Emperor Vespasian Was Reportedly Pelted With Turnips

Vespasian was born around the year 9, and in his early decades of life, he followed the average path of the up-and-coming Roman statesman. He was successful (but remarkably average) in his early military and political career, ascending the typical Roman social ladder to power—moving through the ranks of military tribune, quaestor and aedile, and finally reaching the post of praetor in the year 39. Vespasian was able to maintain his growing power and prestige during the troubled reign of Caligula (r. 37-41), but it was during the time of Emperor Claudius (r. 41-54) that his career really began to skyrocket.

Vespasian was appointed as a legion commander (of the II Augusta) in the year 43, just in time for him to participate in Claudius’ invasion of Britain. During the war against the Britons, Vespasian distinguished himself and as a result, he was awarded triumphal decorations and prominent priestly titles. His next big step up the political hierarchy came in the year 51, when Vespasian became a consul—one of the loftiest positions in Rome. Just as Vespasian was reaching what he may have then considered the height of his political career, his potential for further advancement was suddenly thrown into chaos. In the year 54, Emperor Claudius died and was succeeded by Nero.

Vespasian and Nero seemed to have had a rocky relationship in the beginning. Over the years, however, the middle-aged military veteran and statesman was able to slowly, but surely, work his way into the good graces of the young and flamboyant Nero. The diligent relationship-building eventually paid off, and Vespasian was appointed by Nero as proconsul (governor) of Africa around the year 63. Although his term of office in North Africa was described by Suetonius as “characterized by justice and great dignity” (The Twelve Caesars, Vespasian, 4), Vespasian apparently had not yet refined his public relations skills, and many of the people under his governance showed him great hostility.

The most dramatic incident during his time as governor occurred in the region of Hadrumetum. For unexplained reasons, the inhabitants of that area became extremely outraged and they held Vespasian responsible for whatever it was the drew their ire. Vespasian, the dutiful proconsul, traveled to the epicenter of unrest in order to deal with the situation. The problem, he soon found out, could not have been famine—for there were so many vegetables on hand that the people vented their frustration by showering poor Vespasian with produce. As Suetonius bluntly put it, “the people of Hadrumetum rioted and pelted him with turnips” (The Twelve Caesars, Vespasian, 4). Unfortunately, Vespasian’s response to the turnip-pelting incident was not recorded. Whatever the case, Suetonius presented the situation as an anomalous, once-occurring incident that was never again repeated.

Turnips, however, cannot keep an ambitious man down. Vespasian was transferred by Nero to Judea between 66 and 67, where he and his son, Titus, led the Roman response to the Jewish revolt in the region. Finally, in 69, Vespasian used his connection in the Middle East and Africa to become the winner of the so-called Year of the Four Emperors, out-surviving and supplanting his rivals, Galba, Otho and Vitellius.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Image of Vespasian by Egidius Sadeler (1570–1629) over a picture of turnips, both [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius, translated by Robert Graves and edited by James B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007.
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vespasian 
• https://www.ancient.eu/Vespasian/
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/vespasian.shtml 
• https://www.livius.org/articles/person/vespasian/  

Nero Reportedly Survived An Assassination Attempt Because Of A Discarded Snakeskin

Agrippina the Younger was a member of the Julio-Claudian family who was exiled from Rome during the reign of her brother, Emperor Caligula (r. 37-41). Fortunately for her, Caligula was soon assassinated and Agrippina was almost immediately invited back to Rome by the next emperor, her uncle, Emperor Claudius (r. 41-54).

When Agrippina returned to Rome, she was allowed to resume raising her young son, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. As Agrippina and her son were among the increasingly rare surviving descendants of Augustus (Agrippina was his great-granddaughter), their return to Roman society brought about all sorts of possibilities for Rome’s ruling elite to use in their endless political maneuverings. Agrippina the Younger welcomed the plotting, as she was an ambitious and cunning woman who thrived in court intrigue.

