1 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:23,732 [ominous music playing] 2 00:00:48,214 --> 00:00:49,382 [music intensifies] 3 00:00:55,305 --> 00:00:57,098 [grunting] 4 00:00:59,642 --> 00:01:00,894 [whimpers] 5 00:01:08,151 --> 00:01:09,319 What have you done? 6 00:01:10,737 --> 00:01:13,114 Did you really think I'd turn on my own brother? 7 00:01:20,789 --> 00:01:21,790 How could you? 8 00:01:23,875 --> 00:01:25,168 [Lepidus] What did she tell you? 9 00:01:25,877 --> 00:01:28,004 Did she tell you this was all her idea? 10 00:01:28,088 --> 00:01:30,090 -He's lying. -It's true. -She came to us-- -You shut your mouth! 11 00:01:33,718 --> 00:01:36,179 You know I'd never do anything to hurt you. 12 00:01:36,679 --> 00:01:37,847 Don't listen to her! 13 00:01:43,853 --> 00:01:45,146 Take them away. 14 00:01:55,198 --> 00:01:56,116 All of them. 15 00:01:58,535 --> 00:01:59,452 No! 16 00:01:59,536 --> 00:02:00,787 No, no, please! Please! They're lying! 17 00:02:02,622 --> 00:02:04,165 They're lying to you! 18 00:02:05,375 --> 00:02:06,751 [Agrippina] They're lying! 19 00:02:12,340 --> 00:02:14,342 [theme music playing] 20 00:03:50,355 --> 00:03:53,274 [narrator] Just two years into his reign as emperor of Rome, 21 00:03:54,150 --> 00:03:57,278 Caligula has eliminated nearly all of his allies. 22 00:03:59,239 --> 00:04:01,824 Now, he's suffered the worst betrayal of all, 23 00:04:04,494 --> 00:04:06,829 after learning of a plot to have him killed, 24 00:04:07,914 --> 00:04:09,958 led by his own sisters. 25 00:04:14,379 --> 00:04:19,133 [Amanda] The Plot of the Three Daggers was one of the most dangerous 26 00:04:19,217 --> 00:04:23,054 and important points in Caligula's reign. 27 00:04:24,347 --> 00:04:28,518 This is the first time, not that you have a conspiracy against Caligula, 28 00:04:28,601 --> 00:04:32,397 but that the conspiracy is led by his family, 29 00:04:32,939 --> 00:04:34,607 the people closest to him. 30 00:04:49,163 --> 00:04:50,665 Tell me what I need to know... 31 00:04:52,083 --> 00:04:54,168 and this will all be over. 32 00:04:55,878 --> 00:04:58,631 -I already told you. -You haven't told me anything. 33 00:04:58,715 --> 00:05:00,425 Who else knew? 34 00:05:00,508 --> 00:05:02,760 -No one. -Guards? Senators? 35 00:05:02,844 --> 00:05:03,970 I don't know! 36 00:05:06,347 --> 00:05:08,016 I don't want to have to hurt you. 37 00:05:10,351 --> 00:05:12,145 I only knew of Lepidus and Livilla. 38 00:05:12,228 --> 00:05:15,815 Once I heard what they were planning, I came straight to you. I swear. 39 00:05:21,738 --> 00:05:23,197 Who are you protecting? 40 00:05:26,951 --> 00:05:27,910 You. 41 00:05:29,245 --> 00:05:31,539 It's always been about protecting you. 42 00:05:38,755 --> 00:05:40,340 Are you going to kill me? 43 00:05:44,218 --> 00:05:46,763 I could never kill one of my own sisters. 44 00:05:53,227 --> 00:05:54,854 What are you going to do to me? 45 00:05:57,774 --> 00:05:59,025 [intense music playing] 46 00:06:01,652 --> 00:06:03,446 What are you going to do to me?! 47 00:06:07,825 --> 00:06:10,078 [gate shuts, locks] 48 00:06:23,383 --> 00:06:25,676 [narrator] Caligula has Lepidus executed... 49 00:06:31,015 --> 00:06:33,768 while his two sisters are sent into exile 50 00:06:34,143 --> 00:06:37,146 and shipped to a remote island in the Mediterranean. 51 00:06:38,272 --> 00:06:42,443 [Adrian] This was a way of showing his sisters that he was the boss, 52 00:06:42,527 --> 00:06:44,487 he was the emperor, he could do anything he wanted. 53 00:06:45,321 --> 00:06:48,825 This is exactly what had happened to his mother, 54 00:06:48,908 --> 00:06:53,246 and given that his mother had been killed when she was in exile, 55 00:06:53,329 --> 00:06:54,539 the presumption was 56 00:06:54,622 --> 00:06:59,460 that his sisters would know that this could, at any moment, happen to them 57 00:06:59,544 --> 00:07:02,171 and it was a way of torturing them. 58 00:07:16,436 --> 00:07:19,689 [narrator] As Caligula becomes more dangerous and unpredictable, 59 00:07:20,648 --> 00:07:23,693 members of his own palace have no way to control him... 60 00:07:25,027 --> 00:07:27,572 and live in fear of what he may do next. 61 00:07:33,453 --> 00:07:37,290 Caligula was, in many ways, becoming Tiberius. 