Favorite Answer. Commodus' sanity began to unravel when a close advocate, Cleander, was assassinated, which put Commodus in fear for his life. Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus, the son of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius and his wife-cousin Faustina, was born in Lanuvium in 161 AD. Although he had tried to groom his son in the same steady way that Antoninus Pius had him, he seems to have realized that he had failed. His twin brother Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus died in 165 when they were just four years old, and four years later Commodus’s baby brother Marcus Annius died after a medical operation went horribly wrong. He was a nephew of Faustina, the wife of Antoninus Pius, who adopted him. Upon his death, the Senate promptly declared Commodus as a public enemy and undid all the renaming orders he had given. Though Commodus had an older brother and a younger brother who made it through infancy, they both met utterly tragic ends. However, the poison failed and Commodus’ fitness coach, Narcissus, entered and choked him to death. 9 years ago. The son of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Commodus wants to be seen as the most powerful Roman emperor of all time so he would be worshiped as a god. Marcus was then sole Emperor from 169–77, before he made his biological son Commodus (yes, that Commodus) his own co-Emperor. Pertinax, who succeeded Commodus, is the obvious answer; Septimius Severus might just squeak in as a better one. Commodus was succeeded by Pertinax, whose reign was short lived, being the first to fall victim to the Year of the Five Emperors. People wanted to drag his body through the streets of Rome, but Pertinax, who succeeded Commodus, seized the body and placed it in the Hadrian’s Mausoleum. Answer Save. 1 Biography 2 What … Eldest sister of Commodus who first plotted to kill him in 182 AD. He … After … Both would have avoided the corruption of the Praetorian Guard which proved so disastrous. Relevance. This list begins with Augustus (27 BC-AD 14), the first Emperor, and ends with Commodus (AD 180-192), the last ruler of the Antonine dynasty. At the time Commodus was appointed heir, Marcus was still ruling alongside his adoptive brother and co-emperor, Lucius Verus, who was nine years younger, and much fitter than the notoriously frail and sickly Marcus, so presumably Lucius was expected to be Marcus’ immediate successor. That of Commodus was comparatively peaceful in the military sense but was marked by political strife, and the arbitrary and capricious behaviour of the emperor himself. Commodus was, so it was rumoured, the son of one of the gladiators whom Marcus' wife Faustina took for lovers. Conniving heir to the throne Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix, pictured) murders the Emperor and orders the execution of Maximus, who he sees as a threat. It’s interesting to think what might have happened if Severus had completed his conquest of Caledonia. Pertinax, the military leader of the Roman army, succeeded Commodus but managed to keep the throne only for a few weeks. One report of Marcus' death suggests he was poisoned by doctors acting on Commodus' behalf. He was the first emperor to be ‘born in the purple’, that is, during the reign of his father. 少林 Yoda. An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors . From the above chart, we can see that (if the analysis of Flavio Barbiero is correct, and I believe that it is) the priestly families worked towards the ability to get an initiate of Sol Invictus into the imperial office from their arrival in Rome around AD 70, and finally succeeded with the accession to the throne by Commodus in AD 177. Perennis made praetorian prefect ; return to Rome 181 Consul III (with Lucius Antistus Burrus) Commodus in popular culture Edit. 7 tv films of the week Famed Roman general Maximus is double-crossed by corrupt ruler Commodus and forced to take part in deadly combat in the Colosseum. It was also the time of the important physician Galen who wrote about a particularly virulent pandemic that was given Marcus Aurelius' family name. Gibbon doesn't just blame Commodus. In Popular Culture. But the seeds of incompetence, indulgence, and corruption had been sown. Caesar P. Helvius Pertinax Augustus) 193: Didius Julianus (Imp. DIR Atlas. Commodus 180 Death of Marcus Aurelius; peace with the Dacians, Quadi, Iazyges, and Vandals. Commodus was succeeded by Pertinax, a member of the Roman Senate who was acclaimed emperor in the "Year of the Five Emperors", 193 AD. It proved convenient to end the list at this particular point, because information about Imperial hair and eye colour becomes much more scanty, after the reign of Commodus. The reign of Marcus Aurelius had been marked by almost continuous warfare, even though he preferred books to war. Commodus (31 August 161 – 31 December 192), born Lucius Aurelius Commodus and died Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus, was Roman Emperor from AD 180 to 192. He was succeeded by Antoninus Pius, who adopted two sons: Lucius Verus and Marcus Aurelius. It was during the reign of Marcus Aurelius that the Marcomannic War broke out at the northern frontier of the empire. So if something had happened, such as Antoninus not adopting Marcus, or Marcus’ death prior to 161 preventing him from assuming the purple, then Lucius Verus would have simply succeeded Antoninus. Commodus self -indulgence and cruelty marked a reign which could not have been more different from his