Unfortunately for Agrippina, ruthless and independent-thinking women were not in short supply in ancient Rome. In particular, she had a worthy rival in Messalina, who had been the wife of Emperor Claudius since the year 39 or 40. As Messalina was just as ambitious and politically savvy as her adversary, she immediately realized the threat that Agrippina and Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus could potentially pose to herself and to her own son, Britannicus. Naturally, a great feud formed between the two sly women. Several ancient historians and biographers mentioned the battle of intrigue between the two women. Tacitus (c. 56-117+) wrote that Messalina was a “particularly virulent” persecutor of Agrippina and that Messalina was only distracted from her campaign by a wild affair with a certain Gaius Silius (Annals, Book XI).

The Roman biographer, Suetonius (c. 70-130+), claimed that the feud between the two women almost became murderous. In his book, The Twelve Caesars, Suetonius alleged that Messalina eventually sent a team of assassins to murder Agrippina’s son, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. According to the tale, the assassins found the young boy sleeping and were about to strangle him when they saw something terrifying. At the foot of the bed, the assassins were confronted by the coiled, scaly hide of a snake that was seemingly guarding the sleeping young boy. Believing that their target was divinely protected, the assassins loudly fled from the scene. The commotion either woke Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus or his mother, Agrippina, for they knew that assassins had been near and that a snake had been the reason of their indiscreet exit.

Upon inspection, however, all was not as it seemed. What was at the foot of the boy’s bed was not a live snake, but just the shed skin of one that had slithered by recently. Even so, Agrippina must have thought it was lucky, for she reportedly had the snakeskin gilded and turned into a bracelet, which she gave to her son.

Messalina, of course, was right to suspect and fear Agrippina and Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. In the year 48, Messalina was executed by Claudius after word spread about the aforementioned affair that his wife was having with Gaius Silius. One year after Messalina’s execution, Claudius married Agrippina the Younger and adopted her son, who, upon adoption, assumed the infamous name Nero. When Claudius died of suspicious circumstances in the year 54, Agrippina and her allies ensured that it was not Britannicus, Claudius’ son by blood, but Nero, the late emperor’s adopted son, who became the next leader of the Roman Empire. In the year 55, Emperor Nero (r. 54-68) fulfilled Messalina’s nightmare by assassinating her son, Britannicus, who was only 13 or 14 years of age at the time of his murder.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (scene with Dionysus and a snake (c. 62-79 AD) - from Pompeii, House of the Centenary, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Annals of Imperial Rome by Tacitus, translated by Michael Grant. New York: Penguin Classics, 1996. 
• The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius, translated by Robert Graves and edited by James B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007. 
• https://www.ancient.eu/Nero/ 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nero-Roman-emperor 
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/nero.shtml 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Julia-Agrippina 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Messalina-Valeria  

An Interesting Way That The Extravagant Emperor Claudius Supposedly Attempted To Restrain Extravagance In Rome

As early as the reign of Augustus (r. 31 BCE – 14 CE), the emperors of Rome had adopted the powers wielded by the office of the Censor. The Roman Censor had duties such as organizing censuses, evaluating the membership of Roman societal classes (including the Senate), and keeping an eye on financial practices in Rome. With such powers, it is easy see why the emperors wanted to absorb the duties of the Censor for themselves.

As suggested by the name “Censor,” the holders of this office were additionally tasked with keeping immorality and excessive indulgence under control in Rome. It was an ironic role for the emperors, as many among their ranks led lives of unimaginable debauchery and wastefulness. Nevertheless, a few of the emperors took their role as a moral Censor seriously. Others, however, half-heartedly made a show of condemning extravagance while simultaneously emptying the treasury to fund massive public entertainment.

Emperor Claudius (r. 41-54) was one of those ironic Roman rulers who held the role of Censor, but also hosted magnificent shows of all kinds. For example, according to Suetonius (c. 70-130+), Claudius used gladiators to recreate in Rome the realistic siege and pillaging of a town, and he even inaugurated the completion of a canal project by holding a mock sea battle on Fucine Lake.

According to Suetonius, Emperor Claudius did carry out at least one memorable action specifically in his role as Censor, although even this was done with a flair of showmanship. One day, Claudius apparently decided it was time to make a public display against extravagance.  With this in mind, the emperor headed to the Sigillaria (a market street) and searched for something that was particularly decadent. After perusing the wares, he finally picked an ornate silver-plated chariot and had it rolled out to a public space. Then, with the curious eyes of the Roman people watching, Emperor Claudius reportedly had his soldiers hack the expensive chariot to pieces. With his duty as censor apparently complete, Claudius went back to planning his next great gladiatorial extravaganza.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Chariot of the mascarade des artistes français in Rome c. 1748. [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Annals of Imperial Rome by Tacitus, translated by Michael Grant. New York: Penguin Classics, 1996.
• The Twelve Caesars (Divus Claudius, 15) by Suetonius, translated by Robert Graves and edited by James B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007.

