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Avezzano

Avezzano

Avezzano is a town and comune in the Abruzzo region, Province of L'Aquila, 70 km east of Rome. It is the main commercial, industrial and agricultural centre of the Marsica area. with modern industries such as a huge Micron semi-conductor plant, and a Telespazio satellite groundstation.

History

There are two common etymologies for the name of the town: from "Ave Jane", an invocation to the Roman God Janus and from "Ad Vetianum" which means a "to the Vetia family", domiciled in the nearby town of Alba Fucens. The first settlements in this area began with the construction works for the lake's drainage ordered by Emperor Claudius in the first century A.D. In the XV century Avezzano was under Gentile Virgilio Orsini, who built the castle in 1490. Avezzano once lay on the shores of the largest lake in central Italy, Lake Fucino, drained in the late 19th century; after the draining of the Lake, thanks to the wide fields now available for cultivation the area underwent a terrific growth, but was completely destroyed by the possibly worst recorded earthquake in the history of Italy, on the early morning of January 13, 1915: only Casa dei Palazzi and a wing of Castle Orsini were spared. More than 12,000 people died. The town was then completely rebuilt along straight, parallel streets, with wide green areas and fine villas in the "Liberty" style. Category:Towns in Abruzzo

Comune

In Italy, the comune, (plural comuni) is the basic administrative unit of both provinces and regions, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.

Importance and function

The comune provides many of the basic civil functions: registry of births and deaths, registry of deeds, contracting for local roads and public works, etc. It is headed by a mayor (sindaco) assisted by a council of aldermen, the Consiglio Comunale. The offices of the comune, referred to as the Municipio, are housed in a building usually called the Palazzo Comunale. As of the 2001 census, there were 8,101 comuni in Italy; they vary considerably in area and population. For example, the comune of Rome (Lazio) has an area of 1,285.30 sq. km and a population of 2,546,804, and is both the largest and the most populated comune in Italy; Fiera di Primiero, in the province of Trento, is the smallest comune by area, with only 0.10 sq. km, and Morterone (province of Lecco) is the smallest by population, with only 33 inhabitants. The density of comuni varies widely by province and region: the province of Bari, for example, has 1,564,000 inhabitants in 48 municipalities, or over 32,000 inhabitants per municipality; whereas the Valle d'Aosta has 121,000 inhabitants in 74 municipalities, or 1,630 inhabitants per municipality — roughly twenty times more communal units per inhabitant. There are inefficiencies at both ends of the scale, and there is concern about optimizing the size of the comuni so they may best function in the modern world, but planners are hampered by the historical resonances of the comuni, which often reach back many hundreds of years, or even a full millennium: while provinces and regions are creations of the central government, and subject to fairly frequent border changes, the natural cultural unit is indeed the comune, — for many Italians, their hometown: in recent years especially, it has thus become quite rare for comuni either to merge or to break apart.

Subdivisions

A comune usually comprises:
- a principal town, that almost always gives its name to the comune; such a town is referred to as the capoluogo of the comune; the word comune is therefore naturally used in casual speech to refer to the town hall.
- other outlying areas called frazioni (singular: frazione, abbreviated Fraz.), each usually headed by a small town or village: for fuller details, see the article Frazione. These frazioni have usually never had any independent historical existence, but occasionally are former smaller comuni consolidated into a larger. In recent years the frazioni have become less important. Yet smaller places are called località (sometimes, as in the phonebook, abbreviated Loc.). Some few frazioni are more populated than the capoluogo; and very occasionally, due to unusual circumstances or to the depopulation of the latter, the town hall and its administrative functions move to one of the frazioni: but the comune still retains the name of the capoluogo. Category:Subdivisions of Italy Category:Subnational entities

L'Aquila

L'Aquila, 42°21 13°24E, at 710 m (2329 feet) above sea-level, is a city and comune of central Italy, on the Aterno river, with 69,131 inhabitants according to 2003 census figures. It is both the capital of the Abruzzi region and the seat of the province of L'Aquila. Although less than two hours' drive from Rome, the city (laid out within medieval walls) has not yet been heavily affected by foreign tourism. L'Aquila is the site of many electronic industries, and is the home of a rugby team that has won five times the Italian national championship. It lies on a hill in the wide valley of the Aterno, surrounded by mountains on all sides, the Gran Sasso d'Italia being conspicuous on the north-east. It is a favourite summer resort of the Italians, but is cold and windy in winter. In the highest part of the town is the massive citadel, erected by the Spanish viceroy Don Pedro de Toledo in 1534. The church of S. Bernardino di Siena (1472) has a fine Renaissance façade by Nicolò Filotesio (commonly called Cola dell' Amatrice), and contains the monumental tomb of the saint, decorated with beautiful sculptures, and executed by Silvestro Ariscola in 1480. The church of S. Maria di Collemaggio, just outside the town, has a very fine Romanesque façade of simple design (1270-1280) in red and white marble, with three finely decorated portals and a rose-window above each. The two side doors are also fine. The interior contains the mausoleum of Pope Celestine V. (d. 1296) erected in 1517. Many smaller churches in the town have similar façades (S. Giusta, S. Silvestro, &c.). The town also contains some fine palaces: the municipality has a museum, with a collection of Roman inscriptions and some illuminated service books. The Palazzi Dragonetti and Persichetti contain private collections of pictures. Outside the town is the Fontana delle novantanove cannelle, a fountain with ninety-nine jets distributed along three walls, constructed in 1272. Aquila has some trade in lace and saffron, and possesses other smaller industries. It was a university town in the middle ages, but most of its chairs have now been suppressed.