fathers and proved true another of Aurelius maxims from his Meditati… He also ruled as co-emperor with his father Marcus Aurelius from 177 until his father's death in 180.. His accession as emperor was the first time a son had succeeded his biological father since Titus succeeded Vespasian in 79. Commodus was a bad emperor, but the time itself was hard. In 1964's The Fall of the Roman Empire, Commodus … After battling with the Germans, the general Maximus, weary of battle, decides to retire at his Spanish farm estate at the Emperor's behest, but the Emperor tells him that Commodus is unfit to rule and thus appoints him as regent to help save Rome from corruption. Marcus' greatest trial was his son Commodus, who succeeded him in a disastrous reign that rivalled Nero's for corruption and cruelty. Nerva, Roman emperor from Sept. 18, 96, to January 98, the first of a succession of rulers traditionally known as the Five Good Emperors. Commodus (A.D. 180-192) Dennis Quinn. Commodus. Virtual Catalog of Roman Coins. In the view of Dio Cassius, a contemporary observer, his accession marked the descent "from a kingdom of gold to one of rust and iron". When Marcus Aurelius tells Commodus his decision, Commodus - who has always felt unloved and ignored by his father - flies into a rage and strangles him. Oh Brother. 147 views In 178 CE, Aurelius defeated the Germanic tribes on the Danube and retired to winter quarters at Vindobona. Commodus (161-192) was the son of Marcus Aurelius. Commodus was born in 161, the son of the popular and highly respected emperor Marcus Aurelius and his wife Faustina the Younger. He was portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, who would later portray Arthur Fleck in Joker. Lucilla. Commodus drew a dagger from his gauntlet and tried to kill Maximus, but Maximus turned the dagger around and stabbed him in the throat, killing him. His accession as emperor was the first time a son had succeeded his father since Titus succeeded Vespasian in 79. FILMS OF THE WEEK In contrast to the movie, Marcus named Commodus his … He is often regarded as one of the Roman Empire's worst emperors since he brought Rome to decadence, leading to the Crisis of Third Century. Commodus (Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus) (kŏm`ədəs), 161–192, Roman emperor (180–192), son and successor of Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius (Marcus Aelius Aurelius Antoninus) , 121–180, Roman emperor, named originally Marcus Annius Verus. Full name and title after being elevated to the status of joint ruler in 177 AD. He would die there two years later in March of 180 CE and was succeeded by Commodus. Still, Fulvus was not forgotten. Lv 5. Caesar L. Septimius Severus Pertinax Augustus) 193-211: Clodius Albinus (Imp. Commodus's death marked the end of the Nervan-Antonian dynasty. Favorite Answer He was succeeded by Pertinax who reigned for only 86 days. Fortunately for Rome, during the whole reign of Commodus, the borders of the empire were competently guarded by generals who, for the most part, had risen under Aurelius. He succeeded his father as Augustus after he killed him. The historian Edward Gibbon took Commodus's reign as the beginning of the decline of t… Commodus became co-ruler with his father in 177, when he was only 15 years old. Commodus was succeeded by Pertinax, whose reign was short lived, being the first to fall victim to the Year of the Five Emperors. 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 … Caesar M. Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus) 176-192: Pertinax (Imp. As the son of emperor Marcus Aurelius, Commodus was the first Roman emperor to have been "born in the purple," and thus dynastically selected to be his successor. He was succeeded by his son the infamous Roman emperor Commodus. The year that M. Aurelius died and left the empire to Commodus. Like Caligula and Nero before, Commodus was an ordinary (by imperial standards) ruler who succeeded Marcus Aurelius, his father, upon his death. Commodus 177 - 192 A.D. Commodus vies with Caligula and Nero as Roman history's most perverse and sadistic of rulers. Commodus (Imp. Imperator Caesar Lucius Aurelius Commodus Augustus. But yeah, Commodus is the turning point for the major crisis period that almost destroyed the empire. Commodus (August 31, 161–December 31, 192 CE) was the emperor of Rome between 180–192 CE. Nowadays he is most remembered for building a wall marking the northern boundary of Roman Britain but he was also responsible for many other public works. A member of a distinguished senatorial family, Nerva was distantly related by marriage to the Julio-Claudian house and had been twice consul (71 ce and 90) when, Commodus's death marked the end of the Nervan-Antonian dynasty, and the beginning of the end for the Western Roman Empire. One of the ways he paid for his donatives (imperial handouts) and mass entertainments was to tax the senatorial order, and on many inscriptions, the traditional order of the two nominal powers of the state, the Senate and People (Senatus Populusque Romanus) is provocatively reversed (Populus Senatusque...). There really was a Roman emperor named Marcus Aurelius, and he had a son named Commodus, who succeeded him. Caesar M. Didius Severus Julianus Augustus) 193: Septimius Severus (Imp. Commodus was the first emperor "born to the purple"; i.e., born during his father's reign. Caesar M. Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus) 176-192: Pertinax (Imp. 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