62 00:07:37,957 --> 00:07:42,628 He found himself becoming now the monster he had feared throughout his childhood. 63 00:07:42,712 --> 00:07:46,215 The man who had killed his family, who had executed them, 64 00:07:46,299 --> 00:07:47,967 because they dared to oppose him. 65 00:07:48,050 --> 00:07:50,428 Caligula now found himself doing this on a daily basis 66 00:07:50,511 --> 00:07:53,931 in order to fill his coffers, in order to run the Roman state. 67 00:08:11,532 --> 00:08:13,284 [narrator] As his madness increases, 68 00:08:14,410 --> 00:08:17,914 Caligula lives a lifestyle more lavish and debauched 69 00:08:17,997 --> 00:08:19,081 than ever before. 70 00:08:23,461 --> 00:08:28,508 One can see that for a Roman emperor in a position of total power and authority 71 00:08:28,591 --> 00:08:30,760 it wasn't such a big step 72 00:08:30,885 --> 00:08:34,555 to do what you wanted to any pretty young thing 73 00:08:34,639 --> 00:08:36,307 that happened to come your way. 74 00:08:47,818 --> 00:08:50,279 [narrator] To make his power known throughout Rome, 75 00:08:51,364 --> 00:08:54,742 Caligula's extravagance reaches an all-time high. 76 00:09:00,540 --> 00:09:02,583 He expands his building projects... 77 00:09:05,628 --> 00:09:07,547 no longer building for the people, 78 00:09:09,674 --> 00:09:12,593 but instead, creating monuments of himself. 79 00:09:18,975 --> 00:09:22,228 [Adrian] Caligula needed to make sure that the people knew 80 00:09:22,311 --> 00:09:25,189 that he was all-powerful and can do anything. 81 00:09:25,273 --> 00:09:28,234 So he built bridges, he built temples. 82 00:09:28,317 --> 00:09:31,612 He was putting up statues to himself everywhere. 83 00:09:35,283 --> 00:09:39,537 [Barry Strauss] With Caligula, you have a monument builder, again. 84 00:09:40,162 --> 00:09:43,583 But he's building monuments to himself and to his own vanity. 85 00:09:44,417 --> 00:09:46,669 Caligula tried to become a god, 86 00:09:46,752 --> 00:09:49,130 to be worshiped as a god while still living. 87 00:09:51,841 --> 00:09:55,970 [narrator] But Caligula's excessive lifestyle doesn't come without a price. 88 00:09:59,974 --> 00:10:02,018 [Claudius] Are you sure these figures are accurate? 89 00:10:02,768 --> 00:10:04,270 Unfortunately, yes. 90 00:10:05,521 --> 00:10:07,523 There are no reserves? Nothing? 91 00:10:08,024 --> 00:10:09,775 The unforeseen expenditures, 92 00:10:09,859 --> 00:10:11,736 the amphitheaters, the games, the golden-- 93 00:10:11,819 --> 00:10:14,488 Why didn't you say something sooner? 94 00:10:15,197 --> 00:10:16,574 What would we have said? 95 00:10:17,742 --> 00:10:20,828 We're not in a position to question the emperor's judgment. 96 00:10:21,746 --> 00:10:23,914 The emperor spends money as the emperor pleases. 97 00:10:23,998 --> 00:10:25,249 It's always been that way. 98 00:10:26,917 --> 00:10:28,961 Then what am I supposed to do? 99 00:10:30,212 --> 00:10:31,714 You're the closest to him. 100 00:10:32,340 --> 00:10:33,674 Just rein him in. 101 00:10:35,009 --> 00:10:36,927 Something has to be done. 102 00:10:42,350 --> 00:10:44,393 [narrator] With Caligula hemorrhaging money, 103 00:10:44,852 --> 00:10:48,230 Claudius has one chance to get through to his nephew 104 00:10:49,023 --> 00:10:52,234 in order to save Rome from financial collapse. 105 00:10:53,527 --> 00:10:56,197 [Aaron] All of this now puts Claudius in the awkward position 106 00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:58,282 of representing the Senate. 107 00:10:59,492 --> 00:11:03,871 But now, also have to represent the whims of this insane person. 108 00:11:04,455 --> 00:11:07,375 He's in this position where he can't go to Caligula, 109 00:11:07,458 --> 00:11:10,586 look at Caligula and say, "You're insane, you can't do this" 110 00:11:10,670 --> 00:11:13,714 because everybody who's told Caligula he can't do something 111 00:11:14,090 --> 00:11:15,591 ends up in a bad way. 112 00:11:22,431 --> 00:11:25,518 [Claudius] I have just been in a meeting regarding the Empire's finances. 113 00:11:26,018 --> 00:11:27,937 We need to find some way to bridge the gap. 114 00:11:28,813 --> 00:11:30,272 What do you suggest? 