Claudius
Claudius, full name Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus (10 BC-AD 54). Roman emperor. He was considered unfit for public life because of physical deformity and, it was thought, mental infirmity. However, soldiers looting the palace after the emperor Caligula’s murder in 41 found him hiding and proclaimed him emperor, thinking they would have more power through his weakness. Claudius ordered and took part in the invasion of Britain (43). For much of his reign he was dominated by his third wife Messalina, whose influence made him unpopular with the nobility. He was poisoned by his fourth wife, his niece Agrippina, the mother of Nero.
