ABSTRACT
CALIGULA CAME FROM a line of celebrated military commanders. Both his father Germanicus and his grandfather Drusus had enjoyed enormous reputations as soldiers, probably in excess of their talents. His evident penchant for riding in a chariot dressed as a triumphator or Alexander the Great suggests that he himself was not immune to the attractions of military glory, and it was inevitable that he would feel the need to emulate his forbears.1 It was on Rome’s northern frontier that they had won their laurels; Caligula set his sights on the same part of the world, but aimed to achieve a feat of arms that would eclipse even theirs. He would take Rome’s imperium beyond the Ocean into Britain. In the process he would be the first emperor to lead his troops into battle since Augustus’ campaigns in Spain in 26-25 BC.