115 00:11:31,732 --> 00:11:33,442 According to the treason laws, 116 00:11:33,943 --> 00:11:38,364 the property and fortune of anyone found guilty of treason is forfeited 117 00:11:38,447 --> 00:11:39,615 to the Empire. 118 00:11:42,034 --> 00:11:44,995 The senators are some of the wealthiest citizens of Rome. 119 00:11:46,706 --> 00:11:50,167 Perhaps there are some we still not trust. 120 00:11:52,253 --> 00:11:53,254 Perhaps. 121 00:11:55,756 --> 00:11:56,590 Done. 122 00:12:04,557 --> 00:12:07,309 [Aaron Irvin] Early in his reign, Caligula had suspended 123 00:12:07,518 --> 00:12:10,813 the treason laws as a way of increasing his own popularity. 124 00:12:11,230 --> 00:12:14,942 They hadn't been liked by the people, they hadn't been liked by the Senate. 125 00:12:15,025 --> 00:12:20,156 However, Caligula had spent over three billion sesterces 126 00:12:20,239 --> 00:12:21,657 in a little over a year. 127 00:12:21,741 --> 00:12:23,701 He needed to create income, 128 00:12:24,535 --> 00:12:29,457 and the fastest way to do that was to re-institute these treason laws. 129 00:12:40,134 --> 00:12:43,095 [Caligula] I look at your faces and do you know what I see? 130 00:12:44,221 --> 00:12:47,433 I do not see a single face I trust. 131 00:12:50,352 --> 00:12:51,479 And how could I? 132 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:54,482 Knowing how you've turned on each other. 133 00:12:56,734 --> 00:12:58,694 How you turned on my family. 134 00:13:04,033 --> 00:13:06,202 These are Tiberius'... 135 00:13:07,828 --> 00:13:08,746 records. 136 00:13:09,955 --> 00:13:11,499 His actual records. 137 00:13:11,624 --> 00:13:12,875 [senators murmuring] 138 00:13:13,793 --> 00:13:15,336 What I burned were copies. 139 00:13:20,257 --> 00:13:22,551 [Adrian Murdoch] When he'd taken the throne, 140 00:13:22,635 --> 00:13:25,554 Caligula had made a very public ploy 141 00:13:25,638 --> 00:13:27,932 of burning all of the scrolls 142 00:13:28,015 --> 00:13:31,644 that were the basis for Tiberius' hated treason trials. 143 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:38,526 But, of course, Caligula was a smart man. 144 00:13:38,609 --> 00:13:41,821 He only burnt them in public, he'd copied them privately, 145 00:13:41,904 --> 00:13:45,658 and now he knew what everybody had done, and what everybody was up to. 146 00:13:49,453 --> 00:13:51,664 I am reinstating the treason trials. 147 00:13:53,833 --> 00:13:56,585 Those of you who are innocent will have nothing to fear. 148 00:13:58,045 --> 00:13:59,547 But those who are guilty... 149 00:14:00,923 --> 00:14:03,008 Now is a time of reckoning. 150 00:14:07,763 --> 00:14:10,391 [narrator] Ten years after losing his mother and brothers 151 00:14:10,474 --> 00:14:12,601 to Tiberius' treason trials, 152 00:14:14,061 --> 00:14:18,065 Caligula has reinstated the very laws that sent them to their death. 153 00:14:21,944 --> 00:14:25,906 [Corey Brennan] One of the biggest U-turns in Caligula's reign is when he restored 154 00:14:25,990 --> 00:14:27,491 the treason laws of Tiberius. 155 00:14:28,075 --> 00:14:30,494 And this led to a veritable reign of terror. 156 00:14:33,914 --> 00:14:38,669 There is something brilliantly cynical about Caligula's policy. 157 00:14:40,004 --> 00:14:41,922 He realized that he needed money. 158 00:14:43,215 --> 00:14:45,050 So Caligula did the obvious thing. 159 00:14:45,134 --> 00:14:47,553 He went after the richest senators, 160 00:14:47,636 --> 00:14:49,638 and he confiscated their money. 161 00:14:58,647 --> 00:15:02,026 [Aaron] The treason laws were a way for Caligula to now strike back 162 00:15:02,109 --> 00:15:05,446 against an entrenched Senate that did not want to obey him. 163 00:15:17,875 --> 00:15:23,839 [Aaron] These treason laws stated that it was illegal for anyone to bring about 164 00:15:24,089 --> 00:15:26,467 a state where the majesty 165 00:15:26,550 --> 00:15:29,845 of the Roman people was in any way diminished. 166 00:15:34,016 --> 00:15:36,769 [Aaron Irvin] So not wearing your toga properly in public, 167 00:15:36,852 --> 00:15:39,188 driving around in an old chariot, 168 00:15:39,271 --> 00:15:41,315 not keeping up your estates... All of these could be potential reasons 169 00:15:43,859 --> 00:15:46,612 why you might be charged with treason and killed. 170 00:15:58,374 --> 00:16:00,960 [narrator] With the money he collects from the treason trials, 171 00:16:03,712 --> 00:16:07,091 Caligula is able to keep up his depraved lifestyle. 172 00:16:11,845 --> 00:16:12,680 Please! 173 00:16:12,763 --> 00:16:16,767 But it's the beginning of one of the deadliest purges in Roman history. 174 00:16:18,143 --> 00:16:19,103 Please! 175 00:16:24,692 --> 00:16:25,693 Please! 176 00:16:30,114 --> 00:16:32,741 It's very difficult to put a finger on precisely 177 00:16:32,825 --> 00:16:34,410 how many people would've been killed 178 00:16:34,493 --> 00:16:38,247 as a result of this reign of terror that came from these treason trials. 179 00:16:42,459 --> 00:16:44,920 [Corey Brennan] There were only 600 members of the Roman Senate. 180 00:16:45,170 --> 00:16:47,381 And they would've been the main target. 181 00:16:48,465 --> 00:16:53,887 But in terms of numbers of actual individuals killed 182 00:16:53,971 --> 00:16:57,266 as a result of Caligula's policies, 183 00:16:57,391 --> 00:16:59,727 I would say it's in the tens of thousands. 184 00:17:09,695 --> 00:17:10,571 [senator] I swear! 185 00:17:12,656 --> 00:17:13,574 [screams] 186 00:17:21,540 --> 00:17:25,169 [narrator] The treason trials leave many of Caligula's enemies dead, 187 00:17:25,919 --> 00:17:28,380 but they fail to pull Rome out of debt. 188 00:17:31,717 --> 00:17:35,054 And now, the emperor needs a new way to make money. 189 00:17:36,847 --> 00:17:41,185 Ultimately, the treason trials simply were not bringing him in enough funds. 190 00:17:42,019 --> 00:17:46,023 And so he began, very slowly, to pass new taxes 191 00:17:46,106 --> 00:17:49,485 which began to make him unpopular among the people... 192 00:17:50,235 --> 00:17:51,570 [crowd shouting] 193 00:17:53,197 --> 00:17:57,743 [Aaron Irvin] In part because there was no direct benefit for these taxes. 194 00:18:02,372 --> 00:18:03,791 Caligula was broke. 195 00:18:03,874 --> 00:18:07,795 He had spent everything that he had, and was trying to replenish the treasury 196 00:18:07,878 --> 00:18:10,422 so that he could simply run the Roman state. 197 00:18:12,382 --> 00:18:15,052 Caligula had always been popular among the people 198 00:18:15,135 --> 00:18:17,638 and he had relied on this popularity to operate. 199 00:18:17,721 --> 00:18:19,389 He had relied on this popularity 200 00:18:19,473 --> 00:18:22,392 to get away with everything that he had gotten away with. 201 00:18:25,062 --> 00:18:27,648 [narrator] Two years after becoming the "Emperor of the People," 202 00:18:28,941 --> 00:18:31,860 the Roman citizens have turned on their leader. 203 00:18:33,195 --> 00:18:35,405 [crowd clamoring] 204 00:18:36,824 --> 00:18:39,076 [Caligula] A city full of people who hate me. 205 00:18:41,286 --> 00:18:43,747 Even Caesar wasn't loved by everyone. 206 00:18:43,831 --> 00:18:45,833 But look at what he accomplished. 207 00:18:47,751 --> 00:18:49,294 What have I accomplished? 208 00:18:50,712 --> 00:18:51,755 Nothing. 209 00:18:53,048 --> 00:18:54,258 Nothing important. 210 00:18:56,093 --> 00:18:58,637 You knew my father better than anyone. 211 00:18:59,221 --> 00:19:00,472 What would he have done? 212 00:19:04,518 --> 00:19:06,979 He was always at war, your father. 213 00:19:09,523 --> 00:19:11,775 I don't know what he would have done in a time of peace. 214 00:19:16,155 --> 00:19:18,448 But I think he would have led by example. 215 00:19:19,658 --> 00:19:20,659 Decisively. 216 00:19:27,749 --> 00:19:31,003 Caligula, of course, was descended from a great Roman general, 217 00:19:31,086 --> 00:19:34,548 but he had no military victories, he had no campaigns of his own. 218 00:19:35,132 --> 00:19:39,678 And so the pressure was certainly there for Caligula to prove himself a worthy son 219 00:19:39,761 --> 00:19:44,641 of Germanicus, and that he was worthy of the position he had been thrust into. 220 00:19:47,019 --> 00:19:49,229 [narrator] To gain back the respect of the people, 221 00:19:50,022 --> 00:19:52,107 Caligula sets out to do something 222 00:19:52,191 --> 00:19:54,818 no Roman leader has ever done before. 