Caligula
(August 31, 12 - January 24, 41) Rome
Emperor
Born as Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, son of Germanicus and successor to Tiberius in 37. He earned his nickname, meaning "little [soldier's] boots", while travelling with his father on military campaigns in Germania.
When Germanicus died in Antioch in 19, his mother Agrippina the Elder returned to Rome with her six children, where she became entangled in an increasingly bitter feud with Tiberius.
During the course of the 20s and 30s, many of Caligula's relatives, including Agrippina and two elder brothers, died in mysterious circumstances. Caligula withdrew to the island of Capri in 31, where Tiberius himself had retired since 26, and eventually succeeded his adoptive grandfather upon his death on 16 March 37.
There are few surviving sources on Caligula's reign, and although he is described as a noble and moderate ruler during the first two years of his rule, after this the sources focus upon him being a tyrant and alleged to be mad, he was assassinated by an officer of his guard. A handsome man himself, he was well known for being a passionate young men's lover.
Caligula was assassinated as the result of a conspiracy involving members of his own bodyguard and the Roman Senate. The conspirators' attempt to use the opportunity to restore the Roman Republic was thwarted, as the same day the Praetorian Guard declared Caligula's uncle Claudius emperor in his place.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - et alii
|