Emperor Claudius Research Articles

The Fathers of the Emperors Caligula and Claudius in Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars

The Fathers of the Emperors Caligula and Claudius in Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars

The Fathers of the Emperors Caligula and Claudius in Suetonius' <em>Lives of the Caesars</em>

The Fathers of the Emperors Caligula and Claudius in Suetonius' <em>Lives of the Caesars</em>

Primjer damnatio memoriae u Enoni: Kaligula / August

U radu se analizira kip cara Augusta iz Nina (Aenona) s ogrnutim plaštem i frizurom tipa Prima Porta u kontekstu teze o preklesavanju iz izvorno Kaligulina portreta. Neslužbenu osudu (de facto damnatio memoriae) nad Kaligulinim likom dopustio je car Klaudije, te je uslijedio proces odstranjivanja službenih prikaza i intenzivna prerada njegovih kipova u klesarskim radionicama. Primjer u Enoni potvrda je prihvaćanja senatskih sankcija nad nepoćudnom carskom osobom, kao i iskaz visokog stupnja lojalnosti prema prvom rimskom caru.

Neobjavljena stela veterana legije Sedma Claudia pia fidelis iz Sikula

Autor objavljuje stelu veterana legije Sedma Claudia pia fidelis pronađenu u Sikulima. Donosi restituciju natpisa, onomastičku analizu i interpretaciju u kontekstu ostalih epigrafskih potvrda legijskih veterana u Saloni tijekom 1. stoljeća i njihova naseljavanja u Sikulima u doba cara Klaudija (41. – 54.).

The Role of Lucius Vitellius in the Death of Messallina

AbstractThe role of Lucius Vitellius in the events leading to the death of Valeria Messallina, the third wife of the emperor Claudius, in autumn 48adis re-examined. It is argued that the freedman Narcissus delayed his action against Messallina for her dangerous affair with Gaius Silius until he could be sure of the tacit support of Vitellius, where Vitellius had been hoping for a practical opportunity to strike against Messallina ever since she had forced him to play a key part in the trial of his friend Valerius Asiaticus in late 47ad.

Saint Valentine: Patron of lovers and epilepsy

St. Valentine of Terni a third-century Roman saint was known as the patron saint of lovers. He had the reputation of healing the sick and is said to have restored the sight of Julia the daughter of Asterius his jailer. Valentine had been imprisoned for secretly marrying couples disobeying the edict of roman Emperor Claudius II. The edict forbade roman soldiers to marry for it was thought marriage would diminish their efficiency in the battlefield. Asterius converted to Christianity after his daughter was healed. Valentine and Asterius were beheaded by order of Emperor Claudius II. Before his execution on February 14, 271 AD. Valentine wrote a love letter to Julia signed “from your Valentine” giving rise to the celebration of St. Valentine's Day. But St. Valentine's role as the patron saint of epilepsy is less widely known, for epilepsy was defined as an incurable disease thought of as a supernatural event such as a curse or a possession by an evil spirit. Since there was no cure for epilepsy healing was only possible by divine intervention and saints were called upon to intercede for these patients. While Valentine is widely known as the patron of lovers, very few people know he also was helpful and beneficent to people with epilepsy in ancient times.

Counting Kings (Revelation 17:10): A novel approach from Roman imperial coinage

The identity of the seven kings in Revelation 17:9–10 has been a point of contention and confusion. The issue revolves around where to begin the count of Roman emperors who would correspond with the unnamed kings in Revelation. This article utilizes a special series of Roman imperial coins (called restoration coins) as evidence to identify the seven kings. The evidence suggests that the five kings “who have fallen” are the past emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius, Galba, and Vespasian. The “one who is” represents the current emperor Titus, and the other “who has not yet come” is the anticipated reign of Domitian.

Identification by Raman microspectroscopy of pigments in seated statues found in the Torreparedones Roman archaeological site (Baena, Spain)

In this work, Raman microspectroscopy and optical microscopy were for the first time used to examine pigments in Roman statues. The pigments were present in three statues found in the Torreparedones archaeological site, which is located in Baena (southern Spain). The statues represented a female, and the emperors Claudius and Augustus, all seated. The pigments comprised different hues and intensities of yellow, red and blue. As revealed by the Raman spectra, all yellow and red hues were from goethite (α-FeOOH) and hematite (α-Fe2O3), respectively. Some pigments additionally contained compounds such as calcium carbonate and sulphate, which were used in ancient times to enhance some colour hues, and calcium phosphate, a white pigment known as “bone white” and also used since ancient times but never previously found in mixtures with red. The blue pigment was invariably Egyptian blue and occasionally mixed with hematite to obtain purple hues.

