Caligula

• This page is edited by Samuele Rocca, Israel
• ANCIENT SOURCES: see Caligula (sources)
• SCHOLARLY AND FICTIONAL WORKS: see Caligula (works)

Early Career

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, nicknamed Caligula (12-41 CE) was the third Roman Emperor. Gaius Caesar Caligula was born in 12 CE at Antium. He was the third son of Augustus's adopted grandson, Germanicus, and Augustus' granddaughter, Agrippina the Elder. Gaius Caesar was also nephew to Claudius. Gaius Caesar spent his early years with his father in Germania. There, he received the nickname Caligula by his father’s soldiers. After the death of his father Germanicus and the impeding deteriorations between his mother Agrippina the Elder and Tiberius, Gaius Caesar was sent in 27 CE to live with his great-grandmother, Livia Augusta. Then he went back to his Julian relatives and was in care of his grandmother Antonia Minor. His sole companions were his three sisters, Agrippina the Younger, Drusilla, and Julia Livilla, with whom he allegedly had an incestuous relation. In 31 CE Gaius Caesar followed Tiberius on Capri until 37 CE.

Imperial Succession

Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus succeded Tiberius in 37 CE. Tiberius had left the Imperial estates and the title of princeps to Gaius Caesar and his own grandson, Tiberius Gemellus, who were to serve as joint heirs. However, Gaius Caesar, backed by Quintus Naevius Cordus Sutorius Macro, the praefectus of the praetorius, Gaius Caesar had Tiberius’ will with regards to Tiberius Gemellus quashed. Later on, the Emperor had Tiberius Gemellus executed by Macro. Gaius Caesar relationship with the other embers of his family was not very positive. He made his uncle [[Claudius] a laughing stock. His beloved sister Julia Drusilla died in 38 CE. His other two sisters, Livilla and Agrippina the Younger, were exiled. Gaius Caesar married Milonia Caesoniafrom whom he had a daughter, Julia Drusilla. It seems that his first acts were generous in spirit, though likely political in nature. He granted bonuses to the Praetorian Guard, destroyed Tiberius' treason papers, declared that treason trials were a thing of the past, recalled exiles, and helped those who had been harmed by the Imperial tax system. However, following an auspicious start to his reign, Gaius Caesar fell seriously ill in October of 37 CE. In the aftermath of the illness, Gaius Caesar' rule became more autocratic. In Italy Gaius Caesar had harbors at Rhegium and Sicily improved and had grain imports from Egypt increased. He had public works completed, temples built and walls repaired. His foreign policy was quite unsuccessful in the West, as his northern campaign and the attempt of crossing to Britannia resulted in a failure. However, during Gaius Caesar’s reign, Mauretania was annexed and reorganized into two provinces. Gaius Caesar's actions as Emperor were described as being especially harsh to the Senate and the equestrian order. These actions led to at least three failed conspiracies against Gaius Caesar. However Gaius Caesar was murdered as a consequence of a successful attempt under the leadership of Cassius Chaerea, one of the officers of the Praetorian Guard. Yet when in 41 C.E., Gaius Caesar was murdered by the plot, together with his wife and daughter, there was no heir. The Praetorians eventually chose Gaius Caesar’s uncle, Claudius.

Gaius the Jews and Judaea

The reign of Gais Caesar was characterized by various clashes between the Jews and the Roman authorities both in Alexandria and in Judaea. In 38 CE, some members of the Greek population of Alexandria erected statues of the Emperor inside some of the synagogues of the city. The Jews broke them down. The result was that the Greek and especially the Egyptian mob of Alexandria for various days looted, burned and killed many of the Jewish residents, with the tacit complicity of Aulus Avilius Flaccus, the praefectus of Egypti. The Greeks and the Jews sent each a delegation to Gaius Caesar in Rome. The Jewish delegation was under the leadership of the philosopher Philo. The two delegations arrived in 40 CE at Rome and were still there when the Emperor was murdered. In Judaea "Gaius Caesar]] had Marullus as his appointed governor for his entire tenure (37-41 CE). A similar clash occurred in the city of Jamnia in Judaea. The local Jews were angered by the erection of an altar to the Emperor and destroyed it. Gaius Caesar ordered the erection of a statue of himself in the Jewish Temple at Jerusalem. The governor of Syria Publius Petronius succeeded in delaying for nearly a year the imperial order. By then, under the mediation of Agrippa I, Gaius Caesar had quashed the order. However the Emperor had also ordered the courageous Publius Petronius to take his own life. The ship bringing the new that the Emperor was dead, preceded that which ordered Publius Petronius to commit suicide. Herod Agrippa I at Gaius Caesar’s accession received the territories of Batanaea and Trachonitis. In 39 CE, as Agrippa I had Herod Antipas accused of planning a rebellion against Roman rule with the help of Parthia. The tetrarch was exiled, and Agrippa I was rewarded with his territories. Between 39 and 41 CE, Agrippa I was in Rome. Agrippa I was also instrumental in having the accession of Claudius recognized by the Senate, who wished to restore the Republic.

In Depth

• Caligula (arts)

Related categories

• Roman Emperors
• Herod Agrippa / Herod Antipas / Philo

External links

• Wikipedia
• Jewish Encyclopedia (1906)