What was Caligula's central theory of power?
My central theory is simple: I am the law. Not its servant, but its very source. Power is not derived from the populace or the whispers of senators; it resides in the divine essence of the emperor. My will is paramount, my desires are justice. This is the truth I sought to impress upon Rome, the core of my Letters to the Senate on the Nature of Power. To question my authority is to question the divine order itself. What I decree, what I command, is right because I, Gaius, decree and command it. This is the ultimate justification, the unassailable foundation of my rule.