The Excesses Of Caligula
Why were the actions of Caligula regarded as excessive? Why was such behaviour important in the evaluation of an emperor's image?
When Caligula took the title of emperor of Rome, the population of that vast empire felt that a new dawn was emerging. Here was someone with youth on his side to reign over them, by contrast after the aged Tiberius. Because of his earlier travels with them on their campaigns, he had the loyalty of the troops, which was always important in a militarist empire. But the biggest thing he had going for him was his direct family contact with the revered Augustus, Caligula through his mother was the great grandson of the man and his reign was hoped to take them back to what was already become to be seen as an golden age.
Yet something that started out so good ended in tragedy for the young man, Caligula soon displayed ideas way above him self, he became an ego manic, disrespectful for others, and blasphemous, by this behaviour he quickly alienated himself from everybody, who were once loyal and it became obvious that he would be killed. In everything he was excessive, but nevermore in his blasphemous behaviour made worst because as emperor he was the holder of the office of head of the Roman religion and should never be seen as impious.
In the ?Excesses Of Caligula?, (P526 Roman Civilization). We have a primary source written by Suetonius, this short paragraph is taken from his great work the ?Twelve Caesars?, Suetonius was an experienced biographer, the first Latin biographer, and whose work is still available to us, but he was not a contemporary of the events that he was writing about, but it?s still is a primary source. It would have been read by his contemporaries, judged by them and indeed we can say by its longevity that it has become a useful source.
We know from our study of the period that Suetonius and others thought that Augustus was the benchmark used to judge other emperors and so set the standard that was to be followed by other emperors. Indeed it is significant to say that such was his behaviour during his reign of office that he was upon his death deified by senate decree, and thereafter worshiped as a god.
But it must be noted that not merely having the office of emperor ensured you reached deification, whilst Augustus obtained it, Tiberius who followed him failed to receive ...
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...presence to his own citizens. Indeed most noted is the fact that in the end it was a soldier, one of those most loyal at the beginning who put an end to his rule.
There were a few shortcomings to this source, with it being a posthumous evaluation of his Caligula?s reign. Suetonius shows some biasness, he blames Caligula for the excessive behaviour by describing what went on, as a historian working during this period he wanted the reader to learn from the past, he shows how Caligula treated his senators, his subjects and his soldiers, to this end.
History has judged Caligula?s rule excessive in the extreme, as leader of the Roman religion he was supposed to proclaim and protect it, not bring ridicule upon it.
He not only failed Rome, but failed the office of emperor, failing to protect himself and to provide for his successor, this would not only have benefited the individual but also Caligula himself, because his successor would have had an interest in protecting his benefactors reputation after his death, as it was his rule was judged as excessive in the extreme.
Bibliography
Roman Civilization Naphtali Lewis and Meyer Reinhold third edition Columbia University press.
Even if you do not like Suetonius' style, you must agree that he has achieved his goal of adequately exploring the lives of these 12 men. He wrote more than an adequate biography; he wrote an exquisite history of a very important period in the Roman world. Suetonius wrote so accurately that many historians today use his writings to describe the lives of the Caesars.
be better for Rome while the others just did not want him to become more powerful than
Morey, William C. "Outlines of Roman History, Chapter 19." Forum Romanum. 1901. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. .
In the early first century AD, the Roman Empire was subject to autocratic rule and the old Republic was long dead. Augustus had been ruling for forty years and most of that time he was loved and praised by the Senate and the people of Rome. Throughout his reign, Augustus had the one lingering problem of finding a successor to take over the role of Emperor. He had chosen 3 different heirs in his time of rule; however, they all passed before they had the chance to inherit Augustus’ esteemed power. His fourth choice, Tiberius, was the one to succeed Augustus. He was often referred to, by Augustus, as an outstanding general and the only one capable of defending Rome against her enemies. The statement, ‘Tiberius is condemned by many ancient historians (including Tacitus), and his reign is often portrayed as being detrimental to the welfare of the Roman Empire’ is invalid as he treated the senate fairly, created strong economics and security in the state and boosted the empire into an unprecedented state of prosperity. This hypothesis will be proven through this essay by analyzing factors such as Tiberius’ administration of the Empire, his relationship with the senate, his financial control, the effect of Sejanus over his rule and why were his last years as Emperor referred to as a ‘reign of terror’ by Tacitus.
