All language subtitles for 01. THE RIGHTFUL HEIR

In 39 A.D.,

Caligula is one of
the most powerful men in the world.

But he will come to be known...

...as Rome's mad emperor.

In just over a century,
the Roman Empire has doubled in size.

Now stretching nearly
two million square miles...

...from the Atlantic Ocean to Egypt.

The city of Rome
is rapidly expanding,

Rome was an enormous city,

even by the standards of today.

And there was a sense in which...

...infrastructure had been key to its growth,
right from the very beginning.

And the engineering feat was...

...indeed formidable.

Roadways now connect Rome
to places like Northern Africa,

modern-day France, and Spain.

And advancements in design,
like aqueducts...

...sewer systems...

...and amphitheaters...

...have turned Rome
into one of the most...

...advanced civilizations
on the planet.

Rome was as powerful
as it had ever been,

and was continuing
to grow in power.

They were at the zenith
of their power.

So...

...when it came to its position...

...relative to other foreign powers,
Rome was the biggest power in the world.

Rome's rise to global dominance...

...is in part thanks to
its powerful military,

made up of nearly 300,000 soldiers.

The Roman military dominated
the Western world.

There was nothing to match
the Roman military.

The Roman army has been waging
a war against barbarians in Germania,

hoping to keep
their borders secure.

Rome has spent years and years
fighting on the German frontier,

to ensure that the German tribes were
not able to come and march into Gaul...

...or into other parts of the Empire.

So it's a very big operation.

Here, take this.

Hold it high and strong.

Feet apart.

On the sidelines
of the battlefield...

One, two...

...a young Caligula is growing up.

For the first years of his life,

Caligula was
pretty much on the road,

going from military camp
to military camp.

His playground was, effectively,
the most violent arena of war.

Caligula is brought up in a household
of great privilege, great expectations,

because he was the son
of a great general.

And not only was his father
a great general,

a man of honor, but he was the nephew
of the ruling emperor of Rome.

Caligula's father is the most
beloved leader in the Roman army,

and next in line
to become emperor of Rome.

His name is Germanicus.

How many men to a cohort?

Four hundred eighty.

How many to a legion?

One thousand.

Five thousand.

Led by?

Six tribunes...

Germanicus was
a blue-blooded Roman prince.

The guy was handsome,
he was charming,

he was well-educated.

He was, at the time,
the most respected general in Rome.

So Caligula as a child
would have been growing up...

...as the son of this
incredibly popular guy,

and he is traveling around
with his father...

...all throughout
his young childhood.

Are you tired, or should we
move onto weapons?

Weapons.

- Javelins are made of...
- Wood and iron.

- Short swords?
- Steel.

Germanicus trains Caligula
to be a great warrior,

forming a close bond
between father and son,

but that's all about to change.

While Germanicus
protects Rome's borders,

nearly a thousand miles away,

the reigning emperor, Tiberius,
works to protect his legacy.

Tiberius was not
a natural politician.

Anything but.

He was charmless in many ways,

he had many enemies,

he clashed with the Senate.

He ended up leading the trial
and execution of numerous senators.

Under Tiberius, Rome underwent
a reign of terror.

Tiberius is only the second emperor
Rome has ever had,

but he spends much of his reign
in the shadow of his predecessor.

The previous emperor, Augustus,

was the greatest emperor
that Rome ever had.

He managed to do the impossible.

He brought Rome together,

he brought the provinces together,

but on the other hand, the emperor Tiberius
was the emperor of austerity.

There was none of
the glamour of Augustus,

he didn't want to
push the Empire forward.

Caligula's father, Germanicus,

may be next in line
to be emperor of Rome...

...but Tiberius wants to pass on
the throne to his son.

So he makes a move
to take out Germanicus.

Guards!

Don't touch him.

What happened?

Caligula is only seven years old...

...when his father dies suddenly,

leaving him, his two brothers,
and three sisters without a father.

And the Roman Empire...

...with no designated
successor to the throne.

Germanicus, Caligula's father,
was very, very popular,

and he's often regarded as the greatest
emperor that Rome never had.

When Caligula's father died,
life became a lot less comfortable.

It doesn't take a professional
psychologist to realize...

...quite what a damaged boy
Caligula must have been.

After his sudden death,

the family of Germanicus
is convinced that he was poisoned.

His wife, Agrippina, was enraged,

and she was convinced that
the emperor had assassinated...

...her much-loved husband,
and she wouldn't keep quiet.

