Brief biography of Caligula. What was Emperor Caligula really like
Roman emperor (since 37) from the Julian dynasty - Claudius. Caligula's desire for unlimited power and the demand for honors to himself, as God, displeased the Senate and Praetorians. Killed by conspirators.
Gaius Julius Caesar, who during his lifetime had the nickname Caligula and went down in history under this name, was the third son of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder. He was born in 12 and spent his childhood in military camps, as his mother constantly accompanied her husband.
At 31, when he turned 19, his father had long been dead, and his mother and two older brothers were already in disgrace, he was summoned by Tiberius to Capri.
At the time of the death of Tiberius, Guy was formally a private person, he was 25 years old, and he was a co-heir of the even younger Tiberius Gemellus. According to Roman legal concepts, it did not have any legal status.
True, as the son of Germanicus, young Gaius Caligula enjoyed great popularity among the people. In addition, through Agrippina, he was the natural great-grandson of Augustus. An important factor was the support of Macron's praetorians. Immediately after the death of Tiberius, Macron traveled to Rome to facilitate the rise of Gaius to power.
The new rulers took a rather unusual step. They declared the will of Tiberius invalid, since the princeps seemed not to be of sound mind. The revocation of the will removed the clause concerning Gaius, and in favor of the latter was the position of the eldest in the family and the descent from Augustus and Germanicus. In addition, he took advantage of the fact that the will formally gave only property.
When, two days after the death of Tiberius, on March 18, 37, Caligula was proclaimed emperor with the official name Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, the people greeted this news with great joy.
The first actions of the emperor were aimed at gaining popularity. In line with the general policy, the main slogans of which were consent and mercy, the emperor began to restore the status of the Germanicus family and, like Augustus, received a golden shield. On the other hand, a number of me
events helped him win the sympathy of the broad masses. Guy returned the actors from exile, resumed on an unprecedented scale the spectacles so beloved by the people, which had practically ceased under Tiberius. Gladiator fights, theatrical performances, and animal baiting, which delighted the population of Rome, became almost continuous. A new element was the participation in the games of Guy himself, as well as high-ranking senators and horsemen.
At the same time, the reign of Caligula began to be overshadowed by the prospect of financial collapse. Spectacles, distributions and construction required enormous sums; revenues, on the other hand, have declined due to some unsuccessful actions in the east. Guy's personal expenses were enormous. Suetonius reports that in just one day the princeps spent 10 million sesterces (the annual tax of several provinces), and one of his favorites, the charioteer Eutichus, received 2 million for winning the competition at once. financial deficit and huge savings of Tiberius began to come to an end.
In October 1937, the princeps fell ill. Throughout the empire, they constantly prayed for his recovery. Caligula recovered, but his policy changed so much that the opinion of his madness was firmly established in society. Sheer madness shone through in all his actions and manifested itself in his appearance.
After recuperating, the princeps ordered the Praetorian centurion to kill Gemellus. Macron and Enny were ordered to commit suicide. The murder of the prefect was caused by Caligula's unwillingness to endure the almighty minister next to him, in addition, the princeps, apparently, took revenge for his past - closeness to Tiberius, and at one time to Sejanus. A new feature was that the processes did not take place in the Senate, and the princeps single-handedly decided the fate of the prominent dignitaries of the empire.
Caligula was characterized by truly insane greed and extravagance; he squandered the huge inheritance of Tiberius of two billion seven hundred million sesterces in no more than a year.
Prices began to rise, which exceeded
whether the level under Augustus and Tiberius. Caligula introduced an incredible amount of taxes. Caligula introduced extraordinary extortions, gifts for the princeps for the new year, gifts for his daughter on his birthday, etc.
Imperial property has grown tremendously. Without reducing, but even increasing the costs of the court, the emperor began to reduce the costs of shows. The result of Caligula's "financial policy" was the deterioration of relations with the wealthy.
