Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (aka Caligula) (born 31 August A.D. 12) was the son of Augustus' adopted grandson Germanicus and his wife Agrippina, Augustus' granddaughter. When Tiberius died on March 16, A.D. 37, his will named Caligula and his cousin Tiberius Gemellus heirs.
Caligula had Tiberius' will voided and became sole emperor. Initially, he was very generous and popular, but that quickly changed. Caligula was not content with worship as a god after death, as had been his predecessors, but wanted to be so honored while still alive, although Susan Wood says this, like the honors he gave his sisters, was actually a rational desire that was later distorted by hostile writers (incest, in the case of the sisters). Caligula was cruel and indulged in sexual aberrations that offended Rome and were considered insane.
The Praetorian Guard Cassius Chaerea had Caligula killed on 24 January A.D. 41. Following Caligula's reign, the Senate was ready to give up on the Principate and the memory of the Caesar's, but before that could happen, Claudius was installed as emperor.
Caligula is on the list of Most Important People to Know in Ancient History.
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"Diva Drusilla Panthea and the Sisters of Caligula"
Susan Wood
American Journal of Archaeology (Jul., 1995), pp. 457-482 - "The Tradition about Caligula"
M. P. Charlesworth
Cambridge Historical Journal (1933), pp. 105-119 - "Caligula's Seashells"
David Woods
Greece & Rom (Apr., 2000), pp. 80-87 - "Caligula and the Client Kings"
D. Wardle
The Classical Quarterly (1992), pp. 437-443 -
"Caligula's Recusatio Imperii"
Alexander Jakobson and Hannah M. Cotton
Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte (1985), pp. 497-503
