Claudius II. Claudius II: biography. Domestic policy of Claudius

During his reign, he successfully fought with the barbarian tribe of the Alemanni, as well as with the Goths, over whom he won a convincing victory in the battle of Nis, for which he received the nickname "Gothic". However, despite the fact that Claudius initiated the restoration of the power of the Roman Empire, his reign was very short: in 270 he died of the plague.

Claudius bore the following victorious titles: "Germanic Greatest" - from 269, "Gothic Greatest" - from 269, "Parthian Greatest" - from 270. He received the power of the people's tribune 3 times: in 268 (twice: in March and December 10) and in 269.

Early life and career

Only a few sources survive of the short period of Claudius's reign. It is impossible to say with certainty about his origin, place of birth or father's name, as well as about his career before he became emperor. Of his family, only his brother Quintillus is known, who ascended the throne after the sudden death of his brother in the autumn of 270.

According to Aurelius Victor, Claudius was the illegitimate son of Gordian II. But, most likely, he was a barbarian by origin, possibly from a Romanized family.

Ascension to the throne

According to Aurelius Victor, at the end of August or the beginning of September, 268, Claudius was appointed tribune of the auxiliary detachment stationed at Ticinus. His task was to protect this city from a possible invasion of the Gallic emperor Postumus. There, the troops proclaimed Claudius emperor.

Paul Orosius has an interesting indication, absent, however, in all other sources known to us, that Claudius took power at the request of the senate. But this contradicts the reports of other ancient authors, who claim that Claudius became emperor at the initiative of the army.

There is an assumption that he participated in a conspiracy against Gallienus and that before his death he sent imperial insignia to Claudius. However, the deceased emperor had relatives in Rome who had the right to inherit the throne, namely the half-brother Licinius Valerian and son Marinian, so it can be assumed that the version of the appointment of Claudius and sending him signs of imperial dignity was only a propaganda fiction in order to justify the seizure of power by Claudius.

After the proclamation of Claudius as emperor, the senators immediately began to destroy the friends and relatives of Gallienus, but Claudius did not support them and even forced them to deify their predecessor. On his orders, money was also paid to soldiers outraged by the death of Gallienus. Neither the Senate nor the people expressed their protest against the accession of Claudius to the throne.

Appearance and personality

The most complete description of Claudius was left by the author of the "History of the Augusts":

Eutropius says that Claudius - "a thrifty, meek, just man, was worthy of the leadership of the state, but died in the second year of his reign from an illness." Aurelius Victor characterizes Claudius as a very fair and active person, working for the good of the state. Single sculptural images of Claudius depict a typical officer of the Roman Empire: the cheeks are roughly shaved, the forehead is wrinkled, expressing tension, and the hair is cut short.

Governing body

After ascending the throne, Claudius found that he was faced with many problems that required immediate solutions. The most urgent of these was the invasion of Illyricum and Pannonia by the Goths, although Gallienus had already done some damage to them at the battle of Nesta. At this time, the siege of Mediolan, where the usurper Avreol was located, was still ongoing. Upon learning of the change of ruler, Aureol tried to come to a peace agreement, but when his confidants opposed this, he decided to surrender to Claudius, apparently on the condition that his life be spared. However, he was soon killed - the soldiers were outraged that he had betrayed Gallienus.

After the assassination of Aureoles, the emperor moved his army to meet the army of the Goths. At the Battle of Nis, Claudius and his legions utterly defeated a large Gothic army. Under the command of Claudius and the commander of the cavalry, the future Emperor Aurelian, the Romans captured thousands of Goths and completely destroyed the enemy camp. As a result of this victory, the Goths were expelled from the boundaries of the Roman Empire, and Claudius received the nickname "Gothic", by which he is known to this day. This success was marked by the issuance of coins (lat. VICTORIAE GOTHICAE - "Gothic victory"). The Gothic War was won. The Goths did not cross the borders of the empire for almost a hundred years.

After that, in 269, either at the instigation of the usurper Avreol, or because the Roman garrison in the province of Rezia was rather small, since its units were pulled to Mediolanum, the Alemanni easily broke through the Brenner Pass and reached Lake Benac. The emperor reacted very quickly and inflicted such a heavy defeat on the barbarians that hardly half of their original number returned to the north. The 8th-century historian Paul the Deacon reports that the number of Alemanni reached three hundred thousand. After that, he fired some irresponsible officials and soldiers. At the same time, new units of the Goths crossed the Danube to help their fellow tribesmen, but they did not achieve much success; another part of them tried to break through on the ships of the Heruli to the cities on the coast of the Aegean Sea, but also met with rebuff and was defeated by the Roman fleet, led by the governor of Egypt, Tenaginon Probus. Many Germans who were captured during various wars were enlisted in the Roman army or settled in the north of the Balkan Peninsula as columns. The preserved milestones testify to the intensive construction of roads in this area.

In the unification of the Roman state, Claudius was greatly helped by the weakening of the Gallic Empire. When the Gallic official Lellian declared himself emperor, Postumus defeated his army, but was soon killed himself because he forbade Mogunciac (now Mainz) to rob. The army elected Marius emperor, but after a short time, he was overthrown by the praetorian prefect Victorinus. In his reign, Spain and the southern coast of Narbonne Gaul seceded from the Gallic Empire and returned to the Roman Empire after the vigil prefect Julius Placidian arrived there with a small detachment. A year later, Augustodunum voluntarily went over to the side of Rome, and then Victorinus laid siege to it. However, Claudius did nothing to support the city, so Augustodunum fell and was sacked. It is still unknown why Claudius did nothing to help Augustodunum.

According to the historian Zosimus, in the reign of Claudius, the Palmyrenes under the command of Timagenes captured Egypt and left a garrison there, but the governor of this province, Tenaginon Probus (not to be confused with the emperor Probus), drove them out of there. Timagenes then raised a new army and defeated Probus, who, having been taken prisoner, committed suicide. Egypt again went to the Palmyra kingdom. From that time on, the supply of grain to Rome ceased until Aurelian crushed the Palmyran kingdom.

In the same year, Claudius assumes the title "Great Parthian", but the reason why he did so is unknown. Damerau suggests that it was actually the Palmyrenes who defeated the Parthians, and Claudius appropriated their victory.

Under Claudius, propaganda was carried out on the power of the empire, carried out with the help of coins with the inscriptions PAX AETERNA, FIDES MILITVM (Rus. Eternal peace, loyalty to the army). Another inscription - GENIVS SENATVS (Russian Genius of the Senate), according to Andreas Alfodi - indicates an improvement in relations between the emperor and the Senate, as well as an increase in the authority of this state body. According to Zonara, Claudius even gave the Senate the decision to declare war on both the Goths and Postumus. Despite the fact that under Claudius the influence of statesmen and military figures of Balkan origin, as well as foreigners, increased, the government continued to rely on representatives of the Roman nobility, such as the proconsul of Africa Aspasius Paternos, the city prefects Flavius Antiochian and Virius Orfits, the princeps of the Senate Pomponius Bassus and the consul Junius Veldumnian. Claudius, apparently, did not make any serious changes in the Roman army, unlike his predecessor Gallienus; apparently, this is due to the short duration of his reign.

