The Life of the Mad Emperor

 by Isobel Firth

Caligula (by Louis LeGrand)

Born Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus, Caligula was Roman Emperors between 37AD and 41AD. He was well known for being the “mad emperor”. He was a much loved emperor at the start of his reign because he freed prisoners who had been imprisoned wrongfully by the previous emperor Tiberius and got rid of unpopular taxes.

6 months into his reign though Caligula fell ill and slipped into a Coma. His close aides feared the worst and began planning what they would do if he died, this was counted as treason because it was talk of replacing the emperor whilst he was still alive. Caligula survived and found out about this, he would go on to have his adopted son killed. This plot led to a lifetime of Paranoia. After another plot Caligula banishes two of his sisters.

Later on Caligula became unpopular with his own people so he decided to invade Britain because he would come back as a victorious War Hero. The state is already bankrupt and cannot support this plan so Caligula decides to reintroduce the Treason Trials, an unpopular form of tax in which if you are found guilty of treason your wealth is given to the state,it was abolished by Caligula at the start of his reign. He used this to kill off a lot of the senate. He then went about his plan to invade Britain, but when he came to cross the channel the weather was too rough because it was the start of Winter. Instead of crossing the Channel and invading Britain he decided to find some of his troops that would be passed off as Britons and take them back to Rome as slaves.

Whilst the people bought the plot the senators did not. On the 24th of January 41AD, on order from the senate, Caligula was assassinated by the Praetorian Guard. Much of Caligula’s behaviour is to stem from the assassination of his father when he was a child and then the imprisonment of his family by the Emperor Tiberius , as well as his Paranoia. This led Caligula to live a troubled life where he felt paranoid someone was going to kill him as well as being alone and not having anyone he could trust. Caligula’s fate is not an unusual fate for Roman Emperors because 33 other Emperors were assassinated.