March 28, 37 came to power in Rome emperor Caligula, whose name has acquired so many speculations that today it is extremely difficult to get to the bottom of the truth. They say he forced the suicide of all objectionable, staged bisexual orgies, slept with all three of his sisters, and promoted his beloved horse to senators. Which of this is true, and which is the slander of political opponents?

Guy Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, the third of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, was known by the nickname Caligula - "Boot": when he was small, his mother put on him a soldier's suit, including the shoes of legionnaires - "kaligi". According to some historians, Caligula indulged in debauchery from his youth and enthusiastically watched gladiator fights and torture. But not everyone shares this point of view.

The name of Caligula became synonymous with depravity and madness after the release of the scandalous film by Tinto Brass in 1979. In it, the emperor is the embodiment of absolute evil, a sadist, a pervert and a psychopath. This idea of ​​​​Caligula has developed largely due to the works of Roman historians, who were his political opponents.

The historians Tacitus and Joseph were born too late to know Caligula personally, but they communicated with people from his entourage. The writings of Suetonius and Dion were published 80 and 190 years after his reign. In addition, Suetonius, according to Y. Yazovskikh, often mixed facts with rumors and outright anecdotes. The works of Suetonius and Dio are considered dubious and based on legends.

Suetonius was the first to announce Caligula's incestuous relationship with his sisters. The emperor's contemporaries, Seneca and Philo, have no mention of this, although their writings contain open criticism of the tyrant. However, historians are still inclined to the version of Caligula's sexual relationship with his middle sister Drusilla, with whom he lived as a legal wife.

It is really difficult to call the emperor chaste - he took noble women from their lawful husbands and forced them to intimacy. Those husbands who tried to argue, as well as objectionable dignitaries, received orders to commit suicide. Caligula squandered all the impressive inheritance of Tiberius in a year and introduced an incredible amount of various taxes to replenish the treasury.

However, the first 8 months of Caligula's reign showed himself in a completely different capacity. When he came to power, he immediately paid all the debts of the imperial family, including salaries to officials and legionnaires, reduced taxes, granted amnesty to prisoners, freed exiles, removed all provincial governors who were suspected of embezzlement or bribery, repealed the “Law on insult Majesty, "destroyed the lists of traitors to Tiberius, began the construction of two aqueducts, and conducted several successful military campaigns.

However, 8 months after accession to the throne, Caligula fell ill with something - presumably encephalitis, as a result of which brain damage occurred. After recovery, the behavior of the emperor changed dramatically. At night he suffered from insomnia and nightmares, and during the day he committed atrocities.

Despite the proven facts of brutal reprisal against opponents and dissolute behavior, many historians are sure that Caligula was not such a monster as he is shown in the film by Tinto Brass. French researcher Daniel Noni is sure that most of the atrocities attributed to Caligula are baseless rumors. He calls fiction the story of the appointment of a horse as a senator and that the emperor declared himself a god. According to the historian, the total number of victims of Caligula for 3 years 10 months in power does not exceed 20, which cannot be compared with the list of victims of Tiberius, Nero or Octavian Augustus.

Caligula was killed as a result of another conspiracy when he was 28 years old. There are still disputes about whether he was a victim of political intrigue and slander, an obsessed sadist, tyrant and rapist, or a person suffering from schizophrenia or psychopathy. In addition, Caligula's promiscuity was not unprecedented in history:

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, also known by his agnomen (nickname) Caligula (August 31, 12, Antius - January 24, 41, Rome) - Roman emperor, the third of the Julio-Claudian dynasty (since March 18, 37). Princeps of the Senate, Great Pontiff, Tribune, Father of the Fatherland from the age of 38, four times consul (37, 39-41). Killed in a conspiracy.

Character of Emperor Caligula

The Roman emperor Gaius Caesar, commonly called Caligula (reigned 37-41), after the name that the German legions gave him as a joke, because he, being a child, put on small military boots to please them, caligulae, showed in his short reign all the vile vices and vulgarities to such an extent that in order to explain this person completely devoid of reason and moral sense, an assumption was made about his insanity. And indeed, reviewing the incoherent stories about the government actions of Caligula, which are in the "Biographies of Emperors" Suetonia and in "Roman History" Cassia Dione, one has to think that he was crazy; otherwise it would have to be considered a monster. He was subject to fits of epilepsy, his nerves were upset; therefore it can be assumed that in fact he was mad. But, delving deeper into his actions, we see that Caligula's folly was methodical. A great connoisseur of the human heart, Tacitus could probably find a connection and order in the actions of this madman. But those books of the Chronicle, in which he spoke about the reign of Caligula in Rome, did not reach us. The news that we have about his reign is scarce, but even from them it is clear that Caligula had glimpses of the mind among the madness. Under his rule, a mocking contempt for people runs as a continuous feature.

