History Main / TheCaligula

* In ''DragonAge: The Stolen Throne'', the Orlesian usurper Meghren, who is given control of Ferelden by TheEmperor, really ''hates'' being stuck in this "backwater" part of the Orlesian Empire. As such, he forces the Ferelden nobles to go out of their way to please him... and then randomly executes a few just for kicks. He doesn't care about ruling the land and only wants to get back into the Emperor's good graces so that he will be allowed to return to the Orlesian capital.

* Light Yagami, a.k.a. [[SerialKiller Kira]], of "{{Death Note}}" certainly qualifies in the later part of the show, as his reign is based strictly on his personal [[BlackAndWhiteInsanity idea of justice]], not to mention that his [[AGodAmI god complex]] consistently gets in the way of his judgment. Those who disagree or stand in the way have about forty seconds to live.

** One, Selim II, was ''so'' well known for killing members of his court, often without reason, that a popular Turkish curse of the time was "May you become Grand Vizier to Sultan Selim!"

** The First Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huangdi, and most of his worse excesses came about only after many years of self-inflicted, systemic mercury poisoning (long believed to be a key ingredient in alchemy for the Elixir of Life) though he was hardly nice before. The man was an all-powerful leader who was first to rule all of known China with an iron fist. Being a legalist, he imposed laws that meant AllCrimesAreEqual, burned books that didn't agree with his philosophy, up to and including Confucian books to the point that he almost single-handedly caused the eradication of Confucianism [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming were it not for a secretive and resourceful peasant who hid the rest of the books in a secret wall in his home (and later revealed by fellow believers during the Han Dynasty, which subsequently became their new religion)]], and on at least one occasion buried some scholars alive for obliquely insulting him. He also used peasant labor for extravagant projects such as building his own tomb, spiffying up the capital city, and building what would become the Great Wall. Then when he died he had his ministers and concubines buried alive with him.

* SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker is presented this way in quite a few ''{{Batman}}'' media.

* Nero appears in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'', where Garfield tells the story of the cat who invented lasagna. In the story, Nero is depicted as a VillainousGlutton who imprisons (or in some cases, executes) bad chefs. When the cat's owner (the cat and the owner being [[{{Expy}}Expys]] of Garfield and Jon) is thrown in prison, the cat appeals to the Emperor's appetite, claiming Jon is an excellent chef (even though he isn't) which persuades the Emperor to give him a chance. The cat's idea is that [[NotSoDifferent cats and emperors are very much alike]], lazy, greedy people who like to be waited on, so he figured the Emperor would like what ''he'' likes, and directs his owner to make what is eventually called lasagna. It works; the Emperor loves it, and pardons the man.

The Caligula will be wildly irrational, [[MoodSwinger violently moody]], very intolerant of being told anything he doesn't want to hear, and probably afflicted with a [[AGodAmI god complex]]. He may be a sexual deviant, or he might take pleasure in the pain and suffering he causes. He may indulge in [[{{Egopolis}} renaming cities or even the entire country after himself]]. Whatever form his madness takes, one thing is certain, to do anything the Caligula finds displeasing is to inevitably be dragged off to a grisly death or [[FateWorseThanDeath worse]]. Of course, this could also happen to those who have not done anything at all.

And while all of this is going on, the land over which the Caligula rules is rapidly going down the drain due to his neglect. At best, he may be a GloryHound and thus has an advantage over most: he can start wars.

* ''ASongOfIceAndFire'' gives us both King Aerys II "The Mad" Targaryen and King Joffrey Baratheon (who knew a 13-year-old could be that psychotic?). The former was the worst King that Westeros ever had, and a powerful 300-year old dynasty was overthrown because of his insane actions. Bonus points for being killed by his bodyguard. The latter's reckless, childish cruelty and love of ordering executions resulted in a continent-wide civil war.

* ''ASongOfIceAndFire'' gives us both King Aerys II "The Mad" Targaryen and King Joffrey Baratheon (who knew a 13-year-old could be that psychotic?). The former was the worst King that Westeros ever had, and a powerful 300-year old dynasty was overthrown because of his insane actions. The latter's reckless, childish cruelty and love of ordering executions resulted in a continent-wide civil war.

