The Birth of Caligula

Marble bust of Caligula, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek

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On August 31st 12 CE, Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, better known by his nickname Caligula, was born in Antium (modern day Anzio). 

Caligula was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder, the granddaughter of Augustus, Rome's first emperor. He acquired the nickname, the diminutive form of caliga, a military boot, from his father's soldiers during their campaign in Germania. 

Following the death of the emperor Tiberius in March 37 CE, Caligula became Rome's third emperor and one of the most infamous. Less than four years later, he was assassinated, the first and certainly not the last emperor to meet such a fate. 

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