(AD 37 to 41)
The Roman emperor, who was given the name Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus, was the son of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder. His father was the son of Drusus, who was Tiberius' brother, and his mother was the granddaughter of Augustus. Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus was born on August 31, AD and was also known as Caligula.
The nickname was given to him while on Rhine together with his parents in 14-16 AD he walked around the camp wearing military boots that looked like the ones Germanicus wore. Soldiers started calling him "Caligula," a word that means "Baby Boots."
When his father passed away in 19 AD, he lived in Rome with his mother. Later Agrippina the Elder was arrested. The year was 29 AD since then and Gaius has been raised by Livia and Antonia Minor. Three years later he joined Tiberius to travel to the island of Capreae. When his brother Drusus died in 33 AD, Gaius turned out to be a labeled heir of the throne of Tiberius together with Tiberius Gemellus, the grandson of the emperor. It is worth mentioning that Gaius remained the only son of Germanicus.
The roman emperor Tiberius died in 37 AD and by Praetorian Guard's support Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus became the new emperor of Rome. After that he instantly declared the will of Tiberius invalid, thus pushing Gemellus out of power that he could inherit from his grandfather. In such a way Gaius gained all of Tiberius' property.
Despite the fact that he adopted Gemellus as his own son and acclaimed his princeps iuventutis, which from Latin means "first among the youth," Gaius had Gemellus executed in 38 AD. During the first months of his reign Gaius honored the memory of Agrippina the Elder, Germanicus, his brothers, but did not say anything good about Tiberius. He fell gravely ill in 37 AD and after that his methods of rule became very cruel and autocratic. It is believed that the illness somehow affected Gaius' mind.
Because of Caligula's autocratic rule, a lot of conspiracies started to be developed against him. One of such conspiracies Gaius managed to discover at Moguntiacum. It was under the lead of Cn. Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus. Gaius immediately had him executed. Later the Roman emperor intended to lead his armed forces to Germany and Britain. However, the campaign did not take place since Gaius had too little military experience and there was a lack of military discipline.
In addition Caligula did not succeed in managing effectively the finances of the Roman Empire that were gathered during the reign of Tiberius. He irresponsibly spent the money that was hardly gathered by Tiberius. Gaius also caused serious trouble amongst Jews in Alexandria and Judaea by insisting to have a statue of him placed in the Temple of Jerusalem. His selfish aim was never achieved due to his assassination in 41 AD. He was assassinated together with his wife and daughter.
