Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - Emperor Caligula

Episode Date: February 13, 2026

was born. By the time he was 25, he was the ruler of the Roman Empire and the most powerful man in the world.  As with other young people who achieve absolute power at an early age, he went completely nuts and became one of the worst rulers in history. His reign of insanity resulted in him becoming the first Roman emperor to be assassinated. Learn more about Emperor Caligula and how he changed the Roman Empire on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Quince Go to quince.com/daily for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order! Mint Mobile Get your 3-month Unlimited wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com/eed Subscribe to the podcast!  https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/ -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Charles Daniel Associate Producers: Austin Oetken & Cameron Kieffer   Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/  Disce aliquid novi cotidie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On August 31st in the year 12, the great-grandson of the Emperor Augustus was born. By the time he was 25, he was the ruler of the Roman Empire and the most powerful man in the world. As with other young people who have achieved absolute power at an early age, he went completely nuts and became one of the worst rulers in history. His reign of insanity resulted in him becoming the first Roman Emperor to be assassinated. Learn more about Emperor Caligula and how he changed the Roman Empire on this. episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Fear is the virus is trending on TikTok.

Vaccines are poison. Then your yoga teacher says that sex traffic children are being sacrificed by satanic liberals, but it's all okay. The Great Awakening is coming. What is happening? Every week on Conspiratuality Podcast, we explore the fever dreams that suck friends, family, and wellness gurus down the right-wing cult spiral in a search for salvation. The man that history calls Caligula was born Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus on August 31st in the year 12 in Antium, a coastal town south of Rome.

He was born into the highest echelon of Roman society, a member of the Julio-Claudean dynasty that dominated the early Roman Empire. His father was Germanicus, one of the most celebrated military commanders of his generation and the adopted son of Emperor Tiberius. Germanicus was widely popular with both the Roman populace and the legions, admired for his charisma, moderation, and perceived Republican virtues. His mother was Agrippina the elder, the granddaughter of Augustus, Rome's first emperor, which gave Caligula impeccable dynastic credentials. Caligula's childhood was unusually public for a Roman aristocrat. He accompanied his father on military campaigns along the Rhine frontier,

where soldiers reportedly dressed the young boy in a miniature legionary outfit, including boots, known as Caligay. From this detail came the nickname Caligula, meaning little boots, a name that he later despise, but that's what history knows him as. Ancient sources emphasize his early exposure to the army, a factor often cited to explain his later confidence in military authority and his expectation of personal loyalty from soldiers. His father Germanicus died suddenly in the year 19 while on campaign in the eastern provinces.

Many contemporary resources suspected poisoning, possibly orchestrated by political rivals, acting with the approval of Emperor Tiberius, although no definitive proof exists. The death of Germanicus destabilized the family's position with the imperial court. Agrippina entered into open conflict with Tiberius and his powerful Praetorian prefect, Sejanus. Over the following decade, Caligula witnessed the systematic destruction of his immediate family. His mother was exiled and died of starvation. Two of his brothers were imprisoned and perished under suspicious circumstances. These early experiences had an impact on the young Caligula. Ancient historians such as Soutonius and Tacitus emphasized the atmosphere of fear that characterized

Tiberius' court. Caligula learned early the necessity of concealing your true intention and surviving in an autocratic system where imperial favor was fickle and lethal. Following the fall and execution of Sejanus in the year 31, Caligula's fortunes markedly improved. And if you remember back to my episode on Sejanus, he arguably had one of the quickest and most dramatic downfalls in all of history. Tiberius summoned Caligula to Capri, where the aging emperor had withdrawn from public life. Caligula lived there for several years under close-out. observation. Soutonius famously claimed that Caligula once said, quote,

there was no better slave and no worse master, implying that he had mastered the art of obedience while concealing his true ambitions. This remark, while likely apocryphal, reflects the perception that Caligula survived by carefully managing his appearances. Tiberius named Caligula as joint heir alongside his own grandson Tiberius Gamelis. When Tiberius, he When Tiberius died in March of 37, probably of natural causes, the Praetorian Guard, under the command of Macro, quickly declared Caligula Emperor. The Senate confirmed the choice, and within months, Gamalus was dead, leaving Caligula as the sole ruler with no other claimants.

