![]() ![]() Later that year he fell seriously ill, the cause of which is still debated. Some suggest herpes or malaria (untreated malarial encephalitis causes extremely high fevers which are noted for causing brain damage in those who survive them) while others suggest lead poisoning. Upon recovering, Caligula had permanently lost his hair and apparently his mind. The popular image about him is of an insane tyrant. It's hard to find out how much of this is true, since hardly any contemporary sources survived about him. The outrageous tales about him note Specifically: committing incest with his sisters, sending his army against the sea after declaring war on the ocean god Neptune and having them stab the waves and collect shells as booty, marrying a woman who was 9 months pregnant so he wouldn't have to wait for an heir (whether or not it was his is unclear), using a tax hike upon the birth of his daughter to provide gold for him to roll around in, and wanting to make his favorite horse a consul come from Suetonius, who wrote a biography about Caligula 80 years after his death at the behest of another dynasty of Emperors who had interest in demonizing their predecessors. Note These particular dynasty being the Nerva-Antonines, initiated by the eponymous emperor Nerva (and whose successors until Marcus Aurelius were adopted instead of blood heirs). ![]()
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