Changes

Emperor Claudius was not content to simply accept the administration and the government that he inherited. After the misrule of Caligula, the government had been neglected and become corrupt and inefficient. The Emperor decided that the government and the bureaucracy needed to be overhauled. However, he was faced with a problem, the persistent hostility of the Senate meant that he could not appoint members of the traditional elite to the government <ref> Osgood, Josiah, Claudius Caesar : image and power in the early Roman Empire (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), p 78</ref>. Claudius appointed freedmen to the bureaucracy and Imperial government. These were freed slaves and they often proved to be highly competent, if not always honest administrators, even though their appointment brought stinging criticism from the Senatorial elite. Claudius reformed the traditional secretariat and established different bureaus that were responsible for aspects of the government; there were bureaus for finance, correspondence and military affairs <ref>Osgood, p 145</ref>. These bureaus allowed the Emperor to receive information and to issue edicts and directives. This system was also much more centralized than anything previous and more effective. Claudius despite his often-bizarre behaviour was generally hard-working. He personally oversaw many court cases, but he was an erratic judge and his interference in legal matters was not always welcome.