Three times in two years, Caligula declared noble women to be his wives, whom he took away from their legitimate husbands. During the same time, he managed to drive two of them, forbidding them to return to the family. The third, Caesonia, who was not distinguished either by beauty or youth, but who managed to bind him to herself with exceptional voluptuousness, then took him out in a cloak, helmet, with a shield and on horseback to the troops, then showed her naked to his companions. He openly cohabited with all three sisters. One of them, who died in the 38th year, Drusilla, was ordered by Caligula to be worshiped as a deity. In Rome, twenty priests and priestesses served her cult. The other two sisters, Livilla and Agrippina the younger, he sometimes gave for the amusement of his favorites, and in the end he sent them to the islands.
Under Caligula, a monarchical-theocratic concept of power began to be created. The idea arose that all subjects were the slaves of the monarch. Guy declared himself animate and the only law.
This policy, and the discontent that it inevitably had to cause, led to an increase in repression. Their number even surpassed the number of repressions at the end of the reign of Tiberius. There were also mass executions. Once the princeps ordered to kill everyone in exile. Many were forced to participate in gladiatorial battles.
Already in 38, he wished to be the expression of all the gods and began to appear in the clothes of deities and with their attributes - lightning (Jupiter), a trident (Neptune) and a rod (Pluto), and sometimes in the clothes of Venus.
Caligula reimagined his dynastic tradition. From the pedigree, those who were directly by blood n
e belonged to the imperial family, namely, Agrippa and partly Libya. The Princeps announced that his mother Agrippina was born of the incest of Julia and Augustus himself. One of Guy's passions was to disfigure beautiful people.
The terrorist policy of Caligula, destroying all traditions and unboundedly uplifting the ruler, could not fail to provoke a response. Conspiracies have become the main form of struggle against despotic power. In 40, the emperor's quaestor Betilen Bass and Sextus Papinius intended to kill Caligula. The conspiracy was discovered, the perpetrators were executed.
The new conspiracy engulfed Guy's entourage and was extremely ramified. At its head were the praetorian officers Cassius Hereus and Cornelius Sabinus.
On January 24, 41, the Princeps went to an afternoon breakfast and theater performance. In the underpass, the conspirators decided to seize the moment. The first blows were delivered by Kherey and Sabin, Guy fell.
A crowd of urban mob, sympathetic to Caligula, rushed to the forum, demanding to deal with the conspirators, but they were calmed by the consul Valery Asiatic, who declared himself the main organizer of the conspiracy. The Consul of Gnaeus Sentius Saturninus issued an edict calling on the Senate and people to order and promising a reduction in certain taxes. The Senate enthusiastically greeted Hereya and Sabina, who rushed into the curia, shouting that they had regained freedom. By order of Herea, the wife and daughter of the emperor were killed.
The short reign of Guy Caligula had no impact on the provincial and foreign policy however, some actions, mostly negative ones, were taken. The new emperor practically destroyed eastern border, having recreated the system of vassal kingdoms here. Commagene was restored, and Antiochus, the son of the eponymous ruler who was executed under Tiberius, became its king. A significant part of Cilicia and Lycaonia passed to the new kingdom, and part of Cappadocia to Lesser Armenia and Pontus-Bosporus, where Kotis and Polemon, sons of the Thracian king Kotis, now ruled. former friends childhood Caligula. The kingdom of Judah of Herod Agrippa also increased.
Guy Caligula can be called one of the most controversial political figures in world history. There are so many speculations about the short period of his reign that it is very difficult to distinguish them from the truth. Lucius Seneca, a Roman philosopher and contemporary of Caligula, said of him that "nature created him as if to show what infinite depravity combined with infinite power are capable of."
Nicknamed Boot
Guy Caesar Caligula was born into the family of the commander Germanicus, the adopted son of Octavian Augustus. Most of his childhood was spent in army camps on the border with the Rhine. One of the legionnaires once saw a little boy dressed in soldier's clothes (special clothes for children are an invention of the new era). The legionnaire was amused by the small-sized soldier shoes on the feet of the son of his beloved commander, and he jokingly called Gaius Caesar "Caligula" (from the name of the soldier's shoes - Kalig), that is, Boot or even closer to reality - Sandalet.