Caligula's mother was a master
of mobilizing public opinion.

One of the things
that she did was...

...she worked Rome into hysteria...

...after the alleged murder
of her husband, Germanicus.

And, in fact, she was viewed
as very dangerous.

With Agrippina spreading word
that Germanicus has been murdered,

the people of Rome begin
to turn on their emperor.

I've already paid off servants
in their household.

They'll testify they heard
the sons commit treason.

Once the Senate finds them guilty...

We'll have them executed.

Imprisoned...

...is what I was going to suggest.

It'll lessen suspicion,
and as their uncle you'll appear merciful.

Shall I move forward?

Yes.

Fearing a revolt,

Tiberius knows he has no choice...

...but to keep Agrippina quiet.

Tiberius felt threatened
by Germanicus' family,

who was regarded
as the better heirs...

...to the throne than the family
of Tiberius himself.

And Agrippina gained pity over
their family for his premature death.

Run! Run!

There's a third son.

Find him.

He's not here.

Where is he?

Take her, too.

Caligula's mother
and older brothers...

...are rounded up by imperial guards,

and subjected to one of Tiberius'
most infamous policies:

the treason trials.

If you had to put your finger
on just one aspect of Tiberius' reign...

...which made him more unpopular
than any other one,

it was the treason trials,
which was anyone who criticized the emperor,

even verbal insults, not diminishing
the state or treason to the state,

but just any criticism of the emperor
was punishable in a court of law.

This is how Caligula's
entire family was eliminated.

Caligula's mother
was sent into exile,

his older brother was imprisoned
and his other brother was executed.

All because, essentially, they are seen
as potential threats to Tiberius.

Caligula and his three
younger sisters...

...are sent to live
with their grandmother,

under the close watch
of Tiberius' soldiers,

never sure when the emperor
will decide to eliminate them.

It's hard to work out quite what
a difficult childhood Caligula must've had.

In one sense, he was
a marked man at every stage.

His father was dead,

he was being kept effectively
under house arrest in Rome.

So he will have grown up
his entire life thinking,

"At midnight, there could be
a knock on the door,

and someone with
a knife could kill me."

As he grows into a young man,

Caligula manages to keep
his distance from Tiberius.

But an unexpected death...

...is about to bring him
face-to-face with the emperor.

In 23 A.D.,

Drusus, Tiberius' son,

dies suddenly, at the age of 35.

Drusus was the next in line...

...to assume the throne.

And after Drusus' death,

Tiberius was shocked to the core.

There's not much new to report.

But there is a grumbling...

...about who now is to
be considered the next in line.

I know this is difficult,

but it's time to start thinking
about naming a new successor.

I'd be willing to step into that role
if you decide it's necessary.

Let me think about it.

While the cause of death is unclear,

there's only one man who will benefit
from Drusus' demise,

the head of the Praetorian Guard...

...Sejanus.

Sejanus presented himself...

...as nothing more than
a loyal ally and servant of Tiberius.

And he did so through
cultivating a friendship,

a personal relationship
with Tiberius.

But he was far more ambitious
than perhaps Tiberius had in mind.

It took Tiberius
completely by surprise.

He had never, it seems, expected
that Sejanus would be capable...

...of such a betrayal.

With his son dead,

and no one left to trust,

Tiberius begins to grow paranoid
of everyone around him...

...and decides he needs
to get out of Rome.

Anybody would've been paranoid
in the emperor's palace at this stage.

So Tiberius puts himself into
a self-imposed exile...

...on the Island of Capri,

and he never sets foot in Rome again,
for the rest of his life.

Tiberius works quickly
to select a new successor.

Caligula.

Find him.

Bring him to me.

Macro...

...tell no one.

Tiberius needed an heir
because the Empire needed an emperor.

The Empire needed
somebody at the top,

and after Drusus' death,

and the removal of the children
of Germanicus apart from Caligula,

Caligula was the only person
to fit the bill.

Now out of Rome,

Tiberius hides out
in his luxurious villa on Capri.

Located in the Tyrrhenian Sea,

Capri is over 100 miles
removed from Rome,

leaving Tiberius completely
isolated from the Empire he runs.

Tiberius lived in a villa
modestly called the Villa Jovis,

"the Villa of Jupiter,"

as if Tiberius
was some sort of god.

This villa is perched at the edge
of a cliff at one end of the island,

it's a very beautiful
and dramatic spot.

And Tiberius engaged in a life
of great decadence.

