View source for Commodus

{{short description|Roman emperor from 177 to 192}}
{{Other people|Commodus|Commodus  (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox royalty
| image        = Commodo vestito da Ercole ai Musei Capitolini.jpg
| image_size   = 
| alt          = Marble bust of Commodus
| caption      = [[Commodus as Hercules]] (AD 192), one of the most famous Roman sculptures.<ref>[https://www.museicapitolini.org/en/opera/busto-di-commodo-come-ercole#:~:text=The%20bust%20is%20one%20of,of%20the%20Greek%20hero's%20feats Bust of Commodus as Hercules.] ''Musei Capitolini''</ref>
| succession   = [[Roman emperor]]
| reign        = early 177 – 31 December 192<br/>(senior from 17 March 180)
| predecessor  = [[Marcus Aurelius]]
| successor    = [[Pertinax]]
| birth_date   = 31 August 161
| birth_place  = [[Lanuvium]], near [[Rome]], [[Roman Italy|Italy]]
| death_date   = 31 December 192 (aged 31)
| death_place  = Rome, Italy
| burial_place = [[Castel Sant'Angelo|Hadrian's Mausoleum]]
| spouse       = [[Bruttia Crispina]]
| full name    = {{bulleted list|Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus{{sfn|Hammond|pp=32–33}}<ref>[[s:de:RE:Aurelius 89|RE Aurelius 89]]</ref>|Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus<ref name=cooley>{{cite book |last=Cooley |first=Alison E. |author-link=Alison E. Cooley |title=The Cambridge Manual of Latin Epigraphy |url={{googlebooks|VlghAwAAQBAJ|plainurl=y}} |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2012 |page=494 |isbn=978-0-521-84026-2}}</ref>}}
| dynasty      = [[Nerva–Antonine dynasty|Nerva–Antonine]]
| father       = [[Marcus Aurelius]]
| mother       = [[Faustina the Younger]]
| reg-type     = {{nowrap|Co-emperor}}
| regent       = Marcus Aurelius (177–180)
}}
{{Nerva–Antonine dynasty
|image = [[File:INC-1818-a Ауреус Коммод ок. 186-187 гг. (аверс).png|150px]]
|caption = Aureus of Commodus
}}
'''Commodus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɒ|m|ə|d|ə|s}};<ref>[http://www.dictionary.com/browse/commodus "Commodus"]. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''.</ref> {{IPA|la|ˈkɔmmɔdʊs|lang}}; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was [[Roman emperor]] from 177 to 192, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father [[Marcus Aurelius]] and then ruling alone from 180. Commodus's sole reign is commonly thought to mark the end of the [[Pax Romana]], a golden age of peace and prosperity in the history of the [[Roman Empire]].

Commodus accompanied his father during the [[Marcomannic Wars]] in 172 and on a tour of the Eastern provinces in 176. The following year, he became the youngest [[Roman emperor|emperor]] and [[Roman consul|consul]] up to that point, at the age of 16. His solo reign saw less military conflict than that of Marcus Aurelius, but internal intrigues and conspiracies abounded, goading Commodus to an increasingly dictatorial style of leadership. This culminated in his creating a deific [[personality cult]], including his performances as a [[gladiator]] in the [[Colosseum]]. Throughout his reign, Commodus entrusted the management of affairs to his palace chamberlain and praetorian prefects, namely [[Saoterus]], [[Tigidius Perennis|Perennis]], and [[Marcus Aurelius Cleander|Cleander]].

Commodus was assassinated by the wrestler [[Narcissus (wrestler)|Narcissus]] in 192, ending the [[Nerva–Antonine dynasty]]. He was succeeded by [[Pertinax]], the first claimant in the tumultuous [[Year of the Five Emperors]].

==Early life and rise to power (161–180)==
===Early life===
Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus was born on 31 August AD{{nbsp}}161 in [[Lanuvium]], near [[Rome]].<ref name="HA LOC 1">''[[Historia Augusta]] – [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Commodus*.html Life of Commodus]''</ref> He was the son of the reigning emperor, [[Marcus Aurelius]], and Aurelius' first cousin, [[Faustina the Younger]], the youngest daughter of [[Roman Emperor|Emperor]] [[Antoninus Pius]], who had died only a few months before. Commodus had a twin brother, Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus, who died in 165. On 12 October 166, Commodus was made [[Caesar (title)|''caesar'']] together with his younger brother, [[Marcus Annius Verus Caesar|Marcus Annius Verus]].<ref name="HA LOC 1" /><ref name="David 1">David L. Vagi ''Coinage and History of the Roman Empire'' Vol. One: History p. 248</ref> The latter died in 169 having failed to recover from an operation, which left Commodus as Marcus Aurelius's sole surviving son.<ref name="David 1"/>

