Caligula

**Caligula** (Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, 31 August 12 – 24 January 41) was the third Roman Emperor. He reigned from AD 37-41. After only four years of ruling, he was assassinated by members of his bodyguard and the Roman Senate. During his reign, many innocent people were killed without fair trials. Even with all that, he was popular with the Roman public in his time. Note that the name Caligula was only given after his death.

## Life

Caligula's father Germanicus was the nephew and adoptive son of emperor Tiberius. He was a very successful general. He was one of Rome's most beloved public figures.

When Germanicus died at Antioch in 19 AD, Caligula's mother, Agrippina the Elder, returned to Rome with her six children. She had a bitter feud with Tiberius. That eventually led to the destruction of her family. Caligula was the only male survivor. In the year 31, he joined the emperor on the island of Capri. Tiberius had gone there five years earlier. When Tiberius died in 37, Caligula became emperor.

There are few surviving sources on Caligula's reign. He is described as a noble and moderate ruler during the first two years of his rule. After this, the sources focus upon his cruelty, extravagance, and sexual perversity, presenting him as an insane tyrant.

Caligula worked to give more authority to the emperor. He put a lot of his effort into ambitious construction projects and luxurious dwellings for himself. He started the construction of two new aqueducts in Rome: the _Aqua Claudia_ and the _Anio Novus_. During his reign, the empire took over the Kingdom of Tunisia and made it into a province.

In early 41, Caligula was assassinated. There was a conspiracy involving officers of the Praetorian Guard, members of the Roman Senate and members of the imperial court. After Caligula's death, the conspirators' tried to bring back the Roman Republic, but they were unsuccessful. The Praetorian Guard declared Caligula's uncle Claudius emperor in his place.

## Insanity?

There are stories about Caligula that show cruelty and insanity. He was accused of killing just for amusement. He was accused of committing incest with his sisters and prostituting them with other men. He was accused of turning the palace into a brothel.

Caligula appeared in public dressed as various gods. He demanded to be worshipped as a god. There was a legend that he appointed a horse to the priesthood.

It is difficult to know anything for certain about Caligula. Only two sources from his time still exist. Those are the works of Philo and Seneca. They give mostly anecdotes. At one time, there were detailed histories on Caligula. Now they are lost. Caligula's sister, Agrippina the Younger, wrote an autobiography which certainly had a lot of information about Caligula's reign. It is also lost. No surviving source paints Caligula in a favorable light. It is not known whether Caligula was insane. Philo describes the emperor as arrogant and cynical, but does not say he was psychotic. Seneca was exiled in part because of Caligula. He writes that  Caligula caused people to be tortured and executed in brutal ways. Secena writes that Caligula was a sadist. Seneca also gives a definition of insanity as a variant of a tyranny, turned the wrong way; in this definition, he does not mention Caligula. Flavius Josephus uses the term insaity multiple time, when he talks abour the emperor. What remains unclear though if Josephus speakes about a psychological condition, or simply the way in which Caligula ruled.

## Relics

In 2017 a mosaic from one of Caligula's Lake Nemi pleasure ships was discovered in New York City

## Infobox (royalty)

- **title**: Roman Emperor, Emperor of the Roman Empire
- **name**: Caligula
- **image**: Gaius Caesar Caligula.jpg
- **caption**: Bust of the Emperor Gaius, known as Caligula
- **succession**: Roman Emperor, 3rd Emperor of the Roman Empire
- **reign**: 18 March AD 37 – 24 January AD 41
 (3 years, 10 months)
- **predecessor**: Tiberius, great-uncle and adoptive grandfather
- **successor**: Claudius, uncle
- **house**: Julio-Claudian dynasty
- **full name**: Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus (birth)
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (as emperor)
- **father**: Germanicus
- **mother**: Agrippina the Elder
- **birth date**: 31 August AD 12
- **birth place**: Antium (modern Anzio and Nettuno), Italia (Roman Empire), Italy
- **death date**: 24 January AD 41 (aged 28)
- **death place**: Palatine Hill, Rome
- **place of burial**: Mausoleum of Augustus, Rome
- **religion**: Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion