According to a leading historian, one execution stands out above all others in the annals of history for its sheer brutality: the bloody end of the Roman Emperor Caligula.
Alexander Meddings, who has spent years studying history's most violent deaths, points to the events of 24 January, 41 AD as uniquely horrifying. The emperor was assassinated by his own protectors during the Palatine Games, beneath a theatre, in a plot that also claimed the lives of his wife and infant daughter.
The Two Versions of an Assassination
Meddings explains that the historical account by Suetonius presents two variations of Caligula's demise, both culminating in the same gruesome mutilation. In the first version, the Praetorian Prefect Cassius Chaerea sneaked up behind the emperor as he spoke to a troupe of Asian performers.
Chaerea reportedly shouted "take this!"—a phrase used in sacrificial rites—before slashing Caligula's neck. Simultaneously, the tribune Cornelius Sabinus stabbed him from the front.
A Theatrical and Savage Finale
The second version described by Meddings is even more theatrical. Sabinus allegedly asked Caligula for the day's military password. The emperor replied, "Jupiter!". Seizing on this, Chaerea cried out "let it be so" and swung his sword, splitting open the emperor's jaw.
Suetonius records that Caligula, writhing on the floor with a shattered jaw, managed to cry out that he was still alive. The conspirators then finished him off with a flurry of stab wounds. The brutal finale, consistent across all tales, was the severance of Caligula's genitals.
The Aftermath and a Sinister Precedent
The violence did not end with the emperor. The conspirators went on to murder Caligula's wife, Caesonia, and his young daughter, Julia Drusilla. They justified killing the child by claiming she had inherited her father's violent nature.
Many at the time believed Caligula's fate was deserved, particularly given the suspected circumstances of his predecessor's death. The previous emperor, Tiberius, died at an advanced age, but rumours persisted that Caligula had gradually poisoned him or even ordered him to be suffocated with a pillow to seize power.
