Claudius - Underestimated And Overlooked

[tribunician power]

however Claudius' advisors were not of senatorial rank and it is possible that his reliance on them may have been overplayed by a jealous senate because of this and the general concensus that he was short of intelligence. I doubt this idea though simply because of the vast fortunes his freedmen gained and the power they achieved extended beyond that of most senators, before or after.

 

I agree with the general assessment of Claudius, however, the last line confuses me just a bit. How would his freedmen assessing vast fortunes actually indicate that Claudius did not defer to them or grant them great power. It would seem to me that this evidence lends itself towards the notion that Claudius did indeed defer to these men and grant them great freedom to assemble these fortunes and wield power.

The whole reply was poorly worded on my part, so you are correct in stating that it was evidence for his reliance on his freedmen, as this is my personal opinion of Claudius' reign. I was using this to discount the idea that his lack of control was overplayed by the senate because of possible jealousy issues. I apologize for this inconvenience.

Thank you and please don't chain me to an oar.

Edited November 28, 2005 by tribunician power

[Ancient Wonders]

How did the Senate respond to him?Was there harmony between them or a stiff atmosphere?

Edited November 28, 2005 by Ancient Wonders

[Primus Pilus]

The whole reply was poorly worded on my part, so you are correct in stating that it was evidence for his reliance on his freedmen, as this is my personal opinion of Claudius' reign. I was using this to discount the idea that his lack of control was overplayed by the senate because of possible jealousy issues. I apologize for this inconvenience.

Thank you and please don't chain me to an oar.

 

Indeed, that makes much more sense. There is sort of a strange sense of reluctant acceptance of Claudius by the ancients, despite their general disapproval (based only on his later deification and relatively mild historical treatment compared to Tiberius, Gaius and Nero). I wish that Claudius' autobiography had survived beyond the translation of Suetonius. Not that such a work would give what I'd be looking for, but to understand the reasoning behind the promotion of Nero over Britannicus would surely explain a great deal, methinks.