The nickname stuck to the boy - the Romans liked to give a person a funny or even caustic nickname. The famous poet Ovid was nicknamed, for example, "Nose". Growing up among the soldiers, the boy, nevertheless, received an excellent education - he knew how to speak in court, had the gift of eloquence and a subtle mind.
Guy had two older brothers and three sisters, but this hardly brought him happiness. When he was 7 years old, his father died, poisoned by envious people, and the boy and his sisters were sent to be raised by Libya's great-grandmother. After another 10 years, the emperor sent into exile his mother - Agrippina and his older brother Nero. A year later, they were followed by a second brother - Druz.
Tiberius, whom rumor blamed for the death of Germanicus, was afraid of any contender for supreme power, but having eliminated some (Nero and Drusus were soon killed), he took under his supervision the younger, Gaius Caligula, and kept him with him all the time in his villa on the island Capri.
The slightest slander for Tiberius was enough to start persecuting an imaginary envious person. Caligula was lucky, he was not slandered, but it was given to him at a high price. After one of his contemporaries said about Caligula: "There was no better slave and worse sovereign in the world." Secrecy and suspiciousness, combined with the natural cruelty and excessive freedom of morals that reigned among the Roman nobility at that time, became the norm for Caligula throughout his life. He hardly felt like an heir then - even the very thought of the death of Tiberius was dangerous.
Power and wealth
Tiberius feared conspiracy and death. It is not known for certain how his last hours passed. The cruelty of Caligula's short reign made his contemporaries suspect him of the murder of Tiberius. What actually happened is shrouded in mystery - all the writers, Suetonius, Tacitus, and Dio Cassius, lived much later, when the legends and gossip about the death of Tiberius survived more than one generation.
But the people and the Senate greeted the new ruler with joy, hoping for an end to the terror that had become the norm under Tiberius. When twenty-four-year-old Caligula in mourning accompanied the body of the deceased emperor to Rome, according to Suetonius, “the people on the way greeted him with thick, jubilant crowds, with altars, with sacrifices, with lighted torches, admonishing him with good wishes, calling him a“ light ”and“ darling ", And" doll ", and" child ".
Gaius Caligula tried to satisfy the aspirations of the people - fortunately, Tiberius was thrifty and left a rich treasury. Mass distribution of money to the inhabitants of Rome, gladiator games, sacrifices to the gods and celebrations did not stop for three months.
He honored Caligula and the memory of his relatives: he buried the bodies of his dead brothers and mother (Tiberius himself forbade this), installed a game in honor of this, arranged an amnesty for those convicted by Tiberius.
However, Caligula did not forget himself. He took baths in fragrant oils, drank pearls dissolved in vinegar.
To feel his power, he ordered to dig up mountains and fill up valleys ...
But behind this was not just a desire to compensate for the hardships for the years spent at the court of Tiberius - in constant fear for his life, flattery and suspicion. The ancients thought that it was about epilepsy, and modern researchers are increasingly suggesting that Caligula suffered from a certain type of mental disorder that manifested itself after he contracted encephalitis.
Monster ruler
Caligula ruled for only 3 years, 10 months and 8 days, the disease overtook him two months after the beginning of the reign. But she only contributed to the general mental disorder.
The Roman writer Suetonius delimits his story about the life of Caligula as follows: "Until now, it was about the ruler, then we will have to talk about the monster." The gigantic spending of the beginning of the reign made itself felt very soon. The treasury was empty and Caligula had to introduce new taxes and levies. They were distinguished by great cruelty, unreasonableness and striving for only one thing - quick receipt of money. "
Some of them went to the construction of a luxurious temple, which Caligula dedicated to himself. To do this, he ordered the best statues of the Olympian gods to be brought from Greece and replaced with their own heads. He ordered himself to be worshiped as a god, and he himself was often present at the sacrifices made to him by the senators. He also deified his beloved horse named Swift-footed (in Latin Incitatus) and planned to make him a consul.