223 00:20:23,722 --> 00:20:25,474 In 41 A.D., 224 00:20:26,433 --> 00:20:28,769 Caligula plans an invasion of Britain, 225 00:20:30,437 --> 00:20:33,815 hoping to prove himself as a great military commander. 226 00:20:35,025 --> 00:20:38,445 Caligula decided to invade Britain primarily because 227 00:20:38,528 --> 00:20:40,072 Caesar hadn't been able to. 228 00:20:40,197 --> 00:20:44,409 It was one of the few areas that were accessible to the Romans, 229 00:20:44,493 --> 00:20:48,205 where the Romans might meet with some military success. 230 00:20:56,922 --> 00:21:01,301 [Amanda] It would've been a huge win in terms of his popularity back in Rome 231 00:21:01,385 --> 00:21:04,471 to be able to do something not even the great Caesar could do. 232 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:07,808 And it would also help with the morale of the military. 233 00:21:08,350 --> 00:21:10,936 And this would've just been sort of the cherry on top 234 00:21:11,019 --> 00:21:13,772 in terms of how he could lead them to greatness. 235 00:21:24,992 --> 00:21:26,368 [Caligula] Caesar himself... 236 00:21:27,661 --> 00:21:29,496 once crossed the English Channel, 237 00:21:30,831 --> 00:21:33,792 and we will be picking up where he left off. 238 00:21:35,002 --> 00:21:38,088 We will conquer Britain. 239 00:21:44,052 --> 00:21:48,473 Caligula was the descendant of great military leaders, 240 00:21:48,557 --> 00:21:51,893 including his father, Germanicus, and his grandfather, Drusus. 241 00:21:51,977 --> 00:21:55,314 An invasion of Britain seemed almost like a birthright, 242 00:21:55,397 --> 00:21:58,525 and it seemed like the next and final frontier 243 00:21:58,608 --> 00:22:00,610 for the expansion of the Empire. 244 00:22:04,823 --> 00:22:07,075 [narrator] If the invasion is a success, Rome will have conquered new ground... 245 00:22:14,916 --> 00:22:18,337 and Caligula will once again be a hero to the people. 246 00:22:25,510 --> 00:22:27,512 [thunder rumbling] 247 00:22:37,230 --> 00:22:39,358 [centurion 1] I'd say a week, if we keep a strict pace. 248 00:22:40,067 --> 00:22:41,526 From there we'll march north. 249 00:22:42,361 --> 00:22:43,403 Will we set up camp? 250 00:22:43,487 --> 00:22:45,364 No, I want to keep moving. 251 00:22:45,906 --> 00:22:48,200 [centurion 2] Will we not wait for the rest of the legions? 252 00:22:49,826 --> 00:22:51,912 Our ships can only take a quarter of the men. 253 00:22:51,995 --> 00:22:53,705 We'll have to make multiple trips. 254 00:22:54,623 --> 00:22:55,624 We'll press forward. 255 00:22:58,668 --> 00:23:01,922 [Aaron Irvin] Caligula's preparations for the invasion of Britain 256 00:23:02,005 --> 00:23:07,552 are oftentimes presented as the result of Caligula's insanity. 257 00:23:08,053 --> 00:23:11,973 This was a real campaign that was intended to happen. 258 00:23:12,724 --> 00:23:16,478 But the generals, the officers, the soldiers themselves 259 00:23:16,561 --> 00:23:20,065 did not trust his judgment, they did not trust his plan. 260 00:23:22,025 --> 00:23:23,527 [narrator] To get to Britain, 261 00:23:24,361 --> 00:23:28,490 Caligula and his men have to travel over a thousand miles across Europe, 262 00:23:30,409 --> 00:23:32,953 then over the rough waters of the English Channel. 263 00:23:36,039 --> 00:23:38,500 The invasion is planned for the early winter, 264 00:23:39,626 --> 00:23:43,422 a time of year when crossing the Channel is extremely dangerous. 265 00:23:45,215 --> 00:23:47,134 Even if they survive the journey, 266 00:23:48,135 --> 00:23:51,888 they'll be met by a ten-mile stretch of cliffs along the coast 267 00:23:52,347 --> 00:23:55,016 that stand over 300 feet tall. 268 00:23:59,646 --> 00:24:02,107 [Adrian Murdoch] Roman ships were not seafaring vessels. 269 00:24:02,941 --> 00:24:04,192 They were coastal. 270 00:24:04,276 --> 00:24:05,360 They were river. 271 00:24:05,444 --> 00:24:07,654 They weren't going to go into the open water. 272 00:24:08,488 --> 00:24:13,285 And the idea of going across the Channel scared the hell out of the Roman soldiers. 273 00:24:22,752 --> 00:24:24,754 Why are the men sitting around? 