband, for whom she was a worthy consort, forever poised and dignified. With consummate skill she acted out the roles of consort, mother, widow, and dowager. Dio records two of her utterances: "Once, when some naked men met her and were to be put to death in consequence, she saved their lives by saying that to a chaste woman such men are in no way different from statues. When someone asked her how she had gained respect from Augustus, she answered that it
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#17330924530912200-505: Is famously depicted as having great influence, to the extent where she "had the aged Augustus firmly under control—so much so that he exiled his only surviving grandson to the island of Planasia"; Tacitus goes on to call her "a real catastrophe to the nation as a mother, and to the house of the Caesars as a stepmother" and "a compliant wife, but an overbearing mother". Livia's image appears in ancient visual media such as coins and portraits. She
2300-460: Is some speculation that the inscription was added by Claudius himself decades later, and that he originally did not appear at all. When Augustus died in AD ;14, Claudius – then aged 23 – appealed to his uncle Tiberius to allow him to begin the cursus honorum . Tiberius, the new Emperor, responded by granting Claudius consular ornaments. Claudius requested office once more and was snubbed. Since
2400-498: The Battle of Philippi , along with Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus , but her husband continued fighting against Octavian, now on behalf of Mark Antony and his brother Lucius Antonius . Her first child, the future emperor Tiberius , was born in 42 BC. In 40 BC, the family was forced to flee Italy in order to avoid the recriminations of Octavian in the aftermath of the siege of Perusia . They joined with Sextus Pompeius ,
2500-604: The Claudian tunnel to three times its original size. Because of the circumstances of his accession, Claudius took great pains to please the Senate . During regular sessions, the Emperor sat among the Senate body, speaking in turn. When introducing a law, he sat on a bench between the consuls in his position as holder of the power of Tribune , (the Emperor could not officially serve as a Tribune of
2600-545: The German guard cut down several uninvolved noblemen, including many of his friends. He fled to the palace to hide. According to tradition, a Praetorian named Gratus found him hiding behind a curtain and suddenly declared him princeps . Claudius was spirited away to the Praetorian camp and put under their protection. The Senate met and debated a change of government, but this devolved into an argument over which of them would be
2700-599: The Greeks and Jews of Alexandria each sent him embassies after riots broke out between the two communities. This resulted in the famous "Letter to the Alexandrians", which reaffirmed Jewish rights in the city but forbade them to move in more families en masse. According to Josephus , he then reaffirmed the rights and freedoms of all the Jews in the Empire . One of Claudius's investigators discovered that many old Roman citizens based in
2800-473: The Julio-Claudian family up to the time of her death. On her deathbed she only fears divine punishment for all she had done, and secures the promise of future deification by her grandson Claudius, an act which, she believes, will guarantee her a blissful afterlife. However, this portrait of her is balanced by her intense devotion to the well-being of the Empire as a whole, and her machinations are justified as
2900-555: The Julio-Claudian family . He adopted the name "Caesar" as a cognomen , as the name still carried great weight with the populace. To do so, he dropped the cognomen "Nero", which he had adopted as pater familias of the Claudii Nerones when his brother Germanicus was adopted. As Pharaoh of Egypt, Claudius adopted the royal titulary Tiberios Klaudios, Autokrator Heqaheqau Meryasetptah, Kanakht Djediakhshuemakhet ("Tiberius Claudius, Emperor and ruler of rulers, beloved of Isis and Ptah,
3000-804: The Palatine Hill . Livia would set the pattern for the noble Roman matrona . She wore neither excessive jewelry nor pretentious costumes; she took care of the household and her husband (often making his clothes herself), always faithful and dedicated. In 35 BC, Octavian gave Livia the unprecedented honor of ruling her own finances and dedicated a public statue to her. She owned and effectively administered copper mines in Gaul, estates of palm groves in Judea , and dozens of papyrus marshes in Egypt . She had her own circle of clients and pushed many protégés into political offices, including
3100-448: The Roman equestrian order were sold back into slavery. Numerous edicts were issued throughout Claudius's reign. These were on a number of topics, everything from medical advice to moral judgments. A famous medical example is one promoting yew juice as a cure for snakebite . Suetonius wrote that he is even said to have thought of an edict allowing public flatulence for good health. One of