Even taking into account the exaggerations of Roman historians, a lot says that he simply did not know measure and fear in his actions. The list of Caligula's entertainments stands out even against the background of the depraved customs of that era: from incest to personal participation in torture and desecration of the statues of the famous men of Rome.
End
Caligula's appearance was not pretty, rather disgusted: pale, overweight, with thin thin legs and arms, sunken eyes, bald patch on the crown (because of which it was forbidden to look at him from above). Such atrocities, which affected almost all senators and many inhabitants of Rome, could not last long.
It is not surprising that one of the many conspiracies was not solved: Caligula was trapped by the assassins as he went to breakfast. His last words- "I'm still alive!" - as if confirming that he could not believe in his death. Caligula was at the head of the empire for only four incomplete years and died very young - at 28 years old.
Even when he died, people did not immediately believe this news - they thought that the princeps himself spread rumors about his death in order to find out who and how would react to it and then punish those who wanted him dead.
- I am alone and there are three of you. I am unarmed and you are armed. I know that you hate me and want to kill me - so do it!
Caligula (Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus) was an ancient Roman emperor. The nickname Caligula, that is, a boot, he received as a child, due to the fact that he wore children's boots, similar to soldiers' leather boots - kaligi.
Caligula lived a short life, managed to become famous as a powerful and vicious ruler, was killed by a group of conspirators on January 24, 41, at the age of 28.
Emperor Caligula's motto:
Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (the third of the Julian-Claudian dynasty), better known by the nickname Caligula (translated as boot because in childhood his father took him on military campaigns, during which Guy wore shoes according to the model army boots- kalig). His reign is described in the book The Life of the Twelve Caesars Gaius Suetonius Tranquilla. At the beginning of his reign he was popular (reduced taxes, paid off the debts of emperors, carried out political amnesties), but quickly the style of his government changed - he began to deify himself and his family members. He ruled for about 4 years, was killed by conspirators. During his reign, he managed to make his beloved horse Incitatus a citizen of the Roman Empire, then a senator and was going to make him a consul. Albert Camus has a play Caligula , and the Italian director Tinto Brass has a movie Caligula
Was one of the youngest emperors of Rome
Everyone watched the famous film by Tinto Brass Caligula. But you cannot judge about this person by him. We know Caligula as the ruler of Rome who weakened the empire. He ruled for only 4 years. Caligula is a nickname from Caligula, the boots that the mother of her son wore when he was little. Caligula's mother, Agrippina was a powerful and powerful woman with strong character... She died in prison, ending her life on a hunger strike. The historians who wrote have exaggerated Caligula's sexual perversions.
Caligula paved the way for the conquest of Britain. It is a fact.
Most likely Caligula suffered from brain diseases, but was not crazy in the literal sense of the word.
One of the most famous emperors of Rome, during his short three-year reign he became famous for his exorbitant cruelty, erraticism, extravagant acts, for example:
1) slept with his three sisters, and called his most beloved middle one his wife and after death deified
2) not only gave his not only chaste sisters, but even his grandmother the status of a vestal - a virgin priestess
3) dishonored anyone when he got there, absolutely without regard to marital status, gender and nobility
3) only the lazy does not know about the horse in the Senate. However, there is an opinion that it was trolling of lazy and too smart senators.
Why Caligula became like this, I wrote here.
I must say that they hated Caligula to such an extent that after the murder of him, they did not even spare a 10-month-old baby, his only daughter - she was killed, having smashed her head on a bench.
Your question made me go back in time, bring back old memories of school.
But I loved history very much.
The story has long remained in my memory since school lessons.
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or, more simply, Caligula is the most despotic and extravagant emperor of antiquity.
The future emperor was born in 12 year. His father Germanicus was a famous commander, and concurrently the nephew and primal son of the emperor Tiberius, enjoyed enormous popularity in the army, but Tiberius himself was very jealous of his successes.
Guy spent almost all his childhood in military camps, which were commanded by his father, because his mother, a madly in love woman, constantly accompanied her husband. Parents, striving to gain popularity in their legions, dressed their son in military clothes, and tiny boots specially sewn for a little boy, which caused great affection among the soldiers. It was from there that the nickname Caligula, that is, the boot, came from. In the same place, Caligula first felt the popularity and general admiration, which he liked very much, but did a very bad service, in that power for the empire and its citizens.