[[caption-width-right:350:Lyre, lyre, Rome's on fire! ]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Lyre, lyre, Rome's on fire![[*hottip: Actually, that's Nero. Although it's probably not a true story.]] ]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Lyre, lyre, Rome's on fire![[PotHole Actually, that's Nero. Although the story probably wasn't true.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Lyre, lyre, Rome's on fire![[*hottip: Actually, that's Nero. Although the story probably wasn't true.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Lyre, lyre, Rome's on fire!]]

The Caligula will be wildly irrational, [[MoodSwinger violently moody]], very intolerant of being told anything he doesn't want to hear, and probably afflicted with a [[AGodAmI god complex]]. He may be a sexual deviant, or he might take pleasure in the pain and suffering he causes. He may indulge in [[{{Egopolis}} renaming cities or even the entire country after himself]]. To do anything the Caligula finds displeasing is to inevitably be dragged off to a grisly death or [[FateWorseThanDeath worse]]. Of course, this could also happen to those who have not done anything at all. Due to their continuing close proximity to the Caligula, members of the Court ([[DeadlyDecadentCourt decadent]] or [[StandardRoyalCourt otherwise]]) will be the primary targets of his fits of rage. Nobody within his reach is safe from him, whether they be nobles, servants, bureaucrats, foreign ambassadors, or even members of his own family. The Caligula is very definitely a BadBoss. With any luck, thanks to TheStarscream[=/=]ReliableTraitor[=/=]LaResistance, a conspiracy will eventually develop to remove the crazy sovereign from his post... permanently.

And while all of this is going on, the land over which the Caligula rules is rapidly going down the drain due to his neglect. At best. If he's a GloryHound, he has an advantage over most: he can start wars.

See RoyallyScrewedUp for when this type of character becomes a recurring family problem. Also see PresidentEvil for when this guy is actually ''voted into office''.

Named for what is probably history's best known whack-job, [[TheRomanEmpire Roman]] [[TheEmperor emperor]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus]], better known as [[EmperorCaligula Caligula]] (''Little Boots'', his childhood nickname), a reference to the child-sized "caliga" warrior's sandals he wore as a small child when his father took him to watch a war; remembered for talking to statues, locking granaries, declaring war on Poseidon (and "winning" and commanding his soldiers to collect seashells as war-prizes), [[CaligulasHorse making his horse a consul]], and [[BreadEggsMilkSquick boning his sisters]].

Contrast TheWonka, another type of mad authority figure whose madness makes him more competent as opposed to more destructive. Also contrast with PsychoSupporter, who has the same personality traits but is usually on the opposite end of the authority hierarchy. And remember that insanity within a ruler does not alone make him this trope; his madness must make him a menace, or at least a great annoyance, to the majority of the people he rules.

So what does it take to be the TropeNamer for insane royalty? The EmperorCaligula page has the details.

* Astrabolo in ''StationeryVoyagers''. There is no dog ([[AndYourLittleDogToo or its cousin]]) he won't [[KickTheDog kick]].

** Then there's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elagabalus Elagabalus]], a sex-crazed {{transvestite}} (and possibly {{transsexual}}) who became emperor at fourteen and was reported to have prostituted himself. He also allegedly held parties where guests were showered in rose petals until they suffocated, and was looking for a surgeon who could create a vagina ''somewhere'' on him. He was also apparently a tremendous glutton who would eat an ''entire'' lamb in one sitting. Then again, like with Caligula, these may have been rumors blown out of proportion by later historians.

** Elagabalus (also called Heliogabalus) married a statue of the goddess Athena, a Vestal Virgin, and two men. His [[http://web.archive.org/web/20071104203157/http://members.aol.com/heliogabby/private/hglib.htm biographies make for great reading]].

* Enver Hoxha, communist dictator of Albania. After Albania's liberation from UsefulNotes/FascistItaly in 1944, Hoxha came to power. He soon went on a Stalinist campaign of repression and murder. Paranoid of a Yugoslavian invasion, he ordered the construction of 750,000 bunkers... even though Albania only had a population of 3 million. His SecretPolice, the sigurimi, were brutal and ubiquitous. Declaring Albania an atheist country, he closed all churches and mosques and arrested all clerics. He also added his own individual, quixotic touches, banning beards, private car ownership, and color television. His propaganda proclaimed him to be the greatest Albanian of all time.