Hello, and welcome to the history of Rome, Episode 63, a farewell to Claudius.

When we left off last time, the Claudius was being informed that his cheating wife Messalina

had been executed.

Though her crime could easily be written off as a mere personal betrayal, when seen from

the high vista of imperial politics, infidelity becomes indistinguishable from treason.

When the players involved are the emperor and the empress, simple domestic breakdowns

quickly become dangerous affairs of state.

Messalina's taking of a new husband created a dangerous new power center in opposition

to Claudius' existing imperial court.

As a result, Messalina and her lover Silius were not allowed to simply go along their

merry way and started a new life together, tainted a bit by scandal, but ultimately no

worse to wear.

No, within days of the revelation of their secret marriage, they were both dead.

Silius by suicide, Messalina by execution.

A further consequence of the high vista of political power upon which the emperor sat

was that there was no time for mourning.

The search for a new wife began immediately.

But before we get into the details of Claudius' ill-fated marriage to his niece Agrippina,

and the subsequent rise to power of her son, Nero, I want to backtrack a little bit and

round out the accomplishments and failures of Claudius' administration.

Because once Agrippina gets into the picture, dear Claudius will not be long for this world.

Perhaps the longest lasting contribution Claudius made to the empire was the series of territorial

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