Caligula

Stephen Dando-Collins

Description

Explore all of the murder, madness and mayhem in Ancient Rome during the reign of the mad emperor, Caligula.

In this book about Rome’s most infamous emperor, expert author, Stephen Dando-Collins’ chronicles all the palace intrigues and murders that led to Caligula becoming emperor, and details the horrors of his manic reign and the murderous consequences brought about at the hand of his sister Agrippina the Younger, his uncle Claudius and his nephew Nero.

Skillfully researched, Dando-Collins puts the jigsaw pieces together to form an accurate picture of Caligula’s life and influences. Dando-Collins’ precise and thorough examination of the emperor’s life puts Caligula’s paranoid reign into perspective, examining the betrayals and deaths he experienced prior to his time in power and the onset of a near-fatal illness believed to have affected his mental-health.

Sujets

• Historical
• Lettres et linguistique
• Roma (serie de televisión)
• Calígula
• Biography
• Stephen Dando-Collins
• Outline of ancient Rome
• Caesar
• Roman Empire
• Rome
• Dynasty
• Autobiography
• History
• Caesar (homonymie)
• Caligula
• Roman

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 30 juillet 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781684422876
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 5 Mo

Extrait

Was Caligula really mad, bad and dangerous to know? Discover whether he deserves his infamy-or not-in this engrossing character study of the famous emperor.
-MARGARET GEORGE , New York Times bestselling author of The Confessions of the Young Nero and The Splendor Before the Dark
Caligula, The Mad Emperor of Rome is a compelling page-turner. It reads like a political thriller. Which it is. It reads like a work of investigative journalism. Which it is. It reads like a myth-busting period history. Which it is. The author, clearly familiar with the primary sources, dispels many old libels masquerading for centuries as fake news. Meanwhile he provides us with an abundance of documented stories so lurid as to dwarf the overhyped misdemeanors of today. Long ago I was tipped off to an open secret. Colleen McCullough s pulp masterpieces in Masters of Rome were so accurate as to be held in awe as a kind of quasi-history by the Secret Fraternity of Latin Teachers. If you enjoy historical fiction you will love this historical fact of Caligula (the book, not the emperor!) Caligula may herald the perfection of a new literary genre: forensic history. It takes narrative history to a virtuosic level with a timeless story extremely well told.
-RALPH BENKO , US columnist
A marvelous book. Stephen Dando-Collins offers a fresh scholarly perspective on the notorious emperor that succeeds admirably in being of interest to professional scholars of the early Roman Empire and to the general reader. This is a lively, engaging volume that is a true pleasure to read. Anyone interested in ancient Rome will want to acquire and enjoy this great new addition to the bibliography.
-DR. LEE FRATANTUONO , Professor of Classics, Ohio Wesleyan University, author of Caligula: An Unexpected General
Since ancient Roman times Caligula has ranked alongside Nero as one of the mad emperors of Rome. In this new biography, Stephen Dando-Collins has used a wide range of ancient sources to construct a far more three-dimensional portrait of this important ruler. By linking his adult actions and behaviors to early childhood experiences, all well attested in the ancient sources, the author is able to evoke the turbulent world of early imperial Rome, and clearly delineate Caligula s important role in its development.
-PROFESSOR JOHN R. HALE , University of Louisville, author of Lords of the Sea
The short, sordid and violent life of the notorious Roman emperor some have compared to Donald Trump. Dando-Collins ( The Big Break ), who has published often about the ancient world, begins when Caligula (12-41 CE) was two and marches resolutely and straightforwardly to his assassination in 41, a group stabbing that, as the author points out, reminds us of the Ides of March. Dando-Collins aims at general readers, often employing contemporary allusions, diction and comparisons (chariot drivers were the rock stars of their day ), and he pauses occasionally to explain such things as the Roman handshake and wax writing tablets. He also informs us about shipbuilding, the types of legions, and slavery-one of Caligula s villas had some 250 slaves. Carefully identifying his sources as he proceeds, Dando-Collins tries to come to some resolutions about the questions and controversies about Caligula: Was he mad? Did he enjoy wild orgies? The author believes that he was mostly competent at first (he became emperor at 24), a period of wise and lauded rule -but then there was a change, perhaps occasioned by an epidemic? From around page 75 onward, we learn details about the man that are shocking but not surprising: multiple murders, self-aggrandizement (he ordered a statue of himself be installed in Jerusalem, outraging Jews), paranoia, profound insecurity, and jealousy. The author also discusses Caligula s travels, his wars (his legions refused to invade Britain), and the lives and deaths of some prominent New Testament figures, including Pontius Pilate and Herod Antipas. Dando-Collins argues that Caligula was probably bi-polar, and he does see parallels to Trump. A sturdy account of blood, sexual perversion, beheadings, war, intrigue, betrayal and assassination.