Caligula's ascension to the imperial throne was actually greeted with widespread enthusiasm. The Roman public remembered his father Germanicus fondly and saw in his son a continuation. of Augustus and a refreshing change after the last several years of Tiberius. According to Cassius Dio, Caligula's first months were marked by generosity, public celebrations, and gestures of reconciliation. He recalled Romans that were exiled by Tiberius, honored his deceased family members, and abolished the treason trials that had been terrorizing the elites. By all accounts, his initial popularity was genuine. The Senate, the people, and the Army all had reason to believe that Caligula would restore a more humane and cooperative

style of governance. And that honeymoon was to be short-lived. In the first year, his administration appeared rather conventional. He continued public works projects that were started under Tiberius and Augustus, including road repairs and harbor improvements. He sponsored games, spectacles, and money distributions to the people reinforcing his popularity. But a turning point occurred late in the year 37, when Caligula suffered a severe illness. Ancient sources describe it as being both sudden and near fatal. The nature of the illness is unknown, although suggestions range from encephalitis to lead poisoning. After his recovery, observers noted a sharp change in his behavior.

His illness occupies a central place in ancient narratives about Caligula's reign. Fiscal policy became increasingly aggressive. Caligula had inherited a well-funded treasury, but his lavish spending on games, buildings, and personal luxuries strained the state's finances. He introduced new taxes, revived old ones, and engaged in property confiscations, particularly targeting wealthy senators and equestrians. While such measures weren't unprecedented, their scale and apparent arbitrariness alarmed the elites. Caligula also emphasized the emperor's quasi-divine status. He expanded the imperial cult, especially in the eastern provinces where emperor worship was already established.

Temple's priests and sacrifices were dedicated to him sometimes under compulsion. His attempt to install a statue of himself in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem provoked a major crisis, which was narrowly averted by the intervention of Herod Agrippa and the Roman governor Publius Petronius. He traveled to Gaul and the Rhine frontier, possibly to secure loyalty and address unrest. Ancient sources mock his northern expedition, alleging that he ordered soldiers to collect seashells as spoils of war in preparation for a staged triumph over the sea. Much of Caligula's posthumous reputation rests on anecdotes preserved by hostile senatorial historians. However, if even a fraction of them are true, it would show evidence of a high

disturbed mind. One of the most famous stories is that Caligula intended to appoint his horse in Catatus as consul. The antidote appears in both Soutonius and Andio. Modern historians widely interpret this episode as satirical or symbolic rather than literal, possibly intended to humiliate the Senate by demonstrating that the emperor's favor, not merit, determined office. And there's no evidence that the appointment actually occurred.

Another set of accusations concerned sexual deviance and incest, particularly with his three sisters, Drusilla, Agrippina the Younger, and Lavilla. While Roman elites would often use these sort of rumors as slander against political enemies, Drusilla's unusually prominent public honors after her death suggested that they at least had a very close relationship. Caligula's cruelty towards senators is better documented. Executions, forced suicide, and public humiliations are consistently reported across all sources.

Dio Cassius, writing in the early third century, describes Caligula appearing before the Senate dressed as Venus and demanding that senators worship him as a god. The emperor allegedly forced prominent Romans to compete in degrading theatrical performances and gladiatorial contests. He also famously created two enormous luxury-outfitted pleasure ships on Lake Neimi south of Rome. Unlike ordinary vessels, these functioned as floating palaces, featuring marble floors, mosaic decorations, gilded fittings, plumbing systems with lead pipes, heated bathing facilities, and elaborate statues. By the late year 40, Caligula's position had become increasingly precarious

despite his absolute power. His execution of senators, confiscation of estates, and contemptuous treatment of Rome's traditional elite had created a deep well of resentment among the aristocracy. The Praetorian Guard, while benefiting from the Emperor's generosity, included officers who had personal grievances against him or connections to senatorial families. The conspiracy that ultimately ended Caligula's life centered on Cassius Chyria, a tribune of the Praetorian Guard. According to the ancient sources, Kyria had multiple motives for participating in the plot. Suttonius and Josephus, the Jewish historian, who provides the most detailed account of the assassination, both report that Caligula regularly mocked Chyria for his alleged effeminate voice and

behavior, forcing him to use humiliating passwords and gestures. Beyond personal insults, Chyria may have been motivated by the same concerns that drove the other conspirators, fear for his own safety, and the belief that Caligula's continued rule threaten the empire's stability. The assassination occurred on January 24th in the year 41 during the Palatine Games, a festival celebrating the victory of Augustus at Actium. Caligula had been emperor for three years, ten months, and eight days. The events unfolded in a covered passageway beneath the Imperial Palace. As Caligula left the games to change clothes or have lunch, accounts vary.