History

The city was established as Aquila in 1258, with the permission of King Conrad I of Sicily (Roman Emperor Conrad IV) as a bulwark against the power of the papacy, becoming Aquila degli Abruzzi in 1861, and L'Aquila in 1939. It was destroyed by Manfred in 1259, but soon rebuilt by Charles I. of Anjou. Its walls were completed in 1316; and it maintained itself as an almost independent republic until it was subdued in 1521 by the Spaniards, who had become masters of the kingdom of Naples in 1503. It was twice sacked by the French in 1799. It quickly became the second city of the kingdom of Naples. It was an autonomous city, ruled by a diarchy composed of the City Council (which had varying names and composition over the centuries) and the King's Captain. It fell initially under the lordship of Niccolò dell'Isola, appointed by the people as People's Knight, then killed when he became a tyrant. Later, it fell under Pietro "Lalle" Camponeschi, Count of Montorio, who became the third side of a new triarchy, with the Council and the King's Captain. Camponeschi, who was also Great Chancellor of the kingdom of Naples, become too powerful, and was killed by order of Prince Louis of Taranto. His descendants fought with the Pretatti family for power for several generations, but never again attained the power of their ancestor. The last, and the one true "lord" of L'Aquila, was Ludovico Franchi, who challenged the power of the pope by giving refuge to Alfonso d'Este, former duke of Ferrara, and the children of Giampaolo Baglioni, deposed "lord" of Perugia. In the end, however, the Aquilans, always fond of their freedom, had him deposed and imprisoned by the king of Naples. The power of L'Aquila was based on the close connection between the city and its mother-villages (99, according to local tradition), which had established the city as a federation, each of them building a borough and considering it as a part of the mother-village.That is also why number 99 is so important in the architecture of L'Aquila, and a very peculiar monument, the Fountain of the 99 Spouts, was given its name to celebrate the ancient origin of the town. Fontana delle 99 Cannelle. The City Council was originally composed of the Mayors of the villages, and the city had no legal existence until King Carlo II of Naples appointed a "Camerlengo", responsible for city tributes (previously paid separately by each of its mother-villages). Later, the Camerlengo also took political power, as President of the City Council. From its beginnings the city constituted an important market for the surrounding countryside, which provided it with a regular supply of food: from the fertile valleys came the precious saffron; the surrounding mountain pastures provided summer grazing for numerous transhumant flocks of sheep, which in turn supplied abundant raw materials for export and, to a lesser extent, small local industries, which in time brought craftsmen and merchants from outside the area. Within a few decades L'Aquila became a crossroads in communications between cities within and beyond the Kingdom, thanks to the so-called "via degli Abruzzi", which ran from Florence to Naples by way of Perugia, Rieti, L'Aquila, Sulmona, Isernia, Venafro, Teano and Capua. Negotiations for the succession of Edmund, son of Henry III of England, to the throne of the Kingdom of Sicily involved L'Aquila in the web of interests linking the Papal Curia to the English court. On 23rd December 1256, Pope Alexander IV elevated the churches of Saints Massimo and Giorgio to the status of cathedrals as a reward to the citizens of L'Aquila for their opposition to King Manfred who, in July 1259, had the city razed to the ground in an attempt to destroy the negotiations. The denuus reformator was Charles I of Anjou, but the city really became known beyond the borders of the Kingdom as a result of the exceptionally important event that took place on 29th August, 1294, when the hermit Pietro del Morrone was consecrated as pope Celestine V in the church of S. Maria di Collemaggio, in commemoration of which the new pope decreed the annual religious rite of the pardon,Perdonanza,still observed today on August 28 and 29: it is the immediate ancestor of the papal celebrations of the Jubilee Year. The Celestinian pontificate gave a new impulse to building development, as can be seen from the city statutes. In 1311, moreover, King Robert of Anjou granted privileges which had a decisive influence on the development of trade. These privileges protected all activities related to sheep-farming, exempting them from customs duties on imports and exports. This was the period in which merchants from Tuscany (Scale, Bonaccorsi) and Rieti purchased houses in the city. Hence the conditions for radical political renewal: in 1355 the trade guilds of leather-workers, metal-workers, merchants and learned men were brought into the government of the city, and these together with the Camerario and the Cinque constituted the new Camera Aquilana. Eleven years earlier, in 1344, the King had granted the city its own mint. The middle of the 14th century was a period of great crisis for L'Aquila, as for the whole of Europe. The city was struck so frequently by plague epidemics (1348, 1363) and earthquakes (1349) that it gave the appearance of having been abandoned. Reconstruction began soon, however. Many are the signs of the importance L'Aquila had reached by the turn of the 14th-15th century: Jewish families came to live in the city; the generals of the Franciscan Order chose the city as the seat of the Order's general chapters (1376, 1408, 1411, 1450, 1452, 1495); friar Bernardino of Siena, of the Franciscan order of the Observance, visited L'Aquila twice, the first time to preach in the presence of King Rene' of Naples, and in 1444, on his second visit, he died in the city. The Osservanti branch of the Franciscan order had a decisive influence on L'Aquila. As a result of initiatives by Fra Giovanni da Capestrano and fra Giacomo della Marca, Lombard masters undertook, in the relatively undeveloped north-east of the city, an imposing series of buildings centring on the hospital of S. Salvatore (1446) and the convent and the basilica of S. Bernardino. The construction work was long and difficult, mainly because of the earthquake of 1461, which caused the buildings to collapse, and the translation of the body of S. Bernardino did not take place until 14th May, 1472. The whole city suffered serious damage on the occasion of the earthquake, and two years went by before repairs on the churches and convents began. This period ended in the 16th century, when Spanish viceroy Philibert van Oranje destroyed L'Aquila and established Spanish feudalism in its countryside. The city, separated from its roots, never developed again. It was destroyed, for the third time (the first was in 1258, by King Manfredi of Sicily, while still unfinished), by an earthquake in 1703. Successive earthquakes have repeatedly damaged the city's large Duomo. In more recent times, L'Aquila became one of the most conservative cities in Italy: in the 1970s all of Italy wondered when a novel by Alberto Moravia was seized because considered obscene, while local Catholic Archbishop protested the nudity of a statue of a young man, which has been on the fountain in front of the cathedral for centuries, and the more conservative groups of the city planned to ask the seizure of the £ 50 coin, because it represent a naked man. In the last years, Aquilan neocons returned to notoriety, when the municipal swimming pool was dedicated to fascist minister Adelchi Serena, whose main claim to fame was having said that racial laws against Jews had been too mild. The clamor of political parties and cultural groups nationwide was to no avail: the Mayor and City Council did not reverse the decision.

Tourist Attractions

L'Aquila's sights include the Forte Spagnolo, a huge Spanish fortress of the 16th century; the Romanesque basilica of S. Maria di Collemaggio (where pope Pope Celestine V was crowned and buried); the basilica of St. Bernardino; and the medieval Fontana delle 99 Cannelle, or Fountain of the 99 Spouts (whose source is still unknown) commemorating the 99 villages said to have established the city. A well-known city landmark is the Fontana Luminosa (Luminous Fountain), a sculpture of two women bearing large jars, built in the 1930s. The local cemetery includes the grave of Karl Ulrichs, a 19th‑century German gay rights pioneer, who lived and died at L'Aquila: every year, gay people from all over the world meet at the cemetery to honour his memory. The surrounding area boasts Roman ruins (the important Roman city of Amiternum), ancient monasteries, and numerous castles. The best-known of these is Rocca Calascio (used in the 1980s as the location for the movie Ladyhawke), which is the highest castle in Italy and one of the highest in Europe. Also nearby are several ski resorts for Gran Sasso d'Italia, the highest of the Apennines.

Sport

It is the home of L'Aquila Rugby.

References

- V. Bindi, Monumenti storici ed artistici degli Abruzzi (Naples, 1889), pp. 771 seq.
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External links

- [http://www.comune.laquila.it Official site]
- [http://www.laquila.com A portal for L'Aquila]
- [http://www.italianvisits.com/abruzzo/laquila/ ItalianVisits]
- [news:italia.laquila.discussioni newsgroup ]
- [http://www.laquilarugby.it L'Aquila Rugby] L'Aquila ja:ラクイラ

Micron

The word micron has the following meanings:
- A micrometre (American spelling: micrometer, symbol µm), that is, one millionth of a metre. The term was officially sanctioned as part of the metric system from 1879-1967 and is still used in some fields of activity.
- In vacuum physics the expression 'micron' stands for 'µm Hg' which is equal to 0.13328 Pa
- Micron is the tradename for Micron Technology, a semi-conductor manufacturer, based in Boise, Idaho.
- Micron is an analog-modeling synthesizer made by Alesis Studio Electronics.

