He later killed his father after he announced that General Maximus Meridius would be his successor. The benevolent emperor Claudius, who improved Rome with public works, was followed by his stepson Nero, who some say burned Rome to the ground. And while some people may seem content with the story as it stands, our view is that there existcountless mysteries, scientific anomalies and surprising artifacts thathave yet to be discovered and explained. Also, in Britain in 184, the governor Ulpius Marcellus re-advanced the Roman frontier northward to the Antonine Wall, but the legionaries revolted against his harsh discipline and acclaimed another legate, Priscus, as emperor. Archaeologists have been able to take a closer look at one of the United Kingdoms most famous shipwrecks. "Back!" he cried. While Lucilla did actually try to orchestrate Commodus' assassination, there's no historical evidence of his disturbing attraction to her or their highly tempestuous relationship as depicted in the movie. Commodus was succeeded by Pertinax, whose reign was short-lived; he would become the first claimant to be usurped during the Year of the Five Emperors. Commodus, The Unhinged Roman Emperor Who Went Mad With Power, Commodus exposes Lucillas plot in this scene from. We'll explain. Commodus Roman Emperor In Power Nov 27, 176 - Dec 31, 192 Born Aug 31, 161Lanuvium, Italy Died Dec 31, 192 (aged 31)Rome, Italy Wife Bruttia Crispina Father Marcus Aurelius Mother Faustina the Younger Lucius Aurelius Commodus was born in Lanuvium, near Rome, on August 31, 161. [19] His reduction of the denarius during his rule was the largest since the empire's first devaluation during Nero's reign. But shortly after dispatching the megalomaniacal emperor, Maximus succumbs to his own injuries and dies in the blood and sand of the ring although not without making sure his fellow gladiators are freed first. 180-192 AD. In 177 Lucius was made coruler and heir to his father, the emperor Marcus Aurelius (reigned 161180). It seems likely that he was raised in an atmosphere of Stoic asceticism, which he rejected entirely upon his accession to sole rule. Hercules and the Hydra (ca. Gina Dimuro is a New York-based writer and translator. The ending of "Gladiator" makes it seem like Commodus' death means a new beginning for Rome. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 177 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. Cookies help us deliver our Services. The activities which held Commodus attention and with which he spent his time were primarily surrounding gladiatorial combat. He would take to the arena and engage in combat, which the Romans viewed as being scandalous and disgraceful. This horrified the Roman people. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 177 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. 1. Aurelius pushed for Commodus to be a leader from a very young age. Strange that they didn't kill him earlier. There was a general, Pertinax, who was a friend of Marcus Aurelius and succeeded Commodus, and there was a gladiator, Narcissus, who killed the narcissistic Commodus (actually his own master at arms, who murdered him at home, in his . Corrections? Lucius Aurelius Commodus, born 161 A.D., was appointed co-emperor by his father Marcus Aurelius in 177 A.D. when he was just 16 years old. Husband of Rupilia Faustina: Levick (2014), p. 163. He gripped the iron bars in front of him and was pushed back by one of the guards. Marcus Aurelius was the first emperor since Vespasian to have a legitimate biological son, though he himself was the fifth in the line of the so-called Five Good Emperors, also known as the Adoptive Emperors, each of whom had adopted his successor. Statues were erected of the emperor depicted as the mythological hero all over the city, including one made of solid gold and weighing in at nearly 1,000 pounds. Commodus took the loss of Saoterus badly, and Perennis now seized the chance to advance himself by implicating Paternus in a second conspiracy, one apparently led by Publius Salvius Julianus, who was the son of the jurist Salvius Julianus and was betrothed to Paternus's daughter. Were theonlyPop Archaeology site combining scientific research with out-of-the-box perspectives. The Untersberg is a great mountain straddling the Austro-German border opposite Salzburg. From 180 to his death in 192, Commodus was the only emperor.. His accession as emperor was the first time a son had succeeded his father since Titus succeeded Vespasian in 79. Ancient Chinese Earthquake Detector Invented 2,000 Years Ago Really Worked! He was very vain, and strongly believed himself to be the reincarnation of Hercules so much so that he ordered statues of himself be dressed like Hercules, and he ordered that people call him Hercules, son of Zeus. Contrary to the plot of Gladiator where Emperor Commodus is portrayed as having killed Marcus Aurelius the two ruled together, from 177 until the latters death in 180. The ending of "Gladiator" makes it seem like. Aurelius himself, and the four emperors that had