Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( 31 August AD 12 – 24 January AD 41), more commonly known by his cognomen Caligula (pronounced /kəˈlɪɡjʊlə/), was the third Roman Emperor, reigning from 16 March 37 until his assassination on 24 January 41. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
Caligula's father, Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of emperor Tiberius, was a very successful gene...
more
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( 31 August AD 12 – 24 January AD 41), more commonly known by his cognomen Caligula (pronounced /kəˈlɪɡjʊlə/), was the third Roman Emperor, reigning from 16 March 37 until his assassination on 24 January 41. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
Caligula's father, Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most beloved public figures. The young Gaius earned his nickname Caligula (the diminutive form of caliga) meaning "little [soldier's] boot", while accompanying his father on military campaigns in Germania. When Germanicus died in Antioch in AD 19, his mother Agrippina the Elder returned to Rome with her six children, where she became entangled in an increasingly bitter feud with Tiberius. This conflict eventually led to the destruction of her family, with Caligula as the sole male survivor. Unscathed by the deadly...
less
