Question: Caligula succeeded Tiberius as Roman emperor.
Answer: Caligula succeeded Tiberius as Roman emperor and ruled from 37 to 41 CE.
Question: Born Gaius Caesar, “Caligula” is a nickname meaning “Youngest Son.”
Answer: Born Gaius Caesar, Caligula is a childhood nickname meaning “Little Boot.”
Question: Caligula was the youngest person to become a Roman emperor.
Answer: Caligula was about 25 years old when he became emperor; others were much younger, including Nero, who was not yet 17 upon his accession.
Question: As emperor, Caligula restored treason trials and engaged in wild despotic behavior.
Answer: As emperor, Caligula restored treason trials, showed great cruelty, and engaged in wild despotic caprice; e.g., he bridged the Bay of Naples with boats from Baiae to Puteoli in the summer of 39.
Question: In 38 Caligula executed Naevius Sutorius Macro, a prefect who had supported his accession.
Answer: In 38 Caligula executed Naevius Sutorius Macro, prefect of the Praetorian Guard, to whose support he owed his accession, and Tiberius Gemellus, grandson of Tiberius, whom he had supplanted in the succession.
Question: Caligula’s sister Drusilla was consecrated Diva Drusilla on her death, the first woman in Rome to be so honoured.
Answer: Caligula showed extravagant affection for his sisters, especially for Drusilla, who on her death was consecrated Diva Drusilla, the first woman in Rome to be so honoured. Some scholars believe that he intended to establish a Hellenistic-type monarchy after the brother-sister marriages of the Ptolemies of Egypt.
Question: Caligula made his horse consul (a government official).
Answer: The rumour that Caligula made his horse consul is untrue and derived from theories that an illness made Caligula mad.
Question: Caligula was one of the few Roman emperors not to proclaim his own divinity.
Answer: Caligula had many pretensions to divinity, even ordering his statue to be erected in the Temple at Jerusalem.
Question: In January 41, Caligula was murdered at the Palatine Games.
Answer: In January 41, Caligula was murdered at the Palatine Games by Cassius Chaerea, tribune of the Praetorian guard, Cornelius Sabinus, and others.