Sanctioning Memory: Changing Identity - Using 3D laser scanning to identify two 'new' portraits of the Emperor Nero in English antiquarian collections

Using 3D laser scanning, two badly damaged and heavily restored Roman portraits from English country house collections are here identified as originally being representations of the Emperor Nero. The first portrait, from Petworth House, is of Nero at the time of his formal adoption as heir by the Emperor Claudius in AD51, while the second, from Wilton House, represents a new intermediate portrait type of the fifth emperor, marking his transition from traditional Julio-Claudian prince to more flamboyant princeps, made between AD54 and 59. Given that few replicas of Nero exist in anything like their complete state, following the memory sanctions that followed his death in AD68, any 'new' discovery represents a significant find, to be analysed and cross-compared with established portraits. This article further assesses the importance of recording head dislocation and mutilation in images of Nero while the dangers of over restoration in classical portraiture, in which original identity can be obscured, are also considered.

Rimska komunikacija Leusinium-Sallunto-Anderba

This paper presents the data about the Roman road communication Leusinium-Sallunto-Anderba (the present-day village of Panik - the city of Nikšić) with the settlements along the route. From the road station Ad Zizio (the present-day village of Mosko or Ukšići at the village of Ljubomir) the road led east to the road station Leusinium (Panik, near the city of Bileća), then over the road station Sallunto (the village of Riječani - east of Bileća, on the road to Nikšić). From the road station Leusinium, one branch of the road led east to the former Roman castrum Anderba, and another branch led north to the interior of the province of Dalmatia, via the present-day city of Gacko, towards the region of Podrinje. The archaeological finds (the remnants of a Roman settlement, road, fragments of milestones) from the sites in Panik, Riječani and Nikšić (the southern part of the province of Dalmatia) indicate that his area was, relatively early, connected with the network of Roman road communication. The importance of this branch of the road is testified by the fragments of milestones with inscriptions found in situ. There is no distinctive inscription that could ensure the precise dating of the Leusinium-Sallunto-Anderba road communication. In addition, no other sources give the details of its construction. It is believed that the Prefect of Dalmatia (14-20 AD), Publius Cornelius Dolabella, started to build the Leusinium-Sallunto-Anderba road route along which stood the above-mentioned road stations, and that it was completed during the reign of the Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD). Additional reconstructions of this road were most probably conducted in the 3rd and the 4th century, which is testified by the inscriptions mentioned, discovered in the area of Riječani (Nikšić) and Panik (Bileća). We can see that, in narrative and cartographic sources, there is frequently a discrepancy in the data on the road stations and the distance between them. The discrepancy between the information obtained from the historical sources and the finds in archaeological sites has generated a myriad of diverse opinions on these questions.

De Officio Praesidis – On the Service of the Administrator of a Province, With Special Emphasis on Judicial Activity / De Officio Praesidis - o službi upravnika provincije, sa posebnim osvrtom na sudbenu djelatnost

Preserved terminational or border- writings from the area of today’s Bosnia and Herzegovina, point towards the judicial role of the administrator of the province in disputes about the borders of land, belonging to particular tribes and they most certainly represent a valuable source in tracing the topographical distribution of certain tribes, but also point towards the type of organisation and execution of judicial power in the provinces. Thus, from the writings on bedrock near the village of Vaganj (the municipality of Šipovo, near Jajce), we learn that the governor of the Dalmatia province, Lucius Camillus Scribonianus, during the reign of Emperor Claudius, authorised the centurion of the VII legion to mark the borders of the Sapuat and Lamatin tribes, which he did. The writings begin with the name of the governor of the province, so the judicial ruling was always made at his order or decree (ex decreto, ex iussu, ex sententialetc), according to Roman jurist Callistratus. Justinian’s Digesta in the first volume and XVIII titulus with 21 fragment and 11 paragraphs, based on the fragments from the works of some of the most significant Roman jurists: Ulpian, Paulus, Julius, Modestinus, Papinianus and others, along with other officials, also regulate the responsibilities of the governor of the province. The paper was based on the Latin text Corpus IurisCivilis, vol.1, 1st edition, 1872, edited by Theodorus Mommsen and XI edition, edited by Paulus Krueger, based on the Liber Florentinus and the translation into the Serbian language by AntunMalenica, PhD.

Show Me the Way to Go Home: A Reconsideration of Seneca’s De Consolatione ad Polybium

Seneca’s De Consolatione ad Polybium is firmly grounded in an underappreciated Stoic theoretical framework. Writing from exile on Corsica, Seneca deliberately uses Stoic language as one of many complex interweaving strategies to offer consolation to the imperial freedman Polybius on the death of his brother, specifically through the text’s portrait of the emperor Claudius. Instead of demonstrating or undermining Seneca’s sincerity, the ad Polybium offers us an insight into the strategies an elite writer might use to engage with the emperor and the power politics behind their relationship.

Emperor Claudius' neuropsychiatric presentation: from tics to behavioral symptoms.

Emperor Claudius' neuropsychiatric presentation: from tics to behavioral symptoms.

