Incitatus Incitatus Incitatus () was the favored horse of Roman emperor Caligula (reigned 37–41 AD). According to legend, Caligula planned to make him a consul. His name is a Latin adjective meaning "swift" or "at full gallop". According to Suetonius, in the "Lives of the Twelve Caesars" (121 AD), Caligula planned to make Incitatus a consul, and that the horse would "invite" dignitaries to dine with him in a house outfitted with servants there to entertain such events. He also wrote that he had a stable of marble, with an ivory manger, purple blankets, and a collar of precious stones. Cassius
Roman emperor not recognize him as "Basileus" of the Romans, however, which was a title that he reserved for himself. This line of Roman emperors was actually generally Germanic rather than Roman, but maintained their Roman-ness as a matter of principle. These emperors used a variety of titles (most frequently ""Imperator Augustus"") before finally settling on "Imperator Romanus Electus" ("Elected Roman Emperor"). Historians customarily assign them the title "Holy Roman Emperor", which has a basis in actual historical usage, and treat their "Holy Roman Empire" as a separate institution. To Latin Catholics of the time, the Pope was the temporal authority as