Caligula, Roman emperor (died 41)

AD 12 (XII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Capito. The denomination AD 12 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, also called Gaius and Caligula, was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Agrippina the Elder, members of the first ruling family of the Roman Empire. He was born two years before Tiberius became emperor. Gaius accompanied his father, mother and siblings on campaign in Germania, at little more than four or five years old. He had been named after Gaius Julius Caesar, but his father's soldiers affectionately nicknamed him "Caligula".

August 31 is the 243rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 122 days remain until the end of the year.