- Gaius Caesar ruled Rome from 37-41 A.D. He is better known as Caligula. The son of the famous general Germanicus, he went on campaign with him in Germany as a boy and was dressed in a little soldier’s uniform. Including little boots (caligulae), so the legionaries called him “Caligula”.
- He succeeded the unpopular Tiberius. The story goes that when Tiberius died Caligula was proclaimed Emperor, it was a false alarm as Tiberius was soon reported to be still breathing. Caligula went into the room and covered Tiberius’ mouth with a pillow. Now he was Emperor.
- At first the 25-year-old was a breath of fresh air. He lowered taxes, spent money on public improvements like temples, and kept the public entertained with chariot races, plays, and gladiators. He released many of the political prisoners imprisoned by Tiberius. But after six months, he suffered some serious illness that affected him mentally.
- His mental instability led to many stories, some of which might have been made up by historians who disliked him. For instance, Suetonius was the originator of the incest story. According to this historian, Caligula had incest with all three of his sisters. His main squeeze got pregnant and when she bragged about their child being a god (because the father claimed to be one), he aborted the child because no family should have more than one god. This resulted in her death of mother and child. Great story, but it was written 80 years after his death and earlier historians, who were not fans, never mentioned anything about incest.
- Another story had him constructing a pontoon bridge across the Bay of Baiae to taunt an astrologer who had predicted he would be emperor when he could ride a horse across the bay. There is no archeological evidence for this, but there is proof for his construction of an elaborate barge for Lake Nemi. It had mosaic floors, statues, heating, and plumbing.
- He supposedly appointed his horse Incitatus consul. However, although Incitatus was a great race horse and lived in a marble stable with an ivory manger, it was probably just an idea Caligula batted around.
- Another famous story had him contemplating the invasion of Britain. When this proved unfeasible, he had his men whip the English Channel to show the god Neptune who was boss. He then had his soldiers collect sea shells as spoils to show off in Rome.
- He was already unpopular when he made matters worse by claiming to be a living god. Previous emperors had been deified after death, but he was the first to insist on adoration while still alive. He had statues of gods’ heads replaced with his head. One statue was clothed with whatever he was wearing that day.
- As you might guess from his extravagant spending, he quickly went deeply in debt. The solution was to accuse the wealthy of treason, execute them, and confiscate their fortunes and property. I suppose this was slightly better than him having sex with any noble’s wife that he took an interest in.
- His assassination was just a matter of time. He had offended one of his Praetorian Guards by questioning his sexuality. Caligula was constantly insulting Cassius Chaerea and would force him to use embarrassing passwords. One day, Caligula was isolated in a corridor and Cassius and some confederates began stabbing in a scene similar to the death of Julius Caesar. The mad emperor was stabbed thirty times. Sadly, his wife and daughter were also killed. Some may have mourned them, but few mourned Caligula.
https://www.history.com/news/7-things-you-may-not-know-about-caligula
https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/caligula
https://www.biography.com/political-figure/caligula
https://www.factinate.com/people/42-disturbed-facts-caligula/
commons.wikipedia
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