Moartea unui împărat roman: despre cazul lui Claudius / The death of a Roman Emperor: The case of Claudius

This article discusses the death of the Roman emperor Claudius, which occurred at the ides of October 54 A. D. The testimonies of ancient authors about this episode are being analyzed, the conclusions of contemporary scholars based on those written records are being presented and probably, the most interesting part of this research rests in the displaying and discussing of the opinions and approaches of medical specialists, to which this case is also of interest.

When in Rome, Do Like the Romans: Certifying Stroke Centers With the Rod of Aesculapius or the Medical Caduceus of Hermes?

One of the first hospitals in the Western world was the Aesculapium which was built in Rome along the Tiber Island in 293 bc and included a long-term recovery center. When the emperor Claudius granted freedom to slaves who had been there for years, it was probably aimed more at disposition of the

The Historian’s Silences: What Livy Did Not Know—Or Chose Not to Tell

AbstractThe fragments of Livy’s annalistic predecessors may be meagre, but they allow us to detect variant traditions which he does not include. Polybios, Tacitus and the emperor Claudius also record such variants on early Roman history. The same is true of the antiquarians Varro, Cincius, Verrius Flaccus, Gellius and Festus. These variants are examined to suggest what Livy might have rejected and why.

A case of mistaken identity? Laser-scanning the bronze “Claudius” from near Saxmundham

The lifesize bronze head of a male (fig. 1) in the Weston Gallery of the British Museum is one of the most iconic artefacts of Roman Britain. Widely interpreted as a portrait of the emperor Claudius forcibly removed from a statue in or near the temple of Claudius at Colchester by British insurgents during the Boudiccan Revolt of A.D. 60/61, it has never been reported upon in detail,1 and there has recently been some dispute as to both its identity and its significance.2 In an attempt to produce an accurate record of the head whilst simultaneously addressing issues surrounding its identity, the nature of its decapitation and subsequent disposal, the artefact was subjected to a three-dimensional laser scan, the results of which are discussed here.

El <i>Templum Divi Claudii</i>. Decoración y elementos arquitectónicos para su reconstrucción

To date, little data of the Templum Divi Claudii has been available. It was dedicated by Agrippina to her deified dead husband. Nothing but a schematic drawing of the FUR of the temple, done in the 16th century, as well as a few fragments of the same marble floor, belonging to the temenos . However, thanks to the discovery of some decorative architectural elements of the temple, we can finally make a volumetric reconstruction of the monument and find out how its construction fully followed the gigantic architectural tradition started by Augustus with the temple of Mars Ultor . Its measurements, virtually identical to those of this temple, also offer the possibility of linking the emperors Claudius and Vespasian, the restorer of the Claudianum , to Augustus.

Zgodovinsko ozadje Seneki pripisane Oktavije

Najverjetneje v prvih letih Vespazijanovega vladanja je nastalo dramsko delo z naslovom Oktavija neznanega avtorja. Delo prikazuje žalostno usodo Neronove prve žene Oktavije, ki so jo kot trinajstletno deklico poročili z bodočim cesarjem, ta pa jo je po devetih letih nesrečnega zakona najprej izgnal in jo dal kmalu zatem usmrtiti. Prispevek obravnava zgodovinsko ozadje dramskega dogajanja in s tem namenom kratko predstavlja poglavitne dogodke, ki so vodili v tragično smrt Neronove prve žene. Kot glavni mejniki obravnavanega dogajanja so izpostavljeni: Agripinina poroka s cesarjem Klavdijem, Oktavijina poroka z Neronom in Neronova poroka s Popejo Sabino, ob tem pa tudi usmrtitve najožjih članov Neronove družine: Klavdija, Britanika, Agripine, Oktavije in na koncu Popeje Sabine.

Late Holocene palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Roman harbour of Portus, Italy

We used two sediment cores from the ancient harbour of Rome (Italy) for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. The imperial harbour of Rome and its town, Portus, were constructed in the Tiber Delta area. Today, they are ~3 km from the coast, close to Leonardo da Vinci International Airport. The port was excavated during the reign of Emperor Claudius, inaugurated by Nero in 64 AD, and substantially enlarged under Emperor Trajan. This paper focuses on analyses of ostracods in sediment cores from the harbour and provides insights into the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the harbour water bodies. Pollen data complement this ostracod-based reconstruction, providing information about the vegetation around the port. One core (PTS13) was taken from the dock area (darsena) excavated at the time of Claudius. The second core (PTS5) was collected from the Trasverso Channel (Canale Trasverso), excavated after the port inauguration and later dredged during the fourth century AD because it had filled in with silt. Radiocarbon, archaeological and pollen data indicate the two cores overlap in time slightly, or perhaps not at all, the core from the dock site (PTS13) containing the older record. Ostracods recovered from the two sites represent very different aquatic environments, driven in one case by the Tiber River input and in the other by “marine” harbour waters. Parallel study of ostracods and pollen in the cores reveals the impact of harbour management activities, which are linked to ship hull maintenance, as well as erosion and siltation in this coastal setting.