Alba Fucens

Alba Fucens (mod. Albe), an ancient Italian town occupying a lofty situation (3347 feet) at the foot of the Monte Velino, 4 miles north of Avezzano. It was originally a town of the Aequi, though on the frontier of the Marsi, but was occupied by a Roman colony (304 BC) owing to its strategic importance. It lay on a hill just to the north of the Via Valeria, which was probably prolonged beyond Tibur at this very period. In the Second Punic War Alba at first remained faithful, but afterwards refused to send contingents and was punished. After this it became a regular place of detention for important state, prisoners, such as Syphax of Numidia, Perseus of Macedonia, Bituitus, king of the Arverni. It was attacked by the allies in the Social War, but remained faithful to Rome; and its strong position rendered it a place of some importance in the civil wars. Its prosperity, in the imperial period, can only be inferred from the number of inscriptions found there. It is chiefly remarkable for its finely preserved fortifications. The external walls, which have a circuit of about two miles, are constructed of polygonal masonry; the blocks are carefully jointed, and the faces smoothed. With our present knowledge of such constructions their date cannot certainly be determined. They are not preserved to any very considerable height; but the arrangement of the gates is clearly traceable; as a rule they come at the end of a long, straight stretch of wall, and are placed so as to leave the right side of any attacking force exposed. On the north there is, for a length of about 150 yards, a triple line of defences of later date (possibly added by the Roman colonists), inasmuch as both the city wall proper, and the double wall thrown out in front of it are partly constructed of concrete, and facet with finer polygonal masonry (in which horizontal joints iseem to be purposely avoided). A mile to the north of the city a huge mound with a ditch on each side of it (but at a considerable distance from it) may be traced; for a couple of miles. Within the walls there are hardly any buildings of a later date. Excavations have only been made casually, though remains of buildings and of roads can be traced, and also an extensive system of underground passages perhaps connected with the defences of the place. The hill at the western extremity was occupied by a temple of the Tuscan order, into which was built the church of S. Pietro; this contains ancient columns, and some remarkably fine specimens of Cosmatesque work. It is the only monastic church in the Abruzzi in which the nave is separated from the aisles by ancient columns. The collegiate church of S. Nicola, in the village, contains a remarkable staurotheca of the 11th (?) century, and a wooden triptych in imitation of the Byzantine style with enamels, of the 13th century. A very good description of the site, with plans, is given by C Promis, L'Antiquité di Alba Fucense (Rome 1816).

References

External links

- [http://www.publiweb.it/azweb/alba.htm] Category:Abruzzo

Emperor Claudius

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (August 1, 10 BC–October 13, 54), previously Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus, was the fourth Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from January 24 41 to his death in 54. Born in Lugdunum in Gaul (modern-day Lyon, France), to Drusus and Antonia Minor, he was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy. Claudius was considered a rather unlikely man to become emperor. He was reportedly afflicted with some type of disability, and his family had virtually excluded him from public office until his consulship with his nephew Caligula in 37. This infirmity may have saved him from the fate of many other Roman nobles during the purges of Tiberius and Caligula's reigns. His very survival led to his being declared emperor after Caligula's assassination, at which point he was the last adult male of his family. Despite his lack of political experience, Claudius proved to be an able administrator and a great builder of public works. His reign saw an expansion of the empire, including the conquest of Britain. He took a personal interest in the law, presided at public trials, and issued up to 20 edicts a day. However, he was seen as vulnerable throughout his rule, particularly by the nobility. Claudius was constantly forced to shore up his position - resulting in the deaths of many senators and knights. He also suffered tragic setbacks in his personal life, one of which lead to his murder. These things negatively impacted his reputation among the ancient writers. More recent historians have revised this opinion.

Claudius' affliction and personality

The historian Suetonius describes the physical manifestations of Claudius' affliction in detail. His knees were weak and gave way under him and his head shook. He stammered and his speech was confused. He slobbered and his nose ran when excited. The Stoic Seneca states in his [http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=40298 Apocolocyntosis] that Claudius' voice belonged to no land animal, and that his hands were weak as well. However, he showed no physical deformity, as Suetonius notes that when calm and seated he was a tall, well-built figure of dignitas. When angered or stressed, his symptoms became worse. Historians agree that this improved upon his accession to the throne. Claudius himself claimed that he had exaggerated his ailments to save his own life. The modern diagnosis has changed several times in the past century. Prior to World War II, infantile paralysis (or polio) was widely accepted as the cause. This is the diagnosis used in Robert Graves' Claudius novels, first published in the 1930s. Polio does not explain many of the comorbidities, however, and a more recent theory implicates cerebral palsy as the cause, as outlined by Ernestine Leon . On the personal front, the ancient historians describe Claudius as generous and lowbrow, a man who cracked lame jokes, laughed uncontrollably, and lunched with the plebs. They also paint him as bloodthirsty, cruel, and very quick to anger. To them he was also overly trusting, and easily manipulated by his wives and freedmen. But at the same time they portray him as paranoid and apathetic, dull and easily confused. The extant works of Claudius present a different view, painting a picture of an intelligent, well-read, conscientious administrator with an eye to detail and justice. Thus, Claudius becomes an enigma. Since the discovery of his "Letter to the Alexandrians" in the last century, much work has been done to rehabilitate Claudius and determine where the truth lies.