Bust of Emperor Caligula from the Louvre Museum

Beginning of Caligula's reign

Out of hatred for the gloomy Tiberius, Rome greeted the new ruler with boundless delight. The funeral procession of the deceased Tiberius was the triumphal procession of the new emperor. The son of Germanicus, a pupil of the army, Caligula entered the jubilant Rome between the rows of flaming torches and smoking altars. And throughout the state, as in Rome, joyful holidays of thanksgiving to the gods were celebrated. The people expected that the son would do what his father could not do - restore the ancient republican freedom in Rome.

Relationships in the family of Emperor Augustus

Caligula understood that the sharp contrast between him and Tiberius was extremely beneficial for him, therefore, in the first months of his reign, he acted completely differently from this brother of his grandfather. Tiberius with cruel suspicion ruined his relatives; Caligula announced that he would take care of the minor Tiberius, the grandson of the deceased emperor, with paternal love, although the will of his grandfather, appointing this grandson co-ruler of Caligula, was rejected by the Senate and the people. Caligula ordered the urns with the ashes of Agrippina and Nero to be transported to Rome and placed in the imperial family tomb, gave his grandmother Antonia the title of Augusta, showered honors on his depraved sisters Drusilla, Agrippina Julia Livilla and his uncle Claudius. The main aspiration of Tiberius was to concentrate all power in the hands of the Roman emperor and the senate. Caligula returned to the comitia the right to elect curule dignitaries, and to these dignitaries their official power; repealed the lèse-majesté law, terminated the proceedings initiated on its basis, returned the exiles, freed those in prison, repealed the ban on the books of historians dedicated to the cause of freedom, Titus Labienus, Cremucius Corda, Cassius Severus.

Tiberius did not make any useless expenses for the state, he limited the cost of public entertainment. Emperor Caligula spent money with boundless extravagance. He gave cash rewards (donatives) to all the soldiers who were in Rome and its environs, treated the population of the city of Rome and distributed gifts to him. Caligula organized folk entertainment on such a scale that nothing like it had ever been seen: dramas, pantomimes, gladiator fights, battles with predatory animals, chariot races in circuses were endless. All this was done with incredible splendor; spectacles were arranged in the circus even at night under bright lighting, which gave a new brilliance to games, gladiator fights, performances and theatrical processions; Rome rejoiced on a colossal scale, and the organizer of the feasts himself enjoyed the most. The extravagance of Caligula for games, his gluttony and debauchery had no boundaries; he admired, indulging in dirty vices. It was not surprising that, in less than a year, the entire stock of money in the treasury, collected by Tiberius and stretching to a huge amount (more than 120 million rubles for pre-revolutionary Russian money), was squandered; and Caligula himself, from excessive sensual pleasures, fell into a serious illness, which finally upset both his frail body and his mind, spoiled by bad education and weakened by early depravity. Rome was so fascinated by the orgies that she received from him that crowds of people stood around the palace of the emperor Caligula for whole nights, sobbing, sadly asking for news about the condition of the patient. One of the citizens promised the gods his life as a sacrifice for the salvation of the emperor, another citizen, who had the dignity of a horseman, vowed to participate in a gladiator fight if the emperor recovered. And when the news of Caligula's recovery spread, solemn festivities were held throughout the state as a sign of joy.

Executions of Caligula

After the illness, there was a clear change for the worse in Caligula's actions (38). The reason was partly the physical and mental disorder of the emperor, but another reason acted much more strongly: the reserves of money in the treasury were depleted, and if he did not want to give up spending on holidays and for debauchery, he had to get money by all means. So Caligula resumed in Rome lèse majesté trials to kill or exile wealthy people and confiscate their property. The trials in these cases under Tiberius, no matter how terrible and vile they were, were an innocent game compared to what was being done now. Indulging in tyranny, Caligula became distrustful and cowardly; he imagined that he was surrounded by enemies, conspirators. The grandson of the former emperor Tiberius, whom he declared his adopted brother, began to seem to him a dangerous rival and was killed by a military tribune sent from Caligula. With inhuman irony, he forced to fulfill the promises of those Roman citizens who, during his illness, said - one that he would kill himself, the other that he would go to a gladiator fight if the emperor recovered. Caligula forced his father-in-law Silan to commit suicide, annoying him with advice to be more reasonable. For the same thing, he forced the suicide of the Praetorian prefect Macron, to whom he was indebted for obtaining power, and his wife Ennia, with whom he had previously lived in a love affair; and after their death he had their children killed.

