Saint Caligula??!
is a brief timeline on AlternateHistory.com written by a user known as Geon.
As the Roman Emperor Caligula lies ill with a serious fever, many fear that he will die. When a palace servant who happens to be a Christian tells of a fellow Christian named Clement who can heal the Emperor's grave illness, Clement is summoned, and Caligula is healed. After long discussions with Clement about faith, Caligula comes to believe that his life was saved for some greater purpose and decides to convert to this strange new faith, regardless of what others may think.
Rome will never be the same.
This timeline contains examples of:
- The Good King: Caligula, post-conversion. He's sincerely concerned with the welfare of his people and in ensuring honest, ethical government.
- Historical Hero Upgrade: While it's debatable as to how true the most infamous stories about Caligula are, none of the surviving contemporary sources paint a particularly flattering picture of him. This timeline's version of Caligula, however, becomes a compassionate and dedicated ruler genuinely interested in improving the lives of his subjects following his recovery. This is actually a layered example; as the most famous sources on Caligula in this timeline are in-universe hagiographies, it's possible that these sources made him look better than he actually was.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: In-universe texts claim that Caligula was miraculously healed after Clement performed a laying on of hands, but this claim may not be entirely true. Another possibility is that Clement treated Caligula through more mundane means, or even that he just coincidentally recovered while Clement was visiting him.
