The emperor Claudius of Rome ruled an empire spanning three continents between 41 and 54 CE. His reign was of massive importance to the history of ancient European civilization. In fact, the emperor was among the most innovative, fair, and wise in all Rom

The emperor Claudius of Rome ruled an empire spanning three continents between 41 and 54 CE. His reign was of massive importance to the history of ancient European civilization. In fact, the emperor was among the most innovative, fair, and wise in all Roman history. However, because Claudius suffered from physical handicaps and spoke with a stutter, ancient authors were biased against him. Consequently, their descriptions of his time in power are almost uniformly hostile, and many ancient historians ignore all of the good that he did.

Claudius’s reign was important for its major innovations. He conquered the island of Britain and incorporated it into the Roman Empire. He also built a new harbor for Rome and oversaw the construction of several new aqueducts, which brought clean water into the city. He even created laws to protect the rights of slaves and expand Roman citizenship to new people. All of these facts suggest that he was a gifted ruler with strong judgment, despite what may be found in histories written by his detractors.

Another reason for the hostility of ancient authors toward the reign of Claudius has to do with the fact that the writers were usually of senatorial class. Claudius was not elected to power by the Senate and severely limited its traditional powers during his reign. However, illustrating his wisdom, instead of entrusting high bureaucratic positions to senators, he preferred to give them to trustworthy slaves and former slaves (freedmen), whom he felt were more loyal to him. They worked efficiently, creating a bureaucratic framework for all future emperors. Claudius should be praised for giving political opportunities to new groups of people such as former slaves and even the women of the imperial household, including his wives.