The Roman Empire produced many bad emperors, but Caligula is ranked among the very worst of them all. Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus; (31 August 12 – 24 January 41 AD) was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 to 41 AD.
The son of Germanicus and Agrippina Sr. was nicknamed Caligula, meaning "little boots," by the legions because as a child his mother dressed him in military uniforms, including little boots. Caligula’s early coinage celebrates his descent. The great-grandson of Augustus inherited none of his ancestor’s virtues and all of his vices.
For a few months he was popular, succeeding the paranoid Tiberius in 37 A.D. when he was 24 years old. His reign soon degenerated into debauchery.
Ancient accounts of Caligula’s reign focus on his cruelty, his excesses, and his clinical insanity – an unpredictable mixture of fits, anxiety, insomnia and hallucinations. During his reign it was a crime punishable by death to look down on him as he passed by, or to mention a goat in his presence.
He murdered Tiberius Gemellus, his co-heir, he murdered his pregnant wife, he heaped public honors upon his horse, and bankrupted Rome's treasury.
Caligula was sadistic, cruel and indulged in sexual aberrations that were considered insane. Caligula's power soon led him to believe himself a God. This drove him to kill anyone that he thought surpassed him in something. He was famous for his sadism.
Sestertius features the three sisters of Caligula. Appearing on the coin wasn't a good omen for them.
Caligula was tall, with spindly legs and a thin neck. His eyes and temples were sunken and his forehead broad and glowering. His hair was thin and he was bald on top, though he had a hairy body. He was very pale. He often claimed to hold conversations with Jupiter and to sleep with the moon goddess. Declaring himself a deity caused a major backlash in Judea, because Jewish law said that they could only worship their God.
His refusal to revoke the decree that nations worship him caused the revolution in Judea.
Caligula's hubris eventually destroyed him. He insulted his Roman military commanders, including Cassius Chaerea, who murdered him on January 24, 41 at the Palatine Games. In 2014 a Caligula coin appeared on 'Pawn Stars'. The coin was a silver denarius that was struck in the last 24 days of Caligula's life. Caligula coins are rare. The hatred for Caligula ran deep.
Caligula's name was erased from public inscriptions, his statues pulled down and destroyed and his coinage defaced, recalled and melted down. This makes his coins rare and valuable.
A circa A.D. 37 to 38 gold aureus of Caligula and his mother, Agrippina senior. Though it has a few marks, it is in otherwise Good Extremely Fine condition and carried an estimate of 150,000 Swiss francs (about $164,862).
No comments:
Post a Comment