We could garner all we need to know about Claudius from the sensationalism of Suetonius and revisionism of Robert Graves, but giving Claudius and his principate context and shape rather than just being an enigma is a different matter.
O.'s volume is in good company as Claudius has attracted select but thoughtful scholarship. T. Decoursey Ruth's The Problem of Claudius: Some Aspects of a Character Study (1916) homed in on Claudius' physical and mental attributes and set the tenor of much of what was to follow. A. Momigliano's exceptional examination of Claudius' policy of centralisation in Claudius, the Emperor and his Achievement (rev. ed. 1961) redressed the balance while B. Levick's Claudius (1990) is an ambitious analysis of Claudius as man and boy. These two expositions sandwiched V.M. Scramuzza's rather more pedestrian The Emperor Claudius (1940). The excellent commentaries of D.W. Hurley, Suetonius: Divus Claudius (2000) and P.T. Eden, Seneca: Apocolocyntosis (1984) provide a deep reading of their respective texts but were never intended to be a complete rendering of Claudius. O.'s political biography argues cogently that the principate stabilised and evolved under Claudius, and shows how Claudius tried to reconcile his Claudian ancestry with the Augustan imperial house.
The title of the introduction, ‘The Problem with Claudius’, may echo Decoursey Ruth's analysis of Claudius' character, but it is really more akin to H. Lehmann's Claudius und seine Zeit (1877) because it veers away from the thorny prospect of making sense of Claudius' personality. O. states three aims: to recount Claudius' principate using chronological narrative not only to ‘explore the interrelationship of events’ but also to investigate the public perception of the princeps, and ‘this emphasis on image is a key divergence from Levick's Claudius’ (p. 27); to use Claudius as a model to reflect on the role of emperor and challenge Millar's notion of the ‘passive’ ruler; to consider the evolution of imperial government in the wake of Caligula's assassination.
The first chapter considers the legitimation of Claudius as princeps, and demonstrates how Claudius assimilated a court and a ready-made household. Although he appointed men who knew how the administration worked, Claudius was not averse to removing those he saw as a threat, such as Silanus (p. 43). O. rightly devotes energy to the causes and outcome of the revolt in Dalmatia a.d. 42, which is a significant test case for the survival of the new principate. ‘A Statue in Silver’ investigates one of the key aspects of the book, the image of the princeps and subsequent dialogue between ruler and subject. Claudius carefully selected veristic portraits and iconography to convey an image of solidity (constantia) in order to set himself apart from Caligula. The ‘Letter to the Alexandrians’ is advanced as important evidence because Claudius accepted honours as the ‘full successor of Augustus’, at least in the eyes of the Alexandrians.
For a meaningful emperor–subject dialogue sometimes a more personal touch was necessary and ‘Imperial Favours’ shows how the use of patronage allowed Claudius to confirm privileges to guilds or individuals in return for affirmation of the emperor's position. This mutually beneficial exchange was how the new emperor secured his status and glued the empire together after the assassination in a.d. 41 (p. 73).
‘Subduing the Ocean’ determines Claudius' invasion of Britain as a proactive policy to gain personal military prestige and honours, while additionally illuminating the Imperial house. O. argues for the existence of an altar celebrating Claudius' return from Britain, a permanent thanksgiving that mirrored ‘the relationships of the victory arch to the triumph’ (p. 96), and like Augustus Claudius presided over military expansion of the empire while showing clemency to the vanquished. O. surmises that the positive effect of this policy in the provinces is demonstrated by the statuary of Claudius at Aphrodisias.
Claudius actively managed the borders of the empire, ‘Lists of Peoples and Places’, where imposing government to collect taxes was a necessary component but upgrading the infrastructure would be ‘a dramatic symbol of Roman authority imposed upon the landscape’. The annexations of Lycia, Thrace and Judea, the establishing of colonies and the use of friendly kings to control difficult border regions are examples of Claudius actively shaping the security of the empire. Expansion into ‘unknown lands’ would assimilate any threat to the limes and result in peace and prosperity, but this manoeuvre required the guiding hand of the princeps. ‘Caesar-Lovers’ investigates how provincials articulated the emperor's power through cult and statues, and the thesis that Claudius acted to serve communal needs not personal whims, and maybe did not need to feel the love of his subjects but rather their loyalty, is attractive (p. 146).
‘The Eight-hundredth Year of Rome’ concerns the anniversary year a.d. 47 and the secular games, and highlights Claudius' censorship and his famous speech to the Senate. O. concludes that Claudius failed to make a convincing case to admit the Long-Haired Gauls and that Tacitus' version is more eloquent. I would take issue with the assertion that Claudius lacked rhetorical training and this deficiency exposed him to criticism from the Senate which meant he was unsuited to the task of princeps. There is a danger here of leaning towards ‘The Problem of Claudius’ trap O. wanted to avoid, and it is not wholly convincing. ‘The Practical Pyramids’ surveys the building programme of aqueducts, the new harbour at Ostia, the new roads and draining of the Fucine Lake, and adds more weight to the proactive Claudian government theory being offered by O.
‘The Burden of Government’ builds on the previous chapters to show how the management of the empire was put in the hands of officials on the ground in the provinces. Conversely, it also argues that in Rome the increasing use of freedmen and amicitia laid Claudius open to accusations of cronyism and the marginalisation of the Senate as political power shifted to the palace. However, there were problems because a single man could only do so much, his power in the provinces was qualified, and the lack of supervision of equestrians and freedmen in Rome meant ‘the system’ could be corrupted, and so Claudius became increasingly isolated (pp. 203–4). ‘The Judgement of Pallas’ deals with Claudius' marriages to Messalina and Agrippina the Younger and considers the fierce treatment of the women in the sources. Chapter 11, ‘Signalling Retreat?’, focusses on the adoption of Nero in a.d. 50 and a new policy of avoiding expensive foreign conflict, coupled with tighter fiscal planning pointing to rigorous planning for the future.
‘The Golden Predicament’ explores Claudius' legacy after a.d. 54, and his portrayal as either monster or god. O. concludes that Claudius succeeded in stabilising his political position on accession with limited resources and physical disabilities and left a positive mark on the empire – and the Flavians would follow in his footsteps. But the weakness at the heart of the principate was an inability for Claudius' rule to be transparent and just and to eradicate corruption. O. highlights the ongoing tension within the principate of a military monarchy sat side-by-side with the ‘ideology of a civilian leader’ (p. 259), and any wrestling for power between the princeps and the Senate was always going to end badly for the latter, with long-term penalties for Claudius' image. The emperor would hog the limelight, the military gloria and the spoils, while everyone else had to indulge in an undignified scuffle for the scraps off his table.
O. has pulled off a very difficult trick here because ‘Claudius’ is a difficult subject to pin down, and controlling the multiplicity of sources required to meet the aims of the book requires great dexterity. Working within a set of clearly defined limits has resulted in an in-depth study that, ironically, has allowed us to see something of Claudius ‘the man’, and I, for one, am pleased about that. O.'s book makes us reflect on the evidence, challenges orthodoxy while acknowledging previous scholarship and offers a coherent thesis on how significant Claudius Caesar was to the principate. The book has excellent notes, an extensive bibliography and selected illustrations, and will be of real value to those working on the early first century. This is an outstanding imperial biography.