Emperor Claudius’ King Solomon Moment

The Biblical King Solomon is perhaps the only person in history to be praised for threatening to kill a baby. This famous story occurs in 1 Kings 3:16 of the Bible. As the story goes, two women were living in a single home, each with a newborn baby boy. On a tragic night, one of the two mothers killed her own son by accident while she slept. Maddened by grief, the mother of the murdered child stole the other woman’s son, placing the dead baby with her unsuspecting roommate. When the other woman woke up, however, she immediately realized that the dead child was not her beloved son and therefore brought the case before King Solomon, asking him to determine the real mother of the surviving son. To determine the truth, King Solomon called for a sword and proclaimed that the living baby would be cut in half, so that each woman would have a share. Hopefully, any person would be horrified by such a threat, yet, in the story, only the real mother of the child had a moral response. The real mother begged the king to spare the baby and give the child to the other woman. Sensing the motherly care in the woman’s plea, King Solomon put away his sword and delivered the child to his true mother.

Many centuries later, the Roman Emperor Claudius (r. 41-54) also had to determine the identity of a child’s mother. Yet, unlike Solomon’s problem of two women claiming the same baby, Claudius instead faced the dilemma of one woman who was vigorously refusing to admit in court that a young man was her son. There was apparently a conflict of evidence and neither side of the debate could convincingly prove if the woman was being truthful or lying. With the court in stalemate, Claudius, like King Solomon so many years before, decided to determine the truth by announcing an unexpected and outrageous demand. According to the Roman biographer, Suetonius (c. 70-130+), Emperor Claudius decreed that the woman and the young man should marry.

Interestingly, Claudius may have personally thought his proposal between the mother and son would actually be a splendid idea, for the emperor had personally married first his own cousin and then his niece in successive order. Nevertheless, other Romans were less eager to marry their close relatives, much less their children. Faced with an incestuous marriage, the woman in court either refused the emperor’s decree or openly confessed, finally admitting that the young man was indeed her son.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Photograph, c. 1911, of an ancient bust of Emperor Claudius from the Uffizi Gallery, Florence., [Public Domain] Via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Twelve Caesars (Divus Claudius, 15) by Suetonius, translated by Robert Graves and edited by James B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007.

Was Sobriety The Secret Power Behind The Most Talented Members Of The Julio-Claudian Dynasty?

The two most lauded members of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty have to be Julius Caesar (c. 100-44 BCE), the conqueror who brought his family to power, and Augustus (c. 63 BCE-14 CE), the cunning political genius who completed Caesar’s war effort and carved out a place for an emperor in the monarch-hating culture of the Romans. After Caesar and Augustus, the Julio-Claudian Dynasty continued to rule Rome until the year 68, when the assassination of Nero ended the dynasty.

The Roman biographer, Suetonius (c. 70-130+), wrote about the six members of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty in his work, The Twelve Caesars. Whereas most other ancient historians wrote about the wars and political maneuvers of the emperors, Suetonius filled most of his pages with personality evaluations, physical descriptions, and especially the behavior of his subjects in social settings. In particular, one of the topics Suetonius frequently chose to comment on was the eating and drinking habits of the people featured in his text. In scanning Suetonius’ commentary on the liquid intake of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, an interesting trait seemed to have separated Julius Caesar and Augustus from their more lackluster successors—sobriety.