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3200-491: The Second Triumvirate altogether; but the damage was done, and his family pushed him into the background. When the Arch of Pavia was erected to honour the Imperial clan in AD 8, Claudius's name (now Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus after his elevation to pater familias of the Claudii Nerones on the adoption of his brother) was inscribed on the edge, past the deceased princes, Gaius and Lucius , and Germanicus's children. There
3300-440: The conquest of Britain . Since these were important positions, the senators were aghast at their being placed in the hands of former slaves and "well-known eunuchs ". If freedmen had total control of money, letters and law, it seemed it would not be hard for them to manipulate the Emperor. This is exactly the accusation put forth by ancient sources. However, these same sources admit that the freedmen were loyal to Claudius. He
3400-487: The senate shortly afterward. In his will, he left one third of his property to Livia, and the other two thirds to Tiberius . In the will, he also adopted her into the Julian family and granted her the honorific title of Augusta . These dispositions permitted Livia to maintain her status and power after her husband's death, under the new name of Julia Augusta . Tacitus and Cassius Dio wrote that rumours persisted that Augustus
3500-451: The Elder noted, according to the 1938 Loeb Classical Library translation by Harris Rackham, "... many people do not allow any gems in a signet-ring, and seal with the gold itself; this was a fashion invented when Claudius Cæsar was emperor." Claudius restored the status of the peaceful Imperial Roman provinces of Macedonia and Achaea as senatorial provinces . Under Claudius, the Empire underwent its first major expansion since
3600-510: The Plebes since he was a patrician , but this was a power taken by previous rulers, which he continued). He refused to accept all his predecessors' titles (including Imperator ) at the beginning of his reign, preferring to earn them in due course. He allowed the Senate to issue its own bronze coinage for the first time since Augustus. He also put the Imperial provinces of Macedonia and Achaea back under Senate control. Claudius set about remodeling
3700-568: The Roman shipping season. The other part of his solution was to insure the ships of grain merchants who were willing to risk travelling to Egypt in the off-season. He also granted their sailors special privileges, including citizenship and exemption from the Lex Papia Poppaea , a law that regulated marriage. In addition, he repealed the taxes that Caligula had instituted on food, and further reduced taxes on communities suffering drought or famine . The last part of Claudius's plan to avoid famine
3800-472: The Senate bestowed upon him the honorary title of Augustus ("honorable" or "revered one"). Augustus rejected monarchical titles, instead choosing to refer to himself as Princeps Civitatis ("First Citizen of the State") or Princeps Senatus ("First among the Senate"). He and Livia formed the role model for Roman households. Despite their wealth and power, Augustus' family continued to live modestly in their house on
3900-558: The Senate into a more efficient, representative body. He chided the senators about their reluctance to debate bills introduced by himself, as noted in the fragments of a surviving speech: If you accept these proposals, Conscript Fathers, say so at once and simply, in accordance with your convictions. If you do not accept them, find alternatives, but do so here and now; or if you wish to take time for consideration, take it, provided you do not forget that you must be ready to pronounce your opinion whenever you may be summoned to meet. It ill befits
4000-466: The Senate was forced to give in. In return, Claudius granted a general amnesty, although he executed a few junior officers involved in the conspiracy. The actual assassins, including Cassius Chaerea and Julius Lupus, the murderer of Caligula's wife and daughter, were put to death to ensure Claudius's own safety and as a future deterrent. Claudius took several steps to legitimize his rule against potential usurpers, most of them emphasizing his place within
4100-488: The Senate, and the like. According to Cassius Dio , Claudius became sickly and thin by the end of Caligula's reign, most likely due to stress . A possible surviving portrait of Claudius from this period may support this. On 24 January 41, Caligula was assassinated in a conspiracy involving Cassius Chaerea – a military tribune in the Praetorian Guard – and several senators . There is no evidence that Claudius had
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4200-425: The Senate. Tiberius turned down both motions, but the sentiment remained. During the period immediately after the death of Tiberius's son, Drusus , Claudius was pushed by some quarters as a potential heir to the throne. This again suggests the political nature of his exclusion from public life. However, as this was also the period during which the power and terror of the commander of the Praetorian Guard , Sejanus ,
4300-518: The Senatorial rolls. The conspiracy of Gaius Silius in the year after his Censorship, 48, is detailed in book 11 of Tacitus' Annals. This section of Tacitus' history narrates the alleged conspiracy of Claudius's third wife, Messalina . Suetonius states that a total of 35 senators and 300 knights were executed for offenses during Claudius's reign. Needless to say, the responses to these conspiracies could not have helped Senate–emperor relations. Claudius
