Emperor Claudius

Paper Summary:

This paper addresses the argument of whether Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus was a success or a failure as an emperor. It analyses his unfortunate childhood as well as his reign and attempts to explain the reasoning behind his actions as emperor. It concludes that he was in fact an intelligent and successful Roman Emperor.

From the Paper:

"The idea that the power of Rome lies in her Army, has been proven time and time again by figures such as Marius and Sulla. Claudius likewise was no stranger to this fact and, as a result, many of his first actions as Emperor were to secure the loyalty of the army and to establish some much needed military-credentials. Hennessy (1990) explains that following Claudius' rise to power with the support of the Praetorian Guard, he promised each guard 150 gold pieces with the intention of buying their allegiance and hence his protection. Claudius then went to plan and execute a campaign to, as Fagan (2004) argued, secure both military distinction and the respect of the Army. This, of course, came in the form of the famous invasion and annexation of Britain. To keep this strong military image throughout his reign, he added to the Roman Empire: Mauritania, Thrace and Lycia (BBC 2004). By the end of his reign, Claudius had been hailed Imperator twenty-seven times and had won a triumph (Fagan, 2004)."

More papers on Emperor Claudius:

• Essay # 65841 : "Claudius and the Romanisation of the Western Provinces"
• Analytical Essay # 19655 : "I, Claudius" (Robert Graves), "The Annals of Imperial Rome" (Tacitus) and "The Twelve Caesars" (Suetonius)"
• Research Paper # 24442 : "The Praetorian Guard of the Roman Emperors"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: