Gaius Claudius Nero (c. 237 BCc. 189 BC) was a Roman general active during the Second Punic War against the invading Carthaginian force, led by Hannibal Barca. During a military career that began as legate in 214 BC, he was praetor in 212 BC, propraetor in 211 BC during the siege of Capua, before being sent to Spain that same year. He became consul in 207 BC.
He is most renowned for his part in the Battle of the Metaurus, fought alongside his co-consul and great rival Marcus Livius Salinator against Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal, for which he was awarded an ovation. The Roman victory at Metaurus River in 207 BC is widely seen as a daring strategic masterstroke by Claudius who surreptitiously left the main force of his army, which was holding Hannibal at bay in the south of Italy, to lead a small contingent of troops north to bolster Livius' forces, taking Hasdrubal by surprise. Considered by the Roman historian Livy to be the turning point in the war, the Battle of the Metaurus is listed in Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy's highly regarded The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World. Theodore Ayrault Dodge describes it as “the finest strategic feat of the Romans during the entire war, as well as one of the exceptional marches in history”.
Claudius again served alongside Livius as censor in 204 BC before being sent as part of a triumviral embassy to Greece and Egypt in 201 BC.
Early life and career Almost nothing exists in the ancient sources about Claudius's early life. However, assuming that the absolute youngest age at which he could have been praetor in 212 BC was 25, he must have been born in or before 237 BC. He was a member of the patrician line of the gens Claudia, one of the most prominent families in Rome, making him a distant relative of the Julio-Claudian emperors: Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero. In The Life Of Tiberius, Suetonius claimed the Claudii defected from the Sabines about six years after the Roman kings were expelled (504 BC).Suetonius, Life Of Tiberius, 1–2. Over time the family was "honoured with twenty-eight consulships, five dictatorships, seven censorships, six triumphs and two ovations". Suetonius also wrote that in the Sabine language, the cognomen Nero meant "strong and valiant".
The Third Battle of Nola (214 BC) The first historical reference to Claudius is by Livy, who records his involvement as legate under consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus in the Third Battle of Nola, south-east of Capua, in 214 BC.Livy 29.37 Following Rome's disastrous defeat at the Battle of Cannae in 216 BC, Hannibal had begun pursuing a policy of turning the Italian allies against Rome. Soon after, the popular party in Nola attempted to surrender the city to the Carthaginians leading Marcellus, who was then serving as praetor, to mount a spirited and successful defence of the city. The following year Hannibal again attempted to seize Nola only to be once again repelled by Marcellus, who was now proconsul.Smith, William, Sir, ed. "M. Claudius M. f. M. n. Marcellus", A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (Boston: Little, 1867) 927; Plutarch "The Life of Marcellus", The Parallel Lives, 30 Apr. 2008, 26 Nov. 2008
When Hannibal returned for a third year, Marcellus again prepared to defend the city. He sent Claudius out under the cover of darkness at the head of his best cavalry to circle behind the opposing forces and, once the battle was underway, attack from the rear. However, either through poor timing or by losing his way, Claudius failed to carry out the plan. Livy tells us that even though the Romans carried the day, killing 2,000 Carthaginians for the loss of only 400 Roman troops, without cavalry support Marcellus decided against pursuing the fleeing troops. When Claudius returned to camp around sunset, Marcellus upbraided him claiming "it was his fault that the disaster suffered at Cannae was not paid back to the enemy".
Dodge advises caution regarding Livy's account. While Livy recounts Marcellus blaming Claudius's tardiness for the plan's failure, Dodge points out that “Nero was a splendid marcher” and, more probably, the route he was assigned to pursue was simply too long to be feasible. However, the battle can still be seen as something of a change in fortune for the Romans. Not only was Hannibal repulsed, but the next day he marched out of Campania for Tarentum.
Praetorship Following Claudius's service as a legate he was elected as praetor for 212 BC alongside Cn. Fulvius Flaccus, M. Junius Silanus and P. Cornelius Sulla.Livy 25.2 It is worthwhile to note Claudius's cousin Appius Claudius was elected consul in the same year, demonstrating the resurgence of the Claudio-Fulvian faction and - reflecting Rome's restlessness and desire for a new direction in the war - a falling out of favour with the Fabii. Particularly in the years 212 BC and 211 BC, Lazenby notes that the "eclipse of Fabii would certainly seem to have had an effect on the Roman war effort".
In the drawing of lots for provinces Claudius was assigned to Suessula, a town in Campania of tactical significance due to its geographical location between Nola and Capua, on the Via Popilia.Livy 25.3 Claudius was placed in charge of an army around two legions strong, made up of those who had been serving under C. Terentius, operating out of the town Picenum. He was tasked with raising this force to its full complement then making camp in Suessula, a base from which he could assist in the operations against Hannibal in Southern Italy.