4400-677: The capital and in the provinces. He built or finished two aqueducts , the Aqua Claudia , begun by Caligula, and the Aqua Anio Novus . These entered the city in 52 and met at the Porta Maggiore . He also restored a third, the Aqua Virgo . He paid special attention to transportation. Throughout Italy and the provinces he built roads and canals. Among these was a large canal leading from the Rhine to
4500-424: The cases of Urgulania , grandmother of Claudius's first wife Plautia Urgulanilla , who correctly assumed that her friendship with the empress placed her above the law; and Munatia Plancina , suspected of murdering Germanicus and saved at Livia's entreaty. (Plancina committed suicide in AD 33 after being accused again of murder after Livia's death.) A notice from AD 22 records that Julia Augusta (Livia) dedicated
4600-564: The charge was adultery , and that Claudius was tricked into issuing the punishment. However, Claudius singles out Asiaticus for special damnation in his speech on the Gauls, which dates over a year later, suggesting that the charge must have been much more serious. Asiaticus had been a claimant to the throne in the chaos following Caligula's death and a co-consul with Titus Statilius Taurus Corvinus. Most of these conspiracies took place before Claudius's term as Censor , and may have induced him to review
4700-505: The city of Tridentum (modern Trento ) were not in fact citizens. The Emperor issued a declaration, contained in the Tabula clesiana , that they would be allowed to hold citizenship from then on, since to strip them of their status would cause major problems. However, in individual cases, Claudius punished the false assumption of citizenship harshly, making it a capital offense. Similarly, any freedmen found to be laying false claim to membership of
4800-517: The dignity of the Senate that the consul designate should repeat the phrases of the consuls word for word as his opinion, and that every one else should merely say 'I approve', and that then, after leaving, the assembly should announce 'We debated'. In 47, he assumed the office of censor with Lucius Vitellius , which had been allowed to lapse for some time. He struck out the names of many senators and equites who no longer met qualifications, but showed respect by allowing them to resign in advance. At
4900-425: The divine Augustus. Claudius frequently used the term "filius Drusi" (son of Drusus) in his titles, to remind the people of his legendary father and lay claim to his reputation. Since Claudius was the first emperor proclaimed on the initiative of the Praetorian Guard instead of the Senate, his repute suffered at the hands of commentators (such as Seneca ). Moreover, he was the first emperor who resorted to bribery as
5000-446: The dwindling number of noble lines. Here he followed the precedent of Lucius Junius Brutus and Julius Caesar . Nevertheless, many in the Senate remained hostile to Claudius, and many plots were made on his life. This hostility carried over into the historical accounts. As a result, Claudius reduced the Senate's power for the sake of efficiency. The administration of Ostia was turned over to an Imperial procurator after construction of
5100-509: The female virtues Pietas and Concordia in public displays had a dramatic effect on the visual representation of future imperial women as ideal, honorable mothers and wives of Rome. Livia also restored the temple of the Bona Dea. Livia is mentioned by Pliny the Elder , who describes the vines of the Pulcino wine ("Vinum Pucinum" - today at best " Prosecco "). This then special and rare wine from
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#17330924530915200-507: The fulfillment of her will. It was not until 13 years later, in AD 42 during the reign of her grandson Claudius , that all her honors were restored and her deification finally completed. She was named Diva Augusta ( The Divine Augusta ), and an elephant-drawn chariot conveyed her image to all public games. A statue of her was set up in the Temple of Augustus along with her husband's, races were held in her honor, and women were to invoke her name in their sacred oaths. Her and Augustus' tomb
5300-417: The funeral oration. Suetonius adds the macabre detail that "when she died... after a delay of several days, during which he held out hope of his coming, [she was at last] buried because the condition of the corpse made it necessary...". Divine honors he also vetoed, stating that this was in accord with her own instructions. Later he vetoed all the honors the Senate had granted her after her death and cancelled
5400-609: The future emperor Claudius . Drusus was killed in a riding accident only a few years later, dying in 9 BC. This was also the same year in which Livia was honored by the dedication of the Ara Pacis Augustae as a birthday present. Tiberius married Augustus' daughter Julia in 11 BC and was ultimately adopted as Augustus' heir in AD 4. Rumor had it that Livia was behind the death of Augustus' nephew Marcellus in 23 BC. After Julia's two elder sons by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa , whom Augustus had adopted as sons and successors, had died,