All rights returned to the Roman people and curule dignitaries in the previous year, Caligula canceled; for any objection in the Senate, he punished as for rebellion against the imperial power. Caligula gave the concept of the Roman emperor a completely divine character. He elevated himself to the rank of god, forced the senate and the people to build temples and make sacrifices to him. A lover of theatrical processions, Caligula began to appear to the Roman people as Jupiter with thunderous arrows in his hand, then Hercules with a lion skin on his shoulders and a mace, then Neptune with a trident, then Apollo with a kithara. In the famous statues of the gods, the heads were replaced by his head and turned into images of the new god - the emperor. Caligula ordered to put his statue even in the Jerusalem temple. Having become a god, he, as an almighty god should, became above all laws. Caligula decided that he was the source of all law and therefore had the right to give any matter such a decision as he wanted.

His love for splendid spectacles, processions, games, grew more and more insane. Whatever happened, he took it as a pretext for a celebration. When his sister Drusilla suddenly died, whom her husband Mark Lepid gave him and whom Caligula married, he ordered to celebrate her birthday with games every year, rank her among the goddesses and pay divine honors to her golden statue. When the large water supply system was finished, which went in high arcades from the mountains to Rome and delivered spring water to the city, which was distributed from it by many channels and pipes through fish ponds, baths, gardens and houses, Caligula celebrated with magnificent celebrations the opening of this only sensible building.

Drusilla - sister and lover of Emperor Caligula

Even more splendid feasts were given in connection with another construction, completely insane: Caligula built a bridge from Bayes to Puteoli across the bay; this distance was 3,600 Roman steps (more than five versts). A highway similar to the Appian was drawn over the bridge; hotels and various other places for recreation were built on the sides. The emperor Caligula celebrated the end of this building with celebrations that surpassed all previous ones in splendor; there were war games and triumphal processions, all on a colossal scale. On the day of the opening of the road, Caligula with a detachment of luxuriously dressed warriors rode along it; he rode ahead of everyone; he was wearing a shell, which was said to have been worn by Alexander; over the shell was a purple silk robe embroidered with gold. Caligula boasted that he had eclipsed the buildings of Darius and Xerxes with this deed.

Even the Roman mob was either bored or disgusted by the daily feasts with inhuman gladiator fights and ferocious persecution of beasts; the number of those who converged to look at these spectacles decreased. Irritated by the coldness of the Romans towards them, Caligula exclaimed that "I wish that the entire Roman people had one neck, then it would be possible to kill all of them with one blow of the ax." In general, he used rude curses and curses, because, in terms of his education, he belonged to the Roman mob. Caligula ordered horsemen and senators to participate in gladiator fights. Once, when criminals were thrown to be torn to pieces by beasts, the number of criminals turned out to be less than necessary. Caligula ordered to grab from the crowd of spectators how many were needed to replenish the number and throw them to the animals.

Extravagance of Caligula

There were no treasures for the boundless extravagance of the emperor Caligula, so it was necessary to come up with more and more new ways of robbery. When the opportunity to extract a lot of money by confiscations became scarce, Caligula ordered the financial rulers to select part of the state of all very rich people in general in order to reduce the inequality of states. He required that in every will a part of the property be given to him. When revenues from Rome and Italy were depleted, Caligula moved his residence to rich Gaul and there, surrounded by conjurers, gladiators, street women, brought the fantasies of his tyranny to wild, stupid absurdity. In Lugdun, Caligula held a public auction, which sold dishes, attire of former emperors, various things from the booty left by them, and forced the audience to buy. He used the money for holidays and for gifts to soldiers. Shameless women helped develop the vulgarity of Caligula's debauchery. It is said that Milonia Caesonia completely upset his mind with the love potion she offered him. A conspiracy arose in the circle of Caligula's close associates, and this served him as a welcome pretext for new murders. Two of his sisters, who were also his mistresses, Caligula sent into exile; his deceased sister Drusilla's first husband, Lepidus, was killed. The Roman Senate lost the last remnant of honor with servile expressions of joy at the saving of his life.

