Claudius Caesar: The Forgotten Emperor
This is a paper written for CLA368: Augustus and the Julio Claudians
The boy born into the ruling dynasty of the Roman Empire on the first of August, 10 BCE, was given the typical family name: Tiberius Claudius Nero. The young boy, growing up in the most powerful family in the world, was destined for greatness and a considerable role in the military and government of the multinational Empire that he called home. However, at a young age, the prince was found to be wholly incapable of his destiny by the standards of his family, for it was discovered that he had a limp, and a stutter. It would have been easy for history to swallow the heir of the Romans into obscurity, and it would have been easy for the world today to not know his name and story. Today, his life is relatively well known, and his image is rehabilitated. In the ancient world, however, he is not looked upon fondly. The family that he was born into was the first dynasty that ruled the Roman Empire: the Julio-Claudians, established by Augustus himself. The names of the boys born into this family are quite hard to keep track of, with nicknames taken up by modern and ancient historians alike. This particular Tiberius Claudius Nero is remembered by just his second name: he is known to history as Claudius, Emperor of the Romans.
