Claudius

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/claudius

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Claudius born?August 1, 10 BC
2. Where was Claudius born?Lugdunum, Roman Gaul (modern-day Lyon, France)
3. What is the full name?Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus
4. What is the reign?AD 41 – AD 54
5. Who was Claudius and how did he become emperor?Claudius was a Roman emperor who started life as an underdog because of a limp and a stammer. After the famous emperor Caligula was killed, the Praetorian Guard chose Claudius to be the new emperor.
6. What did Claudius do to improve the Roman government?He expanded the bureaucracy and put freedmen—former slaves who had earned their freedom—into important jobs. He also fixed the empire’s finances and made new laws to help keep everything running smoothly.

Julio-Claudian Dynasty: The ruling family of the Roman Empire from Augustus to Nero (27 BC – AD 68), characterized by both stability and internal strife.
Praetorian Guard: The elite imperial bodyguard of the Roman emperors, whose political influence often extended to making or breaking emperors.
Freedmen: Former slaves who had been manumitted (legally released from slavery), often playing significant roles in Roman administration and economy.
Conquest of Britain: The military campaign initiated by Claudius in AD 43, leading to Roman occupation and administration of southern Britain for nearly four centuries.