Caligula an end in their reign. Caligula held

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Last updated: December 25, 2019

Caligula – Caligula The CrazyBy John GaunaWorld History (Cole)January 4, 2018The Rise and Fall of Caligula All great leaders have a backstory, and all great leaders must come to an end in their reign.

Caligula held stature with his name, and was well respected due to his Father. It was Caligula’s decision to become great or awful during his reign at age 24. In which he chose awful; it wasn’t Caligula’s fault on what other men, with power, had influences on his life. Caligula went mad, and failed as a leader. He made the very people who he was supposed to care for and by the ends of his will to protect, rebel against him. Due to his messed up childhood, misguidance of a horrible emperor, and having all the power an emperor holds, at such a young age.

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Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, also known as Caligula was born on August 31, 12 A.D. His parents were Germanicus, and Agrippina the Elder.

Germanicus served as a beloved general. Germanicus was very popular and was due for the throne if it wasn’t for his premature death. Gaius would join his father on trips campaigns to north of Germania. He would come fully equipped with his outfit. Dressed with the proper attire that was suited for a soldier, and even sported boots and armour. He then was Caligula, which means little military boots in latin.

Caligula had five siblings, their names Agrippina the Younger, Julia Drusilla, Nero Julius Caesar, Drusus Caesar, and Julia Lavilla. Later Nero Claudius Drusus, Germanicus’s father, would pass away on September 14, 19 B.C. Tiberius saw opportunity and adopted Germanicus.

 As Germanicus grew up he became popular and a favorite, people couldn’t wait until he took control as emperor. Tiberius feared the love of Germanicus and viewed him as a political enemy. Tiberius would then start sending Germanicus on far campaigns.

One in particular, Tiberius sent Germanicus to Rome’s eastern territories and soon after fell quite ill. Not too long after that he passed away. Agrippina the Elder, furious with Tiberius’s actions on sending Germanicus to get killed. Voiced her opinion publically and said it was his fault the beloved general was dead. Tiberius the short fused emperor fired back, and imprisoned her on a remote island, and left her to starve to death. Then Tiberius imprisoned Agrippina’s two oldest sons, Nero Julius Caesar and Drusus Caesar. Nero was forced to kill himself, and Drusus just like his mother had to starve to death.

Caligula was then spared since he was the youngest of the sons and had to live with his great-grandmother, Livia. During this time in his life it is speculated that he commited incest with his sister Drusilla. Caligula in this point in his life has been traumatized by the actions of Tiberius, and no one has done anything.

Caligula was just stripped of his parents and his brothers. As Tiberius’s last punch to Caligula he called upon him to the island of Capri. There he would be adopted by who is believed to be his father’s killer. Living with this man was traumatizing for Caligula. Caligula had to suppress his anger and one way he was successful with this was by watching tortures and executions.

Tiberius knew what he was doing, he was raising a unhinged man to rule Rome. “I am nursing a viper for the Roman people,”(Caligula Biography.com n.d.) In sometime of March, 37 A.D., Tiberius became very ill and only a month later he passed away.

The people of Rome were quick to make rumors of what happened to Tiberius. One popular one was that Caligula was the one that finished off Tiberius by smothering him to death. At age 24 with the messed up childhood he already had, he was given the key to Rome. Many people were excited, and were expecting great things from.

His father is mainly to blame for that since he was so beloved and it added a lot of unnecessary pressure on him. Caligula’s reign started off well. He granted bonuses to the military men and city troops. He would also free exiled people by overruling Tiberius’s treason papers that he had issued at his time reign. He also banished sex deviants, and helped people who were affected by their imperial tax system. He would also build upon this love of sports. He would plan lots of games, such as chariot races, boxing matches, and gladiator games.

Caligula’s good streak in his reign came to an end shortly after he was first put in to the position of emperor. After suppressing all this anger he then grew to start enjoying weird things and since his pureness was lost due to Tiberius, Caligula’s reign of being a good guy only lasted about 6 months. This then led him on the path of failing the Roman people. Six months into Caligula’s rule he became severely sick and came close to death. After he made a full recovery he was clearly not the same person as before. After Caligula was attacked by headaches he became crazy, and started doing strange things, such as wandering the palace randomly at night. He also dropped the customary toga look for emperors and would dress like a woman. He also even had a daughter, he married Junia Claudilla in 33 A.

D. In the end the marriage was short since they wanted a child, and Junia sadly died while giving birth to Caligula’s first child which didn’t survive either. He would then marry to Caesonia and they had a daughter named Julia Drusilla.

Which he would later order for Julia to die. He was also very unloyal and would sleep with many wives that were married to other men. He was also accused of prostituting his sisters and making the palace a brothel, which is a house where men can come to visit prostitutes. In 39 A.D. Caligula had a feud with the senate. In which would ruin their relationship, Caligula stated that many senators were untrustworthy. He then replaced consul members so they would fall towards his side.

In 40 A.D. Jewish people were accused of not honouring Caligula;  since Caligula ordered that they build a statue of him in The Jewish Temple of Jerusalem. It was later reserved since it conflicted with their monotheism. The one claim Caligula then made was one of the final strings in Caligula’s reign. He claimed that he was a living God and that everyone now should view him as their God. He would then replace the head of other Gods on statues and put his own on them. Later he would announce that he would be leaving Rome and moving to Alexandria, Egypt.

In hopes that he would be seen as the king of Egypt. This upset lots of Romans, especially since it left so many powerless including the senate.Finally Romans saw how deluded their emperor was and planned to assassinate him. On January 24, 41 A.D. he was attacked during a series of games and was stabbed thirty different times.

Which made it clear that Caligula didn’t do his job and failed. Therefore, Caligula was a failure. In reality it wasn’t his fault it was the people around. For starters his father set him up for failure, so much pressure was added on him to be as great of a person as him. Then time after time Tiberius came in and ruined his life. He sent his father away to essentially be killed. Then after his mother spoke about it she was imprisoned and starved to death. After that Tiberius imprisoned his older brothers which they both died.

All this happened when he was fairly young, when he went to live with his great grandmother he was a teenager. He doesn’t have control of Tiberius’s influence on his life. Tiberius hung around and bullied and picked off one of Caligula’s family members at a time. Him being a bad leader solely depends on Tiberius’s actions towards his family. Caligula isn’t a failure, but he is the result of abuse from Tiberius. He used Caligula’s life as a toy, and in the end Tiberius wins; during Caligula’s reign Rome loses.Work Cited”Caligula Biography.com.

” Caligula Biography.com, A&E Television Networks, www.biography.com/people/caligula-9235253.Fisher, Martini.

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Childrens Press, 1993.Macdonald, Fiona. Romans. Franklin Watts, 2012.TheFamousPeople.

com. “Who Is Caligula? Everything You Need to Know.” Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline, www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/caligula-6283.php.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Germanicus.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 3 Nov. 2016, www.britannica.com/biography/Germanicus.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus.” Encyclopædia Britannica, June 2007, www.britannica.com/biography/Nero-Claudius-Drusus-Germanicus.The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica,”Vipsania Agrippina.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

, 8 Sept. 2011, www.britannica.

com/biography/Vipsania-Agrippina.Usher, Kerry. Heroes, Gods & Emperors from Roman Mythology. Edited by John Sibbick, Peter Bedrick Books, 1992.

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