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Gaius Caesar Germanicus (August 31, AD 12 - January 24, AD 41), also known as Gaius Caesar or Caligula, was the third Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from AD 37 to 41. Known for his extremely extravagant, eccentric, and sometimes cruel despotism, he was assassinated in 41 by several of his own guards.
Born in Antium (modern day Anzio), he was the youngest son of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder.
His father was son to Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia Minor, older brother to Claudius. His paternal grandfather was son to Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia, stepson to her second husband Caesar Augustus and younger brother of Tiberius. His paternal grandmother was daughter to Marcus Antonius and Octavia, sister to Antonia Major, paternal half-sister to Marcus Antonius Antyllus, Iullus Antonius, Alexander Helios, Cleopatra Selene and Ptolemy Philadelphus, maternal half-sister to Marcus Claudius Marcellus, Marcella Major and Marcella Minor.
His mother was daughter to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia Caesaris. His paternal grandmother was daughter to Caesar Augustus and Scribonia. For further details see Julio-Claudian family tree.
His own siblings included four brothers (Nero Caesar, Drusus Caesar, Tiberius Caesar and Gaius Julius Caesar) and three sisters (Julia Livilla, Drusilla and Agrippina the younger).
Gaius' life started out promisingly, as he was the son of extremely famous parents. Germanicus was revered as Rome's most beloved general and as Augustus' adopted grandson, which cemented his connection to the Julian Clan. Agrippina was Augustus' granddaughter and was considered a model of the perfect Roman woman. When he was two or three years of age, Gaius became the mascot of his father's army. The soldiers were amused whenever Agrippina would put a miniature soldier costume on young Gaius, and he was soon given his nickname "Caligula" (or Caligulae), meaning "Little Boots" in Latin, after the small boots he wore as part of his costume. He would end up hating this name, but he also hated the name "Gaius".
In AD 14, when news of Augustus' death made its way across the Empire, the soldiers of Germanicus's camp almost started a mutiny, opposing the rise of Tiberius because they wanted Germanicus as Emperor. Germanicus sent Agrippina and Caligula away from the mess that was soon to brew and tried to calm his men down. The superstitious men became horrified at the prospect of losing their mascot. They promised to be good and so Caligula returned.
The new Emperor, Tiberius, made Germanicus his adopted son. But Tiberius was not too fond of Germanicus; jealousy over Germanicus' popularity was perhaps a factor. Germanicus died on October 10, AD 19. The relationship between Tiberius and Agrippina didn't improve and Caligula, along with his sisters, went to live with their great-grandmother, Livia (widow of Augustus and mother of Tiberius) and then with their grandmother Antonia Minor when Livia died in AD 27. Neither Livia nor Antonia had much time to watch Caligula, so the only comfort he had was with his three sisters. Stories of Caligula engaging in incest with his sisters (Agrippina the Younger, Drusilla, and Julia Livilla) began around this time.
Caligula's life was in constant danger. Tiberius's Praetorian Prefect, Sejanus, was extremely powerful, doing everything he could to gain power over Tiberius. This wasn't too hard, as Sejanus had control of Rome while Tiberius retired to the island of Capri. Outrageous treason accusations floated around those closest to the Emperor, including most of Caligula's close family. His mother Agrippina was banished to an island, where she starved herself. His two oldest brothers, Nero and Drusus, also died. Drusus' body was found locked in a dungeon with stuffing from his mattress in his mouth to keep off the hunger. Before Sejanus could kill Caligula, Sejanus was brought down and killed based on information given to Tiberius by Antonia.
By this time Caligula was already in favor with Tiberius. He was summoned to Capri to stay with Tiberius on one of the many villas on the island. Suetonius writes of extreme perversions happening on Capri, as Tiberius was without the people who managed to keep him in line (Augustus, Livia, his brother Drusus....) so he felt free to indulge in any perversion he desired. Whether this is true or not is hard to say. Unpopular Emperors such as Tiberius and Caligula rarely had the whole truth written about them, and gossip is common throughout ancient texts.
Suetonius writes of Caligula's servile nature towards Tiberius, and his indifferent nature towards his dead mother and brothers. At night Caligula would inflict torture on slaves and watch bloody gladiatorial games with glee. In 33 AD Tiberius gave Caligula the position of honorary quaestorship.
