Background
- Son of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius; Husband to Crispina
- Commodus was the 10th child out of 14, and the only son to survive. He did have a twin brother, but he passed away at the age of 4 (which in turn had Commodus spend more time with his father).
- Spent most of his time as a kid with his father doing campaigns against the Quadi and the Marcomanni along the Danubian frontier.
- His father died, possibly from the plague when Commodus was 19
- Commodus was a Roman Emperor from 180-192 AD. He also ruled as co-emperor with his father from 177 AD until his father's death in 180 AD.
- Commodus became a murderer of senators, ministers, family members, and eventually beasts
Above: The Danube Frontier where Commodus and his father had campaigns
Achievements
- Listed himself as a gladiator after killing ostriches, a panther, a hundred lions, an elephant, a rhinoceros, and a giraffe in front of the public
- Fought 735 times
- In 191, a part of the city of Rome burned, and Commodus took the opportunity to rename the city of Rome in his own honor, as Colonia Commodiana.
- The months of the calendar were all renamed in his honor, and the senate was renamed as the Commodian Fortunate Senate. The army became known as the Commodian Army.
- Got the military troops to like him because he allowed them to carry axes in battle; but was well hated among everyone else for his tyrant behavior
- Was a good emperor like his father, until he heard about people plotting his murder. That's when he turned
- Commodus died on December 31, in 192 AD. Marcia, his mistress, tried to poison Commodus, but the attempt failed. That's when an athlete named Narcissus went and strangled him in his bath tub.
Historical Significance
- 12 years of tyrancy to everyone; killed many people in excruciatingly painful ways just for the entertainment it brought among himself.
- For each appearance in his fight outbreaks (735), he paid himself such a high fee that a new tax had to be demanded (from the people).
- Pretended to be the 2nd hercules and became a gladiator in his own palace
- Before fighting, he would injure the opponent (if he was stronger) so that he would win
- He's known for carelessness at the throne
No comments:
Post a Comment