Family and early life

Claudius was born Tiberius Claudius Drusus on August 1, 10 BC in Lugdunum, Gaul, on the day of the dedication of an altar to Augustus. He was the third child of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia Minor, the two older children being Germanicus and Livilla. Antonia may have had two other children as well, but both died young. His maternal grandparents were Mark Antony and Octavia, Caesar Augustus' sister. His paternal grandparents were Livia, Augustus's third wife, and Tiberius Claudius Nero. During his reign, Claudius revived the rumor that his father Drusus was actually the illegitimate son of Augustus. In 9 BC, his father Drusus unexpectedly died, possibly from an injury. He was then left to be raised by his mother, who never remarried. When Claudius' afflictions became evident, the relationship with his family turned sour. His mother referred to him as a monster, and used him as a standard for stupidity. His grandmother Livia refused to be seen with him. He was put under the care of a "former mule-driver" to keep him disciplined, under the logic that his condition was due to laziness and a lack of will-power. However, by the time he reached his teenaged years his symptoms apparently waned and his family took some notice of his scholarly interests. In AD 7, Livy was hired in to tutor him in history, with the assistance of Sulpicius Flavus. He spent a lot of his time with the latter and the philosopher Athenodorus. Augustus, according to a letter, was surprised at the clarity of Claudius' oratory. Expectations were raised as to his future. AthenodorusIn the end, it was his work as a budding historian that destroyed his early career. According to Vincent Scramuzza and others, Claudius began work on a history of the civil wars that was either too truthful or too critical of Octavian. In either case, it was far too early for such an account, and may have only served to remind Augustus that Claudius was Antony's descendent. His mother and grandmother quickly put a stop to it, and it may have proved to them that Claudius was not fit for public office. He could not be trusted to toe the line. When he returned to the narrative later in life, Claudius skipped over the civil wars of the second triumvirate all together. But the damage was done, and his family pushed him to the background. When the Arch of Pavia was erected to honor the imperial clan in AD 8, Claudius' name (now Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus after his elevation to paterfamilias of Claudii Nerones on the adoption of his brother) was inscribed on the edge — past the deceased princes, Gaius and Lucius, and Germanicus' children. There is some speculation that the inscription was added by Claudius himself decades later, and he originally did not appear at all. When Augustus died in AD 14, Claudius — then 23 — appealed to his uncle Tiberius to allow him to begin the cursus honorum. Tiberius, the new emperor, responded by granting Claudius consular ornaments. Claudius requested office once more and was snubbed. Since the new emperor was not any more generous than the old, Claudius gave up hope of public office and retired to a scholarly, private life. Despite the disdain of the imperial family, it seems that from very early on the general public respected Claudius. At Augustus' death, the equites, or knights, chose Claudius to head their delegation. When his house burned down, the Senate demanded it be rebuilt at public expense. They also requested that Claudius be allowed to debate in the senate. Unfortunately, Tiberius turned down both motions, but the sentiment remained. During the period immediately after the death of Tiberius' son, Drusus, Claudius was pushed by some quarters as a potential heir. This again suggests the political nature of his exclusion from public life. However, as this was also the period during which the power and terror of the Praetorian Sejanus was at its peak, Claudius chose to downplay this possibility. After the death of Tiberius, the new emperor Caligula recognized Claudius to be of some use. He appointed Claudius his co-consul in 37 in order to emphasize the memory of Caligula's deceased father Germanicus. Despite this, Caligula relentlessly tormented his uncle: playing practical jokes, charging him enormous sums of money, humiliating him before the Senate, and the like. According to Cassius Dio, as well a possible surviving portrait, Claudius became very sickly and thin by the end of Caligula's reign — most likely due to the stresses.

Accession as emperor

On January 24, AD 41, Caligula was assassinated by a broad-based conspiracy (including praetorian commander Cassius Chaerea and several Senators). There is no evidence that Claudius had direct hand in either the assassination , although he probably knew about the plot — particularly since he left the scene of the crime shortly before the event. However, after the deaths of Caligula's wife and daughter, it became apparent that Cassius intended to go beyond the terms of the conspiracy and wipe out the imperial family. In the chaos following the murder, Claudius witnessed the German guard cut down several uninvolved noblemen, including friends of his. Concerned for his survival, he fled to the palace to hide himself. According to tradition, a praetorian named Gratus found him hiding behind a curtain and suddenly declared him imperator. Some part of the guard may have planned in advance to seek out Claudius, perhaps with his approval. They reassured him that they were not one of the battalions looking for revenge. He was absconded to the praetorian camp and put in their protection. The Senate quickly met and began debating a change of government, but this eventually devolved into an argument over which of them would be the new Princeps. When they heard of Praetorians' claim, they demanded that Claudius be delivered to them for approval, but he refused, rightly sensing the danger that would come with complying. Some historians, particularly Josephus, claim that Claudius was directed in his actions by the Judean King Herod Agrippa. However, an earlier version of events by the same ancient author downplays Agrippa's role — so it is not known how large a hand he had in things. Eventually the Senate was forced to give in, and, in return, Claudius pardoned nearly all the assassins. Claudius took several steps to legitimize his rule against potential usurpers, most of them emphasizing his place within the Julio-Claudian family. He adopted the name "Caesar" as a cognomen — the name still carried great weight with the populace. In order to do so, he dropped the cognomen "Nero" which he had adopted as paterfamilias of the Claudii Nerones when his brother Germanicus was adopted out. While he had never been adopted by Augustus or his successors, he was the grandson of Octavia, and so felt he had the right. He also adopted the name "Augustus" as the two previous emperors had done at their accessions. He kept the honorific "Germanicus" in order display the connection with his heroic brother. He deified his paternal grandmother Livia in order highlight her position as wife of the divine Augustus. Claudius frequently used the term "filius Drusi" (son of Drusus) in his titles, in order to remind the people of his legendary father and lay claim to his reputation. Because he was proclaimed emperor on the initiative of the Praetorian Guard instead of the Senate — the first emperor thus proclaimed — Claudius's repute suffered at the hands of commentators (such as Seneca). Moreover, he was the first Emperor who resorted to bribery as a means to secure army loyalty. This is not entirely how it seems. Tiberius and Augustus had both left gifts to the army and guard in the wills, and on the death of Caligula the same would have been expected, even if no will existed. Claudius remained grateful to the guard, however, issuing coins with tributes to the praetorians in the early part of his reign.

Expansion of the empire

Under Claudius, the empire underwent its first major expansion since the reign of Augustus. The provinces of Thrace, Mauretania, Noricum, Pamphylia, Lycia, and Judea were annexed during his term. The most important conquest was that of Britannia. In AD 43, Claudius sent Aulus Plautius with 4 legions to Britain after an appeal from an ousted tribal ally. Britain was an attractive target for Rome because of its material wealth — particularly mines and slaves. It was also a safe haven for Gallic rebels and the like, and so could not be left alone much longer. Claudius himself traveled to the island after the completion of initial offenses, bringing with him reinforcements and elephants. The latter must have made an impression on the Britons when they were used in the capture of Camulodunum. He left after 16 days, but remained in the provinces for some time. The Senate granted him a triumph for his efforts, as only members of the imperial family were allowed such honors. Claudius later lifted this restriction for some of his conquering generals. He was granted the honorific "Britannicus" but only accepted it on behalf of his son, never using the title himself. When the British general, Caractacus, was finally captured in 50, Claudius granted him clemency. Caractacus lived out his days on land provided by the Roman state, an unusual end for a enemy commander, but one that must have calmed the British opposition. Claudius conducted a census in AD 48 that found 5,984,072 Roman citizens, an increase of around a million since the census conducted at Augustus' death. He had helped increase this number through the foundation of Roman colonies that were granted blanket citizenship. These colonies were often made out of existing communities, especially those with elites who could rally the populace to the Roman cause. Several colonies were placed in new provinces or on the border of the empire in order to secure Roman holdings as quickly as possible.