As stated by the historian Tacitus (c. 56-117+), extravagant feasting had “reached fantastic heights during the century between Actium and the disturbances which brought Galba to the throne,” denoting the years between 31 BCE and 68 CE (The Annals of Imperial Rome, Book III). This extravagance in food and drink was much more prominent in the latter emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. The final four emperors of the dynasty were all described by Suetonius as having been heavy drinkers. Nero (r. 54-68), whose assassination ended Julio-Claudian power, was described as an extravagant drinker, especially of wine (The Twelve Caesars, Nero, 51). Of Nero’s predecessor, Emperor Claudius (r. 41-54), Suetonius reported that ample stories existed about his “drunkenness and love of gambling,” spanning before and after he became the ruler of Rome (The Twelve Caesars, Divus Claudius, 5 and 33). Claudius was preceded by Caligula (r. 37-41), whose wild and luxurious appetites were of legendary proportions. Even the reclusive Emperor Tiberius (r. 14-37) was reportedly an incredibly heavy drinker. Of Tiberius, Suetonius wrote, “Even as a young officer, he was such a hard drinker that his name, Tiberius Claudius Nero, was displaced by the nickname ‘Biberius Caldius Mero,’” which was a drink-inspired play on words that possibly indicated that he liked to drink unmixed hot wine (The Twelve Caesars, Tiberius, 42).

The habits of Augustus and Julius Caesar, however, were very different than their successors. On Augustus, Suetonius wrote, “Augustus was also a habitually abstemious drinker…In later life his limit was a pint; if he ever exceeded this he would deliberately vomit” (The Twelve Caesars, Divus Augustus, 77).  As for the founder of the dynasty, Julius Caesar himself, Suetonius similarly described the dictator’s attitude toward food and drink as extremely reserved. The Twelve Caesar’s even contained a quote supposedly attributed to Caesar’s enemy, Cato the Younger, which read, “Caesar was the only sober man who ever tried to overturn the republic” (Divus Julius, 53).

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Roman feast painted by Roberto Bompiani  (1821–1908), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius, translated by Robert Graves and edited by James B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007. 
• The Annals of Imperial Rome by Tacitus, translated by Michael Grant. New York: Penguin Classics, 1996.  

Emperor Claudius’ Giggly Debut As A Historian

Despite being portrayed unglamorously by ancient Roman historians as a stumbling, bumbling, stammering, drooling, and nervously-ticking idiot, Emperor Claudius (r. 41-54) was likely one of the more scholarly emperors of Rome. The biographer, Suetonius (c. 70-130+), joined in describing the emperor unflatteringly, but he also hinted at there being another side to the man when he reported that Claudius was a multilingual author who published a forty-three-volume history of Rome, an eight-volume history of Carthage, a twenty-volume history on the Etruscans and an eight-volume autobiography. In addition to these major works, emperor Claudius also wrote a piece defending the late Roman orator, Cicero, and even published a book about the Roman alphabet. Suetonius further reported that Claudius’ Greek works were placed in a so-called Claudian Wing within the Library of Alexandria. Sadly, his many texts are lost except for small fragments.

Despite the speech and movement impediments that unfortunately caused the emperor to be ceaselessly teased and undervalued by the senatorial class and even his own family, Claudius reportedly decided to debut his Roman history with a public reading. If the event truly occurred as Suetonius claimed, then none of the Romans present at the reading would ever forget their experience.

As the story goes, Claudius was just beginning his public reading when a late arrival tried to sneak his way into the audience. The latecomer, however, was evidently a very, very obese man, so his wading through the crowd was in no way subtle. Nonetheless, the late person eventually reached a bench with available space and quickly lowered his weight onto the wooden seat. With the eyes of the audience, and Claudius too, curiously following the large fellow, the unfortunate latecomer broke the bench with his immense bulk, consequently sending himself and his bench neighbors tumbling to the ground. Lamentably for the heavy gentleman, the bizarre sight caused the attending audience to roar with uncontrollable laughter and, as Claudius was also known to be a man prone to laughing fits, he happily joined in with the mirth of the crowd.

After a while, the audience calmed down and their laughter subsided again to attentive silence. With everyone settled, the public reading resumed. Nevertheless, Claudius was apparently unable to banish the image of the seating tumult from his mind. Every time he attempted to begin narrating his history, he recalled the collapse of the bench and the flailing arms of surprised Romans. With such mental imagery bubbling up to the forefront of his mind, he found he could not finish a sentence before a giggle or a renewed bout of laughter interrupted his speech. Suetonius did not record if Claudius was able to finish that debut or if he gave up in the end. Whatever the case, Claudius eventually decided to hire professional orators to deliver public readings of his future written works.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Caractacus Pleading Before the Emperor Claudius in Rome, by Thomas Banks, 1774-1777, marble - Stowe House - Buckinghamshire, England. [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius, translated by Robert Graves and edited by James B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007.