During the reign of Claudius, according to the History of the Augusts, there was only one usurper - the Censorinus, but he was most likely fictional.

Religious policy

Although Eusebius of Caesarea and Sulpicius Severus depict the period between the reigns of Valerian and Diocletian as a pause in the persecution of Christians, according to the Lives of the Saints, several Christians were killed during the reign of Claudius II. Apparently, Saint Valentine also died under Claudius. The golden legend says that he refused to renounce Christ before the emperor, for which he was beheaded. According to Aurelius Victor, Claudius was referring to the Sibylline Books even before his campaign against the Goths.

Affinity with the dynasty of Constantine

At the direction of Constantine (until 310), the relationship of his father with the "divine Claudius" was "restored". This was probably all fiction, which contributed to the fact that the life of Claudius, however without an accurate description of the relationship of the emperors, turned into an enthusiastic panegyric, first mentioned in 310.

According to the Augustan History, Claudius had a brother, Crispus, who had a daughter, Claudia. It was Claudia, according to legend, who was the mother of Constantius Chlorus. This statement was widely disseminated by Constantine the Great, who minted coins with the inscription DIVO CLAVDIO OPT IMP, MEMORIAE AETERNAE (Russian Divine Claudius, the best emperor, eternal memory).

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The emperor died in January-August 270 in Sirmium from a plague that broke out in the Balkans in the summer of that year. Despite the fact that Claudius reigned for a little less than two years, his death was sincerely mourned by soldiers and senators alike, and his deification followed immediately after receiving the news of his death. The author of the biography of Claudius in the "History of the Augusts" writes that "they loved him so much that it can be quite definitely said that neither Trajan, nor the Antonines, nor any other of the sovereigns were so loved." The armor of the emperor was delivered to the curia, and a golden equestrian statue of the deified Claudius was erected on the Capitol in front of the temple of Jupiter (given the then economic situation of the empire, most likely, the statue was actually cast in gilded bronze). Cyrene was renamed Claudiopolis in his honor.

There is a more dramatic version of Claudius' death. According to legend, he actually sacrificed himself, since in the Sibylline books there was a prediction that only his death would help win the Gothic War. The author of the Augustan History completely ignores this assumption and says that Claudius simply died of the plague.

There is no doubt that he was outstanding military leader, who showed an excellent example of military art and valor, to which the Roman Empire owes its preservation and the beginning of a way out of a protracted crisis. The ancient authors left positive reviews about Claudius and his reign. This is connected, firstly, with hatred for the predecessor of Claudius Gallienus, and secondly, with the legend of his death.

During his short reign, Claudius did not have the opportunity to deal with the difficult economic problems of the empire: for example, the quality of antoninian became even worse, which adversely affected the already rapid rise in prices. In general, Claudius of Gotha gave a strong impetus to the restoration of the Roman Empire.

CLAVDIUS II OF GOTHAS (268 - 270)

Claudius II of Gotha (Marcus Aurelius Valery Claudius) (268-270) was born around 214, probably in Dardania (Upper Moesia). AT Historia Augusta letters are cited showing that he served as a military tribune under Trajan Decius and Valerian, who appointed him commander-in-chief in Illyricum. These documents are fictitious, but perhaps the invented messages contain some truth. At the time of the assassination in 268 of Gallienus near Mediolanum, in which Claudius seems to have taken part, he held the post of deputy commander in that area. They chose a new emperor from two contenders: Claudius and another major commander, Aurelian, who was also involved in the conspiracy. It is not known why Claudius was chosen by the army, although Aurelian's reputation for strict discipline may have played a role. One way or another, the story was set in motion that the dying Gallienus had formally appointed Claudius as his successor.

However, the murder of Gallienus outraged the soldiers, and fermentation began in the troops, which was only managed to be dampened by the traditional promise to pay an additional reward of twenty gold coins per person. For their part, the senators in Rome, outraged that Gallienus had removed them from government, cheered his death. They immediately proceeded to destroy his friends and relatives, including his brother and son Marian. Claudius urged the senators to mercy, even insisting on deifying the late emperor and appeasing the army.

After the ascension of Claudius to the throne, the siege of Mediolanum with the rebellious commander Aureol, which was conducted by both Gallienus and his murderers, continued without interruption. Upon learning of the change of ruler, Aureol tried to come to an agreement, but when his close associates opposed this, he decided to surrender to Claudius, apparently on the condition that his life be spared. But he was soon killed - the soldiers were outraged that he had betrayed Gallienus. Despite the elimination of this danger, Claudius was still forced to remain in northern Italy, as a serious threat arose from the Alemanni. Either at the instigation of Aureolus, or because the garrison in Rhetia was weakened, his units were pulled to Mediolanus, but the Alemanni broke through the Brenner Pass and reached Lake Benac. Here Claudius met them and inflicted such a heavy defeat on the Alemanni that hardly half of their original number returned to the north. Claudius, however, appropriated the title "Germanic" to himself.

The breakaway Empire, founded by Postumus in the west, was going through difficult times, and Claudius, in order to further weaken it, sent a reconnaissance detachment under the command of Julius Placidian into southern Gaul. He, located at Kularon, established contact with Spain and thereby returned it to the authority of the central government. Claudius himself did not lead this campaign, since he believed that first of all it was necessary to organize resistance to the combs in the Balkans. In 268, Gallienus failed to win a final victory at Naissus, but his commander Marcianus continued to disturb the invaders, and then Claudius himself arrived to complete the rout. When the Goths, who were short of food, had to descend from the camp on Mount Hessax to Macedonia in search of food, Claudius attacked them furiously, apparently not far from the city of Marcianopolis. This success was marked by the issuance of coins (VICTORIAE GOTHIC ae) and brought the title of “Gothic” to the emperor, under which he has been known since then. New detachments were ready to cross the Danuvium to help their fellow tribesmen, but they did not achieve much success, another part of them tried to break through to the cities of the Aegean Sea on the ships of the Heruli, but also met with rebuff and was defeated by the Roman fleet, led by Tenaginon Probus, the governor Egypt. Many Germans who were captured during various wars were enrolled in the Roman army or settled in the north of the Balkans. The preserved milestones testify to the intensive construction of roads in this area.

Claudius was still occupied with the siege of the Goths on Mount Aemus when reports came in that the tribe of the Jutungs, which until then was content with the money paid by Rome, had crossed the Danuvium in search of new lands and threatened Raetia, while another tribe, the Vandals, was preparing to invade Pannonia. Therefore, Claudius, having entrusted the fight against the Goths to Aurelian, hastened with the troops to Sirmium in order to inspect the new theater of operations. But his army was struck by the plague, and in January 270 Claudius himself fell victim to it.

