Caligula: The Corruption of Power (Roman Imperial Biographies)

369 Pages·2001·1.98 MB·English

by  Anthony Barrett

CALIGULA
THE CORRUPTION OF POWER

CALIGULA
THE CORRUPTION OF POWER
Anthony A. Barrett
London and New York
First published 1989 by B.T. Batsford Ltd
Paperback edition 1993
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2001.
© 1989 Anthony A. Barrett
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form
or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 0–415–21485–8 (Print Edition)
ISBN 0-203-13776-0 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-17980-3 (Glassbook Format)
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations vi
Outline of Significant Events xii
Foreword xv
1 Family Background 1
2 Struggle for the Succession 17
3 Private Pursuits 42
4 The New Emperor 50
5 Signs of Strain 73
6 Conspiracy 91
7 North Africa 115
8 Britain and Germany 125
9 Divine Honours 140
10 Assassination 154
11 Aftermath 172
12 Caligula and the Jews 182
13 Caligula the Builder 192
14 Fit to Rule? 213
Appendix 1: Caligula’s named victims 242
Appendix 2: Coins, Inscriptions and Sculpture 244
Notes and References 255
Bibliography 316
Index 329
v
THE
ILLUSTRATIONS
Photographs between pages 166 and 167
1 The Grand Camée
2 Agrippina Major
3 Gemellus
4 Drusilla
5 Caligula
6 Caligula
7 Caligula
8 Caligula
9–13 Aureii and Denarii
14 Quinarius
15 Sestertius
16–19 Sestertii
20–21 Dupondii
22–24 Asses
25 Quadrans
26 Didrachm
27–28 Drachms
29 Coins of Miletus: unidentified temple
30 Coin of Apamea: Caligula’s Sisters
31 Coin of Herod Agrippa: Caesonia
vi
LINE
ILLUSTRATIONS
Stemmata
1 The Julio-Claudians viii–ix
2 The dynastic links of Antonia Minor 25
3 The family connections of Vinicius and Vinicianus 33
4 The family connections of Herod Agrippa 35
5 The family connections of M. Aemilius Lepidus, husband of
Drusilla 83
6 The family of Cunobelinus 128
Maps and Plans
1 The Roman world during the lifetime of Caligula x–xi
2 North Africa 114
3 The North West 124
4 The Eastern Mediterranean 181
5 Ager Vaticanus 197
6 The Palatine Hill 204
7 ‘Caligula’s house’ 208
The author wishes to thank Dr Miriam Griffin for permission to reproduce stemma
no. 1 from her book Nero: the End of a Dynasty and Professor Anthony Birley for
permission to adapt map no. 1 from Marcus Aurelius: a Biography.
vii