5500-456: The gap between her role as wife to the emperor Augustus, to mother of the emperor Tiberius. Becoming more than the "beautiful woman" she is described as in ancient texts, Livia serves as a public image for the idealization of Roman feminine qualities, a motherly figure, and eventually a goddesslike representation that alludes to her virtue. Livia's power in symbolizing the renewal of the Republic with
5600-413: The grandfathers of the later emperors Galba and Otho . With Augustus being the father of only one daughter (Julia by Scribonia), Livia revealed herself to be an ambitious mother and soon started to push her own sons, Tiberius and Drusus, into power. Drusus was a trusted general and married Augustus' favorite niece, Antonia Minor , having three children: the popular general Germanicus , Livilla , and
5700-660: The idea that it was she who had given him the throne. At the beginning of his reign Tiberius vetoed the unprecedented title Mater Patriae ("Mother of the Fatherland") that the Senate wished to bestow upon her, in the same manner in which Augustus had been named Pater Patriae ("Father of the Fatherland") (Tiberius also consistently refused the title of Pater Patriae for himself). The historians Tacitus and Cassius Dio depict an overweening, even domineering dowager, ready to interfere in Tiberius’ decisions. The most notable instances were
5800-611: The inscription provides an important marker for developing a chronology of the life of Apostle Paul , since he presides over the trial of Paul in Achaea mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles ( Acts 18 :12-17). Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( / ˈ k l ɔː d i ə s / KLAW -dee-əs , Classical Latin: [tɪˈbɛri.ʊs ˈkɫau̯di.ʊs ˈkae̯sar au̯ˈɡʊstʊs ɡɛrˈmaːnɪkʊs] ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54)
5900-459: The leadership of one freedman. Narcissus was the secretary of correspondence. Pallas became the secretary of the treasury. Callistus became secretary of justice. There was a fourth bureau for miscellaneous issues, which was put under Polybius until his execution for treason. The freedmen could also officially speak for the Emperor, as when Narcissus addressed the troops in Claudius's stead before
6000-410: The legal cases tried during his reign. Ancient historians have many complaints about this, stating that his judgments were variable and sometimes did not follow the law. He was also easily swayed. Nevertheless, Claudius paid detailed attention to the operation of the judicial system. He extended the summer court session, as well as the winter term, by shortening the traditional breaks. Claudius also made
6100-545: The more famous edicts concerned the status of sick slaves. Masters had been abandoning ailing slaves at the temple of Aesculapius on Tiber Island to die instead of providing them with medical assistance and care, and then reclaiming them if they lived. Claudius ruled that slaves who were thus abandoned and recovered after such treatment would be free. Furthermore, masters who chose to kill slaves rather than take care of them were liable to be charged with murder. Claudius embarked on many public works throughout his reign, both in
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#17330924530916200-488: The mother of the emperor until her death in AD 29. She was the grandmother of the emperor Claudius , great-grandmother of the emperor Caligula , and the great-great-grandmother of the emperor Nero . In AD 42, Livia was deified by Claudius, who acknowledged her title of Augusta . Livia Drusilla was born on 30 January 59 BC as the daughter of Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus by his wife Alfidia . The diminutive Drusilla often found in her name suggests that she
6300-517: The new princeps . When they heard of the Praetorians' claim, they demanded that Claudius be delivered to them for approval, but he refused, sensing the danger that would come with complying. Some historians, particularly Josephus , claim that Claudius was directed in his actions by the Judaean King Herod Agrippa . However, an earlier version of events by the same ancient author downplays Agrippa's role so it remains uncertain. Eventually
6400-479: The new emperor was no more generous than the old, Claudius gave up hope of public office and retired to a scholarly, private life. Despite the disdain of the Imperial family, it seems that from very early on the general public respected Claudius. At Augustus's death, the equites , or knights, chose Claudius to head their delegation. When his house burned down, the Senate demanded it be rebuilt at public expense. They also requested that Claudius be allowed to debate in
6500-449: The next 51 years, despite the fact that they had no children apart from the single stillbirth. She always enjoyed the status of privileged counselor to her husband, petitioning him on the behalf of others and influencing his policies, an unusual role for a Roman wife in a culture dominated by the pater familias . After Mark Antony's suicide following the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, Octavian returned to Rome triumphant; on 16 January 27 BC,
