When most people hear the name Caligula they think of the ruler of Ancient Rome renowned for his cruelty and so insane he appointed his favorite horse to the senate. While this might not be inaccurate, more recently historians have been questioning some of the claims. The majority of these accounts were written well after his death and may have been an attempt to slander the previous ruler to give more credibility to those that came after him.
Caligula was born in 12 CE to the great general Germanicus and August Ceasar’s granddaughter Agrippina the Elder of the first ruling family in Rome. His full name was Gaius Ceasar Augustus Germanicus, but gained the nickname Caligula, meaning “little boot” or “little sandal” from his father’s soldiers. After political intrigue and ambition lead to the death of nearly every family member, Caligula succeeded his uncle Tiberius and became emperor, though he only ruled for 4 years before being assassinated by his own guard in a conspiracy to restore the Roman Republic, though instead Caligula’s uncle Claudius became emperor.