Sestertius of the Roman Emperor Caligula

Caligula's campaign in Gaul

To overshadow the glory of Caesar, Caligula went on a campaign against the British. When the emperor came to the Gallic coast, the son of one of the British kings, driven out by his father, appeared with several companions in his camp and asked for his protection. This was enough for Caesar's rival to send a notice to the Roman Senate that Britain had submitted. After that, Caligula ordered the soldiers of the legions to collect shells on the shore, to collect their full helmets, to collect them in their bosoms, because this is the booty that they take from the ocean. The warriors grumbled, the emperor reassured them with gifts. To get a pretext for a brilliant triumph, Caligula sent detachments along the banks of the Rhine, recruited tall Gauls and captured Germans, who were to appear in the procession of his triumphal entry into Rome. The emperor ordered the Gauls to let their hair go and dye it red in order to look like the Germans. The thought involuntarily arises that it was a mockery of Rome.

Scammers and the Senate under Caligula

Covered in disgrace, the emperor Caligula, on the day of his birth, rode in a triumphal procession to Rome (40) to resume his vileness and ferocity there. Actual or imaginary conspiracies served him as a pretext to kill the guilty and the innocent. Day and night, the instruments of torture worked for the executioners before the eyes of the villain-emperor, who enjoyed the sight of suffering and cared only that the tormented suffered for a long time. The Roman Senate endured these outrages with slavish obedience. Once the senators themselves replaced the executioners. One of the most terrible scammers, Protogen, who always carried with him, as they say, two lists of names, one of which was entitled "sword" and the other - "dagger", called one of the senators who were here an enemy of Emperor Caligula in a meeting of the Senate. Other senators rushed at the unfortunate man and killed him with their styles, the sharp sticks with which the Romans wrote on waxed tablets. After that, the senators decided that the divine emperor would sit in the senate on such a high throne that it was impossible to reach him, and that armed guards would always stand around him. Caligula directed the most cruel persecution against the Roman equestrian class, whose wealth the emperor needed. When the plunder of individuals proved insufficient for Caligula's extravagance, he instituted heavy and nefarious taxes. A duty was levied on all foodstuffs sold in Rome; porters had to give an eighth of their earnings, a certain fee was also taken from all lawsuits; prostitutes and their keepers paid a fee from their craft. Suetonius says that Caligula arranged several rooms in his palace, in which women and youths of noble families were forced to sell themselves to lechers for a fee that went to the emperor's cash desk.

Roman Emperor Caligula. Bust 1st c. BC

Murder of Caligula

The measure of infamy of Caligula overflowed. Some of the noble Romans who belonged to the imperial court, tired of endless executions, confiscations, all kinds of robberies and fearing for their lives, made a conspiracy. The military tribunes of the Praetorians Kherei and Sabine stabbed the extravagant tyrant in the corridor of the theater (January 24, 41), then killed his wife Caesonia and her little daughter. This is how the Roman emperor Caligula died after a reign that lasted somewhat less than four years.

He was a man in whom all human qualities were distorted by vices, not mitigated by anything good. Caligula was dizzy from the intoxication of power; he was a slave to vulgar passions, knowing no law but his own will, envious of every good quality in others, considering the glory of others a diminution of his greatness. With boundless extravagance for games and buildings, with unheard-of excesses of gluttony and debauchery, Caligula's main motivation was not the actual attraction to wastefulness and sensual pleasures, but a vain desire to show that nothing is impossible for him, there is no limit to law, nature, shame, propriety. Placed by an accident of birth on top of imperial power, Caligula went mad in delight at the infinity of his power, showing his strength by desecrating everything. There is some kind of demonic irony in the way this Roman emperor played the role of a god before the senate and people subjected to dust, proclaiming in words and proving by deeds that he was a supernatural being. Once at a feast, Caligula suddenly burst out laughing; two consuls, between whom was his place on the bed, asked what he laughed about; the emperor answered: "I laugh at the thought that I can order to strangle you both with one word of mine." Once, kissing the neck of his mistress, he said: “what a beautiful neck; and if I command, then it will be cut.”

There are several anecdotes about this demonic playfulness of the Emperor Caligula; her features were engraved in the memory of the people deeper than the ferocity that the despot committed in fits of rage, constantly in a feverish excitement and tormented by insomnia. There was no person who would regret Caligula. His memory was cursed; his temples were destroyed, his name was erased from the monuments. In Roman history, Caligula is branded with eternal shame. Caligula's successor was his uncle, Claudius.

Not so Caligula. 10 facts from the life of the Roman emperor

1. Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was the third of six sons Germanicus, Roman general and consul. Germanicus took his son on military campaigns, where he wore children's boots like army kaligs - a special kind of soldier's shoes. It was then that the nickname "Caligula" appeared, which means "boot". The emperor himself did not love him, but it haunted him all his life and forever remained with him in history.