The Horrible Life Of Emperor Claudius’ Daughter, Octavia

While many people may believe that the family of an ancient Roman Emperor would live in luxury and peace, the truth was quite often the opposite. This was especially true for the famous Julio-Claudian Dynasty, to which Julius Caesar and the first five emperors of the Roman Empire belonged. One particular woman in that family realized just how far good fortune could fall. She learned this sad lesson as she watched her entire family succumb to suspicious or violent deaths before she, too, faced execution.

Octavia was the daughter of Emperor Claudius (r. 41-54) and his third wife, Messalina. Based on the ages and dates reported by the historian, Tacitus (c. 56-117+), Octavia would have been born around the year, 45. Claudius and Messalina also had a son named Britannicus, who was born about four years before Octavia.

The tragedy in Octavia’s life began around the year 48, when her mother, Messalina, was executed after being accused of a very public, and very treasonous, affair. Emperor Claudius only waited a year after killing the mother of his children before he decided to remarry. In the year 49, he married his own niece, Agrippina the Younger. When Agrippina entered the imperial household as Claudius’ fourth wife, she brought along with her a son, named Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbas, who was born from a previous marriage. Emperor Claudius quickly adopted the boy and gave him the much more memorable name of Nero.

In the year 53, when Octavia was only about eight years old, her father and stepmother arranged for her to marry Nero, who was sixteen at the time. During their approximate nine years of marriage, neither party found the arrangement enjoyable and no children were ever born from their union. Not long after her marriage, tragedy struck Octavia again. In the year 54, Emperor Claudius died a suspicious death. The ancient historians almost all unanimously accused Agrippina the Younger of causing the death by poisoning the emperor. Sadly, before she was even ten years old, young Octavia had lost both of her parents.

Due to Agrippina’s diligence and diplomatic skill, Nero was proclaimed emperor instead of Claudius’ son, Britannicus. Unfortunately, the new emperor still considered his stepbrother to be a threat. In the year 55, when Octavia was ten, Nero had her fourteen-year-old brother poisoned at a feast. Nero’s own mother, Agrippina, allegedly thought that the crime was appalling and she surprisingly became one of Octavia’s most powerful supporters. Yet, the relationship between the domineering Agrippina and the rebellious Nero continued to deteriorate until the year 59, when the emperor had his own mother assassinated.

As stated earlier, Octavia and Nero never had any chemistry between them, and this undoubtedly worsened when Nero killed Octavia’s brother. As a result, Nero was prone to having affairs—one of these extramarital relationships tragically proved fatal for Octavia. In the year 62, when she was twenty, Nero divorced Octavia in order to marry another woman, Poppaea Sabina. According to Tacitus, Nero first claimed that the divorce happened because Octavia was unable to have children, yet he later paradoxically accused her of having an abortion. Finally, Nero had his friend, Anicetus, confess to having an affair with Octavia. After delivering the confession, Anicetus was allegedly given rewards and a lavish place to retire. After Nero and Poppaea Sabina accused Octavia of having additional affairs, she was exiled to the island of Pandateria.

Not long after her arrival on the island, assassins were sent to claim Octavia’s life. Tacitus wrote a vivid and likely dramatized account of her death. He alleged that the assassins sliced at her with blades, hoping she would bleed to death. When she persisted in living, Octavia was thrown into a bath to speed up the blood flow. The Assassins apparently became impatient, though, and ultimately drowned her in the water. After the deed was done they reportedly removed Octavia’s head so that Poppaea Sabina would have proof that Nero’s former wife was dead.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Photograph of a Roman-Style bust from the Historian's Hut archives, atop a Public Domain scene of ancient Rome painted by J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851)).