Judicial and legislative affairs

Claudius personally judged many of the legal cases tried during his reign. Ancient historians have many complaints about this, stating that his judgements were variable and sometimes did not follow the law. He was also easily swayed. Nevertheless, Claudius paid detailed attention to the operation of the judicial system. He extended the summer court session, as well as the winter term, by shortening the traditional breaks. Claudius also made a law requiring plaintiffs to remain in the city while their cases were pending, as defendants had previously been required to do. These measures had the effect of clearing out the docket. The minimum age for jurors was also raised to 25 in order to ensure a more experienced jury pool. Claudius also settled disputes in the provinces. He freed the island of Rhodes from Roman rule for their good faith and exempted Troy from taxes. Early in his reign, the Greeks and Jews of Alexandria sent him two embassies at once after riots broke out between the two communities. This resulted in the famous "Letter to the Alexandrians," which reaffirmed Jewish rights in the city but also forbid them to move in more families en masse. According to Josephus, he then reaffirmed the rights and freedoms of all the Jews in the empire. An investigator of Claudius' discovered that many old Roman citizens based in the modern city of Trent were not in fact citizens. The emperor issued a declaration that they would be considered to hold citizenship from then on, since to strip them of their status would cause major problems. However, in individual cases, Claudius punished false assumption of citizenship harshly, making it a capital offense. Similarly, any freedmen found to be impersonating knights were sold back into slavery. Numerous edicts were issued throughout Claudius' reign. These were on a number of topics, everything from medical advice to moral judgements. Two famous medical examples are one promoting Yew juice as a cure for snakebite, and another promoting public flatulence for good health. One of the more famous edicts concerned the status of sick slaves. Masters had been abandoning ailing slaves at the temple of Aesculapius to die, and then reclaiming them if they lived. Claudius ruled that slaves who recovered after such treatment would be free. Furthermore, masters who chose to kill slaves rather than take the risk would be charged with murder.

Public works

AesculapiusClaudius embarked on many public works throughout his reign, both in the capital and in the provinces. He built two aqueducts, the Aqua Claudia, begun by Caligula, and the Anio Novus. These entered the city in AD 52 and met at the famous Porta Maggiore. He also restored a third, the Aqua Virgo. He paid special attention to transportation. Throughout Italy and the provinces he built roads and canals. Among these was a large canal leading from the Rhine to the sea, as well as a road from Italy to Germany — both begun by his father, Drusus. Closer to Rome, he built a navigable canal on the Tiber, leading to Portus, his new port just north of Ostia. This port was constructed in a semicircle with two moles and a lighthouse at its mouth. The construction also had the effect of reducing flooding in Rome. The port at Ostia was part of Claudius' solution to the constant grain shortages that occurred in winter, after the Roman shipping season. The other part of his solution was to insure the ships of grain merchants who were willing to risk traveling to Egypt in the off-season. He also granted their sailors special privileges, including citizenship and exemption from the Lex Papia-Poppaea, a law that regulated marriage. In addition, he repealed the taxes that Caligula had instituted on food, and further reduced taxes on communities suffering draught or famine. The last part of Claudius' plan was to increase the amount of arable land in Italy. This was to be achieved by draining the Fucine lake, which would have the added benefit of making the nearby river navigable year-round. A tunnel was dug through the lake bed, but the plan was a failure. The tunnel was not large enough to carry the water, and crooked, which caused it to back up when opened. The draining of the lake was not a bad idea, and many other emperors and potentates considered it, including the emperors Hadrian and Trajan, and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the middle ages. It was finally achieved by the Prince Torlonia in the 19th century. He expanded the Claudian tunnel to three times its original size.

Claudius and the Senate

Because of the circumstances of his accession, Claudius took great pains to please the Senate. During regular sessions, the emperor sat amongst the Senate body, speaking in turn. When introducing a law, he sat on a bench between the consuls in his position as Tribune. He refused to accept all his predecessors' titles (including Imperator) at the beginning his reign, preferring to earn them in due course. He allowed the Senate to issue its own bronze coinage for the first time since Augustus. He also put the imperial provinces of Macedonia and Achaea back under senate control. At the same time, Claudius tried to remodel the Senate into a more efficient, representative body. He chided the senators about their reluctance to debate bills introduced by himself, as noted in the fragments of a surviving speech:

"If you accept these proposals, Conscript Fathers, say so at once and simply, in accordance with your convictions. If you do not accept them, find alternatives, but do so here and now; or if you wish to take time for consideration, take it, provided you do not forget that you must be ready to pronounce your opinion whenever you may be summoned to meet. It ill befits the dignity of the Senate that the consul designate should repeat the phrases of the consuls word for word as his opinion, and that every one else should merely say 'I approve', and that then, after leaving, the assembly should announce 'We debated'."

It is not known if this plea had any effect on discourse. In AD 47 he assumed the office of Censor with Lucius Vitellius, which had been allowed to lapse for some time. He struck the names of many senators and equities who no longer met qualifications, but showed respect by allowing them to resign in advance. At the same time, he sought to admit eligible men from the provinces. The Lyons Tablet preserves his speech on the admittance of Gallic senators, in which he addresses the Senate with reverence but also with criticism for their disdain of these men. He also increased the number of Patricians by adding new families to the dwindling number of noble lines. Here he followed the precedent of Lucius Junius Brutus and Julius Caesar. Julius CaesarDespite this, many in the Senate remained hostile to Claudius, and many plots were made on his life. This hostility carried over into the historical accounts. As a result, Claudius was forced to reduce the Senate's power for efficiency. The administration of Ostia was turned over to an imperial Procurator after construction of the port. Administration of many of the empire's financial concerns was turned over to imperial appointees and freedman. This led to further resentment and suggestions that these same freedmen were ruling the emperor. Several coup attempts were made during Claudius' reign, resulting in the deaths of many senators. Appius Silanus was executed early in Claudius' reign under questionable circumstances. Shortly after, a large rebellion was undertaken by the senator Vinicianus and Scribonianus, the governor of Dalmatia and gained quite a few senatorial supporters. It ultimately failed because of the reluctance of Scribonianus' troops, and the suicide of the main conspirators. Many other senators tried different conspiracies and were condemned. Claudius' son-in-law Pompeius Magnus was executed for his part in a conspiracy with his father Crassus Frugi. Another plot involved the consulars Lusiius Saturninus, Cornelius Lupus, and Pompeius Pedo. In 46, Asinius Gallus, the grandson of Asinius Pollio, and Statilius Corvinus were exiled for a plot hatched with several of Claudius' own freedmen. Valerius Asiaticus was executed without public trial for unknown reasons. The ancient sources say the charge was adultery, and that Claudius was tricked into issuing the punishment. However, Claudius singles out Asiaticus for special damnation in his speech on the Gauls, which dates over a year later, suggesting that the charge must have been much more serious. Asiaticus had been a claimant to the throne in the chaos following Caligula's death and a co-consul with the Statilius Corvinus mentioned above. Most of these conspiracies took place before Claudius' consulship, and may have induced him to overlook the Senatorial rolls. The conspiracy of Gaius Silius in the year after his consulship, AD 48, will be detailed further down. Suetonius states that a total of 35 senators and 300 knights were executed for offenses during Claudius' reign. Needless to say, the necessary responses to these conspiracies could not have helped Senate-emperor relations.