Once settled in Capri,

Tiberius has full control over
who may enter the island,

and spends the next few years...

...taking advantage
of his newfound privacy,

by indulging in
an excessive lifestyle.

The decadence was
quite spectacular on Capri.

There was the finest food,
there was the finest wines,

there were the most
beautiful prostitutes.

It was a very open and...
and free lifestyle,

but it became quite debauched,
on every possible level.

The stories that we hear coming out of Capri
are very much a reflection...

...of how much the Roman people
disliked Tiberius.

In these stories, he is presented
as weird and bizarre.

He watches people have sex around him
in various and sundry ways.

For a 12-year period,

Caligula's life was filled with watching
his closest family members...

...become exiled and killed
for speaking out against Tiberius.

So in 31 A.D. when Caligula
was called to the Island of Capri,

we can only imagine the fear,

the apprehension that
he must have felt at that time.

This is the son of Germanicus.

Is that true?

Yes.

You blame me for
your father's death, don't you?

Your mother always did.

So you've spent your entire life
believing that I was the one responsible.

I didn't kill your father.

He did.

This is the man responsible
for your father's murder!

The man who poisoned my son!

Sejanus thought himself
worthy of the throne.

So, one by one,

he got rid of everyone
who stood in his path.

I am not the man you think I am.

See him to his room.

Certainly, that early relationship
between Caligula and Tiberius...

...would have been fraught
with suspicion, with paranoia...

Caligula, a young man, who...

...now has to live with the guy
who has ruined his life up to that point.

Confined to his room,

Caligula finds himself
forced to stay on Capri.

Now, all he can do is wait to see
what Tiberius has planned for him.

Caligula was a hostage on Capri,

and if the emperor had had any problems,
he could've been got rid of.

It's part of the old dictum of "Keep your friends
close and your enemies closer."

Tiberius could keep
a close eye with him,

and would have no compunction
about killing him...

...at the slightest drop of a hat.

With Tiberius isolated on Capri,

the Roman people are left
without their leader,

causing irreversible damage
to his reputation as an emperor.

Tiberius decided to disappear
to the island of Capri...

...and rule from a distance.

However, his retreat to Capri
was not well-received.

And then all the rumors of
the strange goings on at the island...

...didn't really do his reputation
much credit either.

Tiberius ruled in a way that he thought
was what the Empire needed.

But he didn't go out of the way
to look after people.

It was this common touch...

...that Tiberius missed
at every stage of his career.

And when he retired to Capri,

it was a "screw you" to the Senate.

Removed from Rome,

Tiberius needs someone
to keep the Empire running.

So he makes one of his most loyal soldiers
the new head of the Praetorian Guard.

His name is Macro.

Macro was responsible for the security
of the fabric of Rome.

He knew every corner.

He knew all the shortcuts,

he knew all the factions
and where everyone was going to be.

When he was promoted
to the Praetorian Guard,

this simply added
another layer of power to him,

and he was, by the time he'd been promoted,
a very, very powerful man.

Unsure of his fate,

Caligula has no choice but to wait out
his time on the island as a prisoner.

But he's not the only person
staying in the emperor's villa.

Tiberius' 12-year-old grandson,
Gemellus, also lives in the palace.

Do you know why Caligula is here?

I brought Caligula here
because you're not ready.

- But I'm your grandson!
- It doesn't matter!

All anyone would see is a spoiled brat
sitting on the throne...

- ...incapable of ruling an empire.
- I'm capable.

You think if Caligula comes to power,
he will let you live?

You no longer have
the luxury of childhood.

While Gemellus could continue
the family reign,

Tiberius knows that by handing
the throne to a child,

he'd be putting the entire
Roman Empire in danger.

The Senate is expecting me
to name... a new heir.

Your cousin, Gemellus,
is the obvious choice.

But he's young.

And even when he comes of age,

he was raised as my grandson.

Spoiled, soft.

The Senate might prefer
the son of Germanicus.

You're naming me next in line?

I'm considering it.

Will you release my mother?

You earn my trust,

and I will.

Caligula was incredibly intelligent.

He was very savvy.

So when he's brought to Capri,

the entire time you have to imagine
he's trying to figure out,

"How do I survive this?"

There's been reports of ongoing unrest
along the border of Gaul.

Germanic tribes from east of the Rhine
have been crossing into the territory.

Gemellus,

what would you suggest?

Can't we just send an army
and attack them?

Caligula, do you agree?

The last thing we want is
a full scale war with Germania.