Carria and his fellow conspirator Cornelius Sabinus approached him. According to Josephus' account, Chyria struck the first blow, stabbing Caligula from behind and crying out, take this. Caligula fell and other conspirators, including members of the German bodyguard, joined in the attack, delivering approximately 30 wounds. The conspirators also murdered Caligula's fourth wife, Cizonia, and their infant daughter, Julia Drusilla, dashing the child's head against a wall. This ruthless elimination of potential errors suggests that the conspirators initially intended to restore the Republic, or at least prevent imperial succession, from continuing.

However, their plans quickly unraveled in the chaos following the assassination. The Bittorian Guard discovered Caligula's uncle Claudius hiding behind a curtain in the palace, terrified that he would be the next victim. And I covered the rule of Claudius in a previous episode. Despite Claudius' apparent unsuitability for rule, as he was regarded as physically and firm and intellectually limited, the Praetorians proclaimed him emperor. Their decision was likely motivated as much by financial considerations as by loyalty, as Claudius promised them a substantial payment of 15,000 sesterches per man, setting a dangerous precedent for the Praetorian Guard's role in making and unmaking future emperors. The Senate, meeting to discuss the restoration of the Republic, found itself outmaneuvered by the Praetorian swift action. Faced with the reality of Claudius's military backing, they capitulated and confirmed his ascension.

Cassius Chyria and other assassins were subsequently executed on Claudius' orders. Instead of being celebrated for committing tyrannicide, they were published for committing regicide. Surprisingly, the reign of Caligula has caused considerable debate amongst historians, especially modern historians. The primary historical sources on Caligula have been dominated by the hostile accounts of Stutonius, Tacitus, Diocassius, and to some extent Josephus. These sources, written decades or even centuries after Caligula's death, drew upon earlier works that have since been lost to us, including the histories of Cluvius Rufus and Fabius Rusticus.

The uniformly negative portrayal of Caligula in these surviving sources has led some modern historians to question whether we can access the real historical Caligula beneath the layers of senatorial propaganda. The fact that most of our sources were written by members of the senatorial class, the very group that suffered the most under Caligula's reign, introduces an obvious bias. Moreover, Claudius and his successors had strong motivations to present Caligula in the worst possible light to legitimize the assassination and the regime change. After his death, Caligula was, subject to Dem Nadio Memori, which, if you remember back to my episode on the subject,

was a destruction of all public references and statues to him. Some modern historians, starting in the late 19th century and continuing through recent times, have attempted to rehabilitate aspects of Caligula's reign. They argue that some of his actions, viewed as mad or arbitrary by ancient sources, may have had rational political purposes. And provincial sources suggest that his reign wasn't universal, universally regarded as disastrous. Some cities and provinces continued to honor him even after his death. The question of whether Caligula was genuinely insane remains unresolved and is likely unresolvable

2,000 years later. Modern psychiatric diagnoses of historical figures rests on extremely flimsy foundations. But what seems more plausible is that Caligula, coming to absolute power at a young age, after a childhood marked by trauma and danger may have lacked the temperament, judgment, or self-restraint necessary to wield such power responsibly. Caligula's legacy has lived on in Western culture as the archetypal mad tyrant. From Robert Graves' novel I. Claudius to numerous films and dramatic works, some of which you should never ever watch with children. He has become a symbol, which, to paraphrase the great Lord Acton,

of absolute power corrupting absolutely. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Austin Otkin and Cameron Kiefer. Today's review comes from listener Callum Conahan on Apple Podcasts in the United States. They write, the best. This show is exactly what I've been looking for, short episodes that are informative and interesting. For work, I mow lawns and work in a shop building skis, wearing headphones for ear protection in both. I found this show about two months ago,

and since then I have listened for hours on end every working day, building towards membership in the coveted Completionist Club. I'd love to see an episode on Great American Mountain Men and Explorers like Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, and Jedediah Smith. Also, an episode on the history and rise of the cultural popularity of skiing would be great. Well, thanks, Callum. First, good luck with your completionist club journey, and second, those are some good ideas for episodes, and I will add some of them to the master list of show ideas. Remember, if you leave review on any of the major podcast apps, you two can have it right on the show.