The Secretariat and centralization of powers

Claudius was hardly the first emperor to use freedmen to help with the day-to-day running of the empire. He was, however, forced to increase their role as the powers of the princeps became more centralized and the burden larger. This was partly due to the ongoing hostility of the senate, as mentioned above, but also due to his respect for the senators. Claudius did not want free-born magistrates to have to serve under him, as if they were not peers. The secretariat was divided into bureaus, with each being placed under the leadership of one freedmen. Narcissus was the secretary of correspondence. Pallas became the secretary of the treasury. Callistus became the equivalent of the U.S. Attorney General. There was a fourth bureau for miscellaneous issues, which was put under Polybius until his execution for treason. The freedmen could also officially speak for emperor, as when Narcissus addressed the troops in Claudius' stead before the conquest of Britain. Since these were important positions, the senators were aghast at their being placed in the hands of former slaves. If freedmen had total control of money, letters, and law, it seemed it would not be hard for them to manipulate the emperor. This is exactly the accusation put forth by the ancient sources. However, these same sources admit that the freedmen were loyal to Claudius to a man. He was similarly appreciative of them and gave them due credit for policies where he had used their advice. However, if they showed treasonous inclinations, the emperor did punish them with just force, as in the case of Polybius and Pallas' brother, Felix. There is no evidence that the character of Claudius' policies and edicts changed with the rise and fall of the various freedmen, suggesting that he was firmly in control throughout. Regardless of the extent of their political power, the freedmen did manage to amass wealth through their positions. Pliny the Elder notes that several of them were richer than Crassus, the richest man of the Republican era.

Religious reforms and games

Claudius, as the author of a treatise on Augustus' religious reforms, felt himself in a good position to institute some of his own. He had strong opinions about the proper form for state religion. He refused the request of Alexandrian Greeks to dedicate a temple to his divinity, saying that only gods may choose new gods. He restored lost days to festivals and got rid of many extraneous celebrations added by Caligula. He reinstituted old observances and archaic language. Claudius was concerned with the spread of eastern mysteries within the city and search for more Roman replacements. He emphasized the Eleusinian mysteries which had been practiced by so many in the republic. He expelled foreign astrologers, and at the same time rehabilitated the old Roman soothsayers (known as haruspices) as a replacement. He was especially hard on Druidism, because of its incompatibility with the Roman state religion and its proselytizing activities. He opposed proselytizing in any religion, even those where he allowed natives to worship freely. It was this reasoning that caused him to expel the early Christian missionaries from Rome. The results of all these efforts were recognized even by Seneca, who has an ancient Latin god defend Claudius in his satire. Claudius performed the Secular Games, marking the 800th anniversary of the founding of Rome. Augustus had performed the same games less than a century prior. Augustus' excuse was that the interval for the games was 110 years, not 100, but his date actually did not qualify under either reasoning. Claudius also presented naval battles to mark the attempted draining of the Fucine lake.

Marriages and personal life

Claudius married four times. His first marriage, to Plautia Urgulanilla occured after two failed betrothals, one of which ended with the bride's death. Urgulanilla was a relation of Livia's confidant Urgulania. During their marriage she gave birth to a son, Claudius Drusus. Unfortunately, Drusus died of asphyxiation in his early teens, shortly after becoming engaged to the daughter of Sejanus. Claudius later divorced Urgulanilla for adultery and on suspicion of murdering her sister-in-law Apronia. When Urgulanilla gave birth after the divorce, Claudius repudiated the baby girl, Claudia, as the father was one of his own freedmen. Soon after (possibly in 28), Claudius married Aelia Paetina, a relation of Sejanus. They had a daughter, Claudia Antonia. He later divorced her after the marriage became a political liability (although Leon (1948) suggests it may have been due to emotional and mental abuse by Aelia). Claudia AntoniaIn AD 38 or early 39, Claudius married Valeria Messalina, who was his first cousin once removed and closely allied with Caligula's circle. Shortly thereafter, she gave birth to a daughter Octavia. A son, first named Tiberius Claudius Germanicus, and later known as Britannicus, was born just after Claudius' accession. This marriage ended in tragedy. The ancient historians allege that Messalina regularly cuckolded Claudius — Tacitus states she went so far as to face-off with a prostitute — and manipulated his policies in order to amass wealth. In AD 48, Messalina married her lover Gaius Silius in a public ceremony while Claudius was at Ostia. Sources disagree as to whether or not she divorced the emperor first, and whether the intention was to usurp the throne. Scramuzza, in his biography, suggests that Silius may have convinced Messalina that Claudius was doomed, and the union was her only hope of retaining rank and protecting her children. The historian Tacitus suggests that Claudius' ongoing term as Censor may have prevented him from noticing the affair before it reached such a critical point. Whatever the case, the result was the death of Silius, Messalina, and most of her circle. Claudius made the Praetorians promise to kill him if he ever married again. TacitusDespite this declaration, Claudius did marry once more. The ancient sources tell that his freedmen pushed three candidates, Caligula's former wife Lollia Paulina, his second wife Aelia, and his niece Agrippina the younger. According to Suetonius, Agrippina won out through her feminine wiles. The truth is more political. The coup attempt by Silius probably made Claudius realize the weakness of his position as a member of the Claudian but not the Julian family. This weakness was compacted by the fact that he did not have an obvious adult heir, Britannicus being just a boy. Agrippina was one of the few remaining descendents of Augustus, and her son Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (later known as Nero) was one of the last males of the imperial family. Future coup attempts could rally around the pair, and Agrippina was already showing such ambition. It has been suggested in recent times that Senate may have pushed for the marriage to end the feud between the Julian and Claudian branches. This feud dated back to Agrippina's mother's actions against Tiberius after the death of her husband Germanicus, actions which Tiberius had gladly punished. In any case, Claudius accepted Agrippina, and later adopted the newly mature Nero as his son. Nero was made joint heir with the underage Britannicus, married to Octavia and heavily promoted. This was not as unusual as it seems to people acquainted with modern hereditary monarchies. Barbara Levick notes that Augustus had named his grandson Postumus Agrippa and his stepson Tiberius joint heirs. Tiberius named his great-nephew Caligula joint heir with his grandson Tiberius Gemellus. Adoption of adults or near adults was an old tradition in Rome when a suitable natural adult heir was unavailable. This was the case during Britannicus' minority. S.V. Oost suggests that Claudius looked to adopt one of his sons-in-law to protect his own reign. Possible usurpers could note that there was no adult to replace him. Faustus Sulla, married to his daughter Antonia, was only descended from Octavia and Antony on one side — not close enough to the imperial family to prevent doubts (that didn't stop others from making him the object of a coup attempt against Nero a few years later). Besides which, he was the half brother of Messalina, and at this time those wounds were still fresh. Nero was more popular with the general public as the grandson of Germanicus and the direct descendent of Augustus.

