Caligula was known for for making strange decisions, specifically he worked to enhance his natural ugliness by practicing disgusting facial expressions in a mirror. He made ordinary, childhood games of dress-up, wearing strange clothing,  wearing women’s shoes and was caught up in lavish accessories and wigs and treating people terribly. This was most prominent especially when he became seriously sick, or perhaps it was rumored that he was poisoned during the middle of his reign. He made a  swift recovery from his illness, but it is believed that the illness turned him into the evil emperor that he is now remembered as. He started to kill off or exile those who were close to him or anyone he saw as a serious or potential threat. A theory is that his illness reminded him of his mortality and of the possibility of the desire of others to take his place. He had his adopted son and cousin Tiberius Gemellus executed which proved to be an act that outraged Caligula's and Gemellus's  grandmother, Antonia Minor. She is said to have also committed suicide, although it was quite possible that Caligula actually poisoned her instead himself. He also had his father-in-law Marcus Junius Silanus and his brother-in-law Marcus Lepidus executed as well. His favorite sister Julia Drusilla died in 38 AD of a fever, while his other two sisters, Livilla and Agrippina the Younger, were sent into exile. His personality was one that was unpredictable and dangerous, which was why he was hated by so many. He would spend money frivolously and ordered Roman engineers to construct random buildings, thus stunting civil growth. One such task he had completed was the construction of a two mile long bridge that he only had built so that he could gallop across it with his horse. These types of projects drained the Roman funds of the treasury and eventually lead to an increase in taxes which led to an unhappy, and unproductive population. Aside from this Caligula made close officials of his run frantically and for long amounts of time in front of his chariot and had many affairs with the wives of his allies, which led to eventual conspiracies about his murder. Caligula grew even more unpopular in the eyes of many as he would falsely accuse individuals and eventually kill them in order to seize their estates and profit from them later on in order to partially replenish the funds from the treasury. Later on, relations between Caligula and the Roman Senate deteriorated and later on fell apart completely. The subject of their disagreements were unknown however, a number of factors initiated the supposed feud. The Senate for one had gotten used to ruling without an emperor, so they thought that Caligula wasn't necessary in their plans. Additionally, Caligula reviewed  records of treason trials and decided that based on the senators actions during these trials, that many of them were not trustworthy He then proceeded to order a new set of investigations and trials and subsequently replaced the consul and had several senators put to death. Soon after his scuffle with the Senate, Caligula faced a number of different  conspiracies against him. Things later escalated when, in 40 AD, Caligula announced to the senate that he intended to leave Rome  and  move to Alexandria in Egypt, where he hoped to be worshiped as a God living amongst men. The idea of Rome losing its emperor and thus its political power was the breaking point for many. On January 22nd in 41 AD guardsmen approached Caligula as he addressed some young men during a series of games and plays. The guards then proceeded to stab Caligula at least 30 times until, at last they killed him.

 

 

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