Rome 41-54 CE
As Æ 29mm, 9,24g
August 1
Claudius born to Drusus and Antonia Minor.
Drusus, the father of Claudius and Germanicus, dies in Germania after falling off a horse.
Livy hired to tutor Claudius in history.
The Arch of Pavia is erected to honor the Imperial family. While Germanicus is present, Claudius is on the edge and may have been inscribed by himself later.
Claudius is engaged to Furia Livia Medullina Camilla, but she dies on their wedding day.
Claudius marries Plautia Urgulanilla, the granddaughter of his grandmother Livia‘s close friend Urgulania.
Claudius appeals to his uncle Tiberius for public office, but is rebuffed.
Claudius divorces Urgulanilla on suspicion of adultery and murder of her sister-in-law. She gives birth after the divorce but Claudius repudiates the baby.
Claudius marries Aelia Paetina, perhaps the daughter of Sejanus.
October
Claudius divorces Aelia Paetina after Sejanus is executed.
March 16
Death of Tiberius. Caligula becomes emperor. Claudius is elevated to the position of consul, serving as a nominal co-ruler in some ceremonies.
Claudius marries Valeria Messalina
January 24
Caligula is assassinated in a conspiracy. Claudius attempts to hide but is found and taken to a Praetorian camp where he is soon hailed as Emperor.
February 12
Birth of son Britannicus to Claudius and Valeria Messalina.
Claudius launches the Roman invasion of Britain. The campaign, led by Aulus Plautius, results in the capture of Camulodunum (modern Colchester). Claudius himself visits Britain briefly to oversee the victory, becoming the first Roman emperor to set foot on the island.
Amastris is included in the Roman province of Bithynia et Pontus during the reign of Emperor Claudius.
Claudius celebrates a triumph in Rome for the conquest of Britain. The conquest is widely celebrated, and he is given the honorific title Britannicus, which he later bestows on his son.
Claudius obtains the office of censor and strikes out many names in the Senate who don’t qualify.
Claudius’s wife, Empress Messalina, is discovered plotting against him with her lover, Gaius Silius. She is executed for her involvement in the conspiracy.
Claudius’s wife Messalina marries her lover Gaius Silius in a public ceremony. Claudius executes her.
Claudius marries his niece, Agrippina the Younger, in a controversial union. Agrippina’s influence grows quickly at court, and she promotes her son, Nero, over Claudius’s own son, Britannicus.
Claudius adopts Agrippina’s son, Nero, as his heir, effectively sidelining his biological son, Britannicus.
Claudius finishes the Aqua Claudia and Aqua Anio Novus aqueducts in Rome.
October 13
Claudius dies, possibly poisoned by his wife, Agrippina, using a dish of mushrooms. His death is widely believed to have been orchestrated by Agrippina to ensure her son Nero’s succession.