Claudius Rises to Power
Claudius the First was born in Lugdunum on August
1, 10 BC. He had congenital defects at birth and was regarded as stupid
and worthless. However, he was quite intelligent; in fact, he was the most
learned member of the Julio Claudians. He wrote many literary pieces, though
none of them survive today. He could read, comprehend, and analyze very
well. The only person in his family that recognized his talents was Augustus,
but even he treated Claudius with disrespect. Claudius also drank too much.
All of his other relatives were stable, normal and very capable of ruling.
Competitors of the thrown felt threatened and killed all of Claudius's relatives.
Therefore, he was the only one left living in his family, because he was
considered harmless and not able to rule. Since he was the only living member
of his family he became emperor. A praetorian guard found him hiding and
with the support of the military hailed him, as emperor. He didn't want
to become emperor, but once he was, in 37 AD, he restored order to the mess
he inherited, much to the surprise of the public. The military nominated
Claudius as the emperor against the will of the senate because of Claudius's
kindness and therefore Claudius rewarded them greatly and they had a good
relationship from then on.