Chapters
| Name | Gaius Iulius Caesar Germanicus |
|---|---|
| Ruled as | Gaius Iulius Caesar Augustus Germanicus |
| Reign | 18 March 37 – 24 January 41 CE |
| Born | 31 August 12 CE |
| Died | 24 January 41 CE |
Caligula was born on 31 August 12 CE, in Antium (now Anzio) in Italy, near Rome, as Gaius Iulius Caesar Germanicus. His father was Germanicus, while his mother was Agrippina the Elder. His father was a commander adored by the army, who, just after the birth of his son, happened to be with his family by the Rhine, where he commanded the army.
Caligula was a Roman emperor in the years 37 – 41 CE. The son of the great Roman leader, Germanicus, was originally adored by the crowds. Unexpectedly, on November 37 CE Caligula fell into an unknown serious disease, and after recovering from this he became cruel and unpredictable.
Youth and the period to rule
Caligula is one of those emperors we rarely know by their real names. Germanicus, as a commander, was more often in military camps than at home. Therefore, his wife and son often accompanied him while he was performing his duties. And there, to the delight of the legions, he dressed little Gaius in military clothes and put on his sandals. This way his nickname was made: Caligae. This is nothing but the name of the sandals that the legionaries wore. It can be also explained as a “little caliga”. The “little caliga” was regarded as the mascot of the army; according to Tacitus1, when one time there was unrest in the army, Germanicus threatened to leave the camp Agrippina and Caligula. Legionnaires were so tied to them that they begged the general for understanding and stopped unrest.
In 17 CE the whole family moved to the East. Two years later, the father of the family, Germanicus, died under mysterious circumstances. Orphaned Gaius lived with his mother and five siblings in Rome. He was there to witness the atrocities that fell on his loved ones after the praetorian prefect Sejanus came to power. His mother in 29 CE sent to the island Pandateria, where she died in 33 CE. The elder brother, Nero, was imprisoned on Pontia and died in 31 CE. Mean brother Drusus kept on Palatine, and died in 33 CE Gaius was saved thanks to the fact that he was still considered a child. His only sisters were: Agrippina the Younger, Julia Drusilla and Julia Livilla. Later there were rumours of their incestuous relationships. After the deportation of his mother, Gaius was looked after by his great-grandmother, Livia, who died in 29 CE Then the boy lived with his grandmother, Antonia, who respected even the suspicious emperor Tiberius.
Gaius came on the island Capri, where Tiberius settled permanently, in 31 CE, because the emperor wanted to have his two heirs close to him. They were: his grandson, Tiberius Gemellus and Gaius. They were constantly surrounded, and especially Gaius, by informers catching every word. In 33 CE Tiberius gave Caligula an honorary quaestorship. In 33 CE Caligula married his first wife, Junia Claudilla, who died giving birth along with her child.
In 37 CE Caligula came into agreement with Macro, Praetorian Prefect. Gaius wanted to become an emperor, and Macro to keep his position by the new emperor’s side. The guarantee of the agreement was Macro’s wife, Ennia, who, with her husband’s knowledge, became Gaius’s mistress (he was married to Junia at that time). On 16 March 37 CE, the Emperor fainted and died. There were rumours in the city, that Caligula and Macro contributed to the death of Tiberius.
The deceased in his will recommended that Gaius and Tiberius Gemellus reign together. However, his will did not fulfil. Thanks to Macro, the Senate annulled his will and appointed Gaius the Emperor. The beginnings of the reign of the new emperor shaped up very well.
Reign
Initially, Caligula’s rule did not indicate terror. Caligula ruled in harmony with the Senate and gained great popularity. Caligula ordered all political proceedings to be discontinued, people exiled for political reasons had been dismissed, records of the trial of his mother and brothers were publicly burnt, and he ordered the release of the works of opposition historians. He introduced tax credits and re-published state accounts. He went to Pandateria and Pontus for the ashes of Agrippina’s mother and his brother Nero to put them in the imperial mausoleum. He granted special privileges to his sisters and grandmother Antonia.
However, in November 37 CE, the emperor suffered from a serious illness, probably encephalitis. When Caligula recovered, he was a different man. Suetonius after the year 120 CE suggested that even the emperor’s appearance was a sign of serious disturbances:
He was tall of stature, very pallid of complexion. His body was ill-formed, his neck and legs very thin. His eyes and temples were sunken, while his brow was broad and intimidating. His hair was sparse, his crown being completely bald, while the rest of his body was hairy. Because of this, he pronounced it a crime meriting death if, when he was passing, anyone should look down on him from above, or if, for whatever reason, the word ‘goat’ was mentioned. Though nature had made his face hideous and repulsive, he deliberately tried to make it more so by practising all kinds of terrifying and dreadful expressions in the mirror. His health, both of body and of mind, was unstable.
– Suetonius, Caligula, 50
After recovery, Caligula sent soldiers with the order to kill Tiberius Gemmellus, who could dun his patrimony. He also forced Marcus Junius Silanus (substitute consul in 15 CE) the father of his first wife, Junia, to commit suicide.