Claudius

Born in 10 BC at Lugdunum in Roman Gaul, Claudius was the first emperor born outside Italy. His childhood illness left him with a limp, stammer, and tremor, and his family kept him out of public life until he shared a consulship with his nephew Caligula in AD 37. The same infirmity that made him an object of scorn likely saved him during the purges under Tiberius and Caligula — no one saw him as dangerous. When Caligula was assassinated in AD 41, the Praetorian Guard declared Claudius emperor; he was the last adult male in the Julio-Claudian line. He proved unexpectedly capable: he expanded th…