At the age of 19, he unexpectedly becomes the favorite of the emperor, and this after the latter, fearing a competition for power, killed his father, mother and two older brothers.
Immediately after the death of Tiberius, Caligula was proclaimed emperor and he was given the official name Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. The people greeted this news with great joy, for his parents Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder enjoyed universal love and respect. Yes, and he started well, though at the expense of the treasury set aside by Tiberius and his own personal savings. The newly-made emperor paid off the debts of previous emperors and lowered taxes. He also showed generosity to the Roman plebs: he paid him one-time cash benefits, staged magnificent shows and abundant distribution of food. He did not forget about the family ruined by Tiberius, from the places of exile of his mother Agrippina and brother Nero, brought their ashes to Rome and buried them with all honors in the mausoleum of Augustus, which he then consecrated. But most importantly, as soon as he received the title of emperor, Caligula immediately returned his powers to the senate. He stops numerous and meaningless processes for insulting Majesty, dates an amnesty to everyone who was persecuted and announces that from now on he has no ears for scammers.
Admiration for Caligula knew no bounds, which, in fact, was the main reason for his madness. And there is still a version that his mind was damaged as a result of an illness that soon overtook him. Caligula, after a past illness, changes dramatically in his actions, which sometimes defy any logic. Absolute monarchy- this is his present ideal.
And for his depraved behavior, Caligula became famous for centuries. For the sake of his own carnal pleasures, he could take the wife that he liked from any of the nobility. There was already rumor about his cohabitation with his three fears. Most of them he loved the middle sister, whose name was Drusilla. He absolutely did not hesitate to keep her in the house, like a wife. When she died, Caligula's grief knew no bounds. After the mourning ceremonies, he ascended his sister to the rank of divine, a certain Senator Gemin, under oath, stated that he saw with his own eyes how Drusilla ascended to heaven, while talking with other celestials. And if this worked, then soon Caligula declared himself a god, after which he dressed exclusively in divine clothes and their attributes. Then he wanted to make his favorite horse a senator. Although there is an opinion that he pointed out their place to the Senate in this way, they say, their role in this life is no more important than the role of his horse. He was a joker, however.
The heads of Roman citizens began to fly every day, adding to the executioners' work, and Caligula's sacrifices were completely meaningless, based only on his whim.
Of course, conspiracies were not long in coming, some of which were successfully uncovered. And yet, in 41, another attempt ended in success, with the help of the tribune of the praetorians Cassius Hereus, who was the first to strike, though not fatal, but it was a signal to other conspirators who struck thirty more stabs with daggers. The conspirators' revenge was terrible; they did not spare either Caligula's fourth wife and his two-year-old daughter. So sadly ended the 29-year life and 4-year reign of one of the most insane rulers the world has ever known.
I wish everyone good luck, good, positive mood and all the very best in life. Good luck.
Caligula, the third son of Germanicus and Agripina the Elder, was appointed by the emperor Tiberius to succeed him. Fate smiled strangely at both one and the other. Tiberius was Octavian Augustus only a stepson, but was approved by him, on the board. Germanicus was also a stepson to Tiberius, but it was his son that Tiberius brought closer to him.
The fate of Caligula himself is very similar to the fate of our unforgettable Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible. From an early age, both had to live in a state of constant intrigue, palace murders, a serious illness, when almost all close people turned away, and endure the death of their beloved woman. So some, let's say, extravagant sides of the character of both did not arise from scratch.
To Emperor Tiberius, well-wishers were constantly humming in his ears that Guy (caligula is just a nickname) was constantly plotting something behind his back, and what was unknown, but clearly something bad.
On the other hand, personalities constantly revolved around Guy trying to provoke him to some actions, or at least negative statements about Tiberius.
