Caligula's Madness

“The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind in others the conviction and will to carry on.” This quote can be applied towards the rule of Caligula but perhaps not in the way it was intended. Caligula was, in my opinion, a poor leader. Caligula’s rule was plagued with disasters that did nothing to further the progress of Rome, only strengthen the headaches of his successors. Emperors following Caligula had no choice but to take on the responsibility to fix what he had wronged. Caligula, being the third Roman Emperor, was placed in a position that was still relatively new to Rome. He, unfortunately, didn’t handle his rule as the two emperors prior to him.

Caesar Augustus was the first and often considered as one of the most important Roman Emperors. While preserving the outward form of the Roman Republic, he ruled as an autocrat for more than forty years. As emperor, he ended a century of civil wars and gave Rome an era of peace, prosperity, and imperial greatness, known as the Pax Romana. He used the wealth brought in from the Empire to keep the army happy with handsome payments while keeping the citizens of Rome happy by decorating the capital and setting up brilliant games. He often boasted that he “found Rome brick and left it marble”. But Roman rules often know little economic requirements, Augustus being no exception, and he overtaxed agriculture and spent the revenue on armies, temples, and games. As time went on, the Empire stopped expanding, and along with it, it’s economy began to idle and then decline. Augustus’s reign can be seen in some ways as the high point of Rome’s power and prosperity. Augustus adopted Tiberius Claudius and named him co-heir with Postumus Agrippa. Around the same time, Postumus had been banished and put to death. The way was clear for Tiberius to assume the same powers as his stepfather (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus). Tiberius Caesar Augustus is often remembered as a dark, reclusive, and depressed ruler who some think never truly desired to rule. His reign is marked by terror and havoc during which he exiled himself from Rome and left Lucius Aelius Sejanus with administration. Sejanus pushed his own political agenda and personal revenges under his position in the Praetorian Guard and his influence over Tiberius. Sejanus, who had been a close friend and confidant, then betrayed Tiberius. The Sejanus matter seemed to have greatly depressed Tiberius. He withdrew from public life while keeping in touch with Rome through letters. The machinery of Augustus’s administration ran the Empire smoothly. Regardless of his faults, Tiberius demonstrated that he was a successful continuation of Augustus’s Principate. Tiberius’s adopted grandson Caligula followed him as the next Roman Emperor after his death in 37 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberius).

Upon the death of the then current emperor, Tiberius, Caligula was in perfect position to assume power. But Tiberius’s will became a familiar obstruction. He had named Caligula and Caligula’s cousin, Tiberius Gemellus, joint heirs. The Prefect of the Praetorian Guard, Naevius Sutorius Marco, backed Caligula as he asserted dominance and had Tiberius’s will declared null and void on grounds of insanity. The Senate bestowed the powers of the Principate onto Caligula who willingly accepted and entered Rome on March 28, 37 (http://www.roman-emperors.org/gaius.htm).

At the age of twenty-five, Caligula was named Rome’s third emperor. Being the song of a charismatic father and as the grown mascot of Rome’s army, the city hoped for the best. Many had hoped that Caligula would bring energy to the drab city, an expectation he, at first, lived up to. He began his reign by declaring an amnesty for all Romans imprisoned or exiled under Tiberius. He even hosted a bonfire where he burned the records of his predecessor’s treason trials. But as time passed, troubling behavior began to occur. On becoming emperor, he ordered a temporary bridge using ships as pontoons to stretch over two miles from the resort of Baiae to the neighboring port of Puteoli. After construction, he rode his horse across while wearing the breastplate of Alexander the Great. He did this to defy an astrologer who predicted that he had “no more chance of becoming emperor than of riding a horse across the Gulf of Baiae” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caligula). It has also been said that he claimed that, like the god of Neptune, he had ridden across the waters. Caligula’s quirks developed into abominations. During beast-fights and games, if condemned criminals were scarce, Caligula ordered spectators to be dragged from the benches into the arena to face tigers and lions (http://www.utexas.edu/courses/figura/latin506/fall98/projects/f/982f3.html). Once, Caligula was to offer an animal to the gods during a sacred ritual. He raised the mallet to kill the sacrifice but brought it down on a nearby priest, killing him instantly. Even after ruling for two years, Caligula still managed to surprise the city with new crazed acts. The emperor led his army north under the original plan of invading Britain. Then, without any explanation, he ordered the legion to instead gather seashells (http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/empire3a.html). Caligula had spent lavish amounts on public shows, games, and displays. Within a few months, Caligula had exhausted the treasury that Tiberius had filled by years of economizing. By 39, the public treasury was dangerously near bankruptcy so Caligula revived the treason trials that had made Tiberius so unpopular (http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/caligula.html).

Caligula knew he had gotten himself into trouble when he almost ran the treasury dry. He was smart enough to search for methods of raising public money, such as auctioning off public properties left over from shows. His strange sense of humor could be seen during these events. Once, during an auction, a senator fell asleep and Caligula took each of his nods as bids, selling him thirteen gladiators for a huge sum. Caligula’s sense of humor could be seen as uncontrollable and outlandish. He strove to shock but was often taken by his frightened subjects too seriously. The story that he intended to give his favorite horse, Incitatus, consulship no doubt originated from his continual stream of jokes. He had probably commented that Incitatus would do the job as well as most of the recent position holders (http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/caligula.html). Caligula was said to have possessed elements of madness, cruelty, viciousness, and extravagance. He is often described as a crude and violent tyrant with an exceptional love for sadism. Because Caligula thought he should be worshipped