Emperor Nero, infamously known as one of the most malevolent, oppressive, and tyrannical leader throughout history, was the last ruler of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty. He was born outside Rome in Antium and his mother married his great uncle, Emperor Claudius, in order for her son to be the next Emperor of Rome. It wasn’t apparent that her son was to become one of the most feared and cruel leaders in Roman history from 54 CE to 68 CE. By examining his achievements and failures as an emperor, his influences and changes over the entire economic, political and social spectrum are revealed.
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This was necessasy, as after Julius Caesar’s death, a period of civil wars ensued, where Augustus aimed to avenge Caesar’s death and consolidate his own role as principate. After this volatile period, Augustus implemented various reforms that brought peace and ‘good government’ to provinces. Eastern citizens showed their gratitude and loyalty in “a manner appropriate to local custom” (Hennessey, 1990). Henry Burton (1912), a credible historian, describes how the East had pre-established practices of placing divine honours onto living individuals that had syncretised from Hellenistic monarchs, including Alexander the Great, and Egyptian pharaohs. Through this, heroes of Rome such as Romulus, founder of the nation, were honoured as deities and considered of divine descent. It was therefore fitting for Augustus, who had founded a new and greater Rome, be “regarded as a god and accorded the same homage” (Burton, 1912). Thus, Augustus did not need to establish the cult, rather, enhance
The Crisis of the Third Century from A.D. 235-284 was a period of Military anarchy and witnessed the collapse of the Roman empire. The empire witnesses numerous crisis like military, political and economic in the form of barbarian invasions, civil wars and hyperinflation. It was primarily because of the settlement of Augustus that failed at establishing succession rule of the emperors. Hence, no emperor was able to hold the Imperial position. This period ended with Diocletian, the Roman emperor A.D. 284-305 who was able administrator during the crisis. Diocletian became the Roman Emperor after defeating Carinus. During Diocletian’s reign, the Roman empire was unified under Tetrarchy. There were several administrative changes from Diocletian to Constantine. These changes had however, started long before the reign of Diocletian. The Roman empire was comparatively at rest and peace despite the war for imperial succession and numerous civil wars. Augustus’s reign is also referred to as Pax Romana. The time period during reign of Diocletian witnessed imperial immortality and ancestry was turned into identity. Hence, ancestry was now seen as a dominating principal and Diocletian and Maximian were seen as equals before the common public (Nixon and Rodgers, 80) .The Edict of Caracalla in A.D. 212, marked the beginning of various administrative changes that took place in the Roman empire (Cameron, 50) .
Goldsmith’s account of Nero and Caligula is important in understanding why John Reed is likened to them. According to Goldsmith, Caligula was arrogant, greedy, and cruel (365). He had many vices and hurt everyone around him.
He was privy to violence, death, conspiracy trials, and warped sexual escapades in Tiberius’s palace in Capri at a very impressionable age. He ascended the throne at twenty-four years old and was given complete and absolute control over an empire with very little political experience. If he was not made unstable by all the occurrences in his youth and upbringing, he was bound to be impacted by the constant threat of murder hanging around an emperor. What person could endure such trauma and depravity and remain unaffected? Caligula was murderous and deeply disturbed, but I cannot see how any other person with his past that would not be. It is proportional to putting an abuse victim in the president’s chair and expecting rational thinking. Many historians believe he suffered from some kind of clinical illness that aided in his hostel and fanatical behavior. The main sources we have on Caligula are from Suetonius and Dio, who were not contemporary to all these occurrences and should be read with criticism as their main goal was to attract readers, not to convey truth. Contemporary writers such as Philo and Seneca should also not be taken at face value. Though they are not flattering descriptions of the emperor, their writings were under scrutiny and could get them a quick death penalty if too far out of line. None-the-less I feel that Caligula was not entirely at fault
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How does Suetonius portray Augustus and his accomplishments? What were his skills? What was the response of Rome? How might Suetonius's account have been biased or limited?
The Failure of the Roman Republic was inevitable as it was an unjust system of government and it was left vulnerable after the attempted changes instigated by the Gracchi as the Gracchi exposed the weaknesses in the political structure allowing future politicians to manipulate the system. The changes made by the Gracchi left the Republic in a state of pandemonium as it destroyed political stability as well as creating opportunities for future individuals to rise above and challenge the system.
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