*Assassination.* Caius contemplated invasions of Germany and of Britain, but the former ended with a military parade across the Rhine and the latter with a march to the shores of the Straits of Dover. The fear awakened by his rule of capricious violence soon resulted in conspiracies against his life. In January, 41 A. D., he was assassinated by a tribune of the imperial guards. III. CLAUDIUS, 41–54 A. D. *Nominated by the Praetorians.* In the choice of a successor to Caius the power of the praetorian guard was first clearly demonstrated. Caius was the last male representative of the Julian _gens_, and at his death the Senate debated the question of restoring the republic. However, the decision was made for them by the praetorians, who dragged from his hiding place and saluted as Imperator the surviving brother of Germanicus, Tiberius Claudius Germanicus. The Senate had to acquiesce in his nomination and grant him the powers of the princeps. *Character.* Claudius was already fifty-one years old, but because of his ungainly figure and limited mentality had never been seriously considered for the principate. He was learned and pedantic, but lacking in energy and resolution. His greatest weakness was that he was completely under the influence of his wives, of whom he had in succession four, and his favorite freedmen. *Policy.* In general the policy of Claudius followed that of Augustus and Tiberius. But in 47 A. D. he assumed the censorship for five years, an office which Augustus had avoided because it set its holder directly above the Senate. In the capacity of censor, Claudius extended to the Gallic Aedui the _jus honorum_ and consequently the right of admission to the Senate. This was in accord with his policy of generously granting citizenship to the provincials. The census taken in 47 and 48 A. D. showed approximately six million Romans, nearly a million more than in the time of Augustus. Claudius also renewed the attempt of Julius Caesar to occupy the island of Britain. In 43 A. D. his legates Aulus Plautius, Vespasian and Ostorius Scapula subdued the island as far as the Thames, and in the following years extended their conquests farther northward. The southern part of the island became the province of Britain. In 46 A. D., Thrace was incorporated as a province at the death of its client prince. *Influence of freedmen.* During the rule of Claudius the real heads of the administration were a group of able freedmen, Narcissus, Pallas, Polybius and, later, Callistus. While it is true that they abused their power to amass riches for themselves, they contributed a great deal to the organization of the imperial bureaucracy. Their influence caused the widespread employment of imperial freedmen in procuratorial positions.