He was looked after by his father's physician, [[Galen]],<ref name="SPM">Mattern, Susan P., ''The Prince of Medicine: Galen in the Roman Empire'', p. xx</ref><ref>[[Cassius Dio|Dio, Cassius]], ''Roman History'', 71.33.1</ref> who treated many of Commodus's common illnesses. Commodus received extensive tutoring from a multitude of teachers with a focus on intellectual education.<ref name="Birley 197">Birley, Anthony R., ''Marcus Aurelius: A Biography'', p. 197</ref> Among his teachers, Onesicrates, Antistius Capella, [[Titus Aius Sanctus]], and Pitholaus are mentioned.<ref name="Birley 197"/><ref>''[[Historia Augusta]]'' 1.6</ref>

{{multiple image
| total_width       = 550
| image1            = Marcus Aurelius und Commodus - Münzkabinett, Berlin - 5483205.jpg
| image2            = COMMODUS-RIC III 633-78001797 DE GERMANIS.jpg
| align             = center
| footer            = '''Left''': Medallion depicting the ''caesar'' Commodus (right) with his father [[Marcus Aurelius|Marcus]] (left), AD 172<br/>'''Right''': [[Aureus]] of Commodus as co-''augustus'', AD 177<ref>Inscription: "[[Imperator]] Lucius Aurelius Commodus [[Augustus (title)|Augustus]] [[List of Roman imperial victory titles|Germanicus Sermaticus]], (holder of the) [[tribunician power]] for the 2nd time, [[Roman consul|consul]], [[father of the fatherland]]."</ref>}}

[[File:Bust of Commodus 180-192 AD.JPG|left|thumb|252x252px|Commodus {{Circa}} 170–175 AD, [[Romano-Germanic Museum]].]]
Commodus is known to have been at [[Carnuntum]], the headquarters of Marcus Aurelius during the [[Marcomannic Wars]], in 172. It is presumed that there, on 15 October 172, he was given the [[victory title]] ''Germanicus'', in the presence of the [[Roman army|army]]. The title suggests Commodus was present at his father's victory over the [[Marcomanni]]. On 20 January 175, Commodus entered the [[College of Pontiffs]], the starting point of a career in public life.<ref name="HA LOC 1" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Kienast |first=Dietmar |url=https://archive.org/details/romische-kaisertabelle |title=Römische Kaisertabelle: Grundzüge einer römischen Kaiserchronologie |last2=Werner Eck |author-link2=Werner Eck |last3=Matthäus Heil |date=2017 |publisher=[[Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft|WBG]] |isbn=978-3-5342-6724-8 |location=Darmstadt |pages=140–143 |language=de}}</ref>

In 175, [[Avidius Cassius]], Governor of [[Syria (Roman province)|Syria]], declared himself emperor following rumours that Marcus Aurelius had died. Having been accepted as emperor by Syria, [[Syria Palaestina|Palestina]] and [[Roman Egypt|Egypt]], Cassius carried on his rebellion even after it had become obvious Marcus was still alive. During the preparations for the campaign against Cassius, Commodus assumed his ''[[toga virilis]]'' on the [[Danube|Danubian]] front on 7 July 175, thus formally entering [[adulthood]]. Cassius, however, was killed by one of his [[centurion]]s before the campaign against him could begin. Commodus subsequently accompanied his father on a lengthy trip to the Eastern provinces, during which he visited [[Antioch]]. The Emperor and his son then travelled to [[Athens]], where they were initiated into the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]]. They then returned to Rome in the [[autumn]] of 176.<ref name=":1" />

Marcus Aurelius was the first emperor since [[Vespasian]] to have a legitimate biological son, though he himself was the fifth in the line of the so-called [[Five Good Emperors]], also known as the [[Adoptive Emperors]], each of whom had adopted his successor. Commodus was the first (and [[Constantine the Great|until 337]], the only) emperor "[[born in the purple]]," meaning during his father's reign.<ref>{{cite book |author=Marcel van Ackeren |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yt78Z9GY8RgC&pg=PA234 |title=A Companion to Marcus Aurelius |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4051-9285-9 |page=234}}</ref>