274 00:24:25,213 --> 00:24:28,758 This is the wrong time of year to attempt a crossing. The men know it. 275 00:24:28,842 --> 00:24:32,345 If I tell them to swim to Britain, that is what they will do! 276 00:24:32,429 --> 00:24:34,681 The men are hungry, they're tired. 277 00:24:35,140 --> 00:24:36,641 [Caligula] What would you have me do? 278 00:24:37,309 --> 00:24:38,351 Go home? 279 00:24:38,727 --> 00:24:41,104 Return to Rome empty-handed? With nothing? 280 00:24:43,148 --> 00:24:45,901 Gather the men of the First and the Twentieth Legions. 281 00:24:47,486 --> 00:24:49,404 [Caligula] I want you to decimate them. 282 00:24:50,530 --> 00:24:53,408 Once we've thinned the ranks, the rest will fall in line. 283 00:24:56,161 --> 00:24:57,078 Leave us. 284 00:25:00,248 --> 00:25:02,501 I did not make you consul to turn on me. 285 00:25:03,084 --> 00:25:05,295 No, you made me consul because you trust me. 286 00:25:06,755 --> 00:25:08,798 These men will not butcher each other. 287 00:25:08,882 --> 00:25:12,385 If you issue an order like that, we will have an open revolt on our hands. 288 00:25:15,639 --> 00:25:16,765 They will kill you. 289 00:25:16,848 --> 00:25:18,558 They will kill us all. 290 00:25:19,434 --> 00:25:22,062 If your father were here, he would tell you the same. 291 00:25:22,938 --> 00:25:25,524 Continue this and you lose your army. 292 00:25:28,860 --> 00:25:30,820 [Adrian Murdoch] Caligula was facing a mutiny. 293 00:25:30,904 --> 00:25:34,699 The soldiers refused point-blank to get on ships and go across to Britain. 294 00:25:35,242 --> 00:25:38,286 It's very difficult to understand 295 00:25:38,370 --> 00:25:42,499 how strange Britain seemed to the average Roman soldier. 296 00:25:42,582 --> 00:25:44,668 There were stories of dangerous people, 297 00:25:44,751 --> 00:25:48,004 and all of these things happening on these curious islands 298 00:25:48,088 --> 00:25:49,214 beyond the edge of the world. 299 00:25:49,297 --> 00:25:51,508 Roman soldiers didn't want to have anything to do with it. 300 00:25:54,302 --> 00:25:56,930 [thunderclap] 301 00:26:04,479 --> 00:26:05,313 Him. 302 00:26:05,981 --> 00:26:09,985 [narrator] Caligula's invasion is over before it even begins. 303 00:26:10,735 --> 00:26:14,197 But he's desperate to return to Rome as a hero. 304 00:26:14,614 --> 00:26:15,574 No. 305 00:26:17,033 --> 00:26:18,451 [Caligula] Yes. Yes. 306 00:26:18,535 --> 00:26:22,247 [Aaron Irvin] Caligula would have been humiliated 307 00:26:22,330 --> 00:26:24,374 had he returned after all of this preparation, 308 00:26:24,457 --> 00:26:26,334 after marching his army all of this distance, 309 00:26:26,418 --> 00:26:28,545 if he simply returned without any campaign. 310 00:26:28,753 --> 00:26:29,588 Him. 311 00:26:32,549 --> 00:26:33,383 [Caligula] No. 312 00:26:49,899 --> 00:26:52,652 [Aaron] Caligula goes through his own army and he picks out soldiers 313 00:26:52,736 --> 00:26:54,821 that look suitably British, 314 00:26:56,823 --> 00:26:59,659 puts them in a state where they look bedraggled 315 00:26:59,743 --> 00:27:02,329 and they look like they might be suitably barbarian 316 00:27:02,412 --> 00:27:04,414 enough to pass as prisoners... 317 00:27:08,835 --> 00:27:12,172 and then parades them back in the city of Rome. 318 00:27:12,422 --> 00:27:14,424 [crowd clamoring] 319 00:27:15,967 --> 00:27:17,427 [crowd cheering] 320 00:27:34,694 --> 00:27:37,238 [narrator] Caligula's ploy is convincing to some, 321 00:27:37,947 --> 00:27:40,033 but not everyone is fooled. 322 00:27:42,619 --> 00:27:47,040 And the Senate decides they've had enough of the emperor's erratic behavior. 323 00:27:48,958 --> 00:27:54,631 Caligula has become the quintessential insane ruler, 324 00:27:54,714 --> 00:27:59,594 the insane emperor who is absolutely unfit for power, 325 00:27:59,678 --> 00:28:03,181 who is paranoid, who executes friends and enemies alike, 326 00:28:03,556 --> 00:28:07,519 who is completely unpredictable and unhinged. 327 00:28:12,107 --> 00:28:13,733 [bell tolling] 328 00:28:13,983 --> 00:28:17,320 This Imperial system is flawed. 