Why was Caligula a bad emperor?

Answer 1

Short Answer: Yes.Thoughtful answer no. Many people confuse Caligula's personal life and shortfalls, with his rulership. Much of Caligula is being reevaluated. The empire survived his wildness, there were no wars, the army was paid (even though Caligula was supposed to have squandered the treasury) and the borders were secure. Personally, he had problems, but as an emperor, he was no better or no worse than many others.

Caligula was emperor from 37 AD CE to 41 AD CE.Fortunately, his short time in office prevented him from doing allot of damage to the office of emperor and to the empire. Members of the body created by Augustus to protect the emperor, the Praetorian Guard, assassinated Caligula. He began his rule on a positive note. He took measures to restore the prestige of the Senate, published an Imperial budget, took to needed construction projects and made himself accessible to the public at large. Then came an illness.

It's been said he fell into a serious fever that affected his thinking after he recovered from it.

Two leaders of the Praetorian Guard were executed. His relations with the Senate soured.

He made no major foreign policy plunders and his personal scandals in Rome were not the cause of his assassination. Historians have yet to find an explanation for his policy of alienating the Jews under his rule. For some reason he commanded that a statue of himself be placed inside the Temple of Jerusalem and in other synagogues. This has been cited as one of the affronts that contributed to later Jewish revolts. True or not, this type of behavior did not endear him to a large part of the empire's population in the East. Important people around him in Rome ( the Praetorian Guard as example ) deemed his perceived instability as a threat. For a time he closed the public granaries, which helped him lose public support.

Conspiracies haunted him after his illness and the premature end to his reign left few with any mournful tears.

Answer 2

The reign of Caligula started well. He pursued good policies and was popular. However, it seems that he went insane as a result of an illness. He became extravagant. Some of his actions seemed those of a lunatic. He also became capable being cruel.

Answer 3

Caligula was considered a bad emperor because of his personal conduct. Some say he was mad. At any rate he was immature, an extremist, and had an ego as big as the empire. His extreme and seemingly erratic actions led to his assassination.

Answer 4

Caligula could be considered a bad emperor because he was never trained for the job. He was immature when he inherited the throne and did' not know how to use the power he gained. Like the proverbial kid in the candy shop, he went wild with all his power and wealth. Then, when the money was getting low, he taxed and confiscated property from the wealthy. The ancient writers seem to dwell upon his personal shortcomings rather than his actual rule, leaving us with the impression that Caligula was totally inept, rather than an immature, possibly emotionally disturbed young man.