The personal and governmental affairs of the Julio-Claudian dynasty at the beginning of the Roman Empire, as recalled by one of its rulers.

Rome, 1st Century AD. Aging Emperor Claudius is writing the history of his family. He starts his recollections before he was born with the court of his grandfather Caesar Augustus. He then chronicles the goings-on in the imperial court, especially the plots and murderous machinations, that brought him to this point.—grantss

This mini-series follows the history of the Roman Empire, from approximately the death of Marcellus (24/23 B.C.) to Claudius' own death in 54 A.D. As Claudius narrates his life, we witness Augustus' attempts to find an heir, often foiled by his wife Livia who wants her son Tiberius to become emperor. We also see the conspiracy of Sejanus, the infamous reign of Caligula, and Claudius' own troubled period of rule.—Erika Grams <[email protected]>

The elderly Roman emperor Claudius writes his memoirs, telling of the history of the Roman empire through his own period of rule. It begins as Augustus is emperor, and his scheming wife Livia will stop at nothing to make her son from a previous marriage Tiberius the next emperor. This conflict sets the stage for a long period of intrigue and double-crosses among the Roman elite, all of it witnessed by Claudius, whose limp and stammer cause everyone to think him simple-minded and thus leave him alone. But Claudius in fact posesses a very keen intellect, and is determined to see justice be done and Rome returned to a Republican form of government.—rmlohner