Claudius

Barbara Levick

Routledge, May 8, 2015 - History - 310 pages

Claudius became emperor after the assassination of Caligula, and was deified by his successor Nero in AD 54. Opinions of him have varied greatly over succeeding centuries, but he has mostly been caricatured as a reluctant emperor, hampered by a speech impediment, who preferred reading to ruling.

Barbara Levick's authoritative study reassesses the reign of Claudius, examining his political objectives and activities within the constitutional, political, social and economic development of Rome. Out of Levick's critical scrutiny of the literary, archaeological and epigraphic sources emerges a different Claudius - an intelligent politician, ruthlessly determined to secure his position as ruler.

Now updated to take account of recent scholarship, Claudius remains essential reading for students and historians of the early Roman Empire.

Contents

• 1 Principate and dynasty: 1
• 2 Education: 11
• 3 Unfit for a public career?: 24
• 4 Accession: 33
• 5 Princeps and Imperator: 47
• Messalina: 60
• 7 The dominance of Agrippina: 78
• 8 Imperial policies?: 94
• Claudius and the aristocracy: 109
• 10 The people of Rome and Italy: 122
• 11 Legislation justice and society: 136
• 12 Finance: 150
• 13 Claudius invasion of Britain: 162
• 14 Warfare on three continents: 178
• 15 Claudius and his provincial subjects: 193
• Claudius in literature and history: 222
• Bibliography of ancient texts: 235
• Bibliography: 236
• Index: 246

About the author

Barbara Levick is Fellow and Tutor Emeritus, St. Hilda’s College, Oxford. She has published extensively on Roman history, with titles including Tiberius the Politician (Routledge, 1999), Vespasian (Routledge, 1999), The Government of the Roman Empire, second edition (Routledge, 2001), Julia Domna: Syrian Empress (Routledge, 2007), Augustus: Image and Substance (2010) and Imperial Women of the Golden Age: Faustina I and II (2014).

Bibliographic information

• Title: Claudius; Roman Imperial Biographies
• Author: Barbara Levick
• Edition: 2, revised
• Publisher: Routledge, 2015
• ISBN: 131752909X, 9781317529095
• Length: 310 pages
• Subjects: History / Ancient / General