2. Caligula's father, Germanicus, was so loved in Rome that when he died (presumably from poison), the Romans in anger burst into temples and dropped altars - because the gods allowed the death of the popularly adored consul. Having learned that the son of their beloved Germanicus would rule, the Romans enthusiastically welcomed Caligula, believing that if he inherited at least part of his father's virtues, he would become an excellent ruler.

3. The emperor appointed Caligula the heir to the empire Tiberius- "boot" was his great-nephew. It is still unknown how Tiberius died - some sources claim that Caligula personally strangled him, others "sin" against the prefect of the praetorium (that is, the head of the guard) Macron Quint. Still others believe that Tiberius died of natural causes.

4. Caligula, the third emperor from the Julio-Claudian dynasty, was 24 years old when he came to power. Despite being one of the most famous Roman emperors today, his reign lasted less than four years.

5. One of the most famous stories about Caligula is the appointment of the emperor's favorite horse named Incitat ("Swift-footed") as a senator. This act is explained by the unlimited power of Caligula, which he abused, and his madness. However, a number of historians believe that Caligula, who was in conflict with the Senate, took this step in order to demonstrate his attitude towards the senators, who boasted of their position, and to ridicule them.

6. The scandalous play "Caligula" influenced the perception of the emperor's personality Camus and film of the same name by director Tinto Brassa from Malcolm McDowall starring. There, the theme of the emperor's sexual adventures was brought to the fore. However, assessments of Caligula's behavior are very different. Nowadays, it is almost impossible to establish for certain which of the rumors about his promiscuity is true and which is a lie. In particular, Caligula was accused of cohabiting with his three sisters. In any case, one of them Julia Drusilla He really loved incredibly. He printed her image on coins and even wanted to make her his heiress. And when she died, he ordered to deify her and for a long time could not come to his senses. Subsequently, he named his only daughter Julia Drusilla.

7. A number of Caligula's decisions do not at all fit with his image of a tyrant, thinking only about how to worsen the life of his subjects. He repealed the Lèse-Majesté Law, on the basis of which his predecessor Tiberius repressed many of his opponents and simply wealthy people for the sake of their property. He rehabilitated those previously convicted under this law and returned their rights to property. He even tried to restore the already abolished direct election of magistrates (state officials) by citizens, and also abolished censorship bans on the works of writers.

8. Many historians note the incredible cruelty of Caligula. It was reported that a servant was constantly with the emperor, carrying two "notebooks" in which the names of people subject to persecution, torture or execution were recorded. One notebook was called "Dagger", the other - "Sword". But at the same time, Caligula was very afraid of thunder and lightning, in a severe thunderstorm he even climbed under his bed, not getting out of there until the heavens calmed down.

9. Caligula, despite the brevity of his reign, was remembered as an active builder. Under him, two new aqueducts were laid to improve the water supply of Rome. The emperor paid special attention to the road network - Caligula dismissed the caretakers of the roads if the sections entrusted to them were in poor condition. Those convicted of embezzlement of funds allocated for road construction were severely punished.

10. Like Julius Caesar, Caligula died from the knives of the conspirators. The leader of the conspiracy is considered to be a praetorian (guards) officer Cassius Hereia, over which, as reported, the emperor scoffed in every possible way. On January 24, 41, Caligula was guarded on the way to the baths and inflicted more than thirty stab wounds on him. His wife was killed along with the emperor Caesonia and only daughter Julia Drusilla, who was less than a year old. It is believed that the last words that Caligula uttered were "I'm still alive!".

10:29 - REGNUM Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, better known by the nickname Caligula, went down in history, perhaps, as the most terrible of all the Roman rulers of the era of the empire. There is no end in sight to the list of his atrocities, and it seems surprising that such a thing could be done in less than four years of reign.

Although, as you know, Caligula began his vicious path in his very early childhood, as the well-known Roman historian eloquently narrates Gaius Suetonius Tranquil.

“He lived in a criminal relationship with all his sisters, and at all dinner parties they alternately reclined on a bed below him, and his lawful wife above him. They say that one of them, Drusilla, he took her virginity as a teenager, and Antonia's grandmother, with whom they grew up, once caught them together., — writes Suetonius, without specifying who spread such rumors.

So, with the light hand of a Roman historian, who was born 30 years after the death of Caligula, the whole world has been cursing the fourth Caesar for 2 thousand years as a shameful libertine.

But the testimonies of Suetonius, this outstanding writer, personal secretary of the Emperor Hadrian, are the most valuable sources of the biography of Gaius Caligula, as well as other Caesars. It is from them that we draw the lion's share of evidence about rulers far from us.

