Caligula Murder Was the Case... From Hero to Zero in Four Short Years

What We Know About His Reign  Tacitus’ account of Caligula’s rule is missing  Historian Suetonius has an account  Writers agree that his downfall was caused by insanity

Early Years  Born on 31 st of August in AD 12  Nicknamed Caligula = “little boot”  Soldier’s footware = caliga  Spent time on military campaigns  Soldiers are calmed by the sight of him after Augustus dies

Family Ties  Nephew of Tiberius  His father was Germanicus (Augustus’ adopted grandson)  Mother was Agrippina (Augustus’ granddaughter)  His father died on 10 Oct AD 9

Ascent to Power  Joined Tiberius on Capri in AD 31  Tiberius dies in AD 37  Gaius becomes emperor

Kind and Generous  Recalls those exiled from Rome  Dismissal of criminal charges  Cash bonus to Praetorian Guard (1 st time)  Reimbursed those overcharged by tax system  Drove perverts from the city  Honored Tiberius’ will  Fantastic spectacles for entertainment  People were happy... At first

Madness Follows  Caligula begins to behave as though he is insane  Demands divine honors for himself and Druscilla  Roman troops ordered to collect sea-shells  Wants a statue of himself in the temple at Jerusalem

More Madness  Treats Druscilla as if she is his wife  Made senators run for miles alongside his chariot  Spent 27 million gold pieces

Planned to make his horse a consul

Assassination  Praetorian Guard decides to kill Caligula  24 January AD 41 he is killed  Claudius becomes the emperor

Conclusion  The fact that Caligula was murdered underscores the fact that this was a full- blown monarchy  Giving up your power = death