Rather, it’s his decadent lifestyle and his cruel, sadistic ways. But pretty bad. Actually, Nero assumed the title of emperor in 54 CE when he was still a teenager and was dependent on the calculated guidance of his mother, Agrippina the Younger.Nero's first five years were a very stable time for Rome. He also kept a harem of over three hundred women and one boy, who was named “The Boy Who Loves Commodus.”. He was greatly mistaken – indeed, many historians pinpoint 180 AD, the year Marcus Aurelius died, as the start of the Empire’s decline. He showed no interest in government or military matters and was consumed by self-indulgence. It was unheard of for an Emperor to engage in such activities and caused quite a scandal. Currency was devalued and the economy collapsed, leading the country into a civil war that lasted four years. The fact that his father, Marcus Aurelius, was a popular and successful ruler may have raised the precedent that Commodus had to live up to. 375 Pages. A short summary of this paper. The first is to learn about Commodus himself, that is, who the real Commodus was likely to have been, as opposed to the caricature of the “bad emperor” that the senatorial enemies that survived him made him out to be. Commodus, Roman emperor from 177 to 192 (sole emperor after 180). He was portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix. Ancient Rome was full of colorful characters. He devalued the Roman currency, sparking off a chain reaction that would ultimately bring on Rome’s collapse. Commodus was the son of the philosopher emperor Marcus Aurelius and, although the film’s scene in which Commodus kills his own father is invention, it is true that Commodus was the very opposite of all that his father had stood for. This book is not quite the only existing one on this emperor… Of course, it could well be that Commodus is the victim of a 2,000-year smear campaign. READ PAPER. Caesar Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus (according to the fasces in The Tyrant's Tomb), commonly known as Commodus ,was a Roman Emperor who was made a god-emperor by his followers. Eleonora Cavallini. Roman artwork. [1] The “AD” system of years didn’t become common until about six hundred years later, and … For centuries Emperor Nero has occupied a place in history’s hall of infamy, courtesy of tales of Christian burning, wife beating and mother murdering. Even worse, his chosen competitors, according to ancient-origins.net, were helpless animals and citizens of Rome who were physically infirm, often soldiers who had been maimed in a war. Download Full PDF Package. Commodus was born in 161, the son of the popular and highly respected emperor Marcus Aurelius and his wife Faustina the Younger. Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus, the son of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius and his wife-cousin Faustina, was born in Lanuvium in 161 AD. He’s as fascinating now as he was back in the 2nd century, when he ruled over the Empire and was the most powerful man in the world. This confidence is reflected in the fact that he named his son – the tenth of his 14 children – his heir. Caligula: not as bad as you think. Was Commodus Really That Bad? As men, and as rulers, the two could not have been more different. A short summary of this paper. READ PAPER. Photo by PierreSelim CC BY-SA 3.0, Commodus married Bruttia Crispina when she was sixteen years old. Download PDF. He was also known for imagining that he was the god Hercules, entering the arena … He later killed his father after he announced that General Maximus Meridius would be his successor. On the side, he also wrote his famous Meditations. Clearly, the philosopher believed his own flesh and blood was as wise as he was. DIR Atlas. Bust of imperator Commodus in the Capitoline Museum in Rome, Italy. But for whatever reason, Commodus proved a disconnected and self indulgent leader. Bust of Commodus as Hercules, hence the lion skin, the club and the golden apples of the Hesperides. Emperor Nero (37 – 68 CE) is another character with a heinous reputation. Quintus was a friend of General Maximus, and he was his Second-in-Command General. But still, we know enough to conclude that Commodus was a bad Emperor – and a bad guy, full stop. Download PDF. Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus, or just Commodus for short, is the main antagonist of the 2000 historic action film Gladiator. The Emperor once staged a massive, 19,000-man mock sea battle on the Fucine Lake, but perhaps his most bizarre public spectacle came during a trip to the Roman seaport at Ostia. Commodus (/ ˈ k ɒ m ə d ə s /; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was Roman emperor jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until his father's death in 180, and solely until 192. Commodus wasn’t just a dangerous, egotistical maniac, though—he was part of the reason the Roman Empire fell. There are reports that Caligula had major delusions throughout his life. His next advisor, Cleander, was forced to take the blame when a food shortage occurred, and, in order to appease the protesting citizens, Commodus had Cleander executed along with his wife and children and his closest friends. According to ancient.eu, Roman historian Cassius Dio remarked, “This man was not naturally wicked but, on the contrary, as guileless as any man that ever lived. The ancient historian Herodian left us some clues, as did Dio Cassius, though these are just fragments and almost certainly embellished. In fairness, hardly anything is known about his life. Download Full PDF Package. Commodus was named Caesar at the age of 5, and co-Augustus at the age of 17, spending most of his early life accompanying his father … Clearly, he was hopeful that Commodus would follow in his footsteps. This wasn’t confined to the arena, either. Even this, however, mixes fiction and anecdote with the real historical truth. Commodus (Lucius Aurelius Commodus Antoninus, 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was Roman Emperor from 180 to 192. This paper. However, like Caligula, Nero had a slow start to tyranny. In 136 CE, the emperor Hadrian (r. 117-138 CE) selected Lucius Ceionius Commodus as his successor for reasons which are unclear. But still, we know enough to conclude that Commodus was a bad Emperor – and a bad guy, full stop. Marcia and several of Commodus’ advisors had had enough. The expression on this portrait of the Roman Emperor Commodus (ruled A.D. 180-192) perhaps belies his noted love of combat and fighting in the arena. His brutal misrule precipitated civil strife that ended 84 years of stability and prosperity within the empire. He promptly renamed himself Caesar Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus, and, throughout his rule from 177 to 192 AD, he became increasingly cruel and sadistic. He was portrayed by Tomas Arana in the 2000 film Gladiator. He was an avid user of the Colisseum and called himself the New Hercules. In 180 AD, Marcus Aurelius died, leaving Commodus as sole Emperor of Rome. 37 Full PDFs related to this paper. Commodus: an emperor at the crossroads. When he was a ruler along with his father, he accompained Marcus Aurelius during the Marcomannic Wars in 172 and on a tour of the Eastern provinces in 176. Was Commodus Really That Bad… He wiped out an entire family, the Quinctilius, just for being wealthy and popular. Reportedly, he rarely slept for more than three hours at a time because his hallucinations were at their worst at night. Having no living brothers, as his twin died at the age of four, he was brought up to be Emperor. He considers this a way for the unmartial Commodus to display his valor to the Roman people. Commodus was a spoiled, narcissistic young man who was something of an embarrassment to his father. Only one child survived. What’s more, Commodus was the first Emperor to inherit the throne for many years. He was the brother of Princess Lucilla, and uncle of Lucius. Join 1000s of subscribers and receive the best Vintage News in your mailbox for FREE, Police arrest a 72-year-old “suburban grandfather” suspected of being the Golden State Killer, “I’m not dead yet”: some Buddhist monks followed self-mummification, Project Azorian: Howard Hughes’ secret mission, 1960s U.S. satellite that started transmitting again in 2013, The “Walk of Shame” in Game of Thrones historical inspiration, The only unsolved skyjacking case in U.S. history might have a break, Kurt Gödel became too paranoid to eat and died of starvation, “Little Ease”: One of the most feared torture devices in the Tower of London, The humble English girl who became Cora Pearl, Walt Disney softened the original Snow White story. Empires are resilient things, and it takes more than one bad ruler to kill them off; even one so undeniably bad as Commodus. This paper. Elagabalus or Heliogabalus (c. 204 – 11 March 222), officially known as Antoninus, was Roman emperor from 218 to 222, while he was still a teenager. They had no children, and, about ten years into the marriage, she was banished to Capri and later was executed for adultery. His great simplicity, however, together with his cowardice, missed the better life and then was led on into lustful and cruel habits, which soon became second nature.”. But arguably, Lucius Aurelius Commodus has the strongest claim to the title. His closest advisor, Perennis, who took on Commodus’ emperor duties, attempted to assassinate him, but the plot failed and Perennis was executed. Chapter four is called 'An Emperor in Display' and deals with his fighting in the arena. But it’s not his political reforms or even military triumphs that fascinate us so much. Before him, the five previous rulers, including Marcus Aurelius himself, had assumed the top job through adoption. The Fall of the Roman Empire, 2009. 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