Upon recovering, Caligula had permanently lost his hair and apparently his mind. 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. Later that year he fell seriously ill, the cause of which is still debated. Caligula was something of a PR maestro and knew how to put himself over: holding endless games, burning Tiberius' "enemies list", and showering gold coins (actually his inheritance) onto his fans. The first six months of his reign were reportedly an easygoing time for the Romans. Whatever the case, Caligula was elevated to emperor once Tiberius died in AD 37. Depending on who's telling the story, Caligula either grew up watching Tiberius engage in all sorts of debaucheries and horrors that went on to shape him, or just watching his great uncle sink deeper into alcoholism. Caligula himself, wanting to stay out of the mess, spent the remainder of his youth with Tiberius in his island fortress on Capri, where he'd placed himself into self-imposed exile to get away from the machinations of Rome. In the ensuing mess, Caligula's mother and two brothers were imprisoned and/or exiled. Though Tiberius plead innocence (and some of Germanicus' final words were "tell Tiberius to avenge my death"), Caligula's mom, Agrippina, believed the Emperor had killed her husband and launched a campaign of PR terror against him. After Germanicus died in Roman Syria, it was suspected he had been poisoned, either by a jealous Tiberius, the Governor of Syria Gaius Calpurnius Piso, or both men working in conjunction (it's now generally assumed he died of malaria).
Caligula's great-uncle was Emperor Tiberius, while his nephew was the equally infamous Nero. His father was the general Germanicus, whose personal charisma and general ability to win the loyalties of civilians and soldiers (despite a complicated military command record) made him the de facto imperial heir. His actual name was Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus Caligula is a nickname, meaning "Little Boot" note no, not that one (or less literally "Bootsy"), that he got in his childhood, because, being a Military Brat, his mom liked to dress him up as a soldier. The infamous Roman emperor, reigned between AD 37 and AD 41. "Ita feri ut se mori sentiat." ("Strike so that he feels he is dying.")
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