Although he reigned for less than two years, his death was sincerely mourned by both the soldiers and the senate, and his deification followed immediately. Moreover, later the memory of him was again resurrected when Constantine the Great stated that his grandmother was Claudius's daughter or niece. This claim was fictional, but because of it Claudius's life stories turned into enthusiastic panegyrics. But nevertheless, the fact remains that he was an outstanding commander, showing a fine example of military skill and valor, to which the Empire owes its preservation. But he had neither the time nor the opportunity to deal with difficult economic problems; for example, the quality of a silver-plated bronze coin became even worse, which adversely affected the already soaring prices. His coins depict a typical representative of the Danuvian military leaders of that time: short-haired, bearded and unforgiving.

(text according to the publication: M. Grant. Roman emperors / translated from English by M. Gitt - M.; TERRA - Book Club, 1998)

They put me on a stretcher and carried me to the Praetorian camp. The soldiers, bribed by the promise of gifts, proclaimed Claudius emperor. The Senate, after a feeble attempt at resistance, recognized him. The Romans were already so accustomed to monarchical rule that there could not be many republicans. Brother Germanicus was expected to love freedom. Thus, Claudius received the throne, thanks to the hereditary right, the disposition of the Praetorians, the intelligence and determination of the friend of his youth, Agrippa, the grandson of Herod, this brave man acted instead of the indecisive, timid Claudius. An amnesty was declared. Cassius Hereia, who killed Caligula out of personal enmity and then tried to restore the republic, was expelled from it, he and some other republicans were executed on the advice of the courtiers. This was the only cruelty of the new emperor. A man of a very limited mind, but by nature good-natured, Claudius at the beginning of his reign showed meekness and justice, so that the Romans were very happy about his accession to the throne. Due to his timidity, he constantly had bodyguards with him. This retinue of Claudius showed the Romans that they were living under the dominion of warriors, but they consoled themselves with the fact that the trials for lèse majesté were stopped, the formidable scammer Protogenes was executed, those in the dungeons were released, the exiles were returned, burdensome and shameful taxes were abolished, were destroyed documents that threatened people with death, found at Caligula; the people liked the love with which the emperor Claudius restored the honor of the memory of his relatives, and especially his brother Germanicus and his wife, Agrippina the Elder; I liked his good nature: apart from occasional outbursts of anger, he was always kind.

Bust of Emperor Claudius

Personality and character of Claudius

And yet, the reign of Emperor Claudius, which began so graciously, became no less disastrous and terrible than were the times of Tiberius and Caligula; the reason for this was not so much his evil will as the weakness of his mind, which made him completely incapable of managing a huge state in which everything depended on the personality of the monarch. The serious illnesses that Claudius suffered in childhood and youth prevented both his physical and mental development. His figure was pitiful: on thin, weak legs, a body swayed, disposed towards obesity; head was shaking. Before Claudius became emperor, he was the object of contempt and ridicule of all his relatives. His mother, Antonia, called him a freak, whose figure nature began to make human, but did not complete. Timid and awkward, unable to behave with tact and decency, he was not allowed into court society, he was not given honorary titles, he was treated like an idiot. Under Caligula, he was the target of the most brazen jokes of the courtiers. But Claudius was not so weak in mind and not so alien to passions as generally thought; from childhood he had a great love for the sciences, especially for history and archeology, and his way of life was not innocent: he loved to play dice, drink, loved women. Claudius was surrounded by women from childhood; he was married five times and was constantly under female influence. He was reluctantly seen at court, and Claudius himself had no desire to be in the circle of courtiers, lived away from the court, very diligently studied Greek and Roman literature and philology, and wrote scholarly works. His "Etruscan History", which consisted of 20 books, his "History of the Roman Republic" from the end internecine wars, his "Autobiography" were not without some dignity. They were used by Tacitus, perhaps Titus Livius, former teacher Claudia.

Freedmen-favorites of Claudius

Claudius loved to rest in the company of slaves, freedmen, jesters and women. Because of this, he remained completely alien to practical life, did not know either people or the state of affairs; his range of concepts was very narrow. Every surprise upset him; in moments of fright, Claudius lost all his little stock of judgment and became an obedient instrument of every scoundrel. With a weakness of reason and memory, he was constantly the plaything of his wives and scapegoats. Their influence on the spineless emperor, incapable of independence, was all the stronger because the Roman aristocracy still did not want to give up pride in its former power, did not dare to get close to the court, take on court positions, and show loyalty to the emperor. Due to the fact that noble families avoided the palace, there was full scope for clever courtiers, whom the emperor Claudius chose from a huge number of his educated and cunning scapegoats; they satisfied their greed by deceit and avenged high society for contempt for them. Without thinking about the interests of the state, they sought only the mercy of the emperor, who rewarded their devotion with wealth, and derived monetary benefits from their brilliant but precarious position. They were oppressors of the people, but devoted servants and advisers to the sovereign. Their power in the financial department was especially unlimited. All revenues and expenses of the fisk passed through their hands. Statius introduces us to one of these people, Claudius Etruscus, who held lucrative positions under several emperors, amassed millions and, when he died at the age of 80, was buried with amazing splendor. The reign of Claudius was a golden age for his freedmen. Removed from the circle of the imperial family and its associates, Claudius from childhood revolved in a society of slaves, clients and scapegoats; they became omnipotent favorites of him. There were four chief among them: Callistus reported to the emperor requests and other current affairs, Polybius was his assistant in academic studies, Narcissus was his secretary, Pallas was his treasurer. In alliance with Messalina, the wife of the emperor, a shameless debauchee, they ruled him as they pleased.

Constructions of Claudius

But even under this vulgar government of Claudius, huge structures were erected, testifying that even in the days of deep humiliation the enterprise and energy of the Romans had not yet died out, the love for great deeds still remained in them; the main of these structures was the construction and strengthening of the harbor at Ostia. The bottom of the harbor was deepened in the reign of Claudius, so that large sea ships could enter the Tiber; shipyards, shops were built; Maritime trade revived, the correct supply of grain to Rome was ensured, and the danger of starvation in the capital was eliminated. The aqueducts built at that time are also noteworthy, especially the one that was called Claudian (Aqua Claudia, consecrated in 52). He, in some places underground, in some places along extremely high arcades, led from a very long distance pure spring water to Rome and was arranged so that it rose even to the high parts of the city; according to Pliny, these aqueducts of Claudius were structures the colossal of which did not exist anywhere on earth. The construction of a canal (emissarius) under Claudius for the discharge of water from Lake Futsin to the Liris River was also a huge work. It was a tunnel cut through the rock; 30,000 people worked for eleven years on a gigantic work (41-52); his goal was to stop the pollution of the surrounding area by floods of the lake and to provide a large space for agriculture. But the goal was not fully achieved, because the bottom of the lake lies deeper than the riverbed. Traces of this canal built by Claudius are still visible, but the lake, now called Chelansky (Lago di Celano), remained until recently still very large.

Foreign policy of Claudius

Not poor was the reign of Claudius and military exploits. The Rhine and Danube frontiers were secured and successful steps were taken to Romanize them. In the north and south, the boundaries of the state were expanded; in the south was made the Roman province of Mauritania (43); in the north part of Britain was conquered; one of the campaigns there was made with the participation of the emperor himself. In Asia, Domitius Corbulo won victories reminiscent of the glorious times of the republic, and protected Armenia from being conquered by the Parthians.

