16th March

On this day in history, in 37AD, the young Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus became Emperor of Rome on the death of his uncle, Tiberius.

Gaius' father and grandfather were successful and popular Roman generals. His father received the agnomen 'Germanicus' in posthumous honour of his grandfather's military successes in Germania. Gaius himself accompanied his father on military campaigns, where he earned the nickname "Caligula" ("little boots") on account of his child-size legionnaire's outfit.

While Caligula's reign began successfully, he fell ill after two years in power. It was expected that he would die. The sources for his reign treat the illness as a turning point. Caligula recovered, but afterwards began a 'reign of terror' for which he is chiefly remembered. The many stories (making his favourite horse a senator, ordering his troops to pick up shells on the seashore) have lead historians to the conclusion that Caligula suffered from some form of mental illness, though a precise diagnosis is difficult to determine.

{Image: A bust of Caligula discovered in Thrace}