Caligula is a man who doesn't need much of an introduction, yet nevertheless shall suffer one here from the Partial Historians. If anyone stands out from the Julio-Claudians for their sheer audacity, it is Gaius Caesar ... more notoriously remembered through history by his nickname 'little boots'.

In this episode, we examine Gaius Caesar's rise to power, the changes his principate means for the developing empire of Rome, and touch on the some of the shocking tales connected with his reign.

It's times like these, dear listener, that you begin to wish Tacitus' account of this period had survived - could the sources be less balanced? The controversies are explored below:

Caligula

https://partialhistorians.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Episode-11-Caligula-2018-Update.mp3

 

Marble bust of Caligula (left); Reconstruction of the polychromy on a plaster replica (right) at NY Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. Image courtesy of Diagram Lajard / Wikimedia Commons