Early Roman Republic, Julio-Claudian Dynasty (27-00-68), 04 Claudius-I: Freedmen, Jews, Provinces

Freedmen

Claudius endured six plots against his life, but the execution of conspirators often included senators which did little to help his relationship with the Senate. Real progress towards influence was made by imperial freedmen (former slaves).

Throughout his reign Claudius employed these men to perform bureaucratic tasks until eventually freedmen dominated the civil service and the palace. The Senate resented the power of these men but had only themselves to blame because they considered such tasks demeaning for men of their social rank. The three most powerful freedmen were ¹⁰Antonius Pallas (fl.37-62) who handled financial accounts, ³²Claudius Narcissus (fl.43-54) in charge of correspondence, and ¹⁹Julius Callistus (fl.41-54) who dealt with petitions.

Claudius himself paid great attention to detail. He sat in court and delivered judgements he thought were fair. He tried to maintain grain imports, constructed viaducts to improve the water supply and at Ostia he built a new harbour.

Jews

In Jamnia when the Jews tore down the altar the Greeks had erected to Caligula, they had provided the enemies of the Jews in Alexandria with a pretext for staging a riot. After Caligula’s death in January, violent demonstrations resumed in Alexandria, this time with the Jews and Gentiles both in arms. Claudius warned the Greeks to maintain the peace and ordered the Jews to stop bringing more Jews from Syria and Upper Egypt (south), otherwise he would move against them.

In Rome the Jews were expelled in 139 BC for ‘attempting to corrupt Roman morals’. Tiberius expelled them in AD 19 because they ‘had flocked to Rome in great numbers and turned many of the natives to their ways’. Claudius expelled them in 49 because of disturbances ‘at the instigation of one Chrestus’ – probably simply a reference to adherents of Christianity.

Provinces

After the murder of Ptolemy of Mauretania a revolt broke out under Aedemon, one of his freedmen. The rebellion appears to have been reasonably widespread but in various parts of the kingdom there was popular support for the Romans. From the Mauretanian town of Volubilis a local official, Marcus ¹⁹Valerius Severus, the son of Bostar, helped suppress the rebellion and later undertook an embassy to Claudius and was granted Roman citizenship for himself and his fellow townsfolk. The Roman forces that suppressed the rebellion were probably commanded by ¹⁹Licinius Crassus Frugi (cos.29). 

In 41 fighting broke out again and was subdued (41-42) by Suetonius Paulinus, the first Roman to cross the Atlas Mountains and reach the Sahara, and Hosidius Geta (75+; fl.42-95+) (43-44), after which the territory was divided into two parts: Mauretania Caesariensis (east; ≈NW Algeria) with its capital at Caesarea (=Cherchell), and Mauretania Tingitana (west: ≈Morocco) whose capital was Tingis (=Tangier).

In 41 the campaigns against the Germans continued with the future emperor Galba (71; fl.20-69) overcoming the Chatti and ⁰³Gabinius Secundus conquering the Chauci.

Lycia (SW Asia Minor) together with its eastern neighbour Pamphylia became an imperial province in 43; Judaea, given to Herod Agrippa in 41, returned to its provincial status when Agrippa died in 44; and Thrace became an imperial province when its king Rhoemetalces III (r.38-46) was murdered in 46.