He was appointed co-emperor of Rome and ruled alongside his father when he Marcus Aurelius is famed for various accomplishmentshis title as the last of the Five Good Emperors; his extensive study of and literary accomplishments in the field of Stoicism; and, last but not Long bouts of bad weather have been blamed as a cause for the downfall of ancient civilizations around the world. At the urging of his mistress Marcia, Commodus had Cleander beheaded and his son killed. On 31 December 192 AD, Commodus's concubine[2] and conspirator Marcia poisoned Commodus's wine. Cleander was in fact the person who had murdered Saoterus. Now at the zenith of his power, Cleander continued to sell public offices as his private business. Whereas the reign of Marcus Aurelius had been marked by almost continuous warfare, Commodus's rule was comparatively peaceful in the military sense, but was also characterised by political strife and the increasingly arbitrary and capricious behaviour of the emperor himself. It is uncertain whether Rupilia Faustina was Frugi's daughter by Salonia Matidia or another woman. Commodus, in full Caesar Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus, original name (until 180 ce) Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus, (born August 31, 161 ce, Lanuvium, Latium [now Lanuvio, Italy]died December 31, 192), Roman emperor from 177 to 192 (sole emperor after 180). Roman Artwork. In one final act of madness, Commodus ordered the head of the Colossus of Nero to be replaced with his own and added the inscription the only left-handed fighter to conquer twelve times (as I recall the number) one thousand men.. In the contest, Maximus is a victim of foul play as Commodus preemptively wounds him, then later produces a blade. Cleander proceeded to concentrate power in his own hands and to enrich himself by becoming responsible for all public offices: he sold and bestowed entry to the Senate, army commands, governorships, and increasingly, even the suffect consulships to the highest bidder. His recorded actions do tend to show a rejection of his father's policies, his father's advisers, and especially his father's austere lifestyle, and an alienation from the surviving members of his family. Roman Emperor Lucius Aurelius Commodus was a corrupt ruler who was not well-received by the Roman people during his reign. Pescennius Niger mopped up the deserters in Gaul in a military campaign, and a revolt in Brittany was put down by two legions brought over from Britain. Striking story! Despite the unfair circumstances, Maximus is victorious, killing Commodus with the very blade the emperor had concealed. Ulpius Marcellus was replaced as governor of Britain by Pertinax; brought to Rome and tried for treason, Marcellus narrowly escaped death. A former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery. He is a particular fan of works by Stanley Kubrick, Wes Anderson, and Martin Scorsese. She believes that only by understanding where we come from, can we truly understand our life path and purpose. On November 27, 176, Aurelius promoted 15-year-old Commodus to the rank of Imperator, which some say is a role similar to commander. Commodus hired a wrestler to train him to be even better in the arena. [33] Cassius Dio and the writers of the Augustan History say that Commodus was a skilled archer, who could shoot the heads off ostriches in full gallop, and kill a panther as it attacked a victim in the arena. Die ''Terme Taurine'' von Civitavecchia ein rmisches Heilbad. Updates? It is the type of death indicative of Commodus notoriety as an emperor, which is fundamental to Gladiators plot, but the film is imaginative in its depiction of his death to provide closure to Maximus. Aurelius physician, Galen, was tasked with looking after Commodus to ensure that he stayed healthy and well. [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. Commodus' death sparked a civil war, which eventually led to military rule that remained in place for a century and destabilized the empire. Gladiator is somewhat historically accurate in its final scenes, as Commodus did perform as a gladiator. In 166, at the age of five, Commodus was made Caesar, along with his younger brother Marcus Annius Verus. Gladiator: How Commodus Died In Real Life & Who Killed Him, Gladiator: What Happened To Every Historical Character In Real Life. The consensus was that it was below his office to participate as a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor. When Marcia found a list of people Commodus intended to have executed, she discovered that she, the prefect Laetus and Eclectus were on it. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Sister of Trajan's father: Giacosa (1977), p.7. Sources diverge on the origins of the conspiracy, with some claiming Lucilla was jealous of Commodus wife Crispina (incest between Commodus and Lucilla is suggested in Gladiator) while others maintain she saw the first warning signs of her brothers mental instability. The final fight of Ridley Scott's Gladiator is relatively short, but it works very well for the movie's somewhat historically accurate story. Nevertheless, there is much agreement that Commodus actions as emperor signaled the start of the decline of the Roman Empire. He took the throne as regent, but was killed by Maximus in the Colosseum. 