Death, deification, and reputation

General consensus is that Claudius was murdered by poison — possibly contained in mushrooms — on October 13th, AD 54. There are various accounts, some of which implicate Halotus, his taster, and some Xenophon, his doctor. Some say he died immediately, and some have him recovering only to be poisoned again. All implicate his wife, Agrippina, as the instigator. Now that Britannicus was approaching the age of majority, there was no need for Nero to be heir in case of Claudius' death. There was now no chance of a minor ascending the throne and setting off civil war. Thus, Claudius began to talk of divorce. Agrippina most likely acted to ensure the succession of Nero before changes could be made. In modern times, some authors have cast doubt on whether Claudius was murdered or merely succumbed to illness or old age. Considering the longevity of his relatives who reached even middle age (his grandmother Livia died at 87, his uncle Tiberius reached age 79, and his mother Antonia committed suicide at 73) this seems unlikely. Claudius was deified by the Senate shortly after death. Those who regard this homage by Agrippina as cynical should note that, cynical or not, such a move would hardly have benefited those involved, had Claudius been "hated", as some commentators, both modern and historic, characterize him. Moreover, though Claudius's divinity was annulled by Nero, it was later restored by the "good" emperor Vespasian, who had been a general in the British conquest. Despite this, many of Claudius' less solid supporters quickly became Nero's men. His will was suppressed and never read. Claudius had changed it shortly before death to either recommend Nero and Britannicus jointly or perhaps just Britannicus, who would become a man in a few months. Agrippina had sent away Narcissus shortly before Claudius' death, and now murdered the freedman. The last act of this secretary of letters was to burn all of Claudius' correspondence - most likely so it could not be used against him and others in an already hostile new regime. Thus Claudius' private words about his own policies and motives were lost to history. Nero and his circle wasted no time in trashing his predecessor, even lambasting at his predecessor in his eulogy. Most of Claudius' laws and edicts were anulled, under the reasoning that he was too stupid and senile to have meant them. This opinion of Claudius, that he was indeed an old idiot, remained the official one for the duration of Nero's reign. Eventually Nero stopped referring to his deified adoptive father at all, and realigned with his birth family. The Flavians, who had risen to prominance under Claudius, took a different tack. They were in a position where they needed to shore up their legitimacy, but also justify the fall of the Julio-Claudians. They reached back to Claudius in constrast with Nero, to show that they were good associated with good. Claudius' temple was built over Nero's golden house. Commemorative coins were issued of Claudius and his natural son Britannicus - who had been a friend of the emperor Titus. However, as the Flavians became established, they needed to emphasize their own credentials more, and their references to Claudius ceased. Instead, he was put down with the other emperors of the fallen dynasty. As time passed, Claudius was mostly forgotten. His books were lost first, as their antiquarian subjects became unfashionable. In the second century, Pertinax, who shared his birthday, became emperor, overshadowing any commemoration of Claudius. In the third century, the emperor Claudius II Gothicus usurped his name. When Claudius Gothicus died, he was also deified, replacing Claudius in the Roman pantheon.

Scholarly works and their impact

Claudius wrote copiously throughout his life. Arnaldo Momigliano states that during the reign of Tiberius — which covers the peak Claudius' literary career — it became impolitic to speak of republican Rome. The trend among the young historians was to either write about the new empire or obscure antiquarian subjects. Claudius was the rare scholar who covered both. Besides the history of Augustus' reign that caused him so much grief, his major works included an Etruscan history and eight volumes on Carthaginian history, as well as an Etruscan Dictionary and a book on dice playing. Despite the general avoidance of the imperatorial era, he penned a defense of Cicero against the charges of Asinius Gallus. Modern historians have used this to determine both the nature of his politics and of the aborted chapters of his civil war history. He proposed a reform of the Latin alphabet by the addition of three new letters, two of which served the function of the modern letters W and Y. He officially instituted the change during his censorship, but they did not survive his reign. Finally, he wrote an eight-volume autobiography that Suetonius describes as lacking in taste. Since Claudius (like most of the members of his dynasty) heavily criticized his predecessors and relatives in surviving speeches, it is not hard to imagine the nature of Suetonius' charge. three new lettersUnfortunately, none of the actual works survive. They do live on as sources for the surviving histories of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Suetonius quotes Claudius' autobiography once, and must have used it as a source numerous times. Tacitus uses Claudius' own arguments for the orthographical innovations mentioned above, and may have used him for some of the more antiquarian passages in his annals. Claudius is the source for numerous passages of Pliny's Natural History. The influence of historical study on Claudius is obvious. In his speech on Gallic senators, he uses a version of the founding of Rome identical to that of Livy's. The detail of his speech borders on the pedantic, a common mark of all his extant works. This indicates a deep knowledge of a variety of historical subjects that he could not help but share. Many of the public works instituted in his reign were based on plans first suggested by Julius Caesar. Levick believes this emulation of Caesar may have spread to all aspects of his policies. His censorship seems to have been based on those of his ancestors, particularly Appius Claudius Caecus, and he used the office to put into place many policies based on those of Republican times. This is when many of his religious reforms took effect and his building efforts greatly increased during his tenure. In fact, his assumption of the office of Censor may have been motivated by a desire to see his academic labors bear fruit. For example, he knew his ancestor Appius Claudius Caecus has used to censorship to introduce the letter "R", and so used his own term to introduce his new letters.

Claudius in fiction

Appius Claudius Caecus The emperor Claudius was the protagonist of the books I, Claudius (1934) and Claudius the God (1935) by Robert Graves. The books are written from a first-person perspective, giving the impression of having been written by Claudius himself as his autobiography. Graves's fictive artifice that they were recently discovered translations of writings by Claudius extended even to the point of Claudius relating a visit to an oracle who predicted their discovery "nineteen hundred year or near" later. Graves's two books were the basis for a thirteen-part BBC series, shown on BBC2 in 1976 and later broadcast in the U.S. on Masterpiece Theatre in 1977, also titled I, Claudius. Derek Jacobi starred in the title role. In 1937 there had been an ill-fated attempt of picturization of I, Claudius by Josef von Sternberg, starring Charles Laughton as Claudius. Unfortunately the movie was never finished, after a near-fatal accident of the female lead actress, Merle Oberon. The surviving reels were finally shown in the documentary The Epic that never was in 1965 and uncovered some of Laughton's most accomplished pieces of acting.

