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Most records of the Emperor Gaius portray him as a vicious man driven by anger, paranoia, and madness. His tragic reign started in 37 AD and ended with his assassination in 41 AD. Caligula grew up in a military camp as a favorite of his father’s soldiers. These soldiers nicknamed him Caligula, which means “little boot” in Latin; precisely because of the little boots he wore. Caligula was the youngest son of the Roman general Germanicus Caesar and the grandnephew of the Roman emperor Tiberius. His famous father Germanicus (15 BC - 19 AD), his mother Agrippina the elder (14 BC-33 AD) and all his brothers were either killed or starved to death by order of the suspicious Emperor Tiberius. (The Emperor Gaius) On March 16 37 AD, when Caligula was 26 and Tiberius was 79, it is said that Tiberius was smothered while being looked after by Caligula or one of his aids. Tiberius named his grandson, Tiberius Gemellus and Caligula joint heirs to the throne to the dismay of Caligula. Caligula adopted Gemmellus as his son but soon after, early in 38 AD, had him murdered. The surviving ancient accounts of Gauis’s short reign are focused primarily on his stories of madness. (www.encarta.com) Being the son of the well remembered