It is noteworthy that of the four dynasties of the Principate era, only one was highly appreciated by contemporaries and, as a result, by many generations of future historians, who in their writings were forced to be guided by a narrow list of sources. We are talking about the Antonines, who went down in history as a dynasty of "good emperors."

Quote from x∕ph "Caligula". Dir. Tinto Brass. 1979. UK, USA, Italy

The rest of the dynasties, presumably, were bad. It is easy to guess that the assessment depended on the personal opinion of the author telling us the story. From the personal opinion of Suetonius, from the personal opinion Lucius Annea Seneca, from the personal opinion of all the rest, those few whose works have survived to this day.

Not surprisingly, the works of representatives of the upper strata of Roman society have come down to us, so their sympathies were often of a class nature, and the assessment of the work of this or that emperor proceeded from the question: “What did you do for the senatorial class?”

Quote from x∕ph "Caligula". Dir. Tinto Brass. 1979. UK, USA, Italy

It is not necessary to study the work of the Antonine dynasty in order to understand that it relied on the Roman Senate in its policy: this can be guessed in this way. Therefore, we remember her as a good dynasty. From this it is easy to conclude that the Julius-Claudians were looking for support in other environments. It is no coincidence that half of the representatives of this dynasty passed away by force, as a result of conspiracies.

Least of all on the throne lasted Caligula. According to sources, the conspiracy was extensive in scope, which means that the ruler incurred great hatred from the ruling class.

As Suetonius notes, during the first months of his reign, he was moderate in his actions and did not show a violent temper. It all started after his illness. It is noteworthy that in his biography of the Caesars, the historian more than once uses a similar explanatory device, when a normal, restrained ruler suddenly turns into a madman. So, the emperor Tiberius turned into a monster after the death of his son. The biographies of other rulers also look unconvincing with their eye-catching contrast.

In reality, the whole point is not Caligula's illness, but the fact that during the first period of his reign, he did not take any active steps against the Senate. But as soon as it began, it became an occasion to think about the mental well-being of the princeps. Indeed, only a madman would care about the mob.

One of the emperor's first decisions was to try to give the people back the right to elect officials. This privilege was transferred by Tiberius to the Senate. Such a start, which, however, did not have success, could not but alert the fathers of Rome.

He also loved to make fun of noble people in the presence of slaves and freedmen, favored the plebeians.

“At theatrical performances, wanting to quarrel with the plebeians and horsemen, he distributed free passes ahead of time so that the mob would seize the equestrian places”, - notes Suetonius with obvious discontent towards the "mob".

It is noteworthy that the court historian Antoninov admits that the reign of Caligula was a time of general prosperity in the empire, but even this he blames the emperor.

“He did not even hide how sorry he was that his time was not marked by any nationwide disasters: the reign of Augustus was remembered by the defeat of Varus, the reign of Tiberius by the collapse of the amphitheater in Fidenae, and his reign will be forgotten because of the general well-being”Suetonius writes.

Quote from x∕ph "Caligula". Dir. Tinto Brass. 1979. UK, USA, Italy

It seems that the main accuser of Caesar does not try to hide the fact that Caligula enjoys sympathy among the common people and horsemen. It is obvious to him that the real crime is to disrespect only the Senate.

“And in the edict he announced that he was returning only for those who wished him, for the horsemen and the people; for the Senate, he will no longer be a citizen or a princeps ”, - says Suetonius, mentioning another eloquent episode in the biography of Caligula, when he abandoned his own triumph.

Not only Suetonius poured mud on Caligula, this was also done by another writer known to us, Seneca, who, unlike the first, was a contemporary of our hero.

The description of the emperor's appearance may seem most remarkable, which tells us more about the philosopher's attitude towards his royal contemporary than about his appearance:

“A disgusting pallor that betrays madness; the wild look of eyes deeply hidden under the senile forehead; an irregularly shaped ugly bald head with miserable hair sticking out here and there; add to this a neck overgrown with thick bristles, thin legs and monstrously huge feet., - writes Seneca, obviously wanting to offend rather than capture the ruler.

Probably, such an attitude is caused by the skepticism of the emperor towards the philosophical exercises of Seneca, especially towards his sententious style of narration.

“The writings of Seneca, who was then at the height of his fame, he called “scholarship of pure water” and “sand without lime” Suetonius writes.

The apotheosis of madness was the accusation of Caligula that he allegedly wanted to make his horse Incitatus a consul, which did not happen only because of the imminent death of the emperor at the hands of the conspirators.

