Commodus

Commodus, born Lucius Aurelius Commodus in 161 CE, was the Roman emperor from 180 to 192 CE. He was one of two twin sons of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius but is infamous for his differences to his father’s respected reputation as a philosopher as well as king. Commodus' solo reign marked the beginning of the great decline of the Roman Empire, in large part due to his increasingly deranged behavior towards the public and high-ranking officials. (OCD: Commodus, Lucius Aurelius).

Ascending to co-run the throne with his father at the age of 15, Commodus joined his father on his invasion of Germany. (AHE: Commodus). Shortly after, Marcus Aurelius fell ill and died, leaving Commodus as the lone emperor of Rome at the age of 19. As time went on with him being the ruler of Rome, his fascination with absolute power and his narcissism grew into something that was endangering. He thought of himself as a living god thinking he was Hercules reborn. (Cornell and Matthews, pg. 103).

This madness materialized mostly in his obsession with Rome's gladiatorial games. Unlike other emperors, he actively participated in the arena, even though this was extremely disgraceful and frowned upon, especially by the elites. He would often set up staged arenas where he would fight against targets that would give him an easy victory such as wounded soldiers or random civilians. (Grant, pg. 97). His participation in these games cost the Roman government severely, which hurt their already diminishing wealth. His delusions only worsened as time went on. Commodus stupidly renamed Rome to "Colonia Commodiana" meaning the Colony of Commodus, and renamed many public buildings named after previous emperors to try and lessen their legacy and strengthen his own. (OCD: Commodus, Lucius Aurelius).

Commodus' rule as emperor was characterized by paranoia of the public and the elimination of anyone he thought could be a threat to his absolute power on the throne. He executed multiple senators, even ones who had supported his rule, and surrounded himself with advisors who further encouraged his extremely erratic and unfair treatment of his people. By 192 CE, the emperor’s tyranny had made so much of the Roman population angry with him, it led to many conspiracies against him. (Gagarin and Fantham, pg. 278). His increasingly unpredictable and cruel behavior towards the people of the Roman Empire culminated in a final plot to end his life that he had coming.

On December 31, 192 CE, after surviving multiple assassination attempts, Commodus was strangled to death in his bath by his wrestling partner, Narcissus, in a plot put together by his inner circle. (Grant, pg. 97). His horrible reign of Rome transitioned it from a strong, stable power to a heavily weakened state, setting the stage for a period of crisis and instability.