Powell, author of Eager for Glory: The Untold Story of Drusus the Elder, Germanicus, and many other works in Roman ... later the Emperor Augustus (63 BC-AD 14), the adopted son of Julius Caesar, while ...

One of these was led by his great-uncle, Julius Caesar. Then Augustus got a lucky break. In 46 BC, Caesar won the civil war and was named dictator of Rome. To secure his position, he needed an heir.

The youngest son of the war hero, Germanicus, Gaius Caesar had grown up around soldiers and his nickname, Caligula, meaning "little boots," had stuck. As a child, Caligula had suffered enormously.