This anecdote is widely cited today when referring to an ancient Roman ruler. Modern researchers give different interpretations of this episode, but still generally agree that it should not be taken literally. As a result, it turns out that our judgments about the ruler, who died 2 thousand years ago, are based on the conjecture of his ill-wisher, which we simply could misinterpret.

Ultimately, he was killed, some historians note that the conspirators feared massacre, since Caligula's popularity was great, some of them could not escape execution, including one of the leaders of the conspiracy Cassius Heree, ironically bearing the same name as the killer Gaius Julius Caesar.

In conditions when history is written by the aristocracy, such rulers will always be villains, murderers and criminals, which is probably why this term subsequently acquired a negative connotation.

But who was he really, Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Caligula? I think not a hero or a villain, but rather an ordinary person who, by the will of fate, became the ruler of the world. Dying at the hands of the conspirators, he seemed to say "I'm still alive!" In a sense, this was true, only the man Caligula died in order to open the way to history for the myth about him. The man lived only 28 years, the myth is 2006 years old today. In history, Caligula, in history!

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (12-41 AD) became famous as one of the most cruel rulers of the Roman Empire during the entire period of its existence. Better known as Caligula, on March 18, 37, he was proclaimed Princeps by the Roman Senate. The first few months of his reign, showing concern for his people and state, the new emperor reduced taxes and paid off the debts left by his predecessors. Caligula was distinguished by special piety and very quickly won the love of the people. Eight months later, according to the chroniclers, he became very ill and did not appear in public for a long time. There were rumors that Caligula would never return to public affairs and would die soon, but a miracle happened, and the emperor, beloved by all, finally recovered. However, the joy of such news did not last long: soon the Romans dubbed Caligula the "black ruler", and conspiracies began to be prepared one by one in the Senate. What influenced such a rapid development of hatred for the once beloved ruler, and for what did he pay with his life?

Crazy Ruler

Modern researchers, based on historical documents and the writings of ancient Roman writers, suggest that Caligula suffered a disease that led to serious neurological abnormalities. In his book "The Life of the Twelve Caesars", dedicated to the biography of the first Roman emperors, the Roman encyclopedist and historian Suetonius, who lived at the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries, described Caligula's illness similar to epilepsy. Some modern scholars are inclined to believe that the emperor suffered a more serious illness - encephalitis, which affected the brain and, accordingly, affected his mental health.

Horses are people too, or how Caligula's favorite became a senator

One of the most insane acts of the Roman emperor was the appointment of his horse, named Inziatus, to the post of senator, and then consul. Caligula even sometimes spoke on his behalf before the people and arranged magnificent festivities in his honor! Inziates received from his patron as a gift a luxurious marble palace with a golden trough and a whole retinue of servants. The horse, in turn, regularly came to work and, together with the rest of the senators, took part in various meetings.

Black Emperor Caligula

When Caligula fell ill, many Romans, who passionately loved their ruler, were so worried about his illness that they were ready to give their lives for the emperor's recovery. When Caligula "recovered", he ordered everyone who so wanted to sacrifice their lives to fulfill their promises. Because you have to keep your word.

His cruelty and tyranny manifested itself literally in everything. Most of all, the emperor took pleasure in watching the executions, in which, as the ancient Roman chroniclers testify, he often took part personally. Caligula treated death from a philosophical point of view and easily decided human destinies. He could sentence to death any person he did not like, regardless of whether the unfortunate person had committed any atrocity or not. Among those objectionable to His Augustus were not only ordinary Romans, but also representatives of noble families, and even close relatives of the emperor.

Caligula: Emperor-God

The narcissistic emperor proclaimed himself God and ordered to worship his person. In honor of himself, he built a large temple, where he installed a golden statue, which the priests had to change every day into the clothes in which Caligula went out to the plebs. In addition, the emperor was present at the daily sacrifices performed in his divine honor, and executed those who worshiped other Gods.

Once Caligula even decided to take possession of the sea and declared war on Neptune, the ancient Roman God of the seas and oceans. He gathered his army, led him to the shores of the sea and ordered to throw spears and arrows into the water in order to defeat the sworn enemy.

Gold and easy money

Caligula never hid his passion for a luxurious life. Having almost completely emptied the state treasury to satisfy his own whims, he began to raise taxes and invent new ones. In addition, the emperor forced wealthy citizens to include him in the inheritance, and when he received what he wanted, he ordered the testator to be poisoned if he turned out to be too alive. Caligula sold the high positions of consuls and priests for a lot of money, and all the owners of these animals in Rome, without exception, had to be paid for the position that the imperial horse received. If its owner could not fulfill the next whim of the ruler, this was regarded as an insult to Inziat, and a rather sad fate awaited the negligent horse along with the owner.