6600-473: The one remaining son, Agrippa Postumus , was adopted at the same time as Tiberius, but later Agrippa Postumus was sent into exile and finally killed. Tacitus charges that Livia was not altogether innocent of these deaths and Cassius Dio also mentions such rumours. There are also rumors mentioned by Tacitus and Cassius Dio that Livia brought about Augustus' death by poisoning fresh figs, although modern historians view this as unlikely. Augustus' granddaughter
6700-478: The political leader Octavian. The Senate granted Octavian the title Augustus in 27 BC, effectively making him emperor. Livia then became the Roman empress. In this role, she served as an influential confidant of her husband and was rumored to have been responsible for the deaths of a number of Augustus' relatives, including his grandson Agrippa Postumus . After Augustus died in AD 14, Tiberius became emperor. Livia continued to exert political influence as
6800-429: The port. Administration of many of the empire's financial concerns was turned over to Imperial appointees and freedmen. This led to further resentment and suggestions that these same freedmen were ruling the Emperor. Several coup attempts were made during Claudius's reign, resulting in the deaths of many senators. Appius Silanus was executed early in Claudius's reign under questionable circumstances. Shortly after this,
6900-401: The proper form for state religion. He refused the request of Alexandrian Greeks to dedicate a temple to his divinity, saying that only gods may choose new gods. He restored lost days to festivals and got rid of many extraneous celebrations added by Caligula. He re-instituted old observances and archaic language. Livia Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC – AD 29)
7000-557: The reign of Augustus. The provinces of Thrace , Noricum , Lycia , and Judea were annexed (or put under direct rule) under various circumstances during his term. The annexation of Mauretania , begun under Caligula, was completed after the defeat of rebel forces, as well as the official division of the former client kingdom into two Imperial provinces. The most far-reaching conquest was that of Britannia . In 43, Claudius sent Aulus Plautius with four legions to Britain ( Britannia ) after an appeal from an ousted tribal ally. Britain
7100-619: The rise of the Roman Principate with a focus on Livia's role and relationships. She is portrayed as having sworn a sacred oath to her father 's shade to restore the Republic and to be playing a long con to that effect in concert with Gn. Calpurnius Piso . The child Livia is played by Meadow Nobrega, the adolescent and young adult Livia by Nadia Parkes , and the adult Livia by Kasia Smutniak . Her marriage with Augustus produced only one pregnancy, which miscarried. However, through her sons by her first husband, Tiberius and Drusus , she
7200-445: The same time, he sought to admit to the senate eligible men from the provinces. The Lyon Tablet preserves his speech on the admittance of Gallic senators, in which he addresses the Senate with reverence but also with criticism for their disdain of these men. He even joked about how the Senate had admitted members from beyond Gallia Narbonensis ( Lyons ), i.e. himself. He also increased the number of patricians by adding new families to
7300-530: The sea, as well as a road from Italy to Germany – both begun by his father, Drusus . Closer to Rome, he built a navigable canal on the Tiber , leading to Portus , his new port just north of Ostia . This port was constructed in a semicircle with two moles and a lighthouse at its mouth, reducing flooding in Rome. The port at Ostia was part of Claudius's solution to the constant grain shortages that occurred in winter, after
7400-511: The strong bull of the stable moon on the horizon"). While Claudius had never been formally adopted either by Augustus or his successors, he was nevertheless the grandson of Augustus's sister Octavia, and so he felt that he had the right of family. He also adopted the name "Augustus" as the two previous emperors had done at their accessions. He kept the honorific "Germanicus" to display the connection with his heroic brother. He deified his paternal grandmother Livia to highlight her position as wife of
7500-464: The sunny slopes northeast of Barcola in the direction of the place Prosecco or Duino (near the historic place Castellum Pucinum) was according to Pliny the favorite wine of the Empress Livia. She is said to have loved this Vinum Pucinum for its medicinal properties and at the end of her long life (she was 87) she attributed her old age to its consumption and commended it to everyone as an "elixir for
7600-463: The title himself. When the British general Caractacus was captured in 50, Claudius granted him clemency. 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 that found 5,984,072 (adult male) Roman citizens (women, children, slaves, and free adult males without Roman citizenship were not counted), an increase of around
7700-593: Was Julia the Younger . Sometime between AD 1 and 14, her husband Lucius Aemilius Paullus was executed as a conspirator in a revolt. Modern historians theorize that Julia's exile was not actually for adultery but for involvement in Paullus' revolt. Tacitius alleged that Livia had plotted against her stepdaughter's family and ruined them. Julia died in AD 29 on the island to which she had been sent in exile twenty years earlier. Augustus died on 19 August AD 14, being deified by