Domestic policy of Claudius

Even in internal management some good orders were made, in spite of the harmful influence of Claudius's favorites and his personal cowardice. In his relations with the Senate, the emperor Claudius tried to imitate Augustus: he increased the number of senators and horsemen; raised some surnames to the dignity of patricians; wanted to raise a sense of self-respect in the upper classes by various honorary distinctions and the prohibition to participate in humiliating games. He performed his duties as a censor (“guardian of morals”) diligently and conscientiously, although not always with tact, understanding of the matter and consistency. As far as he could, he tried to stop the horrors and absurdities of Caligula. We have heard a speech in which the emperor Claudius proposed to the senate to give the full right of Roman citizenship to persons holding positions in the cities of the region of the Aedui, and thereby open access to the senate and curule magistracies for them. Entire districts were given the right of Roman citizenship (48), so that the number of people enjoying this right increased significantly in the state. It must, however, be said that in granting this right often played leading role bribery of favorites. For the wrong appropriation of the right of Roman citizenship by foreigners, freedmen or slaves, Claudius punished very severely. He tried to reduce the idleness of the mass of the common people of the city of Rome by strict police supervision of hotels and shops that sold ready-made food, and by prohibiting the sale of dainties. Those religious societies that had become dangerous to morality and the state by their voluptuous or cruel rites were dissolved under Claudius, and their members were subjected to exile. On the contrary, ancient rites, such as the Eleusinian sacraments, Roman sacrifices and divination, enjoyed the patronage of Claudius, who loved antiquity. But he reduced the number of holidays that too often interrupted the meetings of the tribunals. To deal with cases of wills and in general about inheritance, he appointed two special praetors. Claudius tried, as far as possible, to protect the provinces from the oppression of the rulers. By private law some good laws were issued by him. After taking up archeology, Claudius most loved jurisprudence; his weak mind was not always able to sort out intricate legal questions, but his zeal was useful to the development of legal sciences. It is true that the decisions in court cases were drawn up not so much by the emperor Claudius himself as by his advisers, and in order for the sentence to be carried out, the consent of his wife and favorites, who kept him under their dominion, was necessary. For all his love of justice, for his spinelessness and mental weakness, it always depended on chance what results would be produced by his orders and judicial sentences. Good measures by the favorites of Claudius often turned into bad ones, and the timidity of the emperor turned into cruelty.

Empress Messalina, wife of Claudius

While Claudius was sitting at his scientific works, the freedmen were selling civil and military positions, sentences in court cases, the right to all kinds of robberies; and the Empress Messalina, granddaughter of the triumvir Mark Antony, a beautiful woman with unbridled voluptuousness, behaved in such a way that her name became proverbial, trampled down all decency with her feet, boundlessly indulged in the desires of her vindictiveness, greed and sensuality. The Senate behaved subserviently: it decided flattering decisions in honor of contemptible favorites, determined to erect monuments to their glory at public expense, so that Pliny says: it was difficult to say whether these glorifications should be considered mockery, or evidence of complete dishonesty. Under the influence of the otpuschennikov and their creatures, the court of Claudius increasingly took on an oriental character. Gatekeepers stood at the entrance to the palace and searched those who entered, whether they had hidden weapons under their clothes; there were dignitaries in charge of the order of audiences, an award was introduced, which consisted in granting the right to have a ring with the image of the emperor. disastrous lèse majesté trials resumed soon.

Already in the first months of the new reign, Julia, the daughter of Germanicus, whom Claudius first returned from exile, was, at the suggestion of the envious Empress Messalina, again exiled and then killed; so that her husband Mark Vinicius would not avenge her, he was poisoned. Appius Silanus, a nobleman whose son was betrothed to Octavia, daughter of the emperor, was executed by the intrigue of Messalina, irritated that he rejected her offer to be her lover (41); she, with the help of her ally, the absolved Narcissus, convinced the emperor that Silanus was plotting against his life. Surrounding Claudius, taking advantage of the weakness of his memory and cowardice, destroyed everyone honest people who did not want to flatter the depraved Messalina and the villainous favorites of the emperor. This became especially easy for them when, in the second year of the reign of Claudius (42), a conspiracy was discovered with the aim of restoring the republic. It was destroyed by the devotion of the legions to the imperial house. Not only conspirators and people who knew about their plan, such as Appius Vinician, Furius Camillus Scribonian, were executed, or they themselves took their own lives, but also many senators, horsemen and citizens who had no intention: they were tortured and condemned to death as guilty . Caecina Petus, a friend of Scribonian who shared his convictions, stabbed himself to death, encouraged in this determination by the example of his courageous wife Arria; she plunged a dagger into her chest and handed it to him with the words: "Pet, it doesn't hurt." The famous philosopher Annaeus Seneca was exiled by Claudius to the island of Corsica. He had to live there for seven years; the flattering letter in which he expressed consolations to Polybius on the occasion of the death of the brother of this favorite did not shorten the references: Polybius either did not want to bother, or received the letter too late.

So, at the court of the emperor Claudius, oriental splendor and debauchery were combined with cruelty; a shameless woman destroyed the noblest people for resisting her shameful love or in satisfaction of her greed; unscrupulous people, who had not only merit, but also no knowledge of affairs, handed out positions, decided processes according to their own benefit, the emperor, in the circle of numerous guests, indulged in gluttony and drunkenness at the table in violation of any decency; - of course, this was supposed to suppress the last remnants of moral dignity in the people.

Empress Messalina. Painting by P. S. Kroyer, 1881

While Claudius invented three new letters to enrich the Latin alphabet and tried to return Rome to ancient virtue by censorship orders, his feeble-minded eyes did not notice the filth of vice and villainy that his wife, the Empress Messalina, was sinking into. A special commission was appointed (47), which met in one of the rooms of the Empress, to try Valery Asiatik, a senator and former consul, a man who was famous for honesty and straightforwardness and was very rich. He was accused of malice against the emperor and condemned to death, because Messalina wanted to acquire his gardens, which had previously belonged to Lucullus and which he further improved and splendidly decorated. By special grace he was given the right to choose his own kind of death; he cut his arteries and died courageously. Poppaea Sabina, the wife of the wealthy senator Lucius Cornelius Scipio, a woman of a frivolous lifestyle, but the first beauty of her time, became a victim of the Empress Messalina, because the Empress' lover, the pantomime Mester, had secret meetings with her. By the imbecility of Claudius, Messalina was safe from all his conjectures, so long as his freedmen were in alliance with her. He was entangled in her nets, and she more and more boldly embarked on unbridled debauchery. They say that, disguised, she went at night under the name of Litsiska to brothels and gave herself to everyone who chose her; that she set up a den of debauchery in the palace itself, where married women gathered to meet their lovers. Finally, Messalina fell passionately in love (48) with Gaius Silius, the most beautiful young man in Rome, and confused him with her intrigues so that he divorced his wife and became her lover, partly out of fear, partly out of ambition. Blinded by passion, she forgot all caution. Tacitus says that Messalina visited the house of Silius not secretly, but with a large retinue, appeared with him in public, gave him estates, gave honors, filled his house with slaves, freedmen, royal luxury, as if her lover's home was already becoming an imperial palace. Silius realized that the matter had assumed too dangerous a dimension, that his death was inevitable if he did not overthrow Claudius and seize imperial power. He persuaded Messalina in favor of his plan, promising to marry her; but, so that he could not back down from his promise after success, she demanded that the marriage be completed before the start of the enterprise.