Footnotes

# Suet. Claud. 30. # Seneca Apocolo. 5, 6. # Suet. Claud. 30. # Suet. Claud. 31. # Leon (1948). # Suet. Claud. 5, 21, 40; Dio Rom. Hist. LX 2, 5, 12, 31. # Suet. Claud. 34, 38. # Suet. Claud. 29. Dio Rom. Hist. LX 2, 8. # Suet. Claud. 35, 36, 37, 39, 40. Dio Rom. Hist. LX 2, 3. # Suet. Claud. 2. Suet Claud. 4 indicates the reasons for choosing this tutor, as outlined in Leon (1948). # Suet. Claud. 4. # Scramuzza (1940) p. 39. # Stuart (1936). # Dio Rom. Hist. LX 2. Suhr (1955) suggests that this must refer to before Claudius came to power. # Josephus Antiquitates Iudiacae XIX. Dio Rom. Hist. LX 1. # Josephus Ant. Iud. XIX. # Josephus Bellum Iudiacum II, 204-233. # Suet. Claud. 15. Dio Rom. Hist. LXI 33. # Josephus Ant. Iud. XIX, 287. # English translation of Berlin papyrus by W.D. Hogarth, in Momigliano (1934). # Suet. Claud. 29. # Tac. Ann. XII 65. Seneca Ad Polybium. # Pliny Natural History 134. # Seneca Apocolo. 9. # Tac. Ann. XI 10. Also Dio Rom. Hist. LXI 31. # Scramuzza (1940) p. 90. Momigliano (1934) pp. 6-7. Levick (1990) p. 19. # Tac. Ann. XI. 25, 8. # Suet. Claud. 26. # Scramuzza (1940) pp. 91-92. See also Tac. Ann. XII 6, 7; Suet. Claud. 26. # Levick (1990) p. 70. See also Scramuzza (1940) p. 92. # Oost (1958). # Accounts of his death: Suet. Claud. 43, 44. Tac. Ann. XII 64, 66-67. Josephus Ant. Iud. XX 148, 151. Dio Rom. Hist. LX 34. Pliny Natural History II 92, XI 189, XXII 92. # Momigliano (1934) pp. 93-94. Levick (1990) pp. 76-77. # Momigliano (1934) pp. 4-6. # Suet. Claud. 41. # See Claudius' letter to the people of Trent (linked below), in which he refers to the "obstinate retirement" of Tiberius. See also Josephus Ant Iud. XIX, where an edict of Claudius refers to Caligula's "madness and lack of understanding." # See Momigliano (1934) Chap. 1, note 20 (p. 83). # Levick (1978).

References

- Levick, B.M., "Claudius: Antiquarian or Revolutionary?" American Journal of Philology, 99 (1978), 79-105.
- Levick, Barbara. Claudius. Yale University Press. New Haven, 1990.
- Leon, E.F., "The Imbecillitas of the Emperor Claudius", Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, 79 (1948), 79-86.
- McAlindon, D., "Claudius and the Senators", American Journal of Philology, 78 (1957), 279-286.
- Major, A., "Was He Pushed or Did He Leap? Claudius' Ascent to Power", Ancient History, 22 (1992), 25-31.
- Momigliano, Arnaldo. Claudius: the Emperor and His Achievement. Trans. W.D. Hogarth. W. Heffer and Sons. Cambridge, 1934.
- Oost, S.V., "The Career of M. Antonius Pallas", American Journal of Philology, 79 (1958). 113-139.
- Ryan, F.X. "Some Observations on the Censorship of Claudius and Vitellius, AD 47-48", American Journal of Philology, 114 (1993), 611-618.
- Scramuzza, Vincent. The Emperor Claudius. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, 1940.
- Stuart, M. "The Date of the Inscription of Claudius on the Arch of Ticinum." Am. J. Arch. 40 (1936). 314-322.
- Suhr, E.G., "A Portrait of Claudius." Am. J. Arch. 59 (1955). 319-322.

External links

Ancient Sources:
- [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Claudius
- .html Life of Claudius] (Suetonius; English translation and Latin original)
- [http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/tacitus/TacitusAnnals11.html Tacitus on the second half of Claudius' reign, book 11]
- [http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/tacitus/TacitusAnnals12.html Tacitus on Claudius' last years, book 12]
- [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/60
- .html Cassius Dio's account of Claudius' reign, part I]
- [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/61
- .html Cassius Dio's account, part II]
- [http://www.ccel.org/j/josephus/JOSEPHUS.HTM The works of Josephus]
- [http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/apocolocyntosis.html The Apocolocyntosis of the Divine Claudius]
- [http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/claualex.html Claudius' Letter to the Alexandrians]
- Extract from first half of the Lyons Tablet
- [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/48claudius.html Second half of the Lyons Tablet]
- [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/tacitus-ann11a.html Tacitus' version of the Lyons Tablet speech]
- [http://www.personal.kent.edu/~bkharvey/roman/texts/citizen.htm Edict confirming the rights of the people of Trent] Modern Biographies:
- [http://www.roman-emperors.org/claudius.htm Biography from De Imperatoribus Romanis] Category:10 BC births Category:54 deaths Category:Roman emperors Category:Roman era historians Category:Julio-Claudian Dynasty Category:Romans in Britain Category:Murdered Roman emperors Category:Adoptive parents Category:Deified Roman Emperors ko:클라우디우스 ja:クラウディウス

Category:Towns in Abruzzo

Towns in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Abruzzo Category:Abruzzo Lettomanopello

Liz Lynne

Elizabeth Lynne, known as Liz Lynne, (born 22 January 1948) is a British politician, and has been a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands region for the Liberal Democrats since her election at the 1999 European election. Previously she had been elected as Member of Parliament for Rochdale at the 1992 general election but was defeated at the 1997 general election. Lynne was born in Woking and educated at Dorking County Grammar School. Between 1966 and 1989 she was an actor, including appearing in The Mousetrap. She also worked as a speech consultant between 1988 and 1992. Lynne is the founder and former chair of the Indonesian Co-ordination for the British Section of Amnesty International. Whilst an MP she was the Liberal Democrats' spokesperson on Health and Community Care, and then spokesperson on Social Security and Disability.

External links

- [http://www.lizlynne.org.uk/ Liz Lynne MEP] official site
- [http://wwwdb.europarl.eu.int/ep6/owa/whos_mep.data?ipid=0&ilg=EN&iucd=4541 Profile at the European Parliament]
- [http://www.libdems.org.uk/party/people/person.html?id=155 Profile at the site of the Liberal Democrats] Lynne, Liz Lynne, Liz Lynne, Liz Lynne, Liz

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Please note these conventions for naming places are merely guidelines, not rules written in stone. They are free to be amended, but it is wise to discuss any major amendment on the talk page first.

General issues

If the name of a place has changed over time, what name do we use to refer to that place? When places 'change ownership' during the course of time, what convention should be followed?

Hierarchy of place names and disambiguation guidelines

For a proposal, see small arms produced by the Springfield Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts, for the United States armed forces. In modern usage, the term "Springfield rifle" most commonly refers to the Springfield Model 1903.
- software development process, the traceability matrix is a table that correlates the high-level requirements (sometimes known as Marketing Requirements) and detailed requirements of the software product to the matching parts of high-level design, detailed Design, Read More...

Demi-Humans
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John Mason School, or JMS, is a state secondary school in the town of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in the United Kingdom. Established as an old grammar school in 1960, the school has now grown considerably, with, as of 2003, approximately 1000 pupils. John

Hard drugs
In both official and casual discourse, a distinction is sometimes made between hard and soft drugs. The term hard drug is only loosely defined but generally refers mostly to illegal drugs that lead to profound and severe addiction, as opposed to soft drugs that are only mildly and psychologically addictive. This distinction notwithstanding, the actual effects of a drug and the harms it may cause to an individual are determined by the physiology and mental state of the user, the setting, the dose and the method of administration (smoked, ea

Mount Waverley Secondary College
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Ernest Dowson
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