Siege of Capua (212 - 211 BC)
Numerous battles between Consular and Carthaginian forces in the area around Capua had occupied Roman attention for some time, but Hannibal's departure from Campania enabled the Romans to concentrate seriously on the siege and investment of the town itself. The consul Appius Claudius met his colleague Q. Fulvius Flaccus at Capua and Claudius was ordered to bring his army there from the Claudian Camp near Suessula as reinforcements.Livy 25.22 The combined forces of the three armies - numbering around 40,000 men - set up headquarters around Capua, where Claudius's men helped to encircle one side of the city with a wooden palisade and dyke along with blockhouses at intervals. Numerous skirmishes with Campanian troops were also fought throughout this process. During the first year of the siege, Claudius's praetorship ran its course but his command - as well as those of the two consuls - was prolonged and he continued the campaign as a propraetor for 211 BC.
Hannibal was inevitably drawn back to Campania and in the fighting that accompanied his attempt to alleviate the siege, Claudius was placed in charge of the cavalry of the six legions.Livy 26.5 This role consisted of holding the road to Suessula, preventing Carthaginian forces from penetrating the camp from the South, while Appius Claudius dealt with the Capuans and C. Fulvius Flaccus faced Hannibal and his forces. Claudius's army assisted in the defeat of Hannibal in that battle and Capua later succumbed to the Roman siege in 211 BC after the failure of Hannibal's march on Rome.
Propraetorship in Spain With Capua now captured, the Senate was able to focus on the situation in Spain.Livy 26.17 Rome urgently required a new general to fill the vacuum of command left there by the deaths of Gnaeus and Publius Cornelius Scipio. Late in 211 BC Claudius was appointed to Spain as propraetor with an army of 6,000 Roman infantry and 300 Roman cavalry, alongside an equal number of infantry and 600 cavalry provided by the Italians. There is doubt about the accuracy of Livy's figures as Appian records Claudius's army as consisting of 10,000 infantry and 1000 cavalry.Appian, Spanish Wars 3.17 Lazenby suggests that Claudius potentially only had 4,000 citizen troops with a complement of 6,000 Italians and this is where Appian gets his figure of 10,000.
Campaign Upon his arrival in Spain, Claudius was tasked with reorganising Roman troops in the region - left decimated by the defeat of the Scipios - and consolidating Rome's foothold there against the rapidly expanding Carthaginian presence. After combining his forces at the river Ebro with the Roman army there under command of Ti. Fonteius and L. Marcius, Claudius advanced against Hasdrubal (Hannibal's brother and son of Hamilcar) who was in camp near Lapides Atri (the "Black Stones") and is said to have trapped him there. Lazenby has questioned this narrative as it is difficult to believe Claudius would attempt such an offensive move at a time of consolidation of Rome's then precarious position in Spain. If we are to believe Livy's narrative here, Claudius's actions against Hasdrubal in the end amounted to nothing as Hasdrubal supposedly evaded the trap at the Black Stones Pass by keeping up negotiations with the Romans while his men slipped away.Livy 26.17 Conflict between Claudius's and Hasdrubal's forces is said to have been limited to skirmishes between the Carthaginian rearguard and the Roman vanguard.
Claudius's tenure in Spain turned out to be brief however, as the senate was anxious to appoint a general with proconsular command. In 210 BC he was remarkably superseded by the young Publius Cornelius Scipio (soon to be 'Africanus') who had only previously served as a curule aedile.26.19 Claudius successfully reorganised Rome's forces in Spain to some extent, but his supposed failure to defeat Hasdrubal is a slight on his time there. Nevertheless, his hold on the coastal region north of the Ebro would be significant in providing the young Scipio a beach head for the renewed Roman offensive in Spain throughout 210 BC.
Reasons for early recall There has been abundant speculation as to why Claudius was recalled from Spain so soon after his posting there. Haywood's conjecture that a shortage of good commanders in Italy required Claudius's presence back home has been questioned by writers such as Scullard, who argued: “If Nero was so urgently needed at home, why was he not elected to high office until 207 BC?”. Even if Claudius missed the elections for 209 BC he could have been elected consul for 208 BC in place of the less prominent Crispinus. As well as this, his service as a legate under Marcellus in 209 BC can barely validate his early exit from Spain.
Some historians have suggested Claudius was lacking in the diplomacy required for dealing with the Spaniards, critical to the success of the Spanish campaign against Carthage. His reputation as a hard and graceless man is supported by his later squabbles with Livius. De Sanctis proposed that the Senate was dissatisfied with Claudius's “Fabian” policy and therefore selected Scipio as the best man to resume the Roman offensive in Spain as a son and nephew of the Roman commanders who had achieved such progress in Spain previously.
It is likely that a combination of the above reasons, along with doubtless other considerations, played a part in the Senate's decision to replace Claudius's command in Spain. It is possible his assignment there had been made with an interim status in mind, with the plan to recall him as soon as he had stabilised the situation, providing that a reasonably capable replacement could be found.
Election to the consulship