However, Caligula knew how to keep his mouth shut. Nevertheless, Tiberius preferred to keep Guy by his side, firstly he prepared himself to be his successors, well, and secondly, so ... just in case.
And at twenty-five years old, Gaius Julius becomes emperor.
At the beginning of the reign, nothing so terrible happened. The people, in fact, were important that the emperor was a direct descendant of Caesar, and in his relations with the Senate, the people usually took the side of the emperor. As for his extravagant antics, then ordinary people they did not concern, and many of them were by no means antics, but either jokes or a desire to express an idea.
For example, the desire to make his horse, Swift-Footed, the consul, was dictated not only by love for horses, but also by the directly expressed opinion that at the moment the horse would also cope with consular duties. Would you personally like to replace some of our senators with horses, cats, hamsters? In my opinion, there was a reason in the actions of Caligula.
The emperor himself was not very handsome, but what is there - almost ugly. He was susceptible to epileptic seizures and sometimes had some confusion, which he was well aware of.
Nevertheless, he was a great speaker and had a great sense of humor, but usually his jokes caused either bewilderment or a cold sweat.
Once, for some offense, he ordered to whip his favorite actor and, listening to his screams with pleasure, noticed with admiration that he was screaming very melodiously - after all, the school of acting!
To one Roman who prevented him from enjoying the theatrical performance with his chatter, he handed a sealed message and ordered him to immediately gallop at full speed to Africa, to Mauritania to King Ptolemy and urgently convey a message of state importance. When the barely living messenger handed the dispatch to Ptolemy, the tsar read - to the Giver of this, do no harm or good. A joke of humor is not a trandy, when the emperor participates in the eternal and beautiful.
So, thanks to his qualities, Caligula either carried out an ebullient activity, then generally retired from business. In the end, he was very bored with state affairs and he was more interested in theater and shows, including gladiatorial battles, to which he was a great hunter and preferred the battles of gladiators without helmets in order to better see the suffering and horror of death.
Then Caligula unexpectedly and very seriously fell ill and everyone already began to distribute the roles of influence, as Caligula unexpectedly recovered and the behavior of his entourage appreciated - he re-introduced the law of insult to greatness.
In his personal life, Guy also showed eccentricity. Having returned from exile three of their own sisters, where they were forced to live from hand to mouth, Agrippina the Younger (which is still a treasure!) future mother Nero, Julia and Drusilla. With his sisters, he lived in great love, so great that he slept with everyone, but he preferred Drusilla. To be honest, I personally do not think that it was ravage and incest, because it was for Drusilla that Guy had very strong feelings, much stronger than brotherly ones. Moreover, the feelings were mutual, which means that it is not for us to judge them.
When, completely healthy Drusilla, unexpectedly fell ill and died, Guy's grief knew no bounds. It was so strong that he did not even kill (just like that) anyone for it, because he was completely absorbed in suffering.
He deified Drusilla, reckoning her among the gods, and demanded worship of her as a goddess, and was going to build a temple, and pushed such a decision through the Senate.
Despite this, Guy was married four times and last time on Caesonia.
The most interesting thing is that Caligula knew about conspiracies. Shortly before the murder, he summoned the minister and two praetorian prefects, and, as a rule, it was they who organized all the conspiracies, and said:
Naturally, they fell to their knees before him and were assured of the greatest devotion.
After a while, the emperor was met, after the performance, in underpass and with the words - get yours - they chopped them down with swords. Wife Caesonia was stabbed with a sword, and their little daughter Drusilla was grabbed by the legs and hit her head against the wall.
Oh, the times!
Caligula is nickname one of the Roman emperors. Caligula's full name sounds like:
You can read this biography. In a nutshell, Caligula is a pervert and a tyrant.
Gaius Caesar Germanicus, whom most people know by the name of Caligula. He was an emperor and was famous for his fair disposition, generously distributed prizes, freed from repression, won over the people to himself.
Caligula is a 1st century Roman emperor whose name is strongly associated with madness and cruelty - though not to the same extent as the name of Nero.
How cruel and insane was the emperor in reality?
