Meanwhile, both Caligula's mother and his brother Drusus died in prison.

Flaccus had been loyal to Tiberius, had conspired against Caligula's mother and had connections with Egyptian separatists.

The reason of Caligula's hasted marriage with the neither young nor beautiful Milonia Caesonia was the purported illegitimacy of his daughter: should Caligula marry his daughter's mother, the child would become his heir.

Following her death, Caligula's relationship with Agrippina and Livilla changed, showing no special love or respect toward them after Drusilla's death.

Agrippina and Caligula's brother, Nero, were banished in AD 29 on charges of treason.

The reverse shows Caligula's three sisters, Agrippina, Drusilla and Julia Livilla, with whom Caligula was rumoured to have carried on incestuous relationships.

Caligula's sister, Agrippina the Younger, wrote an autobiography that certainly included a detailed explanation of Caligula's reign, but it too is lost.

Several women of the Imperial family, such as Livia's great-granddaughter and Caligula's sister Agrippina the Younger, gained political influence as well as public prominence.

Shortly after Caligula's sister Drusilla died, her widower Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and her sisters Agrippina the Younger and Livilla conspired to overthrow Caligula.

Agrippina and Livilla were exiled, and returned from exile only when their paternal uncle Claudius came to power after Caligula's assassination in 41 AD.

The third freedman, Marcus Antonius Pallas, recommended Claudius ' niece and Caligula's sister Agrippina the Younger, who also had a child from a previous marriage, in this case, the future Emperor Nero.

In 55, Junia Silana, sister of Caligula's first wife Junia Claudilla, a rival of Empress Agrippina the Younger and the ex-wife of Messalina's lover Gaius Silius, accused Agrippina of plotting to overthrow Nero to place Plautus on the throne.

Domitius married his second cousin Agrippina the Younger, Caligula's sister, after her thirteenth birthday in 28.

During the first years of Caligula's reign, Livilla, along with her elder sisters Agrippina the Younger and Drusilla, received considerable honours and striking privileges, such as the rights of the Vestal Virgins ( like the freedom to view public games from the upper seats in the stadium ), the inclusion of her name in the oath of loyalty to the emperor and her depiction on coins.

Sometime later, Paulina became a rival to Caligula's sister Agrippina the Younger and was considered a choice for fourth wife of Caligula's uncle, the Emperor Claudius, following the death of Claudius's third wife, the Empress Valeria Messalina.

This diagnosis is mainly attributed to Caligula's irritability and his " stare " as described by Pliny the Elder.

Uncomfortable with lingering imperial support, the assassins sought out and stabbed Caligula's wife, Caesonia, and killed their young daughter, Julia Drusilla, by smashing her head against a wall.

During the reign of another of her second cousins, the unstable Emperor Caligula ( reigned 37-41 ), Messalina was very wealthy, an influential figure and a regular at Caligula's court.

Caligula's daughter, Julia Drusilla was named after her.

Although other, more powerful, motives caused the deaths of her parents, Drusilla's murder was only justified by her paternity: as Caligula's only legitimate child, she could have claimed the throne for her descendants or even for herself.

During Caligula's illness in 37, he changed his will to name Drusilla his heir, making her the first woman to be named heir in an imperial will.

He would have been acquainted with her from his days in Caligula's court.

Caesonia and her daughter Julia Drusilla were murdered just hours after Caligula's demise.

He appointed Claudius his co-consul in 37 in order to emphasize the memory of Caligula's deceased father Germanicus.

Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most beloved public figures.

After Tiberius ' adoption by Augustus, Tiberius was required to adopt Germanicus, thus giving the Julius nomen to the members of Caligula's family.

Caligula's agnomen came from the little boots he wore as part of his miniature soldier's uniform while accompanying his father Germanicus on campaigns in northern Germania.

There are few surviving sources on Caligula's reign, although he is described as a noble and moderate ruler during the first two years of his rule.

The conspirators ' attempt to use the opportunity to restore the Roman Republic was thwarted: on the same day the Praetorian Guard declared Caligula's uncle Claudius emperor in his place.

Philo's works, On the Embassy to Gaius and Flaccus, give some details on Caligula's early reign, but mostly focus on events surrounding the Jewish population in Judea and Egypt with whom he sympathizes.

Seneca's various works give mostly scattered anecdotes on Caligula's personality.

Suetonius wrote his history on Caligula 80 years after his death, while Cassius Dio wrote his history over 180 years after Caligula's death.

Tacitus provides some information on Caligula's life under Tiberius.

Little is written on the first two years of Caligula's reign.

Additionally, there are only limited details on later significant events, such as the annexation of Mauretania, Caligula's military actions in Britannia, and his feud with the Roman Senate.

The play focuses on Caligula's love for his sister Drusilla, and his deep-rooted loathing for Tiberius.

There were several unsuccessful attempts made on Caligula's life.

Together with another tribune, Cornelius Sabinus, he killed Caligula's wife Caesonia and their infant daughter Julia Drusilla on the same day.

* 1531: Guglielmo de Lorena dives on two of Caligula's sunken galleys using a diving bell from a design by Leonardo da Vinci.

In Rome other interpretations were placed on the phenomenon: according to Suetonius, Caligula's " approaching murder was foretold by many prodigies.

In 41, Claudius succeeded Caligula, and then, at the behest of his third wife Valeria Messalina, banished Seneca to Corsica on a charge of adultery with Caligula's sister Julia Livilla.

Philo considers Caligula's plan to erect a statue of himself in the temple of Jerusalem to be a provocation, saying, " Are you making war upon us, because you anticipate that we will not endure such indignity, but that we will fight on behalf of our laws, and die in defence of our national customs?

After Nerva commits suicide on the prospect of Caligula's rule, Tiberius collapses from a stroke, leaving Macro and Caligula planning a way to hasten the latter's ascent to the throne.

Claudius says that he maintained the appearance of being weak to survive Caligula's rule, and that he would now take on the role of Emperor to the best of his ability.