Some of the more important events of his reign
may be enumerated in the order of their occur- rence.
In A.B. 41 certain reforms were made in the reg:ulation of the corn supply, etc., which had suffered in Gaius' reign. Many of these reforms were doubtless due to the Emperor's freednien, Narcissus, the ah epistttlis, M. Antonius Pallas, the a rationibus, etc., who exercised a tremendous influence during his reign and acquired colossal fortunes in his service. In this year suc- cesses were gained in Mauretania and also against the Catti and Chauci in Germany ; the eagle of Varus, captured in A.D. 9, was now recovered. Privileges were granted to the Jews of Alexandria ; Agrippa {g.v.) had his kingdom extended by the addition of Judaea and Samaria, and was thus ruler of all the territory that had once been Herod's (a.d. 42). To facilitate the supply of corn to Rome, the building of a harbour at Ostia, the mouth of the Tiber, was decided on. War in Mauretania continued, and the district was made into two provinces, Mauretania Tingitana and Mauretania Caesariensis, which were each put under the command of an Imperial procurator. Pre- tenders to the Imperial throne were crushed (a. d. 42). Lycia, owing to disturbances, was made an Imperial province, under a legatus pro prcetore. Britain was invaded for the first time since Julius Caesar (55 B.C.). A. Plautius landed with a strong army and fought against the Triuouantes in the south of the island. Claudius followed in person, defeated the enemy on the Thames, captured their chief city Camulodunum (Colchester), and returned to the continent after a sixteen days' stay. The southern half of England was made into a province, and A. Plautius was appointed the first governor (43). King Agrippa of Judaea died, and his kingdom was again made a Roman pro- vince and put under a procurator. In this and next year (44-45) the pacification of Britain was continued. In a.d. 46 King Rhoemetalces ii. of Thrace having been murdered, his territory was made into a Roman province and put under a procurator. This was also the year of the great famine in Palestine (Ac 11^3 ; Ramsay, St. Paul, pp. 49, 68, Expositor, 6th ser. xii. [1905] 299). In 47 the censorship was revived after a long period of disuse, the Emperor taking the office, and endeavouring to im- prove public morality. The eight-hundredth anniversary of Rome was celebrated with great 6clat. New aqueducts and roads were built, and three letters were added to the alphabet. These last were to represent sounds as yet imperfectlj' repre- sented, but they did not survive Claudius' reign. A number of edicts were issued by the Emperor. A. Plautius was recalled from Britain, given an ovation, and succeeded by P. Ostorius Scapula, who had to repel an attack immediately on arrival. Cn. Domitius Corbulo gained victories in Germania Inferior. A census taken in the year 48 revealed a total of 5,984,072 Roman citizens (other reports vary, the largest number given being 6,941, OOU). Messalina was married according to legal form to C. Silius in October ; immediately afterwards they and all their accomplices were put to death. Claudius married as his fourth wife his own niece, Agrippina, daughter of Germani- cus. Her son, L. Domitius Ahenobarbus, the future Emperor Nero, had the way thus paved for his accession. On the death of Herod, king ofChalcis, or soon after, his kingdom was given to Agrippa ii., son of Claudius' old friend. In the year 49, we see Agrippina at once occupying a position of authority in the State equal to if not greater than that of her husband. She betrothed her son to Octavia, Claudius' daughter, and put him under the tuition of the great philosopher L. Annaius Seneca. The IturKan country and perhaps also Abilene were added to the Province Syria. Scapula was successful in Britain. In A.D. 50 the young Domitius was adopted by Claudius, as future colleague to his own son Britannicus. Other events are the war in Germany ; the great success of Scapula — the wife, daughter, and brothers of Caratacus falling into the hands of the con- queror ; Claudius' edict expelling the Jews from Rome (Ac 18^), on account of their dissensions. The result of this edict was that for the four years 50-54 the Church of Rome was bereft of its Jewish members. The year 51 saw the danger of famine and the Emperor's relief measures. In 52 astrologers were banished from Italy. Laws were passed as to children born of unions between free and slaves. Quarrels arose between Jews and Samaritans. Felix received the government of the whole of Juda5a, Samaria, Galilee, and Peraea. Scapula warred against the Silures and died ; he was succeeded by A. Didius Gallus, who drove the Silures out of Roman territory. In 53 Nero ad- vanced, and Britannicus kept in the background. Agrippa u. received, in place of his district Chalcis, the former tetrarchy of Trachonitis, Batanaea, Gaulanitis, and Abilene as his kingdom. In 54 Claudius was poisoned at the instance of Agrippina on 13 October.
Claudius was deified after his death. A skit preserved among the works of Seneca, and called 'The Pumpkinification of Claudius,' is among the most amusing relics of Latin literature.
This bald enumeration will show that much was done during the reign of Claudius. It is true that at all times he was too much under the dominion of evil women, and that he never thoroughly cast off the brutish habits contracted in his youth, but yet his reign was the most important for the Roman Empire in tlie period between the reigns of Augustus and of Trajan. The Empire was ex- tended in various directions ; much social legisla- tion was carried out ; and great public works, such