7800-515: Was Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Augustus , the first Roman emperor . She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal adoption into the Julia gens in AD 14. Livia was the daughter of the senator Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus and his wife Alfidia . She married Tiberius Claudius Nero around 43 BC, and they had two sons, Tiberius and Drusus . In 38 BC, she divorced Tiberius Claudius Nero and married
7900-451: Was a Roman emperor , ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty , Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Minor at Lugdunum in Roman Gaul , where his father was stationed as a military legate. He was the first Roman emperor to be born outside Italy . As he had a limp and slight deafness due to an illness he suffered when young, he was ostracised by his family and
8000-454: Was an attractive target for Rome because of its material wealth: mines and the potential of slave labor, as well as being a haven for Gallic rebels. Claudius himself traveled to the island after the completion of initial offensives, bringing with him reinforcements and elephants. The Roman colonia of Colonia Claudia Victricensis was established as the provincial capital of the newly established province of Britannia at Camulodunum , where
8100-440: Was at its peak, Claudius chose to downplay this possibility. After the death of Tiberius, the new emperor Caligula (the son of Claudius's brother Germanicus ) recognized Claudius to be of some use. He appointed Claudius his co-consul in 37 to emphasize the memory of Caligula's deceased father Germanicus. Despite this, Caligula tormented his uncle: playing practical jokes, charging him enormous sums of money, humiliating him before
8200-416: Was by being scrupulously chaste herself, doing gladly whatever pleased him, not meddling with any of his affairs, and, in particular, by pretending neither to hear nor to notice the favourites of his passion." With the passage of time, however, some thought that with widowhood a haughtiness and an overt craving for power and the outward trappings of status came increasingly to the fore. Livia had always been
8300-614: Was called the Liviana , perhaps because of her reputed horticultural abilities, or as a tongue-in-cheek reference to this rumor. For some time, Livia and her son Tiberius , the new emperor, appeared to get along with each other. Speaking against her became treason in AD 20, and in AD 24 he granted his mother a theater seat among the Vestal Virgins . Livia exercised unofficial but very real power in Rome. Eventually, Tiberius became resentful of his mother's political status, particularly against
8400-600: Was crooked and not large enough to carry the water, which caused it to back up when opened. The resultant flood washed out a large gladiatorial exhibition held to commemorate the opening, causing Claudius to run for his life along with the other spectators. The draining of the lake continued to present a problem well into the Middle Ages. It was finally achieved by the Prince Torlonia in the 19th century, producing over 160,000 acres (650 km ) of new arable land. He expanded
8500-433: Was excluded from public office until his consulship (which was shared with his nephew, Caligula , in 37). Claudius's infirmity probably saved him from the fate of many other nobles during the purges throughout the reigns of Tiberius and Caligula, as potential enemies did not see him as a serious threat. His survival led to his being declared emperor by the Praetorian Guard after Caligula's assassination, at which point he
8600-402: Was far too early for such an account, and may have only served to remind Augustus that Claudius was Antony's descendant. His mother and grandmother quickly put a stop to it, and this may have convinced them that Claudius was not fit for public office, since he could not be trusted to toe the existing party line . When Claudius returned to the narrative later in life, he skipped over the wars of
8700-480: Was firmly in control throughout. Regardless of the extent of their political power, the freedmen did manage to amass wealth through their positions. Pliny the Elder notes that several of them were richer than Crassus , the richest man of the Republican era . Claudius, as the author of a treatise on Augustus's religious reforms, felt himself in a good position to institute some of his own. He had strong opinions about
8800-419: Was hardly the first emperor to use freedmen to help with the day-to-day running of the Empire. He was, however, forced to increase their role as the powers of the princeps became more centralized and the burden of running the government became larger. Claudius did not want free-born magistrates to serve under him as if they were not peers. The secretariat was divided into bureaus, with each being placed under
8900-458: Was ironic because her first pregnancy by Augustus ended in a stillbirth, and she was unable to ever conceive another child. Tiberius Claudius Nero was present at the wedding, giving her in marriage "just as a father would." The importance of the patrician Claudii to Octavian's cause, and the political survival of the Claudii Nerones are probably more rational explanations for the tempestuous union. Nevertheless, Livia and Augustus remained married for
