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Villa Jovis, Via Tiberio, 80073 Capri NA
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Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula, was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in AD 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder, Augustus' granddaughter. Caligula was born into the first ruling family of the Roman Empire, conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
Although Gaius was named after Gaius Julius Caesar, he acquired the nickname "Caligula" ('little boot'), the diminutive form of caliga, a military boot, from his father's soldiers during their campaign in Germania. When Germanicus died at Antioch in 19, Agrippina returned with her six children to Rome, where she became entangled in a bitter feud with the emperor Tiberius (Germanicus' biological uncle and adoptive father). The conflict eventually led to the destruction of her family, with Caligula as the sole male survivor. In 26, Tiberius withdrew from public life to the island of Capri, and in 31, Caligula joined him there. Following the former's death in 37, Caligula succeeded him as emperor. There are few surviving sources about the reign of Caligula, though he is described as a noble and moderate emperor during the first six months of his rule. After this, the sources focus upon his cruelty, sadism, extravagance, and sexual perversion, presenting him as an insane tyrant.
Caligula allowed himself to indulge with married women at feasts. During the banquets, he abducted the wives of others, and after a while, he would come back as if nothing had happened at the table where their husbands waited.
Caligula did not despise men either. Salomies states the son of Sextus Tedius Valerius Catullus, a Roman senator active during the Principate, was the Valerius Catullus mentioned as a pontiff in an inscription found at Lanuvium, and who
was "almost certainly identical" with the Valerius Catullus mentioned by Suetonius as a homosexual partner of the emperor Caligula. In addition, Caligula maintained sexual relations with her sister’s husband
Marcus Lepidus and the actor pantomime
Mnester. The second lover was the Emperor’s favourite, and also the best dancer of his time. The emperor did not allow any interference with Mnester’s performance and was severely punished even coughing in the audience.
During his brief reign, Caligula worked to increase the unconstrained personal power of the emperor, as opposed to countervailing powers within the principate. He directed much of his attention to ambitious construction projects and luxurious dwellings for himself, and he initiated the construction of two aqueducts in Rome: the Aqua Claudia and the Anio Novus. During his reign, the empire annexed the client kingdom of Mauretania as a province. In early 41, Caligula was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy by officers of the Praetorian Guard, senators, and courtiers. However, the conspirators' attempt to use the opportunity to restore the Roman Republic was thwarted. On the day of the assassination of Caligula, the Praetorians declared Caligula's uncle, Claudius, the next emperor. Caligula's death marked the official end of the Julii Caesares in the male line, though the Julio-Claudian dynasty continued to rule until the demise of his nephew, Nero.
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