68 | Roman Empire

Automatically generated translation

CLAUDIUS. Sesterce. (Ae. 27.82g / 35mm). 41-42 AD Rome. Anv: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TR P IMP. Laureate bust of Claudio on the right. Rev: EX UNC OB CIVES SERVATOS. Legend within laurea. (RIC 96). AU. Fields reviewed. Scarce.

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanic… fourth Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty and probably the most forgotten and enigmatic of all the first emperors of Rome. Enigmatic because behind some obvious physical defects and a marked stuttering, there was hiding an intelligent and efficient emperor who managed to survive his nephew, Caligula himself. Gaius Suetonius defined it as follows:
“His person showed a certain aspect of greatness and dignity, whether standing or sitting, but above all at rest, since he was tall and slender, he had a beautiful face, beautiful white hair, and a robust neck; But when he walked, his unsteady legs made him stagger, and when he spoke, both jokingly and seriously, he was ugly at his defects: an unpleasant laugh, an even more repulsive anger, which made him foam at the mouth, a runny nose, a unbearable babbling and a continual shaking of the head that grew as he engaged in any business, however insignificant it might be.