Emperors of Rome | Killing Caligula, Finding Claudius (Lecture 11)

Lecture 11: The excesses of Caligula’s reign eventually provoked conspiracies against him, one of which proved successful. Its main movers were officers of the Praetorian Guard, though they may have had connections to more powerful if shadowy figures. The young emperor was murdered on 24 January 41. Given his youth, Caligula had paid no serious attention to the succession issue. In the vacuum left by his murder, the senators debated restoring the old republic, but the ambitious in their midst soon turned the discussion to their own suitability for the Principate. Meanwhile, the Praetorian Guard, facing unemployment if there were no emperor to serve, acclaimed as emperor Caligula’s reviled uncle, the lame and stammering Claudius. Tense negotiations averted near civil war, and Claudius was ratified by the Senate. These events mark a turning point in the history of the emperors: the first time an emperor was openly assassinated and another installed so blatantly by the wishes of the soldiers.

Essential Reading:
Cassius Dio, Roman History, books 59−60.
Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 19.
Suetonius, Life of Claudius.

Supplementary Reading:
DIR, “Caligula,” “Claudius.”
Levick, Claudius, chapters 1−4.