329 00:28:18,822 --> 00:28:22,242 Well, every system of government has its flaws. He's paraded his own troops through the streets, 330 00:28:25,870 --> 00:28:27,956 dressed up as prisoners of war. 331 00:28:30,333 --> 00:28:34,379 The emperor must be convinced to step down and hand power over to the Senate. 332 00:28:36,256 --> 00:28:37,132 I know him. 333 00:28:37,924 --> 00:28:39,342 He will not be persuaded. 334 00:28:41,553 --> 00:28:45,223 Then he must be relieved of his duty. 335 00:28:49,144 --> 00:28:51,146 We've suffered enough of these emperors. 336 00:28:51,730 --> 00:28:52,647 No more. 337 00:28:53,565 --> 00:28:55,400 You get the emperor alone. 338 00:28:57,152 --> 00:28:58,570 We'll take care of the rest. 339 00:29:03,366 --> 00:29:04,325 [sighs] 340 00:29:04,409 --> 00:29:07,704 [Anthony Everitt] These were wealthy, well-known men 341 00:29:07,787 --> 00:29:10,832 who were having a bad time with these treason trials. 342 00:29:11,416 --> 00:29:13,835 They were also scared for their lives, 343 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:18,047 and they joined conspiracies because they couldn't think of any way 344 00:29:18,131 --> 00:29:19,883 of handling the emperor. 345 00:29:19,966 --> 00:29:23,261 To get rid of him permanently was the only way in which they could see 346 00:29:23,344 --> 00:29:25,805 a future for themselves, because he was a young man, 347 00:29:25,889 --> 00:29:28,391 and he could've been emperor for half a century. 348 00:29:30,643 --> 00:29:33,730 [narrator] Claudius knows that Caligula is losing control. 349 00:29:34,355 --> 00:29:36,316 Now he has to make a decision. 350 00:29:37,609 --> 00:29:41,154 Side with the Senate, or turn on his own family. 351 00:29:52,832 --> 00:29:54,417 To plot his next move, 352 00:29:55,168 --> 00:29:57,086 Claudius meets in secret 353 00:29:57,837 --> 00:30:00,799 with the one man in charge of protecting Caligula. 354 00:30:02,300 --> 00:30:03,384 Cassius. 355 00:30:10,391 --> 00:30:13,311 The Senate wishes to return Rome to a republic. 356 00:30:14,312 --> 00:30:15,230 How? 357 00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:18,650 How do you think? 358 00:30:20,318 --> 00:30:21,402 They told you this? 359 00:30:23,154 --> 00:30:24,656 The implication was clear. 360 00:30:26,449 --> 00:30:28,284 They wanted me to approach you. 361 00:30:29,452 --> 00:30:33,122 They know they cannot get to Caligula without the help of his personal guard. 362 00:30:56,938 --> 00:30:59,607 [narrator] On January 24th, 41 A.D., 363 00:31:02,318 --> 00:31:05,363 Caligula is scheduled to attend Roman games 364 00:31:05,446 --> 00:31:07,282 with thousands of his own citizens. 365 00:31:10,827 --> 00:31:11,870 And for the Senate, 366 00:31:13,121 --> 00:31:15,290 it's the perfect opportunity 367 00:31:15,748 --> 00:31:18,126 to finally remove him from power. 368 00:31:32,015 --> 00:31:35,268 The Senate realized they needed time to do it 369 00:31:35,351 --> 00:31:39,814 when Caligula was completely on his own and not expecting it. 370 00:31:39,898 --> 00:31:43,526 Caligula was known throughout his life to be a fan of the games. 371 00:31:43,610 --> 00:31:46,613 But there were various underground passages found 372 00:31:46,696 --> 00:31:49,949 between the circuses and the Imperial palaces. I think that the notion was to kill Caligula 373 00:32:11,930 --> 00:32:14,807 in a place where an escape could actually be made. 374 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:18,978 [Corey Brennan] When he was exiting, after day six of these games. 375 00:32:20,813 --> 00:32:22,440 [crowd cheering] 376 00:32:25,151 --> 00:32:26,653 [crowd shouting] 377 00:33:25,211 --> 00:33:26,087 Cassius! 378 00:33:37,849 --> 00:33:40,560 [Caligula groans, coughs] 379 00:34:06,794 --> 00:34:09,005 I swear my allegiance before the gods 380 00:34:09,589 --> 00:34:12,800 that I will protect and defend my emperor against all enemies. 