Birth
The full name of the emperor is Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. He was the son of Germanicus, a famous military leader and statesman, and his wife Agrippina the Elder.
Germanicus started grandiose Germanic campaigns, in which he took his son when he was still a child. There, Guy put on little children's kaligi - soldier's shoes, for which the legionnaires jokingly called him Caligula - under this name he went down in history. Guy himself did not like this nickname.
The emperor
Tiberius, before his death, announced his heir. More precisely - heirs: equal rights he endowed Caligula and Tiberius Gemellus - the son of Drusus the Younger (and, therefore, his grandson), but said that after him the throne should be occupied by Caligula.
According to Philo, Tiberius knew that Caligula should not be trusted with power, but for a strange reason he went for it. V public administration Guy did not understand, but he was very hungry for power. In order to eliminate a competitor - Gemella, he even strangled him with his own hand (some authors, however, report that Gemella strangled Macron - the head of the Praetorians, a companion of Caligula).
At first, Caligula gave the impression of a worthy ruler. The Romans were grateful to him for a number of positive reforms:
- Reduced taxes;
- Payment of imperial debts;
- Payment of remuneration to praetorians;
- Abolition of the law of insult to majesty;
- Political amnesty;
- Construction of aqueducts and modernization of the harbor in Regia, which allowed for a better supply of grain to the empire.
The ashes of his mother Agrippina and brother Nero, expelled by Tiberius to distant lands, he ordered to be transported to Rome and solemnly buried in the mausoleum of Augustus. He also paid tribute to the deceased Tiberius. However, after a while, something happened.
Various authors report that he suffered some kind of illness - encephalitis, epilepsy or something else, others point to "shattered" nervous system Caligula since childhood, which made itself felt only now. After suffering an illness, the behavior of the emperor changed dramatically. Now Rome had to cope with the progressive madness of its ruler.
Madness
Caligula declared the cult of his three sisters - Drusilla, Livilla and Agrippina the Younger, as well as his grandmother Antonia. They began to be depicted on coins, they were endowed with the sacred rights of vestals, solemn oaths were taken with a mention of not only the emperor, but also the sisters and their grandmother.
The emperor also ordered Macron to commit suicide, then the father of his first wife, and then dealt with some of his relatives, including the governor of Mauretania, Ptolemy - only for the fact that he once put on a purple cloak, which was only allowed to be worn by emperors.
The early period of Caligula's reign was marked by countless jubilation and festivities. The emperor did not skimp on entertainment and gifts to citizens, the empire did not know such a variety of performances, gladiatorial battles, pantomimes and other spectacles. And Caligula himself amused himself most of all, indulging in various vices - along with his voluptuous sisters; according to some reports, he even lashed out with them, especially with Agrippina.
Endless celebrations and vices drained Caligula physically and mentally, and completely devastated the treasury. To raise money and continue his dissolute lifestyle, Caligula embarked on a grandiose series of executions and persecutions.
The law on insult to the majesty, which he had repealed, was returned, and now it was possible to punish anyone according to it. Here the emperor's anger fell on the richest Roman citizens - they were ordered to take away their property and expel them from the city, and often just kill them.
During Caligula's illness, crowds of people stood at his palace and prayed to the gods for the recovery of their beloved emperor, and many of them vowed to bring their lives as a gift to the gods for this, to participate in a gladiatorial tournament or perform some other feat, and now Caligula decided to find these grateful residents and force them to fulfill their promise.
The emperor became cowardly, he thought that he was surrounded on all sides by enemies and conspirators. Therefore, executions only multiplied. But this was not enough: Caligula declared himself a god. He ordered to build temples for himself and make sacrifices, erect statues depicting him and change heads on those statues that depicted real gods - now they adorned the face of Caligula.
He ordered to put his statue even in the Jerusalem temple. And with all this, Caligula continued to arrange holidays and celebrations for any, even the most insignificant reason. The Roman people with bitterness endured the imperial madness, but their cup of patience was overflowing: the praetorians Kherea and Sabinus stabbed the dictator right in the theater, and then killed his wife Caesonia and little daughter.
