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Caligula

Caligula. The Rise and Fall 3yrs and 11 months. Early years. He has gone down in history as Rome's most tyrannical emperor , but without Tacitus' account of his short reign, is it impossible to know the truth behind the wilder stories?

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Caligula

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  1. Caligula The Rise and Fall 3yrs and 11 months

  2. Early years • He has gone down in history as Rome's most tyrannical emperor, but without Tacitus' account of his short reign, is it impossible to know the truth behind the wilder stories? • Gaius was the son of the popular Germanicus and the great-grandson of Augustus - with the blood of Augustus from both sides of his family. From age two to four he lived on the Rhine with his father's legions.

  3. Dealing with the succession • After the death of his brother in 33 AD he was, with Gemellus (grandson of Tiberius), next in succession. • When Tiberius died in 37 AD, the Praetorian Prefect Macro ensured that Gaius, not Gemellus, became emperor. • Gemellus and Macro were both put to death at the beginning of the new reign.

  4. Early success • The 24-year-old emperor was initially hugely popular - he was the son of Germanicus, had the blood of Augustus in his veins, and was a welcome change from the dour, absent Tiberius. • Departing from his predecessor's frugality, he provided lavish games for the Romans to enjoy, and abolished the sales tax. But seven months into his reign he fell ill, and he emerged from this as a megalomaniac - he may have lost his sanity, though this is doubtful.

  5. Relations with the Senate • He went out of his way to humiliate the senate (Suetonius says that he intended to make his horse consul), and encouraged treason trials for his own financial benefit. • He also insisted on being treated as a god (in contrast to the wiser policy of Augustus). Excavations in the Roman forum in the summer of 2003 confirmed that he incorporated the ancient Temple of Castor and Pollux within his palace - a sacrilege reversed by his successor Claudius I.

  6. Keeping it in the family • Gaius had three sisters, with whom he was alleged to have committed incest, and they were given unprecedented public honours, being included in the soldiers' oath of allegiance. • Drusilla died in 38 AD (made a goddess), and the next year Agrippina and Livilla were exiled for involvement in a conspiracy.

  7. Foreign Policy • In 39-40 AD, Gaius campaigned in Germany, as his father had done. • More mysterious was his planned expedition against Britain in 40 AD. He got no further than the Channel, where he ordered the troops to gather seashells. • On his grand return it is suggested he used fake German slaves.

  8. The end... • In 41 AD, the Praetorian Guard assassinated Gaius, together with his wife Caesonia and his daughter. He was 29. • Only the common people, who benefited from his extravagant spending, lamented his death.

  9. Caligula

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