381 00:34:14,260 --> 00:34:16,471 [Cassius] If I should fail to honor my oath, 382 00:34:18,306 --> 00:34:21,100 I welcome the destruction of my body and soul. 383 00:34:22,143 --> 00:34:26,522 I pledge to be loyal to my emperor all through my life, 384 00:34:27,148 --> 00:34:29,025 both in word and deed, 385 00:34:30,151 --> 00:34:32,612 from this day until my last. 386 00:34:37,742 --> 00:34:39,243 May your reign be long. 387 00:34:50,421 --> 00:34:53,049 [Aaron Irvin] The Senate underestimates Claudius, 388 00:34:53,591 --> 00:34:56,344 and Claudius takes advantage of the situation, 389 00:34:56,844 --> 00:35:00,973 utilizes the guard to his interest and becomes the next emperor. 390 00:35:18,991 --> 00:35:20,368 [Adrian] Reading between the lines, 391 00:35:20,451 --> 00:35:23,663 it's clear to see that the accession of Claudius 392 00:35:23,746 --> 00:35:25,289 is very well-planned. 393 00:35:25,915 --> 00:35:30,711 This was the Praetorian Guard, wanting to do a shift of emperor 394 00:35:30,795 --> 00:35:34,173 in the same way that they had done with Tiberius. 395 00:35:34,674 --> 00:35:36,801 I'm sure they would've thought, "He's simple, 396 00:35:36,884 --> 00:35:39,095 he will do exactly what we tell him to do." 397 00:35:39,178 --> 00:35:40,638 But it didn't work that way. 398 00:35:40,721 --> 00:35:44,934 Claudius was a much cleverer and cannier political operative 399 00:35:45,017 --> 00:35:46,519 than anyone give him credit for. 400 00:35:48,813 --> 00:35:52,233 [narrator] Claudius will be emperor for the next 13 years, 401 00:35:52,650 --> 00:35:56,904 making him one of the longest ruling leaders of the Roman Empire. 402 00:36:01,117 --> 00:36:05,037 [Aaron Irvin] Claudius was far and away one of Rome's most effective emperors 403 00:36:05,121 --> 00:36:09,709 and did the most to ensure the continuation of the Roman state. 404 00:36:10,501 --> 00:36:13,671 Claudius might not have ever really been popular or well-liked, 405 00:36:14,755 --> 00:36:17,550 but the one thing that cannot be said about Claudius 406 00:36:17,633 --> 00:36:19,343 was that he was ever incompetent. 407 00:36:31,355 --> 00:36:33,774 [Amanda Ruggeri] We tend to remember Caligula today 408 00:36:33,858 --> 00:36:39,864 as this completely mad, insane, horrific tyrant. 409 00:36:40,740 --> 00:36:43,701 I think there's a grain of truth in some of the rumors. 410 00:36:44,493 --> 00:36:47,038 I also think once you contextualize 411 00:36:47,121 --> 00:36:49,832 the situation that he found himself in, 412 00:36:49,916 --> 00:36:53,252 a lot of those behaviors start to make a little bit more sense. 413 00:36:56,839 --> 00:36:59,508 [Adrian Murdoch] The reputation that Caligula has 414 00:36:59,592 --> 00:37:02,053 has been fairly consistent throughout history. 415 00:37:02,136 --> 00:37:05,097 He was the boogeyman of Roman emperors. 416 00:37:05,348 --> 00:37:10,311 It's not been until 1970s, 1980s, that people started to look at Caligula 417 00:37:10,394 --> 00:37:12,021 in a slightly different light. 418 00:37:12,772 --> 00:37:17,276 This was a young boy who'd had a horrendous family background. 419 00:37:21,155 --> 00:37:22,740 [coughing, groaning] 420 00:37:25,618 --> 00:37:27,578 I think, over the years, 421 00:37:27,662 --> 00:37:30,039 as we understand more about Roman society, 422 00:37:30,122 --> 00:37:33,334 there is a degree to which Caligula becomes understandable. 423 00:37:34,126 --> 00:37:37,755 Having lost his father, having lost his mother and brothers, 424 00:37:37,838 --> 00:37:39,966 having been held in protective custody, 425 00:37:40,049 --> 00:37:43,719 and then having been subjugated to the whims of the man who is responsible 426 00:37:43,844 --> 00:37:46,180 for all of the pain that he had gone through. 427 00:37:49,225 --> 00:37:53,312 There's a degree to which we can begin to unravel, 428 00:37:53,396 --> 00:37:56,107 that there is perhaps a method behind the madness, 429 00:37:56,190 --> 00:37:59,026 that there is something that he was trying to accomplish. 430 00:38:00,528 --> 00:38:02,363 I think you could certainly make the argument 431 00:38:02,446 --> 00:38:04,699 that Caligula is very much a tragic figure. 432 00:38:05,199 --> 00:38:06,033 Leave! 433 00:38:06,117 --> 00:38:09,453 [Aaron Irvin] He was so crazy, he was so over the top. 434 00:38:11,330 --> 00:38:13,874 And we see this model of Caligula. 435 00:38:13,958 --> 00:38:17,295 Even later, monarchs are compared to him. 436 00:38:18,254 --> 00:38:21,340 Not just in Roman history, but in world history.