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Message:: [QUOTE="IdesOfMarch01, post: 2838936, member: 39084"]Caligula [ATTACH=full]671207[/ATTACH]      [ATTACH=full]671208[/ATTACH] (Note that the bust on the right, above, was restored to its original colors by indentifying particles trapped in the marble.) Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, better known as Caligula, was the son of Germanicus and Agrippina senior, the nephew of Claudius, and great-grandson of Augustus, Livia, Octavia and Marcus Antonius.  Gaius earned the nickname Caligula (“bootikins” or “little boots”) when he accompanied his father Germanicus during military campaigns in Germania wearing a miniature soldier’s outfit with, of course, little boots. According to Suetonius, during a campaign in Syria, Germanicus was poisoned by an agent of Tiberius (who viewed Germanicus as a political rival).  After Germanicus’ death, Caligula lived with his mother Agrippina, whom Tiberius forbade to remarry fearing that any husband would become a rival.  Agrippina’s ongoing feud with Tiberius led to her banishment and the eventual destruction of her entire family, with Caligula the only surviving male (along with his three sisters Agrippina Junior, Drusilla, and Julia Livilla). At the age of 19, Tiberius summoned Caligula to join him in Tiberius’ self-imposed exile on Capri.  Suetonius writes that even at that age, “…he could not control his natural cruelty and viciousness, but he was a most eager witness of the tortures and executions of those who suffered punishment, reveling at night in gluttony and adultery, disguised in a wig and a long robe, passionately devoted besides to the theatrical arts of dancing and singing, in which Tiberius very willingly indulged him, in the hope that through these his savage nature might be softened. This last was so clearly evident to the shrewd old man, that he used to say now and then that to allow Gaius to live would prove the ruin of himself and of all men, and that he was rearing a viper for the Roman people and a Phaethon for the world.” Caligula is thought to have been involved in Tiberius’ death.  Again, Suetonius writes “…he poisoned Tiberius, as some think, and ordered that his ring be taken from him while he still breathed, and then suspecting that he was trying to hold fast to it, that a pillow be put over his face; or even strangled the old man with his own hand…”  This is also the view portrayed in I, Claudius. After Tiberius’ death, Caligula and Tiberius’ own grandson Gemellus jointly inherited Tiberius’ estate and the titles of the principate.  Since he was seven years older than Gemellus and had secured the loyalty of the Praetorian Guard, Caligula was the natural successor to Tiberius.  Initially Caligula was admired by the people and loved for being the son of much-beloved Germanicus.  Multiple accounts describe Caligula’s first seven months of rule as being benign and celebrated. But in October 37 AD, Caligula fell seriously ill (or was possibly poisoned), and upon recovery, an entirely different Caligula emerged: he began to kill or exile those who he deemed as a serious threat, and had his adopted son (and co-inheritor) Gemellus executed.  His uncle Claudius was spared only because Caligula regarded him as a harmless fool, and kept him around as something of a court jester. Equally regrettable, Caligula had little or no formal background in administration or warfare (apparently accompanying his father Germanicus on military campaigns did not transfer military knowledge to Caligula) and he failed spectacularly in those areas. In his private life, he is said to have been addicted to nearly every form of sexual depravity.  I, Claudius portrays him as bragging about having incestuous relationships with all three of his sisters.  Suetonius writes “He lived in habitual incest with all three of his sisters,…” While one can reasonably conclude that Caligula suffered from a host of mental illnesses, it’s difficult to specifically identify which illnesses those might be.  Following the death of his favorite sister Drusilla in June 38 AD, he became even more unstable, he reinstated the treason trials that had been the hated hallmark of his predecessor Tiberius, putting to death a large number of great Roman citizens.  He launched a military campaign in Germany, imitating his beloved father Germanicus, but failed miserably with no tangible results other than the deaths of a great many soldiers. In 39 AD, Rome was devastated by a financial crisis.  Caligula had managed to squander the 2,700,000,000 (yes, 2.7 billion) sestertii fortune left to him by Tiberius and his great-grandfather Augustus, through extravagance and political payments for his support.  To raise money, he levied taxes on lawsuits, weddings, and prostitution; he auctioned the lives of gladiators at shows; he revised wills that left goods to Tiberius, to leave those goods to him. Caligula returned to Rome from his military campaigns on August 30, 40 AD, fearing that the senate as well as the Praetorian Guard might be plotting his assassination.  This fear proved to be well founded, and on January 24, 41 AD, he was stabbed to death by the Praetorians before his personal German guards could save him. Caligula can rightly claim some successes during his reign: he improved the grain-importing harbors at Rhegium and Sicily; he completed the Temple of Augustus, as well as the Theater of Pompey; more beneficially, he began work on the Aqua Claudia and Anio Novus aqueducts.  In Syracuse, he repaired city walls, built new roads, and maintained existing ones.  But ultimately, his successes were dwarfed by his failures as a ruler and his cruelty to those around him and the citizens of Rome in general. About the Coins Coins of Caligula can be difficult to find.  Although it is sometimes thought that the shortage of Caligula’s coins might be due to a demonetization following his death, RIC dismisses that theory since “…its size would have made this, economically, almost impossible, and such an action would have conflicted sharply with Roman practice: Antony’s ‘legionary’ denarii continued to circulate for two centuries.” [ATTACH=full]671209[/ATTACH] Caligula’s AES coins include two of my favorite sestertii in all Roman coinage: the Three Sisters and Ad Locutio reverses.  I’m fortunate to have two fairly decent examples of these coins.  I often wonder how the Roman populace regarded coins with such highly personal associations (although arguably the AD LOCVT reverse relates mostly to his leadership of the troops rather than his personal life). The aureus is unlisted in RIC, one of only two known with this obverse legend, although there is a denarius with this obverse and reverse.  An aureus with a similar reverse is catalogued in RIC, but the obverse legend includes POT III COS III. As always, let's see everyone's Caligulas! Next: Claudius[/QUOTE]

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