Silius agreed, and Rome saw an unprecedented spectacle: taking advantage of the fact that Claudius was not in Rome, Silius and the Empress Messalina performed the marriage ceremony in compliance with all legal and religious formalities and celebrated their marriage with a magnificent wedding feast. The audacity of the empress was shown by this affair with courage, which made Narcissa see that he himself could be overthrown by her if she survived. He opened Claudius' eyes. The confidence of the favored abductees in the empress had already been shaken earlier, when she lured the death sentence from Claudius by slander to one of them, Polybius, her former lover. They saw that now the opportunity had come to take revenge on Messalina. But in addition to revenge, they had to rise up against her: they knew that if Claudius was deposed, they would lose their influence on affairs and their very lives would be in danger. Therefore, they decided to execute Messalina, while Silius and she had not yet had time to begin the execution of their plan. Narcissus hurried to Ostia, where Claudius was then, and revealed the plan of a new married couple. There was a noisy feast in the house of the newlyweds - it was the day of the grape harvest festival, when the Romans were noisily having fun. Messalina with loose hair and Silius with a wreath of ivy on his head were walking in a bacchanal procession through the brightly lit halls, when the terrible news spread through the palace: the emperor was going to Rome, accompanied by Narcissus. The guests fled in horror. Messalina with the children went to meet the emperor, but her requests and tricks lost their former power over him. She was ordered to leave; she went to her villa in the garden of Lucullus, taken from Valerius Asiaticus, and Narcissus gave orders for the murders on behalf of Claudius. Silius and his attendants were executed; soon Messalina was killed by centurions sent by Narcissus (48). He was in a hurry to kill her so that she would not beg forgiveness from the emperor. From some of the words of Suetonius, Merival deduces the assumption that Narcissus himself arranged for Messalina the opportunity to marry Silius, persuading Claudius to divorce her for a form for some time, in order to thereby reject the fulfillment of the words of the soothsayers who announced that Messalina's husband was in danger of death. Claudius was informed of Messalina's death while he was sitting at a festive dinner. He continued to eat, showing no malice towards her, no pity, no sorrow, no joy; he was already completely dumbfounded.

Empress Agrippina the Younger - second wife of Claudius

Claudius was accustomed to being under the power of his wife, and could not remain without a wife; therefore, his favorites began to consult among themselves on whom to marry him. After quite a long discussion, they agreed to marry the emperor to his own niece, Agrippina the Younger, the daughter of Claudius' brother, Germanicus, an intelligent woman, very beautiful, but power-hungry and depraved; she was then a widow: her first husband was Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, a rude libertine. She lived with him for 12 years, their relationship was bad; she was now thirty-three. Claudius liked the idea of marrying her very much. The Senate and the people asked him to issue a law allowing marriages between uncles and nieces, then they asked him to marry Agrippina (49); she introduced new vices and crimes into the palace. Agrippina was voluptuous, like Messalina, but far surpassed her predecessor in lust for power and energy. Immediately after the marriage, she began to petition for the emperor to marry her son from her first marriage, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, his daughter Octavia. Octavia already had a fiancé, Lucius Junius Silanus, great-grandson of Augustus. At the wish of Agrippina, the lowly debauched Vitellius accused Silanus of an affair that made him unworthy of marriage with the daughter of the emperor, and he was declared unworthy of this marriage. Agrippina began to arrogantly rule over the emperor Claudius and the court. The nobles, who seemed dangerous to her, and the women who aroused the envy of her with their beauty, were subjected to fictitious accusations and punished for imaginary crimes. She did this with Lollia Paulina, who was her rival in the candidacy for the empress, and with the wondrous beauty Calpurnia. Agrippina, more carefully than Messalina, kept outward propriety; but her cunning, lust for power, greed and courage for all sorts of evil deeds made the Romans find that under Messalina times were less terrible.

Empress Agrippina the Younger

Nero and Seneca

Shortly after her marriage, Agrippina received the title of Augusta, which was the title of Octavian Augustus' wife, Livia. Like Livia, she set as the main goal of her intrigues to make her son the heir of the emperor in order to secure dominion over the state for her whole life. Her 12-year-old son was announced as the fiancé of Octavia, who was then seven years old. Shortly thereafter, the emperor Claudius adopted him. Claudius Nero Drusus, as the son of Agrippina was called by adoption, became a rival of the son whom the emperor had from Messalina. The son of Claudius, who received the name Britannicus on occasion of his father's expedition against the British, was several years younger than the son of Agrippina. Nero was given unheard-of honors; Agrippina wanted to prepare the people for the idea that he would be the heir to the emperor. In order for the people to have a good opinion of him, Agrippina entrusted his education to the famous philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca, whom she returned from Corsica, where he was exiled on charges of secret relations with Claudius's niece, Livilla, but in fact for his letter to Marcia, in which he expressed a republican way of thinking. But it was hard to give good direction a young man with ardent passions, spoiled by his former servile teachers, at that time already depraved, already carried away by dreams of his artistic talents and completely spoiled. Seneca tried to inspire his pupil Nero with good rules by oral lessons and essays that he wrote for him (one of these essays is the discourse “On Anger”).

But the natural inclination, the flattery of others, the independence from the teacher, given high position pupil, were stronger than all the worries of Seneca; however, the goal for which Agrippina returned Seneca to Rome was achieved by her. She entrusted the upbringing of her son to a famous writer who had a reputation as an adherent of freedom, who was subjected to the suffering of exile for his love of freedom - this gave her good fame, and he wrote essays that glorified her rule of the state even more. It was natural that the learned statesman, who helped Agrippina in all her personal affairs with his advice and services, became a close friend of this smart woman. She had the expectation that if he gains influence over her son, it will be very useful to strengthen her power. When Nero was fifteen years old, he married Octavia (53). On the day of the wedding, her former fiancé Silan took his own life. Agrippina began to push back more and more the son of Claudius, Britannicus. He was deliberately held in such a way that his abilities did not develop. The creatures of Agrippina spread the rumor that he was suffering from epilepsy, that he was imbecile; the people used to think of Britannica in this way; everyone worshiped the empress, who knew how to destroy her opponents, showered honors and riches on her friends. Emperor Claudius, who was completely subordinate to Agrippina, gave her such a position that she enjoyed the same honor with him. Even on the coins, her image stood next to his image. The flattering Greek cities of Asia Minor paid her divine honors, erected monuments, erected statues in her honor. At the suggestion of Agrippina, the emperor appointed one of her adherents, Aphranius Burra, as prefect of the Praetorians, to whom she entrusted the military education of Nero. In honor of Pallas, a former slave, a monument was erected in the forum near the statue of Caesar; he deserved this honor by being especially zealous in persuading Claudius to marry her.

