Roman Britain - Emperor Claudius

1. Claudius was born in Gaul in 100 BC, into the Roman Imperial family.

2. Claudius had many disabilities including a limp and a speech problem.

3. His family were not very kind to him and he was not considered to be fit to be an Emperor.

4. In AD 41, when Caligula died, Claudius was made Emperor.

5. The senate were not happy with his appointment and Emperor Claudius was unpopular.

6. Despite not being a good military leader, Claudius was the Emperor who conquered Britain in AD 43.

7. When he invaded, he brought elephants with him, to frighten the natives.

8. Emperor Claudius visited Britain for sixteen days

9. Claudius captured Colchester, the capital of the new province, before returning to Rome in triumph

10. Claudius knew he was unpopular and favoured the guard and the soldiers so they would support him

11. Claudius introduced a system where soldiers could quickly get promotion

12. Soldiers who retired after twenty-five years were given Roman citizenship and got a pension, a house and some land

13. Claudius allowed people not been born in Italy to become senators, which caused the senate to dislike him even more

14. Claudius married four times and had two children, Britannicus and Octavia

15. Claudius’s last wife, Agrippina, probably had something to do with his death

16. Agippina thought Claudius would make his son Britannicus his heir rather than her own son Nero

17. Claudius was poisoned in AD 54 and Nero became the next Emperor.