When we think of the most evil men in history,
our minds might immediately flicker to figures like Adolf Hitler or Josef Stalin, just to
name a couple. But what about figures farther back in time? In a past video, we discussed why Emperor
Nero was the most evil man in human history. But, as far as the Roman Empire is concerned,
there’s another man we can’t forget. That is, Emperor Caligula, the man who ruled
before Nero and took Nero’s inheritance money when he was young. So, was Caligula worse than Nero? Let’s take a look! First and foremost, we should mention that
a lot of Caligula’s behavior and actions were considered most cruel and sickening. Even his own people at the time thought he
went way too far. That’s saying something for a culture that
engaged in violent entertainment, watching gladiator fights to the death on a regular
basis. Born in the year 12AD, Caligula’s real name
was Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus, named after his famous relation, Julius Caesar. The name, Caligula, stemmed from a Latin nickname
translated as “Little Boots” because his mother used to dress him up as a soldier when
he was very young. When Caligula stepped up to power in 37AD,
it was initially a time of celebration. It provided the people with hope for a golden
age. You see, his predecessor, Tiberius, had been
enormously unpopular and the people suspected that he’d secretly ordered to have Caligula’s
father, Germanicus, poisoned to death. Tiberius had also had his mother and brothers
forced into committing suicide. At any rate, Caligula was only thought to
be spared due to his very young age at the time. What was it about the ancient Roman Empire
and evil leaders? At any rate, when Caligula succeeded Tiberius,
the people were glad to have a descendent of the beloved Germanicus take over. They thought Caligula would be a good, fair
and just ruler but they were in for a big surprise. In his early life, there had been rumors that
Caligula engaged in incestuous behaviors with his own sister, Drusilla, because, being orphans,
they lacked love and companionship from others. This would later fuel Caligula’s lustful
reputation when he came into power. When Drusilla died at the age of 20, he was
devastated and forced his people to engage in public grieving for 2 months. He’d later have a daughter, which he’d
also name Drusilla in tribute to her. Now, if you think romantic relations with
your sister is gross, you should consider that Caligula was a man with an enormous sexual
appetite. He was into some very disturbing acts, to
say the least! Most were at the expense of others. Since this is a family channel, we’ll try
our best to keep the promiscuous details at bay. But one nasty and cruel act that he liked
to do was to use other men’s wives for his own amusement and pleasure. His power over others excited him, enticing
him to abuse it whenever he had the chance. Further, he loved to embarrass and humiliate
the husbands of the wives he toyed with by publicly criticizing their performances or
techniques. Doing so made him feel more powerful and he
loved exercising his position by dominating his people. There were instances where he’d attend weddings
only to stop the marriage from happening so that he could have his way with the bride. He’d then ditch her soon after while telling
her she couldn’t marry. Some of his perverted pleasures may have been
due to the influence of Tiberius. There had been a time when Tiberius had Caligula
stay with him at his villa on the island of Capri. This was part of a sick game whereby Tiberius
was basically forcing the 19-year-old Caligula to live alongside the man who had destroyed
his family. It was here where Caligula would watch the
gruesome scenes as Tiberius “played” with – and we say this so as not to be too graphic
– underage boys and girls before having them tossed over a cliff to meet their demise. Oddly, Tiberius began to kind of like Caligula
and allowed him to watch all the sick torturing, sexual exploits and sadistic executions. So, it was this environment that may have
played a huge influence on the boy’s mind. Tiberius himself was quoted saying, “I am
nursing a viper for the Roman people”. Returning to the events of Caligula’s reign,
the emperor later fell in love with a woman named Milonia Caesonia in 39AD who was known
for her extravagance and promiscuity. She’d already had three children from another
man and was described as being “neither beautiful nor young.” She was a woman who loved to engage in self
pleasure. Still, he loved her passionately and ended
up marrying her. Some thought that Caligula’s madness was
the result of a love potion administered to him by Caesonia since she was not the most
popular choice in bride. Regardless, Caligula was so proud of his wife
that he’d parade her naked in front of his troops and selected friends. In an ominous display of love, he’d tell
her that he could have her throat slit whenever he pleased before proceeding to kiss her neck. He often jokingly threatened to have her tortured
or executed as an odd way of flirting. This couldn’t have been all that settling
to Caesonia who somehow put up with it. Aside from the sexual lewdness of Caligula’s
behavior and actions, he was also very cruel in his approach to torture and mass killings. He’d force families to watch the executions
of their children. To make this worse, he’d force the relatives
of victims to smile and cheer over the execution before they themselves would also be executed. He also held parties and gatherings of a joyous
nature to watch people be brutally killed, and invite their grieving loved ones to join
in the festivities, forced to act like they were having a good time. But Caligula didn’t just have people executed
in the way you might think, quick and to the point. No, that would be too easy. Instead, he ordered executions to happen slowly. He wanted victims to feel their pain. He liked killings to start with a bunch of
cuts and abrasions while steadily progressing to increasingly worse methods of torture,
keeping victims alive to experience it as long as possible. It was disturbingly fun for him. In one occasion, his victim shouted to proclaim
his innocence before being tortured. In which case, Caligula then called him back. Not to pardon him, but to have the man’s
tongue cut off so he couldn’t shout his innocence again. The poor man was then thrown back in with
the wolves to proceed with the harsh, tortured execution. He was a man with a sadistic, serial killer
mentality, arguably worse than the likes of Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer. And he had absolute power. How terrifying! Though Caligula only reigned over the Roman
Empire for slightly less than 4 years, his time in power was so impactful that his name
continues to live on in infamy, 2,000 years later. It’s difficult to think of the name “Caligula”
without thinking of cruelty and perversion. From seducing his sister, parading his wife
naked and making his horse a state official – yeah you heard that last part right – Caligula
was also a mad man. He believed himself to be a living God. Most emperors were considered Gods after death,
but Caligula didn’t want to wait for death to be declared one. He considered himself above other people,
a divine figure. He claimed to seek direct advice from the
God, Jupiter. He also claimed to party regularly with Hercules. He even incorporated a holy temple into his
palace. The executive director for the American Institute
for Roman Culture explained that, by doing this, Caligula was basically making a statement,
saying, “I’m living with the Gods. I am a God.” He was, in essence, the ultimate maniacal
narcissist. He also had statues of himself built in every
temple in the empire. Since Caligula was still young at only 28
years old, people were worried that his tyranny would continue for many more years to come. Conspiracy among the people grew against him. Thus, in 41AD, the emperor was proven once
and for all that he was not a God, but, rather, a mere mortal like everyone else. This happened when a group of his guardsman
attacked him after a sporting event. The assassination took place in Palatine Hill,
Rome, Italy. He was left with 30 stab wounds. His body was then dumped into a shallow grave. Sadly, his wife and daughter, Drusilla, were
also murdered. His statues were taken down in an attempt
to purge the terrible memory of Caligula. They did a good job because Caligula was indeed
almost wiped from history. The reason we still remember him today is
because his behavior and actions were hard to forget despite the efforts to do so. His memory was also preserved by some for
the sake to serve as a later warning for the people that anyone could become a monster. Though they’d killed Caligula, however,
they weren’t ready to kill the system. The Senate had an opportunity to seize power
and change everything but, instead, they placed Caligula’s uncle, Claudius in charge. The failure to end the emperor system would
later result in another Caligula-type leader with the infamous Emperor Nero. Now, make sure you go check out our other
video, What Made Emperor Nero The Most Evil Man! You won’t regret it! Click that video! Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t
forget to like, share, and subscribe. See you next time!