Death of Emperor Claudius

But soon after her son's wedding, Agrippina noticed that the emperor's favor towards her was waning. Narcissus began to fear her lust for power and, at his suggestion, the emperor began to shun her more, expressed remorse that he had given her son preference over his own, began to show tenderness for Britannicus; Agrippina reasoned that it was necessary to poison Claudius. Narcissus fell ill and went to the waters in Sinuessa for treatment. This facilitated the execution of the intention. The famous Gallic poisoner Locusta prepared poison for Claudius; the eunuch Galot, who was supposed to taste the dishes served to the emperor, helped the cause, and Claudius ate poison in his favorite food, mushrooms. He died (October 54) at the age of 64, in the 14th year of his reign. Agrippina hid his death while all the arrangements were made for Nero to be proclaimed emperor; she pretended to be stricken with grief and in need of consolation; under this pretext, she kept Britannicus and Octavia with her, and Nero, accompanied by Burr, went to the Praetorian camp, promised gifts to the Praetorians, and they proclaimed him emperor. The convened senate agreed with the decision of the Praetorians, and the whole state recognized Nero as emperor.

The funeral of Claudius was performed with the greatest splendor, and the deceased emperor was elevated to the rank of god (received an apotheosis). Nero gave a speech at the funeral, written for him by Seneca. There is a libel on Claudius called Apokolokyntosis Divi Claudii ("The transformation of the divine Claudius into a pumpkin"), attributed to Seneca. The name of this satire is based on a comic play on words: "apotheosis - apokolokinthosis" ("deification - pumping"). If this pamphlet really belongs to Seneca, then the philosopher rewarded himself with this parody of praise for his participation in the apotheosis. Narcissus was immediately taken to prison after the death of the emperor, and there he was forced to take his own life. Without asking the consent of the new emperor, Agrippina ordered the poisoning of the proconsul of Asia, Mark Junius Silanus; it was the brother of Octavia's fiancé; Agrippina feared that he would proclaim himself emperor and avenge the death of the deceased. He was a rich man, but of limited mind; Caligula called him the golden sheep; but he was a descendant of the Caesars, and enjoyed the favor of the people for his reputation for impeccable honesty.

Illyrian by birth. During his reign, he successfully fought with the barbarian tribe of the Alemanni, as well as with the Goths, over whom he won a convincing victory in the battle of Nis, for which he received the nickname "Gothic". However, despite the fact that Claudius initiated the restoration of the power of the Roman Empire, his reign was very short: in 270 he died of the plague.

Early life and career

future emperor Marcus Aurelius Valerius Claudius was born on May 10, 213 in Dardania (sometimes a later year is given - 219 or 220, but this date does not have much support among historians). He probably came from Illyria. "History of the Augusts" - a source full of errors and falsifications, - says that Claudius "has its origin from the ancestor of the Trojans Il and from Dardanus himself". The life of Claudius in the "History of the Augusti" is represented only by a few facts from the life of the emperor.

Before coming to power, Claudius served in the Roman army, where he made a good career and achieved appointment to the highest military posts of the empire. Under Decius Trajan, he was a tribune (he was sent to defend Thermopylae, in connection with which the governor of Achaia was ordered to send two hundred Dardanian soldiers, sixty horsemen, sixty Cretan archers and a thousand well-armed recruits to Claudius), under Valerian - for the second time a tribune of a certain V of Mars legion (however, the V Legion of Mars is unknown; the IV Legion of Mars, apparently founded by Aurelian, stood in Arabia at the beginning of the 5th century), as well as the dux of Illyricum (all military units located in the province of Thrace, two Moesias, Dalmatia, Pannonia and Dacia), until the emperor Gallienus made him commander of the cavalry. The biography of Claudius in the Augustan History also includes, undoubtedly, false letters attributed to the emperors Decius, Valerian and Gallienus, and, moreover, representing him in an exclusively favorable light. At the same time, perhaps they contain some grain of truth.

Ascension to the throne

There is some evidence that Claudius was wounded during Gallienus' campaign to put down the revolt of the usurper Ingenuis, and that he later served with Aureolus during the war against Postumus.

According to Aurelius Victor, in late August or early September 268, Claudius was appointed tribune of an auxiliary detachment stationed at Ticinus. His task was to guard this city against a possible invasion by the Gallic emperor Postumus. There, the troops proclaimed Claudius emperor.

There is an assumption that he participated in a conspiracy against Gallienus and that he sent imperial insignia to Claudius before his death. However, the deceased emperor had relatives in Rome who had the right to inherit the throne, namely the half-brother Licinius Valerian and son Marinian, therefore, it can be assumed that the version about the appointment of Claudius and sending him signs of imperial dignity was only a propaganda fiction in order to justify the seizure of power by Claudius.

After the proclamation of Claudius as emperor, the senators immediately began to destroy the friends and relatives of Gallienus, but Claudius did not support them and even forced them to deify their predecessor. On his orders, money was also paid to soldiers outraged by the death of Gallienus. Neither the senate nor the people expressed their protest against the accession of Claudius to the throne.

Appearance and personality

The most complete description of Claudius was left by the author of his biography in the collection of imperial biographies "History of the Augusts":

“Claudius himself is remarkable for the severity of morals, remarkable for his extraordinary way of life and exceptional chastity. Abstinent in the use of wine, he was a hunter of food; He had a tall stature, a fiery look, a broad and full face, and such strong fingers that he often knocked out the teeth of horses and mules with one blow of his fist. .

Governing body

Coins issued during the reign of Claudius II give some, albeit limited, insight into his reign. In addition to the standard images representing the virtues of the princeps, which are common to most emperors of the 2nd and 3rd centuries, coins were issued proclaiming the security of the empire (lat. SECVRITAS PERPETVA, PAX AETERNA), loyalty to the army (lat. FIDES MILITVM) and military victories over the Germans and Goths (lat. VICTORIA GERMAN and VICTORIAE GOTHIC). In addition, the mints of Claudius of Gotha minted some other interesting and unusual coins.

For example, Claudius is one of the very few emperors who issued coins bearing the portrait of the patron of blacksmithing, Hephaestus. They depicted a standing god with a hammer and tongs, and there is also a unique inscription “ REGI ARTIS"(Russian Tsar of Art). Also rare are coins with the sea god Neptune. Images of the Invincible Sun on some coins indicate interest in this deity, whose cult would become dominant in the Roman Empire a few years later. In addition, Claudius was the first emperor to have a portrait of the Egyptian goddess Isis appear on his coins.