preceded him, had all been adopted. To "accept kinship with Commodus the bluntly pragmatic decision was taken to deify the former emperor, thus legitimizing Severus' seizure of power. Julia Balbilla a possible lover of Sabina: A. R. Birley (1997). Russell Crowe's Maximus asks the crowd "Are you not entertained?" Under Commodus, Rome had descended from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust. Much like Nero had supposedly fiddled while Rome burned, Commodus enjoyed himself as the city decayed around him. Ein Gladiator (lateinisch gladiator zu gladius fr . Early in 188, Cleander disposed of the current praetorian prefect, Atilius Aebutianus, and took over supreme command of the Praetorian Guard at the new rank of a pugione ("dagger-bearer"), with two praetorian prefects subordinate to him. The megalomania of Commodus was not limited to the Colosseum. They then sent in an athlete to strangle the 31-year old emperor in his bath. Her husband, Pompeianus, was not involved, but two men alleged to have been her lovers, Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus (the consul of 167, who was also her first cousin) and Appius Claudius Quintianus, attempted to murder Commodus as he entered a theater. He kept most of the advisers from his fathers regime in place and the first three years of his reign ran as smoothly as that of his father with the added benefit that Rome was no longer fighting any wars. The long line of ancient Roman emperors is marked by a strange pattern: Almost every exceptionally brilliant emperor was succeeded by an exceptionally mad one. What is the origin of the legend of the Christed Son who was born of a virgin on December 25th? [30] On his father's death in 180, Commodus changed this to Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Commodus, before changing back to his birth name in 191.[1]. Commodus' famous gesture, which he gives when deciding the fate of defeated gladiators Roman artwork, 191 - 192 AD. Dissatisfaction with this state of affairs would lead to a series of conspiracies and attempted coups, which in turn eventually provoked Commodus to take charge of affairs, which he did in an increasingly dictatorial manner. [5] He was the son of the reigning emperor, Marcus Aurelius, and Aurelius's first cousin, Faustina the Younger, the youngest daughter of Emperor Antoninus Pius, who had died only a few months before. By 192 A.D., the Roman people had had enough. Commodus was spoilt and decadent and his decadence led to the decline of the empire. His mother was Annia Galeria Faustina, a member of the Roman nobility and the daughter of the emperor Antoninus Pius. As a result, Commodus appeared even more rarely in public, preferring to live on his estates. The Syrian-born gladiator, who rose to fame under the reign of Emperor Hadrian (117 to 138 A.D.), is best known for the length of his career, and for being awarded his freedom four times . Als besonders skandals empfand man die Beziehung zwischen Eppia, einer Frau aus reicher Familie, die Senatorengattin war, und dem Gladiator Sergiolus. His reign is commonly thought of as marking the end of a golden period of peace in the history of the Roman Empire, known as the Pax Romana. In 166, at the age of five, Commodus was made Caesar, along with his younger brother Marcus Annius Verus. Aurelius physician, Galen, was tasked with looking after Commodus to ensure that he stayed healthy and well. Unlike Commodus, Maximus isn't driven by a desire for power but by loyalty to "the true emperor" whom Commodus murdered and to his family. They then returned to Rome in the autumn of 176. Striking story! The Death of Commodus, from a history book published in 1900. A bust of Roman Emperor Commodus, styled as if he were a reincarnation of Hercules, which is precisely what he believed himself to be. This ancient Roman biographical article is a stub. Only a famous death will do. He is viewed as having been an inept emperor, his megalomaniac tendencies leading to odd behaviors which frustrated and upset the Roman people. Unlike the preceding emperors Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, he seems to have had little interest in the business of administration and tended throughout his reign to leave the practical running of the state to a succession of favourites, beginning with Saoterus, a freedman from Nicomedia who had become his chamberlain. The real Commodus was also taken out by a Senate plot, although less publicly: After a few unsuccessful attempts, he was strangled to death in his bathroom by a professional wrestler moonlighting as an assassin. He was the brother of Princess Lucilla, and uncle of Lucius. According to Cassius Dio, Commodus once killed 100 lions in a single day. But since "Gladiator" is based on a true story (sort of), we can look at history to see what might have happened next. Commodus was the son of marcus Marcus Aurelius and later Roman Emperor. The fall of Perennis brought a new spate of executions: Aufidius Victorinus committed suicide. 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