Caligula spent money with ease and wanted to receive it with the same ease. For large sums, he allowed everyone to share a dinner meal with him, but not always the buyer of such a precious service returned to his chambers. The emperor could poison his guest if he simply did not like him.

Pay

Caligula was at the head of the Roman Empire for only four years, but during this time he managed to become famous for his exceptional cruelty and to be considered crazy. Conspiracies were prepared against him more than once, and the emperor knew about this, therefore he was always wary of everything that happened and did not trust anyone. However, one day, on the way to the baths, the conspirators ambushed him and carried out their own sentence, taking the life of not only Caligula, but also his wife and young daughter. Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was killed on January 24, 41 at the age of 28. According to Suetonius, the last words of the cruel ruler were “I am still alive!”. Apparently, until the last minutes of his life, Caligula could not believe that retribution would still overtake him.

Having come to power after the death of his great-uncle Tiberius, the second Roman emperor (it is believed that Tiberius was involved in the death), the twenty-five-year-old Caligula very quickly lost control of himself. In particular, he declared himself a living deity. He liked to stand in the temple between the statues of the gods, to receive honors proper to a god from visitors, and to converse with Capitoline Jupiter. Some considered him crazy, others - a man who could not stand the test of power. But everyone was afraid of Caligula, from whom everything could be expected. Crazy spending on spectacles, feasts, gift giving, senseless but grandiose buildings. The feasts, having completely devastated the treasury, were replaced by an equally large-scale tax policy to replenish it. Lèse-majesté trials have resumed, often with the sole aim of confiscating the property of the accused.

“I can do everything in relation to everyone,” Caligula argued and proved this in practice. If Tiberius crossed all the accepted boundaries in his respect for the Senate, then Caligula humiliated him even more boundlessly. According to Suetonius, he even wanted to appoint his favorite horse Incitatus as consul. At the age of 39, Gaius Caesar Caligula issued an edict declaring his hostility to the Senate and refusal to cooperate with it. The Roman nobility perceived this as a usurpation of power and the establishment of a tyranny regime in Rome. And she answered with a whole series of conspiracies. On January 24, 41, Gaius Caligula was killed by horsemen Cassius Chereia and Cornelius Sabinus.

Murder after the show

Murder. (wikipedia.org)

On the morning of January 24, at the Palatine, Caligula attended a performance in which boys from noble families of Asia participated, and was very pleased with them. The emperor went to breakfast. On the way, he ended up in an underground gallery, where the boys were preparing for the next performance. Caligula stopped to praise them. “They tell about the future in two ways,” notes Suetonius. “Some say that when he was talking with the boys, Kherea, approaching him from behind, with a blow of the sword deeply cut the back of his head with a cry: “Do your job!” - and then the tribune Cornelius Sabinus, the second conspirator, pierced his chest from the front. Others say that when the centurions, initiated into the conspiracy, pushed back the crowd of satellites, Sabinus, as always, asked the emperor for the password; he said: "Jupiter"; then Kherea shouted "Get yours" - and when Guy turned around, cut his chin. He fell, screaming in convulsions "I'm alive!" - and then the rest finished him off with thirty blows - they all had one cry. "Beat more!" Some even stabbed him in the groin with a blade. At the first noise, porters with poles came running to the rescue, then the German bodyguards; some of the conspirators were killed, and with them several innocent senators."

“What those times were like can be judged by the fact that people did not immediately believe even the news of the murder of Caligula, suspecting that he himself invented and spread a rumor about the murder in order to find out what the people think about him,” continues Suetonius. “The conspirators were not going to hand over power to anyone, and the Senate rushed to freedom with such unanimity that the consuls convened the first meeting not in the Julian Curia, but in the Capitol, and some called for the destruction of the memory of the Caesars and the destruction of the temples of Julius Caesar and Augustus.”

After the murder

The impression made by his reign on Roman society was so strong that at a meeting of the Senate convened by the consuls, they started talking about the restoration of the republic. But while the Senate was arguing about the political structure of the state, the people had already decided this issue. Surrounding the curia, the crowd chanted the name of the new emperor. It turned out to be Caligula's uncle Claudius.

What was the fate of the tyrannicides? Cassius Hereia wanted to destroy the tyrant in order to restore the republic. The new emperor Claudius could not forgive this. He subsequently forced Cassius to commit suicide. On the contrary, Cornelius Sabinus was pardoned by the new princeps, although he also committed suicide; this speaks in favor of the fact that Sabin joined Kherea more out of friendship than out of conviction.