WAC: Roman Emperor Claudius

     On 1 August 10, B.C. I was born in Lugdunum and was adopted soon after by my uncle, Tiberius. When Tiberius became emperor in A.D 14, he started to act as if he was ashamed of me. You see, I was born with defects that caused me to limp, drool, stutter, and constantly get sick. To avoid being a public embarrassment, I spent my entire childhood in seclusion. In these lonely years, I spent my time reading various books and learning new things.

     I guess you could say that my fortunes somewhat changed when my unstable nephew, Gaius, became emperor in A.D. 37. One afternoon in January 41 A.D. Gaius invited me to the theater with him so I went thinking it would be enjoyable. Shortly before lunch time, we were walking down the isolated palace corridor when a bunch of people jumped out and surrounded Gaius. When they pulled out their weapons and murdered him I ran to hide behind a nearby curtain. It was the scariest thing I had ever seen, and became known as the first open murder of a Roman Emperor.

     When the guardsmen found me I didn't know whether to run or remain where I was. The next thing I know, they were declaring me the new emperor of Rome and sending me off to various camps. It was never my intention to be an emperor but I had no choice. At first, I was completely against the whole thing and even tried escaping from the camps. As the new emperor of Rome, my first act was the execution of Gaius's assassins.

     Many people say that my reign was a mixture of both failures and successes. I believe that I was one of the best emperors that Rome ever had. When I was emperor, Rome succeeded in conquering Britain which was one of my greatest accomplishments. I remember always being present at court cases and helping them reach a verdict. Most people would get mad when I would make my rulings but I was always right when it came to those kinds of things.

     The years I was married to Agrippina were long, hard, and difficult for me. I regret not staying with my first wife, Valeria Messalina. When Agrippina grew bored with me, she decided it was time for our son, Nero, to become emperor. One afternoon I was poisoned when she fed me a treated mushroom with my lunch. On 13 October, 54  A.D. right after I died,  Nero became the new emperor of Rome and replaced me.