We could send a legion
to patrol the border,

stationing them on the west bank
with strict orders not to cross.

Their presence should be enough
to deter the tribes from raiding.

See to it a legion
is sent to the Rhine.

Strict orders... not to cross.

There was a process
on the Island of Capri,

I mean, it was a dynamic, in which...

...Caligula and Gemellus were
auditioning for the role of emperor.

It's hard not to feel sorry
for Gemellus, Tiberius' grandson.

He should have been the
natural successor to Tiberius,

but it's notable also
that Gemellus wasn't trained...

...in the same way
that Caligula was.

Capri's an interesting
place, isn't it?

I don't envy your position.

It's all right.

You really do remind me of him.

Your father.

You knew my father?

I served with him when he was Consul.

He would have made a great emperor,
had he gotten the chance.

The throne belonged to your father.

It belongs to you.

It was what Augustus wanted.

Instead, we've been left
with a demented old man,

driving the Empire to its ruin.

If the Senate has any say in the matter,
it'll be you who inherits the throne.

The sooner, the better.

Our sources are full of
deliciously horrible stories...

...about Tiberius on Capri.

Tiberius supposedly had his enemies tossed
from the top of the cliff into the sea.

So Caligula could only have known
how uneasy his position was,

how dangerous it was
to betray Tiberius' trust.

Come, sit.

Would you like to join them?

If you want to be emperor one day,

you must learn what it means
to live like an emperor.

Go on.

I insist.

Caligula was summoned by Tiberius...

...to train him up and to give him
a little bit of his wisdom.

Tiberius encouraged Caligula
in all kinds of vices around sex.

The Romans were much more
sexually liberated...

...than certainly we were, or anyone
rediscovering them in the Renaissance.

Also, the Romans tended
not to care about...

...sexual, uh, mores.

Listen to me very carefully.
Are you listening?

Yes.

Do not speak unless spoken to.

Tell the truth.

And do not show any emotion.

- Understand?
- Yeah.

I'd never speak out against you!

Ever! I swear!

She's lying!

I'm not.

What did he say to you?

What did he say?

He said... He said that
you're a demented old man.

And that if it were
up to the Senate,

I should be the one
to inherit the throne.

The sooner, the better.

Kill him.

The one thing we're told about how Caligula
was able to ingratiate himself...

...to Tiberius was not showing
any emotion whatsoever.

Tiberius was known for his dissimulation,
for his hiding his emotions,

and Caligula tried
to out-Tiberius Tiberius.

Living under the emperor Tiberius,
there was every single reason to fear.

Six years after bringing
Caligula to Capri,

Tiberius has fallen ill.

But he still hasn't
named a successor,

and now time is running out.

Tell me... honestly.

He doesn't have much time.

With the emperor
on his deathbed,

Macro knows he has to
get Caligula on his side.

Sorry to interrupt.

Yes? What is it?

Your mother...

...he's passed away.

When?

A few years ago.

And I've just found out.

When Caligula finds out what happened
to the rest of his family,

his mother, his two brothers,
he doesn't react.

He has no emotional reaction.

He had simply learned
that to react poorly...

...was almost certainly to bring
some kind of punishment down on him,

whether that was exile,
imprisonment, or execution.

When Caligula arrived in Capri,

Tiberius' grandson, Gemellus,
was a spoiled 12-year-old...

...who believed he was
entitled to the throne.

But now, at 18, Gemellus' bloodline...

...is the only thing keeping Caligula
from becoming the next emperor.

The reality is that Caligula
is beloved by the Roman people.

Caligula has the ancestry,

he has the history, and all he really
has to do is show up.

And Caligula is immediately going to be
better liked, more influential,

and more powerful
than Gemellus will be.

By considering
Gemellus as his heir,

Tiberius is essentially trying
to buy time for his grandson.

Because the reality is... is that
if he doesn't become princeps,

that Gemellus could be killed
because he is a liability.

In 37 A.D.,

Tiberius makes his decision.

Tomorrow, in the Senate, there will be
a reading of my final will.

So there can be no confusion
about my intentions.

I have decided...

...the two of you shall
rule together, as brothers.

I'm naming you
co-heirs to the throne.

Tiberius must have known
that you can't split an empire in half.

I think he just decided to kind of
leave it up to fate...

...and hope that
something would work out.

Caligula now has a choice:

respect Tiberius' wishes
and share the throne,

or take out the one person standing
in his way of becoming emperor.