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. Gladiator's Commodus death, therefore, is a pertinent conclusion to Maximus storyline in Gladiator, but it consequentially abstracts the film's historical basis. Commodus was a spoiled, narcissistic young man who was something of an embarrassment to his father. Available from: http://www.roman-empire.net/highpoint/commodus.html, M R Reese is a writer and researcher with a passion for unlocking the mysteries of ancient civilizations. Although he's very well written, Maximus is more of a plot device to allow the . From all angles, Commodus was groomed to succeed on the throne. In 187, one of the leaders of the deserters, Maternus, came from Gaul intending to assassinate Commodus at the Festival of the Great Goddess in March, but he was betrayed and executed. [15], On 23 December 176, the two imperatores celebrated a joint triumph. Ser. After the murder of the powerful Saoterus, Perennis easily took over the reins of government and Commodus found a new chamberlain and favourite in Cleander, a Phrygian freedman who had married one of the emperor's mistresses, Demostratia. 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. Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2000) is a Roman historical epic, considered to be one of Scott's directorial movie masterpieces. By December of that year, he declared that he would inaugurate the New Year on January 1, 193 as a gladiator in the arena. Russell Crowe's Maximus asks the crowd "Are you not entertained?" But he vomited the poisoned food up, foiling that plan. He was co-emperor with his father Marcus Aurelius from 177 until his father's death in 180. [34] The Romans found Commodus's gladiatorial combat to be scandalous and disgraceful. Commodus's death marked the end of the NervaAntonine dynasty. Crowe toldEmpire magazinein 2020 that originally, Maximus survived: Crowe said he used to joke that his character would "end up running a f****** pizzeria by the Colosseum." 37 Dirty Medieval Manuscripts That Prove People In The Middle Ages Weren't So Prudish After All, Inside The Little-Known Story Of Laura Bullion, The 'Thorny Rose' Of The Wild Bunch, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. The slave who became a gladiator. Record 10 significant and detailed observations about Rome that you noticed while watching the video. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. By 192 A.D., the Roman people had had enough. [28][29], His original name was Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus. After a failed assassination attempt in 182, however, his rule became erratic and brutal, and he imagined himself to be Hercules. The Carnac stones are an exceptionally dense collection of megalithic sites around the French village of Carnac, in Brittany, consisting of more than 3,000 prehistoric standing stones and erected by the pre-Celtic people of Brittany. On 27 November 176, Marcus Aurelius bestowed the title of Imperator on Commodus and in summer 177 he made him a full joint emperor by giving him the title of Augustus. Contemporary Roman writer Cassius Dio describes the young heir as rather simple-minded, but he ruled agreeably with his father and joined Marcus Aurelius in the Marcomannic Wars against the Germanic tribes along the Danube, which the emperor had been waging for several years. The poison failed, so Narcissus entered Commodus's bedchamber. Was this German silver mine really defended by two Roman forts and a line of "spike defenses? The Emperor and his son then travelled to Athens, where they were initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries. View GLADIATOR - CHW3M.docx from HIS CHW3M at Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts. 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. fascinating facts from the entirety of ancient history. Her motive is alleged to have been the envy of the Empress Crispina. 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. Commodus was the tenth of fourteen children born to Aurelius and was ultimately the only surviving son. Marcus Aurelius died there on 17 March 180, leaving the 18-year-old Commodus as sole emperor.[18]. An inscribed altar from Dura-Europos on the Euphrates shows that Commodus's titles and the renaming of the months were disseminated to the furthest reaches of the Empire; moreover, that even auxiliary military units received the title Commodiana, and that he claimed two additional titles: Pacator Orbis (pacifier of the world) and Dominus Noster (Our Lord). A small group of conspirators, including the emperors chamberlain and mistress, Marcia, decided to kill him. And what could be more glorious than to challenge the Emperor himself in the great arena? To some, this was a sign that Commodus was not actually the biological child of Aurelius, and that his mother had conceived him while engaging in an affair. Faustina was the daughter of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius and was Aurelius first cousin. In fact, the rule of Commodus might have gone down as quite unremarkable in the history of Rome were it not for one unfortunate incident. Conveniently, both of these goals are achieved by killing Commodus. Clearly, choosing to play gladiator, mercilessly killing animals and people with disabilities, was not a strategy that served to promote Roman culture, no matter how brutal it was at the time. While the true story behind his reign and death are fascinating, I prefer the fictional story, where