9000-518: Was later sacked at an unknown date. Her Villa ad Gallinas Albas north of Rome is currently being excavated; its famous frescoes of imaginary garden views may be seen at the National Roman Museum . One of the most famous statues of Augustus (the Augustus of Prima Porta ) came from the grounds of the villa. While reporting various unsavory hearsay, the ancient sources generally portray Livia as
9100-608: Was murdered by his own wife, Agrippina the Younger . After his death at the age of 63, his grandnephew and legally adopted step-son, Nero , succeeded him as emperor. As a consequence of Roman customs , society, and personal preference, Claudius' full name varied throughout his life: Claudius was born on 1 August 10 BC at Lugdunum (modern Lyon , France ). He had two older siblings, Germanicus and Livilla . His mother, Antonia Minor , may have had two other children who died young. Claudius's maternal grandparents were Mark Antony and Octavia Minor , Augustus 's sister, and he
9200-438: Was not her father's first daughter. She may have had a brother named Gaius Livius Drusus who had two daughters named Livia Pulchra and Livilla. Her father also adopted Marcus Livius Drusus Libo . She was married around 43 BC. Her father married her to Tiberius Claudius Nero , her cousin of patrician status who was fighting with him on the side of Julius Caesar 's assassins against Octavian. Her father committed suicide in
9300-427: Was poisoned by Livia, but these are mainly dismissed as malicious fabrications spread by political enemies of the dynasty. The most famous of these rumors was that Livia, unable to poison his food in the kitchens because Augustus insisted on only eating figs picked fresh from his garden, smeared each fruit with poison while still on the tree to preempt him. In Imperial times, a variety of fig cultivated in Roman gardens
9400-413: Was put under the care of a former mule-driver to keep him disciplined, under the logic that his condition was due to laziness and a lack of willpower. However, by the time he reached his teenage years, his symptoms apparently waned and his family began to take some notice of his scholarly interests. In AD 7, Livy was hired to tutor Claudius in history, with the assistance of Sulpicius Flavus. He spent
9500-403: Was similarly appreciative of them and gave them due credit for policies where he had used their advice. However, if they showed treasonous inclinations, the Emperor punished them with just force, as in the case of Polybius and Pallas's brother, Felix . There is no evidence that the character of Claudius's policies and edicts changed with the rise and fall of the various freedmen, suggesting that he
9600-536: Was six months pregnant, Tiberius Claudius Nero was persuaded or forced by Octavian to divorce Livia. On 14 January, the child was born. Augustus and Livia married on 17 January, waiving the traditional waiting period. On the day of his wedding to Livia, Octavian received a supposed omen of an eagle dropping a white hen with a laurel branch in its mouth into Livia's lap. This omen was interpreted as being an indication toward Livia's fertility, as she had given birth to two sons in her short two years of marriage to Nero. This
9700-485: Was the first woman to appear on provincial coins in 16 BC and her portrait images can be chronologically identified partially from the progression of her hair designs, which represented more than keeping up with the fashions of the time as her depiction with such contemporary details translated into a political statement of representing the ideal Roman woman. Livia's image evolves with different styles of portraiture that trace her effect on imperial propaganda that helped bridge
9800-442: Was the last adult male of his family. Despite his lack of experience, Claudius was an able and efficient administrator. He expanded the imperial bureaucracy to include freedmen, and helped restore the empire's finances after the excesses of Caligula's reign. He was also an ambitious builder, constructing new roads, aqueducts, and canals across the Empire. During his reign, the Empire started its successful conquest of Britain . Having
9900-492: Was therefore the great-great-grandnephew of Gaius Julius Caesar . His paternal grandparents were Livia , Augustus's third wife, and Tiberius Claudius Nero . During his reign, Claudius revived the rumour that his father Nero Claudius Drusus was actually the illegitimate son of Augustus, to give the appearance that Augustus was Claudius's paternal grandfather. In 9 BC, Claudius's father Drusus died on campaign in Germania from
10000-509: Was to increase the amount of arable land in Italy. This was to be achieved by draining the Fucine lake , also making the nearby river navigable year-round. A serious famine is mentioned in the book of Acts as taking place during Claudius' reign, and had been prophesied by a Christian called Agabus while visiting Antioch . A tunnel was dug through the lake bed, but the plan was a failure. The tunnel
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