On March 16, 37 Tiberius died and on March 18 the Roman Senate annulled Tiberius' will and proclaimed Caligula emperor. Suetonius writes how Caligula's guard Macro smothered him with a pillow, but in reality Tiberius probably died a natural death. Caligula was not Tiberius's only successor. The Emperor had made his young grandson, Tiberius Gemellus, joint heir. Because of his young age, Gemellus was hardly an obstacle, and Caligula had him killed soon after becoming Emperor. Caligula's grandmother Antonia committed suicide around this time as well.
The first few months of Caligula's reign were good. He gave cash bonuses to the Praetorian Guards, destroyed Tiberius's treason papers, declared that treason trials were a thing of the past, recalled exiles, and helped those who had been harmed by the Imperial tax system. He was loved by many simply by being the beloved son of Germanicus. Plus, he was a descendant of Augustus, and therefore related to Julius Caesar. He was also a great-grandson of Marc Antony.
On becoming Emperor, Caligula performed a spectacular stunt. He ordered a temporary floating bridge to be built using ships as pontoons, stretching for over two miles from the resort of Baiae to the neighboring port of Puteoli. He then proceeded to ride his horse across, wearing the breastplate of Alexander the Great. This act was in defiance of an astrologer's prediction that he had "no more chance of becoming Emperor than of riding a horse across the Gulf of Baiae".
And then he became ill.
Recent sources say that Caligula probably had encephalitis. Ancient sources, like Suetonius and Cassius Dio, describe Caligula having a "brain fever". Philo reports it was nothing more than a nervous breakdown, as Caligula wasn't used to the pressures of constant attention after being out of the public eye for most of his life. Rome waited in horror, praying that their beloved Emperor would recover. He became better, but his reign took a sharp turn. The death of Gemellus and of Silanus, Caligula's father-in-law, took place right after Caligula recovered.
Was Caligula really insane? Many agree that he was, but Philo of Alexandria, author of On the Embassy to Gaius disagrees. The leader of an Embassy sent to Caligula to seek relief from persecution by Alexandrian Greeks, Philo thought that Caligula was just a vicious jokester. Arrogant, aloof, and a bit cruel. But insane? We may never know for sure
There are famous stories that he tried to make his beloved stallion, Incitatus, a senator. Other stories are of his incest with his sisters (especially Drusilla), an orgy he held at the palace including prominent senators, his campaign in Britain ending with his soldiers collecting seashells as "spoils of the sea" in his battle with the sea god Neptune, wanting to erect a statue of himself in Jerusalem (his good friend Herod Agrippa stopped it), and labeling himself a "God." Ancient sources classify him as insane and a tyrant. However, modern sources attempt to explain his insanity as the product of a painful childhood or that he was simply misunderstood. Historians tend to agree on one fact: he was extremely unqualified and unprepared to become Emperor.
He only ruled for three years and ten months. On January 24, 41 a conspiracy among the Praetorian Guard managed to end his life. While Caligula was in a corridor alone he was struck down by one Cassius Chaera, a man who had been with Germanicus' army long ago, and had become fed up with Caligula for personal reasons (Caligula liked to make fun of Cassius' voice). They also killed Caligula's wife Caesonia and their infant daughter, Julia Drusilla by smashing her head against a wall. After much confusion his old uncle Claudius was made Emperor by the Praetorian Guard. Caligula was only 28 when he died.
This is a list of Roman Emperors with the dates they controlled the Roman Empire.
(Note that, contrary to popular belief, Julius Caesar was never Emperor (princeps), although he was named dictator for life in 45 BC (but was not the first Roman to hold that title) and was regarded as such by Roman historians. On the other hand, the name Caesar became the family name of the first dynasty and was effectively treated as a title, a practice which continued throughout the Empire. Similarly, Suetonius wrote of The Twelve Caesars (including the Flavians) so some sense of continuity was evidently felt.)
For the worship of the Roman Emperor as a god, see imperial cult.
For a simplified list see: Concise List of Roman Emperors
italics: claimant who cannot be conisdered to have ruled or held power over part of the empire only
bold italics: nickname by which the individual is commonly known
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