Sources:

• The Annals of Imperial Rome by Tacitus, translated by Michael Grant. New York: Penguin Classics, 1996. 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nero-Roman-emperor 
•   https://www.britannica.com/biography/Julia-Agrippina 
• https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/nero

The Omens Reported To Have Occurred Before The Assassination Of Emperor Claudius

Nearly all of the ancient sources agreed that Emperor Claudius died on October 13, in the year 54. The exact method of death and the number of accomplices in the conspiracy varied from source to source, but the emperor’s wife, Agrippina the Younger, was usually the prime suspect and poison was almost always proposed as her weapon of choice. According to the Roman historian and statesman, Tacitus (c. 56-117), there may have been several signs that could have alerted Claudius to the impending danger—there was allegedly a significant uptick in bizarre anomalies and omens leading up to the emperor’s assassination.

It is vague if Claudius would have listened to any such omens. On the one hand, he was said to have set up a board of soothsayers in the year 47, or at least put pressure on the Senate to make sure soothsayers were given monetary support. Imperial backing for divination, however, wavered in the year 52, when Lucius Arruntius Furius Scribonianus was exiled after allegedly contracting with astrologers to predict the emperor’s death. In the aftermath of the trial, the Senate imposed a decree that attempted to ban all astrologers from operating in Italy.

Despite the recent decree against astrology, Romans apparently continued to take note of the omens that they saw. Tacitus, like other Roman and Greek historians before and after him, decided to record these omens in his account of Claudius’ reign in the text, The Annals of Imperial Rome. Without further ado, here are the bizarre omens allegedly witnessed by ancient historians that foreshadowed the death of Emperor Claudius:

• A mysterious fire set several military tents and standards ablaze. The inferno, however, was no ordinary fire. The flames were said to have fallen from the sky. 
• A swarm of bees set up their hive in the Capitoline temple. 
• Among the livestock of Rome, a pig was born with the claws of a hawk. 
• Human births were also recorded as omens—some newborns reportedly had bodies that appeared to be half beast. 
• Finally, Tacitus claimed that virtually every government office in Rome suffered a death in the space of a few months. These suspicious deaths supposedly affected the offices of quaestor, aedile, tribune, praetor and consul. After not heeding the omens, the emperor, too, followed these other officials to the realm of the dead.

 

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Modified image based on a 1st century portrait/bust of Roman Emperor Claudius (r. 41-54), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Annals of Imperial Rome (Chapter 10) by Tacitus, translated by Michael Grant. New York: Penguin Classics, 1996.

 

Emperor Claudius’ Chaotic And Bloody Grand Opening At A Waterway Near Fucine Lake

According to the historians Tacitus (c. 56-117) and Suetonius (c. 69-122), Emperor Claudius completed a series of canals and tunnels in the year 52 that connected Fucine Lake, in central Italy, to the Liris River. Before the construction was complete, workers frustratingly had to drill through a mountainside on one stretch of the journey. When the project was deemed ready to be officially opened, Emperor Claudius decided to celebrate the event with one of ancient Rome’s favorite spectacles—gladiatorial games. Yet, he did not want a mere skirmish in an arena. No, he wanted the kind of extravaganza worthy of a Roman emperor. With this in mind, Claudius followed the example of some of his famed predecessors and devised a plan to showcase a magnificent sea battle, in which he would pit thousands of ship-bound gladiators against each other.

The historian, Tacitus, claimed that 19,000 gladiators and criminals were gathered on Fucine Lake to fulfill Emperor Claudius’ dream. These fighters, some dressed as Sicilians and others as Rhodesians, were crowded onto warships to reenact a naval battle from Greek history. To ensure that no one fled, Claudius posted his own soldiers on rafts, making a ring around the fluid battle scene. In addition to this, the emperor also allegedly set up numerous siege engines, such as catapults, which were used to fling heavy projectiles at the sailing gladiators. Roman citizens poured in from all over Italy, eager to see the show. Tacitus wrote that countless spectators jostled over the best spots on the hills and beaches by the lake.

Under the eyes of the emperor and the masses, the ring of soldiers pressured the fighters into action. Although it was a staged battle, the violence was not an act—Claudius let the blood flow. The mock-Sicilian and mock-Rhodesian fleets engaged in battle on Fucine Lake, all the time having to worry about random shots from the emperor’s catapults. After the battle had stained the lake red with spilled blood, Claudius concluded the event, sparing the fighters who had managed to stay alive. With the gruesome performance over, the emperor officially opened up the waterway.