he is killed in the arena before thousands of subjects by a gladiator whose family was ordered killed by the emperor. His tumultuous reign as emperor was the starting point for a period of Roman history that is viewed as having been filled with chaos and decline. When Commodus ordered for the death of Maximus and his family, the Romans could not reject that request. The fall of Perennis brought a new spate of executions: Aufidius Victorinus committed suicide. Commodus accompanied his father during the Marcomannic Wars in 172, and on a tour of the Eastern provinces in 176. Are the Misty Peaks of the Azores Remnants of the Legendary Atlantis? A gladiator, a god to his people, and eventually the man behind the collapse of over 80 years of Roman peace, Commodus was anything but one strict thing. Muller Edition 1.15.7, Echols, Edward C. "Herodian of Antioch's History of the Roman Empire." Commodus would also slay exotic animals, such as lions, ostriches, hippos, elephants, and giraffes. On 20 January 175, Commodus entered the College of Pontiffs, the starting point of a career in public life. Maximus defeat of Commodus provides a dramatic conclusion to Gladiator, but the depiction of the malevolent emperors death is historically inaccurate. 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. 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. Cookies help us deliver our Services. But it didnt take long for him to delegate his leadership responsibilities to others so that he could engage in activities in which he enjoyed. After this look at Commodus, check out these interesting facts about Ancient Rome. According to Aurelius, Commodus received his educational training with "an abundance of good masters.". He also declared himself to be an incarnation of the god Hercules and forced the senate to recognize his divinity. But does this mean Lucius, who is only a child, will be the next emperor? Ivar the Boneless: Viking Warrior, Ruler and Raider, What is Shambhala? Gina Dimuro is a New York-based writer and translator. Commodus never killed his gladiatorial adversaries, instead accepting their surrenders. Unlike Maximus, they all let him win, letting him injure them to a non-fatal degree and then conceding, per LA Times. Narcissus (born 2nd century A.D.) was a Roman athlete,[1][2] likely a wrestler,[3] from the 2nd century AD. wahrscheinlich aber erfand Commodus diese Geschichte selber, um seine Sonderrolle zu unterstreichen. To help answer that question, here are five of the key elements of the story and their historical precedents. His father was the philosopher-king, Marcus Aurelius, who Fortunately for movie posterity, Scott came up with the idea for the gladiator's death scene during filming. Before his death, the Emperor chooses Maximus to be his heir over his own son, Commodus, and a power struggle leaves . Husband of Ulpia Marciana: Levick (2014), p. 161. The executions of the senators had whet his appetite for blood and he devoted himself to combats of wild beasts and of men. Not merely content to hunt in private, the emperor began to perform in the Colosseum itself, competing as a gladiator to the delight of the crowds and horror of the senate, as depicted in Gladiator. In opposition to the Senate, in his pronouncements and iconography, Commodus had always stressed his unique status as a source of god-like power, liberality, and physical prowess. Non-military citizens who had lost their feet due to injury or illness would be tied together for Commodus to club to death. The historian Herodian, a contemporary, described Commodus as an extremely handsome man. We'll explain. Gibbon p. 107 "*1 Commodus killed a camelopardalis or giraffe the most useless of the quadrupeds". AtAncient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings. In 182 A.D., Commodus sister Lucilla organized an attempt on her brothers life. "I won't be in here forever!" rasped Commodus. Gladiator is a film invested in the concept of retribution. [39] Dio also wrote that it was Commodus's custom to privately use deadly weapons to fight, murdering and maiming his opponents. Corrections? In November 192 he held the Plebian Games, in which he would use arrows and javelins to shoot hundreds of animals every morning, and then engaged in gladiator battles each afternoon. The Romans were outraged when Commodus would order wounded soldiers and amputees into the arena to be slayed. However, the following year, a detachment of soldiers from Britain (they had been drafted to Italy to suppress brigands) also denounced Perennis to the emperor as plotting to make his own son emperor (they had been enabled to do so by Cleander, who was seeking to dispose of his rival), and Commodus gave them permission to execute him as well as his wife and sons. 6.7M views 8 years ago #Gladiator #Oscars #RussellCrowe After Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) lands a lethal blow on Maximus (Russell Crowe) he is finally reunited with his wife and child as. In 186 he further reduced the purity and silver weight to 74percent and 2.22grams respectively, being 108 to the Roman pound. It worked and the Nerva-Antonine dynasty which had ruled Rome for nearly a century had come to an end and the city soon descended into civil war. "Commodus' progeny will rule Rome!" "Back!" yelled the Praetorian guard. The slave who became a gladiator.

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