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The Julio-Claudian Emperors, 31 BC–AD 68

Claudius' wives, freedmen and the government of Rome

  • 2 things to know
  • Component Group 2

Overview

Recall questions on Messalina, Valerius Asiaticus and her fall with Silius, Agrippina's marriage and gains, Seneca and Burrus, the freedmen Narcissus, Pallas and Callistus and senatorial resentment, Claudius as censor, equestrian procurators, Gallic senators, Ostia and the aqueducts, the Fucine Lake, the grain trade, new provinces, the letter to the Alexandrians, and the harbour and pomerium inscriptions.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Who and when

Who was Messalina?

Key term

How is Messalina said to have used her position?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Who was Messalina?

    Model answer

    She was Claudius' third wife, married shortly before his accession, and the mother of Britannicus and Octavia.

  2. 2

    How is Messalina said to have used her position?

    Model answer

    The sources accuse her of destroying rivals through trumped-up prosecutions and of extraordinary sexual licence.

  3. 3

    State the fate of Valerius Asiaticus.

    Model answer

    He was driven to suicide in AD 47 on charges pressed by Messalina, who was said to have coveted his gardens.

  4. 4

    Describe the fall of Messalina in AD 48.

    Model answer

    While Claudius was at Ostia she went through a public wedding ceremony with the consul-designate Gaius Silius, and Narcissus convinced the emperor that a coup was intended.

  5. 5

    What happened to Messalina after her exposure?

    Model answer

    She was killed in the gardens of Lucullus on the orders of Narcissus before Claudius could relent, and her name was erased from public monuments.

  6. 6

    Why did Claudius' marriage to Agrippina in AD 49 require a change in the law?

    Model answer

    She was his brother's daughter, and marriage to a niece had to be legalised by a decree of the Senate.

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