Interestingly, according to Tacitus’ account, the story did not end there. Apparently, the waterway was not dug adequately deep. Therefore, the outlet built into the lake was dammed and the laborers went back to work on the canals. When the project was finally complete, Emperor Claudius allegedly decided to showcase a second gladiatorial battle on Fucine Lake. This time, the emperor had gladiators fight an infantry battle on a huge stage of sturdy pontoons. As had previously occurred, another massive crowd supposedly came out to see the show, this time setting up banquets for themselves on the lake’s shoreline. Unfortunately, Tacitus claimed that when the outlet was reopened, water from the lake began to surge toward the recently deepened canal with unexpected strength. Waves crashed against the shoreline, startling the spectators, as the forceful currents were pulled toward the waterway. Tacitus did not mention any deaths from this event, but he did note a prevalent atmosphere of shock and terror.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (The naumachia (Naval battle between Romans). Oil on canvas, 125.6 x 200.5 cm. This work was presented at the National Society of Fine Arts in Paris, 1894. [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Annals of Imperial Rome by Tacitus, translated by Michael Grant. New York: Penguin Classics, 1996. 
• http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Claudius*.html 
• https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2017/09-10/roman-mock-naval-sea-battles-naumachia/  

The Terrible Love Life And Incestuous Marriages Of Emperor Claudius

Claudius, born around 10 BCE and ruler of the Roman Empire from 41-54 CE, had an unlucky, scandalous and, eventually, deadly love life. Difficult relationships were just another burden faced by the ill-fated emperor. Almost every ancient source claimed that Claudius suffered from significant health ailments, causing noticeable symptoms such as limping, tremors and foaming at the mouth. While many quick-judging people thought that a dull mind was another result of his illness, Claudius actually exhibited an astute intellect, becoming an accomplished historian and a competent, even ruthless, administrator. Regardless of this, Claudius was undeniably luckless with women.

Claudius, according to the ancients, was unsuccessfully betrothed to at least two women and later married four times. Little is known about the two betrothals, yet one of these women supposedly died on the day of the wedding because of some form of illness. The wedding with his other bride-to-be was called off after her family was swept into disgrace by the tides of politics. Next, Claudius successfully married a woman named Urgulanilla, but that marriage ended after she was charged with adultery and, possibly, even murder. Claudius’ second bride was Aelia Paetina, but, as happened in the earlier betrothal, they divorced for political reasons.

The final two wives of Emperor Claudius were particularly scandalous. Before ascending to the throne in the year 41, Claudius had taken Valeria Messalina as his third wife. The two were technically cousins—Augustus’ sister, Octavia, was both Claudius’ grandmother and Messalina’s great-grandmother. Despite this, they had a fruitful marriage, producing two children, Britannicus and Octavia. Yet, Messalina was also prone to extramarital affairs. In the year 48, Messalina became so enthralled with a certain Gaius Silius (said to be the handsomest man in Rome) that she allegedly married him despite her preexisting marriage with the emperor. They were supposedly going to usurp power from Claudius and place Britannicus on the throne. Nevertheless, Emperor Claudius heard of the scandal and executed Messalina and Silius, along with anyone else who aided in the affair.

The next year he married Agrippina the Younger. This marriage was even more incestuous than the last—as the daughter of Claudius’ brother, Germanicus, Agrippina was the emperor’s niece. The idea of a man marrying his own niece was so uncommon in ancient Rome that Claudius allegedly had to have it legalized before he could legitimately marry Agrippina. Interestingly, this was not Agrippina’s first marriage; she was a widow with a son named Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. Around the year 50, Emperor Claudius adopted Agrippina’s son into the immediate royal family and gave him the infamous name of Nero. After securing her son’s position as heir to the empire, Agrippina was said to have assassinated Emperor Claudius, in the year 54, by feeding him poisonous mushrooms, clearing the way for Nero’s ascension to power.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (left—Messalina holding Britannicus, Marble, ca. 45 AD, center— 1st-century portrait of Roman Emperor Claudius, right—1st-century bust said to be of Agrippina the Younger, all [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Annals of Imperial Rome by Tacitus, translated by Michael Grant. New York: Penguin Classics, 1996. 
• http://www.history.com/news/8-things-you-may-not-know-about-emperor-claudius 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Claudius-Roman-emperor
• https://www.ancient.eu/claudius/