Wars with barbarians

After ascending the throne, Claudius found that he was faced with many problems that required immediate solutions. The most urgent of these was the invasion of Illyricum and Pannonia by the Goths, although Gallienus had already done some damage to them at the Battle of Nesta. At this time, the siege of Mediolanum, where the usurper Avreol was located, was still ongoing. Upon learning of the change of ruler, Aureol tried to come to a peace agreement, but when his confidants opposed this, he decided to surrender to Claudius, apparently on the condition that his life be spared. However, he was soon killed - the soldiers were outraged that he had betrayed Gallienus.

A short time after the assassination of Aureolus, the emperor moved his army towards the army of the Goths. The Gothic army, according to some reports, reached 320 thousand. It included the following peoples: Grutungs, Austrogoths, Tervings, Visas, Gipedes (all are Gothic tribes), Peukins, as well as Celts and Heruli. With 2,000 ships they attacked Moesia from the Black Sea. Prior to this, Claudius sent Aurelian, led by cavalry, to Macedonia to protect Illyria from attack, while with the main forces he went to the enemy. In the battle of the Moesian city of Naiss, Claudius and his legions utterly defeated a large Gothic army. Under the command of Claudius and the commander of the cavalry, the future emperor Aurelian, the Romans captured thousands of Goths and completely destroyed the enemy camp. Up to 50,000 enemy soldiers were killed. As a result of this victory, the Goths were expelled from the boundaries of the Roman Empire, and Claudius received the nickname "Gothic", by which he is known to this day. This success was marked by the issuance of coins (lat. VICTORIAE GOTHICAE - "Gothic victory"). The Gothic War was won. The Goths did not cross the borders of the empire for almost a hundred years. In the region of Dober and Lake Doirana, the Goths lost 3,000 soldiers in a battle with Aurelian's cavalry.

At the same time, new units of the Goths crossed the Danube to help their fellow tribesmen, but they did not achieve much success; another part of them tried to break through on the ships of the Heruli to the cities on the coast of the Aegean Sea, but also met with rebuff and was defeated by the Roman fleet, led by the governor of Egypt, Tenaginon Probus. Many Germans who were captured during various wars were enrolled in the Roman army or settled in the north of the Balkan Peninsula as columns. The preserved milestones testify to the intensive construction of roads in this area. The victory over the Goths made a significant contribution to the restoration of the Roman Empire. This was a significant step leading to the subsequent successes of Aurelian and the reforms of Diocletian and Constantine. The main factors in the defeat of the Goths were their lack of food, which led to starvation, as well as various diseases that afflicted the soldiers, especially the plague.

Thus, the main theater of operations were the Roman provinces of Upper and Lower Moesia, as well as Thrace. Numerous battles took place near Marcianopolis, Byzantium and Thessalonica (the latter was captured by the barbarians in the absence of Claudius). It should be noted that during this period military establishment, present in Roman Dacia, were very few in number. Therefore, when Aurelian came to the throne, he disbanded this province between 271 and 274.

Weakening of the Gallic Empire

In the unification of the Roman state, Claudius was greatly helped by the weakening of the Gallic Empire. In the spring of 269, Ulpius Cornelius Lellian, one of the subordinates of the Gallic emperor Postumus, declared himself emperor in Germania Superior. Postumus defeated the usurper, but refused to allow his soldiers to sack Mogonziac, which served as the headquarters of Leliana. This turned out to be the reason for his downfall. The enraged legionnaires rebelled and killed Postumus. Marcus Aurelius Marius, chosen by the troops, became the new emperor of Gaul. Marius did not rule long, and soon Victorinus, the praetorian prefect, overthrew him. Having ascended the throne, Victorinus saw that his state was in a difficult situation.

In his reign, Spain and the southern coast of Narbonne Gaul seceded from the Gallic Empire and returned to the Roman Empire after the prefect of the Vigils, Julius Placidian, stationed himself with a small detachment at Cularon and established contact with them. Fortunately for the Gallic emperor, it was there that Placidian stopped and Victorinus' position stabilized.

Relations with the Palmyrene Kingdom

Sources report that relations between the Roman Empire and Palmyra gradually weakened during the year 270. From the "History of the Augusti" it is known that under Gallienus an army under the command of Aurelius Heraclian was sent to the East, but it was destroyed by the troops of Zenobia. However, since Heraclian was not actually in the East in 268 (at which time he was actively involved in the conspiracy against Gallienus), we see that this report is not entirely correct. It is quite possible that out of a desire to lay the blame for all the troubles on Gallienus, the ancient historian deliberately transferred the events of Claudius's reign to the biography of Gallienus.

Claudius and the Senate

Under Claudius, propaganda of the power of the empire was carried out, carried out with the help of coins with the inscriptions " PAX AETERNA, FIDES MILITVM"(Eternal Peace, Loyalty to the Army"). Another inscription - " GENIVS SENATVS"("Genius of the Senate") - according to Andreas Alfodi, indicates an improvement in relations between the emperor and the Senate, as well as an increase in the authority of this state body. If the Zonare is to be believed, Claudius even gave the senate the decision to declare war on both the Goths and Postumus.

Despite the fact that under Claudius the influence of statesmen and military figures of Balkan origin, as well as foreigners, increased, the government continued to rely on representatives of the Roman nobility, such as the proconsul of Africa Aspasius Paternos, the city prefects Flavius Antiochian and Virius Orfits, the princeps of the Senate Pomponius Bassus and the consul Junius Veldumnian. Claudius apparently did not make any major changes in the Roman army, unlike his predecessor Gallienus; apparently, this is due to the short duration of his reign.

During the reign of Claudius, according to the "History of the Augusts", there was only one usurper - Censorinus, but he was very likely fictional.

Religious policy

According to Aurelius Victor, Claudius was referring to the Sibylline Books even before his campaign against the Goths.

Death

When the emperor was busy besieging Goths on Mount Gem, he received reports that the Yutung tribe (English) Russian, which until then was content with the money paid by Rome, crossed the Danube and threatens Recia and Noricum, and the Vandal tribe is preparing to invade Pannonia. Therefore, Claudius, having entrusted the fight against the Goths to Aurelian, hastened with the troops to Sirmium to inspect the new theater of operations. But his army was struck by a plague, and around January - March 270, Claudius himself fell victim to it.

There is a more dramatic version of Claudius' death. According to legend, he actually sacrificed himself, since in the Sibylline books there was a prediction that only his death would help win the Gothic War. Surprisingly, the author of the Augustan History completely ignores this assumption and says that Claudius simply died of the plague.

Affinity with the dynasty of Constantine

At the direction of Constantine (until 310), the relationship of his father with the "divine Claudius" was "restored". All this was probably a fiction, which contributed to the fact that the life of Claudius, however, without an accurate description of the relationship of the emperors, turned into an enthusiastic panegyric, first mentioned in 310.

According to the Augustan History, Claudius had a brother, Crispus, who had a daughter, Claudia. It was Claudia, according to legend, who was the mother of Constantius Chlorus. This claim was widely circulated by Constantine the Great, who minted coins bearing the inscription DIVO CLAVDIO OPT IMP, MEMORIAE AETERNAE("Divine Claudius, the best emperor, eternal memory").

