deck_18281544 Flashcards
(68 cards)
What does Claudius’ reign highlight?
- Fundamental issue that Rome required an autocratic ruler, but one who constantly had to mollify an urban aristocracy,
- Claudius’ reign highlights the issues with source bias; he is seemingly unfairly treated by most of the later sources.
What does Suetonius call Claudius’ accession?
(Claudius 10) ‘an extraodinary accident’
What do all sources agree of Claudius, at the time of Gaius’ assassination?
Though the location differs, they all agree that he was hiding after Gaius’ assassination.
What was Claudius the first emperor to do, according to Suetonius?
Suetonius recalls that Claudius, upon accepting the principate, ‘promised every [praetorian guard] 15,000 sesterces, which made him the first of the Caesars to purchase the loyalty of his troops’.
What coinage displays this link between Claudius and his troops?
The aureus of Claudius
Date: AD 41-45
Obverse: Laureate head of Claudius; words reading ‘Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus, pontifex maximus, with tribunician power’
Reverse: Claudius wearing a toga, clasping the hand of a long-haired soldier with shield and legionary eagle; words reading ‘With the praetorians having been received’
Significance: Claudius’ relationship with the soldiers is stressed, reinforcing the basis for his power.
What was now the real political force in Rome? What displayed this?
The army. The Praetorian Guard were the ones to find Claudius and select him as the successor to Gaius. This more than anything highlights that the senate was now a spent political force.
What does Dio write as being discussed in the Senate upon the death of Gaius?
(RH, 60.1.1) records how ‘many different views were expressed’. Some advocated for the return to the Republic. Others continued the idea of principate, with different factions suggesting their own candidates. Including Vinicianus, a member of the plot against Gaius’ life. This lack of unity and agreement within the senatorial body supports the Tiberian assumption that they were ‘men fit to be slaves’ (Tacitus, Annals 3.65)
What does Josephus write about the senate at the time of the accession of Claudius?
Remarks that ‘a return to senatorial government was totally unrealistic’ (JA 19.225) and this indeed seems to be the case as he presents the matter, with soldiery and plebs keen to maintain the principate (19.228). He writes that despite the Senate’s bravado (19.230), it is clear they actually had very little influence (19.234).
How many days passed after Gaius’ death until Claudius’ establishment as princeps?
2 days.
What did Claudius do immediately?
- Obliterated the records that a new constitution had been considered during these forty-eight hours (Suetonius, Claudius 11),
- Established a general amnesty.
What caused irreparable damage to the princep-Senate relations for Claudius?
Though Claudius may have wished for an age of moderation, his military backing put an end to the princeps being seen as first among equals. This caused much damage to Claudius’ relationship with the Senate, even though he tried to present himself as returning to the model of Augustus.
What action shows that Claudius was attempting to distance himself from Gaius’ policy?
The letter of Claudius to the Alexandrians. Sent AD 41, Claudius rejects the notion that he should be worshipped as a God, marking a deliberate break with the policy of Gaius.
What is written as the start of the Dalmatia revolt?
Camillus Scribonianus, Claudius’ lieutenant in Dalmatia ( Suetonius, Claudius 13) was encouraged by Vinicianus to turn his troops against Claudius after the execution, on spurious evidence, of Gaius Appius Silanus who was accused of plotting to murder Claudius (Dio 60.14.1-16.4).
How long did the revolt last? Why? What happened to Camillus?
The revolt was short-lived, lasting no more than five days, as Camillus could not convince sufficient forces to support his cause. Dio states that his soldiers ‘refused to listen to him any longer’ (RH 60.15.3).
Camillus’ suicide after this failure was hastily followed by his denouncement as a public enemy.
What did the Camillus revolt cause in Claudius? What was his immediate response?
- Reduced Claudius to a state of great terror,
- His immediate response was to bestow the titles ‘Claudian’, ‘Loyal’, and ‘Patriotic’ on the seventh and eleventh legions, which had remained faithful to him,
- Believed he could win the loyalty of the army as whole through a quick campaign that would provide both plunder and glory.
When was the last significant Roman campaign, before Claudius?
There had not been a significant campaign for many years, not since Drusus, Claudius’ father and Tiberius’ brother, in Germany 12-9 BC.
What coinage displayed the continued significance of Drusus’ Germany campaign in Claudius reign?
Aureus of Drusus
Date: AD 41-45
Obverse: Laureate head of Drusus; words reading ‘Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus, Commander’
Reverse: Two shields crossed. with two paits of crossed spears and trumpets in front of standard; words reading ‘Over Germany’
Significance: Claudius is stressing his connection with his father as a means of ensuring the loyalty of his troops.
What relations were useful for Claudius in ensuring the loyalty of his army?
Claudius’ connections with his father, Drusus, and his brother, Germanicus, had been a major factor in securing the loyalty of the army during his early reign.
Where did Claudius decide to campaign? When was the last campaign in this area?
- Claudius’ campaign against Britain would ensure that he had military credentials of his own,
- No one had attempted an invasion of Britain since Julius Caesar 54 BC, and the military triumph that would follow a successful campaign would strengthen Claudius’ position.
How does Suetonius describe the Britain campaign?
‘of no great importance’ (Claudius 17)
When did the campaign start? How many legions were involved? Who had command?
Four legions set out under the command of Aulus Plautius in the summer of AD 43.
Who was the Roman campaign primarily directed against?
- The anti-Roman Catavellauni, who were expanding their territory and influence under the rule of the two sons of the recently deceased Cunobelinus, Togidumnus and Caratacus,
- The actions of the Catavellauni were no real threat to the Romans but provided useful justification for the campaign.
How did the campaign in Britain proceed?
- Aulus Plautius advanced to the river Medway, assisted by Flavius Vespasianus commander of the Second Legion Augusta,
- Following a decisive Roman victory here, the British tribes withdrew to the Thames where, even with Togidumnus dead, they rallied, preventing Plautius from crossing the river,
- The Romans decided to consolidate their position and sent for Claudius himself for the final stages of the campaign.
What does Suetonius write of Claudius’ crossing to Britain? What is wrong with this account?
(Claudius 17) Suggests that he was nearly wrecked twice en route to Massilia (Marseilles). Dio makes no mention of these hardships, which suggests that Suetonius may have included these allegations because it fit his overall perspective of Claudius as bumbling incompetent.
