Caligula, << kuh LIHG yuh luh >> (A.D. 12-41), was a Roman emperor. He was the great-grandson of the Emperor Augustus. His parents were the Roman General Germanicus, nephew of the Emperor Tiberius; and Agrippina the Elder, granddaughter of Augustus. Caligula was born Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus on Aug. 31, A.D. 12, in Antium, near Rome. As a child, he wore military boots, and his father’s soldiers nicknamed him Caligula (Little Boot).
Caligula succeeded Tiberius as emperor in A.D. 37. At first, he was a popular ruler. But after a serious illness early in his reign, his strange and brutal behavior led people to believe he was insane. Caligula spent money extravagantly, quarreled with the Roman Senate, and banished or executed many senators. He planned to invade Britain but abandoned the campaign on the way there. Caligula worshiped his sister Drusilla as a goddess after her death. He was especially hostile to Jews and ordered that a statue of himself be placed in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. On Jan. 24, 41, he was killed in a conspiracy led by the commander of his bodyguard.