Board results

Despite the fact that Claudius reigned for a little less than two years, his death was sincerely mourned by soldiers and senators alike, and his deification followed immediately after receiving the news of his death. The author of the biography of Claudius in the History of the Augusti writes that “they loved him so much that it can be quite definitely said that neither Trajan, nor Antonina, nor any other of the sovereigns were so loved”. The armor of the emperor was delivered to the curia, a golden equestrian statue of the deified Claudius was erected on the Capitol in front of the temple of Jupiter (given the then economic situation of the empire, most likely, the statue was actually cast in bronze and then gilded). Cyrene was renamed Claudiopolis in his honor.

There is no doubt that he was an outstanding military leader, who showed an excellent example of military art and valor, to which the Roman Empire owes its preservation and the beginning of a way out of a protracted crisis. Ancient authors have left positive comments about Claudius and his reign. This is connected, firstly, with hatred for the predecessor of Claudius Gallienus, and secondly, with the legend of his death. In general, Claudius of Gotha gave a strong impetus to the restoration of the Roman Empire.

Comments

Notes

Lendering, Jona. Historia Augusta (indefinite) . Livius.org. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
, XI. nine.
, 34. 1.
, p. 90.
, XVI. one.
, 33. 28.
Pavel Orozy. History against the pagans. VII. 23.1.
, IX. 11.1.
, I. 41.
Lyubzhin, A. B. Notes // Lords of Rome. - M., 1992. - S. 364.
Parker, H.A. History of the Roman World A.D. 138 to 337. - P. 176.
, Herkunft, Jugend & Karriere .
, XIII. 5.
, IX. one.
, 34. 2.
, Einleitung .
Gibbon, Edward. Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire. - Ch. eleven.
, p. 109.
, p. 110.
Pavel Deacon. Roman history. IX. eleven.
, pp. 52-54.
Watson, Alaric. Aurelian and the Third Century. - P. 43.
History of the Augusts. Divine Claudius. Note 19.
, pp. 62-75.
, pp. 54-61.
, p. 55.
, IX. eight.
Watson, Alaric. Aurelian and the Third Century. - P. 155-157.
Polfer, Michel. Postumus (A.D. 260-269) (indefinite) . De Imperatoribus Romanis (200-03-06). Retrieved December 6, 2013.
Polfer, Michel. Marius (A.D. 269) (indefinite) . De Imperatoribus Romanis (June 24, 1999). Retrieved October 30, 2013.

The future emperor Marcus Aurelius Valerius Claudius was born on May 10, 213 in Dardania (sometimes a later year is indicated - 219 or 220, but this date does not have much support among historians). He probably came from Illyria. "History of the Augusts" - a source full of errors and falsifications, - says that Claudius "has its origin from the ancestor of the Trojans Il and from Dardanus himself". The life of Claudius in the "History of the Augusti" is represented only by a few facts from the life of the emperor.

Before coming to power, Claudius served in the Roman army, where he made a good career and achieved appointment to the highest military posts of the empire. Under Decius Trajan, he was a tribune (he was sent to defend Thermopylae, in connection with which the governor of Achaia was ordered to send two hundred Dardanian soldiers, sixty horsemen, sixty Cretan archers and a thousand well-armed recruits to Claudius), under Valerian - for the second time a tribune of a certain V of Mars legion (however, the 5th legion of Mars is unknown; the 4th legion of Mars, apparently founded by Aurelian, stood in Arabia at the beginning of the 5th century) [K 1], as well as the dux of Illyricum (all military units located in the province of Thrace were subordinate to him , two Moesias, Dalmatia, Pannonia and Dacia), until the emperor Gallienus made him commander of the cavalry. The biography of Claudius in the Augustan History also includes, undoubtedly, false letters attributed to the emperors Decius, Valerian and Gallienus, and, moreover, representing him in an exclusively favorable light. At the same time, perhaps they contain some grain of truth.

There is some evidence that Claudius was wounded during Gallienus' campaign to put down the revolt of the usurper Ingenuis, and that he later served with Aureolus during the war against Postumus.

After the proclamation of Claudius as emperor, the senators immediately began to destroy the friends and relatives of Gallienus, but Claudius did not support them and even forced them to deify their predecessor. On his orders, money was also paid to soldiers outraged by the death of Gallienus. Neither the senate nor the people expressed their protest against the accession of Claudius to the throne.

The most complete description of Claudius was left by the author of his biography in the collection of imperial biographies "History of the Augusts":

“Claudius himself is remarkable for the severity of morals, remarkable for his extraordinary way of life and exceptional chastity. Abstinent in the use of wine, he was a hunter of food; He had a tall stature, a fiery look, a broad and full face, and such strong fingers that he often knocked out the teeth of horses and mules with one blow of his fist.“a thrifty, meek, just man, was worthy of the leadership of the state, but died in the second year of his reign from an illness”

Roman Empire in 268. The domains of the Roman emperor are shown in red; possessions of the Gallic emperor - green; possessions of the Palmyrene king - yellow

After ascending the throne, Claudius found that he was faced with many problems that required immediate solutions. The most urgent of these was the invasion of Illyricum and Pannonia by the Goths, although Gallienus had already done some damage to them at the Battle of Nesta. At this time, the siege of Mediolanum, where the usurper Avreol was located, was still ongoing. Upon learning of the change of ruler, Aureol tried to come to a peace agreement, but when his confidants opposed this, he decided to surrender to Claudius, apparently on the condition that his life be spared. However, he was soon killed - the soldiers were outraged that he had betrayed Gallienus.

A short time after the assassination of Aureolus, the emperor moved his army towards the army of the Goths. The Gothic army, according to some reports, reached 320 thousand. It included the following peoples: Grutungs, Austrogoths, Tervings, Visas, Gipedes (all are Gothic tribes), Peukins, as well as Celts and Heruli. With 2,000 ships they attacked Moesia from the Black Sea. Prior to this, Claudius sent Aurelian, led by cavalry, to Macedonia to protect Illyria from attack, while with the main forces he went to the enemy. In the battle of the Moesian city of Naiss, Claudius and his legions utterly defeated a large Gothic army. Under the command of Claudius and the commander of the cavalry, the future emperor Aurelian, the Romans captured thousands of Goths and completely destroyed the enemy camp. Up to 50,000 enemy soldiers were killed. As a result of this victory, the Goths were expelled from the boundaries of the Roman Empire, and Claudius received the nickname "Gothic", by which he is known to this day. This success was marked by the issuance of coins (lat. VICTORIAE GOTHICAE - "Gothic victory"). The Gothic War was won. The Goths did not cross the borders of the empire for almost a hundred years. In the area of Dober and Lake Doyran, the Goths lost 3,000 soldiers in a battle with Aurelian's cavalry.

Thus, the main theater of operations were the Roman provinces of Upper and Lower Moesia, as well as Thrace. Numerous battles took place near Markianopolis, Byzantium and Thessalonica (the latter was captured by the barbarians in the absence of Claudius). It should be noted that during this period the armed forces present in Roman Dacia were very few in number. Therefore, when Aurelian came to the throne, he disbanded this province between 271 and 274.