Commodus

Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus was born on August 31, 161 CE, in Lanuvium, near Rome. He was the son of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Faustina the Younger, making him the first emperor "born in the purple" - meaning during his father's reign. Commodus had a twin brother, Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus, who died in 165 CE, and a younger brother, Marcus Annius Verus, who died in 169 CE after a failed operation.

As the son of the philosopher-emperor, Commodus received an exceptional education under the care of his father's physician, Galen, and numerous distinguished teachers including Onesicrates, Antistius Capella, Titus Aius Sanctus, and Pitholaus. Despite this excellent education in Stoic philosophy and imperial administration, Commodus would later reject many of his father's austere principles and philosophical approach to life.

Commodus accompanied his father during the Marcomannic Wars in 172 CE and was present at Carnuntum, the military headquarters. On October 15, 172 CE, he was given the victory title Germanicus in the presence of the army. On January 20, 175 CE, he entered the College of Pontiffs, marking the beginning of his public career.

On November 27, 176 CE, Marcus Aurelius bestowed the title of Imperator on Commodus, and on June 17, 177 CE, he became Augustus (co-emperor) at the unprecedented age of 15. On January 1, 177 CE, he became consul for the first time, making him the youngest consul in Roman history. He subsequently married Bruttia Crispina before accompanying his father to the Danubian front. When Marcus Aurelius died on March 17, 180 CE, the 18-year-old Commodus became sole emperor.

Upon becoming sole emperor, Commodus immediately began to diverge from his father's Stoic principles and policies. Where Marcus Aurelius had been marked by almost continuous warfare and philosophical reflection, Commodus's rule was comparatively peaceful militarily but characterized by political strife and increasingly erratic behavior.

Commodus quickly negotiated peace with the Danubian tribes and returned to Rome, showing little interest in the business of administration that had consumed his father. Instead, he left the practical running of the state to a succession of favorites, beginning with Saoterus, a freedman from Nicomedia who had become his chamberlain. This delegation of power would become a defining characteristic of his reign and a source of growing discontent among the senatorial class.

As his reign progressed, Commodus became increasingly megalomaniacal, developing a deific personality cult centered around his identification with Hercules. He commissioned countless statues showing himself dressed as Hercules with a lion's hide and club, believing himself to be the reincarnation of the legendary hero. He even had the head of the Colossus of Nero replaced with his own portrait, complete with Hercules' attributes.

Commodus's most notorious obsession was with gladiatorial combat. He frequently appeared in the Colosseum as a gladiator, fighting both animals and human opponents (though his human opponents were instructed to submit). He was skilled with a bow and could shoot the heads off ostriches in full gallop. In November 192 CE, he held Plebeian Games where he shot hundreds of animals with arrows and javelins every morning and fought as a gladiator every afternoon, winning all fights. He announced his intention to inaugurate the year 193 CE as both consul and gladiator.

Commodus's increasingly erratic behavior and megalomania eventually led to his downfall. In late 192 CE, his mistress Marcia, the praetorian prefect Quintus Aemilius Laetus, and his chamberlain Eclectus discovered they were on a list of people Commodus intended to execute. Fearing for their lives, they plotted his assassination.

On December 31, 192 CE, Marcia attempted to poison Commodus's food, but when he vomited up the poison, the conspirators sent his wrestling partner Narcissus to strangle him in his bath. Commodus died at age 31, ending the Nerva-Antonine dynasty and the Pax Romana. His death marked the beginning of the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors. The Senate immediately declared him a public enemy and restored the original names of Rome and its institutions. Commodus's reign serves as a cautionary tale about the corruption of power and the abandonment of philosophical principles.