- KIRKUS REVIEW
There have been many biographies of Caligula, but none that have such spark and vivacity: this reads more like a thriller than a biography, and the balance of good and bad in the terrified young man who gained too much power is deftly done. If you want to read a fast-flowing well-crafted book, you can t do better than this. And the final chapter making the comparison with Trump us excellent. We can only hope that when Trump is finally deposed there isn t a Claudius hiding behind a curtain, ready to be dragged into power.
-MANDA SCOTT , bestselling author of the Boudica and Rome series and A Treachery of Spies , and former president of the Historical Writers Association of the UK
CALIGULA
THE MAD EMPEROR OF ROME
STEPHEN DANDO-COLLINS
TURNER PUBLISHING COMPANY
Turner Publishing Company
Nashville, Tennessee
www.turnerpublishing.com
Copyright 2019 Stephen Dando-Collins
Caligula: The Mad Emperor of Rome
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to Turner Publishing Company, 4507 Charlotte Avenue, Suite 100, Nashville, Tennessee, [phone], fax [phone], E-mail: [e-mail] .
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and the author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
Cover design: Jeremy Child, The Artifex Forge Limited
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Dando-Collins, Stephen, author.
Title: Caligula : the mad Emperor of Rome / Stephen Dando-Collins.
Other titles: Caligula, the mad Emperor of Rome
Description: Nashvile, TN : Turner Publishing Company, [2019] | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2018049261 (print) | LCCN 2018049772 (ebook) | ISBN 9781684422876 (ebook) | ISBN 9781684422852 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781684422869 (hardcover)
Subjects: LCSH: Caligula, Emperor of Rome, 12-41. | Emperors--Rome--Biography. | Rome--Kings and rulers--Biography. | Rome--History--Caligula, 37-41. | Political corruption--Rome--History. | Power (Social sciences)--Rome--History.
Classification: LCC DG283 (ebook) | LCC DG283 .D36 2019 (print) | DDC 937/.07092 [B] --dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018049261
Printed in the United States of America
17 18 19 20 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Beware of the snake lurking in the grass.
-Virgil, Ecologues
With thanks to my New York literary agent, Richard Curtis, for his perseverance; my publisher, Stephanie Beard, for her enthusiasm; and my empress, Louise, the power behind my throne.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Maps
Photographs
Introduction
I
Nursling of the Legions
II
Caligula at the Bridge
III
Sharing His Father s Triumph
IV
His Father s Violent Death
V
A Murder Trial
VI
Nursing a Viper
VII
Caligula s Grandmother Brings Down Sejanus
VIII
Yielding the Upper Hand
IX
First Through the Door Is Emperor
X
Hail, Caesar Caligula!
XI
Enter the Monster
XII
The Death of Drusilla
XIII
Never Mind the Expense
XIV
Caligula s New Bride
XV
Caligula s Invasion
XVI
Caligula Walks on Water
XVII
The Power of Words
XVIII
Preparing for War
XIX
Shocks in Gaul
XX
Caligula Goes to War
XXI
Caligula s Triumph
XXII
The Victims Mount
XXIII
Running out of Friends
XXIV
The Assassination Plot
XXV
Killing Caligula
XXVI
The Revenge of Caligula s Uncle
XXVII
D j Vu with Nero
XXVIII
Was Caligula Truly Mad?
XXIX
Drawing Present-Day Lessons: Is Donald Trump the Modern Caligula?
Notes
Bibliography
Index
MAPS

The Roman World, AD First Century. (From Blood of the Caesars , Wiley, 2008)

Rome, AD 18-68. (As above.)
PHOTOGRAPHS

#1. A bust of the young emperor Caligula, made during his reign, beside a lifelike modern colored reconstruction using traces of paint found on the original-classical statues were painted using life like colors. NY Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. Photo: Ole Haupt.

#2. Black marble bust of Caligula s ambitious sister Agrippina the Younger, mother of the emperor Nero. NY Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. Photo: Ole Haupt.

#3. Shield emblem of the 22nd Primigenia Legion, a unit raised by Caligula in AD 39/40 for his German and British campaigns. From Stephen Dando-Collins Legions of Rome , Copyright Quercus Publishing, UK.

#4. Arch of Germanicus, Orange, France, celebrating Caligula s father. It s highly likely that Caligula visited the arch on his way through Gaul in AD 39. Copyright Louise Dando-Collins.

#5. Detail, Arch of Germanicus at Orange, showing trophies of German military equipment captured during the German campaigns of Caligula s fa