The actions Claudius has taken to preserve…

54 CE

The actions Claudius has taken to preserve his rule in the short-term are not easily undone as Britannicus approaches manhood.

In late 54, Britannicus is within six months of reaching manhood by Roman tradition, and has matured early.

According to the historian Suetonius, Claudius began to mention divorcing Agrippina and dismissing Nero now that he was no longer needed.

In preparation, Claudius commends both his son and adopted son to the Senate as equals in his last Senate address.

Suetonius reports that Claudius now admonished his son to grow up quickly, implying that everything would be righted when he assumed the toga virilis.

Sadly for Britannicus, Nero's supporters act to prevent this.

The consensus of ancient historians was that Claudius was murdered by poison—possibly contained in mushrooms or on a feather—and died in the early hours of October 13, 54.

Accounts vary greatly.

Some claim Claudius was in Rome while others claim he was in Sinuessa.

Some implicate either Halotus, his taster, Xenophon, his doctor, or the infamous poisoner Locusta as the administrator of the fatal substance.

Some say he died after prolonged suffering following a single dose at dinner, and some have him recovering only to be poisoned again.

Nearly all implicate his final wife, Agrippina, as the instigator.

Agrippina and Claudius had become more combative in the months leading up to his death.

This carried on to the point where Claudius openly lamented his bad wives, and began to comment on Britannicus' approaching manhood with an eye towards restoring his status within the imperial family Agrippina had motive in ensuring the succession of Nero before Britannicus could gain power.

In modern times, some authors have cast doubt on whether Claudius was murdered or merely succumbed to illness or old age.

Some modern scholars claim the universality of the accusations in ancient texts lends credence to the crime, but history in those days could not be objectively collected or written, so sometimes amounted to committing whispered gossip to parchment, often years after the events, when everyone who cared was dead.

It is not known how much Nero knew or if he was even involved in the death of Claudius.

Claudius' ashes are interred in the Mausoleum of Augustus on October 24, after a funeral in the manner of Augustus.

Tacitus claims that Britannicus and his sisters Octavia and Antonia were locked in their rooms to ensure that no counter claim could be made to Nero's succession.

Nero delivers the eulogy at the emperor's funeral and takes sole power.

Claudius' new will, which either granted joint-rule to Britannicus and Nero or just Britannicus, is suppressed by the new emperor's men in the senate.

Agrippina had sent away the freedman Narcissus, Britannicus' champion according to Tacitus, shortly before Claudius' death, and now quickly murders the freedman.

Britannicus is pushed to the background.

The last act of this secretary of letters had been to burn all of Claudius' correspondence — most likely so it could not be used against him and others in an already hostile new regime.

Thus Claudius' private words about his own policies and motives are lost to history.

Just as Claudius had criticized his predecessors in official edicts, Nero will often criticize the deceased Emperor and many of Claudius' laws and edicts will be disregarded under the reasoning that he was too stupid and senile to have meant them.

Seneca's Apocolocyntosis reinforces the view of Claudius as an unpleasant fool and this is to remain the official view for the duration of Nero's reign.

Eventually Nero will stop referring to his deified adoptive father at all, and realig with his birth family.

Claudius' temple is left unfinished after only some of the foundation had been laid down.

Eventually the site will be overtaken by Nero's Golden House.