On 27 November 176, Marcus Aurelius bestowed the title of ''[[Imperator]]'' on Commodus.<ref>''[[Historia Augusta]]'' 2.4</ref> Modern authors often use this date as the beginning of his reign,<ref name="cooley" /> but the exact chronology of events is uncertain.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last=Hammond |first=Mason |author-link=Mason Hammond |date=1938 |title=The Tribunician Day during the Early Empire |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4238599 |journal=Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome |volume=15 |pages=23–61 (49–53) |doi=10.2307/4238599 |jstor=4238599 |issn=0065-6801|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Commodus is first mentioned as ''[[Augustus (title)|Augustus]]'' (emperor) on 17 June 177,<ref>{{cite book |last=Manuscripts |first=British Museum Department of |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RqgxAQAAMAAJ&pg=PR39 |title=Greek Papyri in the British Museum |date=1907 |publisher=British museum |isbn=978-0-7141-0486-7 |pages=xxxix, Pap. 845}}</ref> but he reckoned his reign back to his salutation in 176.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite journal |last=Hammond |first=Mason |date=1956 |title=The Transmission of the Powers of the Roman Emperor from the Death of Nero in A.D. 68 to That of Alexander Severus in A.D. 235 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4238640 |journal=Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome |volume=24 |pages=61–133 (104–105) |doi=10.2307/4238640 |jstor=4238640 |issn=0065-6801|url-access=subscription }}</ref> For instance, he assumed the ''[[tribunicia potestas]]'' (tribunician power) around February 177, but in April 177 he started to backdate this event to November 176.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Parker |first=H. M. D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dkkSEQAAQBAJ&pg=PR50 |title=A History of the Roman World from A.D. 138 to 337 |date=2024 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |others=Chapter II, note 77 |isbn=978-1-040-03539-9}}</ref>

On 23 December 176, the two ''imperatores'' celebrated a joint [[Roman triumph|triumph]].<ref>''[[Historia Augusta]]'' 12</ref> On 1 January 177, Commodus became [[consul]] for the first time, which made him, aged 15, the youngest consul up to that time (the minimum age for the consulship was around 30).<ref>''[[Historia Augusta]]'', Marcus Aurelius, 22.12</ref> He subsequently married [[Bruttia Crispina]] before accompanying his father to the Danubian front once more in 178. Marcus Aurelius died there on 17 March 180, leaving the 18-year-old Commodus as sole emperor.<ref>Dio, Cassius, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/72*.html 72.33.]</ref>

==Sole reign (180–192)==
[[File:Bust of Emperor Commodus, front - Getty Museum (92.SA.48).jpg|thumb|303x303px|Commodus {{Circa}} 180 AD, [[Getty Museum]].]]
Upon his ascension, Commodus devalued the [[Roman currency]]. He reduced the weight of the [[denarius]] from 96 per [[Roman pound]] to 105 per Roman pound (3.85&nbsp;grams to 3.35&nbsp;grams). <!-- Note, weights are per pound, so larger numbers are lower weight --> He also reduced the silver purity from 79&nbsp;percent to 76&nbsp;percent&nbsp;– the silver weight dropping from 2.57&nbsp;grams to 2.34&nbsp;grams. In 186, he further reduced the purity and silver weight to 74&nbsp;percent and 2.22&nbsp;grams respectively, being 108 to the Roman pound.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tulane.edu/~august/handouts/601cprin.htm|title=Tulane University "Roman Currency of the Principate"|access-date=3 March 2011|archive-date=10 February 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010210220413/http://www.tulane.edu/~august/handouts/601cprin.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> His reduction of the denarius during his rule was the largest since the empire's first devaluation during [[Nero]]'s reign.

[[File:ObverseCommodusDenarius177-192CE.png|thumb|The obverse image of a silver denarius depicting Roman Emperor Commodus (177–192 CE)]]

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. In the view of [[Cassius Dio]], his accession marked the descent "from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust".<ref>Dio, Cassius, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/72*.html#36 72.36.4], Loeb edition, translated E. Cary</ref>

Despite his notoriety, and considering the importance of his reign, Commodus's years in power are not well chronicled. The principal surviving literary sources are [[Herodian]], Cassius Dio (a contemporary and sometimes first-hand observer and [[Roman senator|Senator]] during Commodus's reign, whose reports for this period survive only as fragments and abbreviations), and the ''[[Historia Augusta]]'' (untrustworthy because of its character as a work of literature rather than of history, with elements of fiction embedded within its biographies; in the case of Commodus, it probably embroiders what the author found in reasonably good contemporary sources).

Commodus remained with the Danube armies for only a short time before negotiating a peace treaty with the Danubian tribes. He then returned to Rome and celebrated a triumph for the conclusion of the wars on 22 October 180. Unlike the preceding emperors [[Trajan]], [[Hadrian]], [[Antoninus Pius]] and [[Marcus Aurelius]], he seems to have had little interest in the business of administration. He 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 (office)|chamberlain]].

Dissatisfaction with this state of affairs led to a series of conspiracies and attempted coups, which in turn eventually provoked Commodus to take charge of affairs, which he did in an increasingly dictatorial manner. Nevertheless, though the [[Roman Senate|senatorial order]] came to hate and fear him, the evidence suggests he remained popular with the army and the common people for much of his reign, not least because of his lavish shows of largesse (recorded on his coinage) and because he staged and took part in spectacular [[gladiator]]ial combats. He was not an inspired combatant. He killed animals by bow, standing above the arena. When he fought fellow gladiators, they would purposely submit. During this period Rome's economy declined.

One of the ways he paid for his donatives (imperial handouts) and mass entertainments was to tax the senatorial order. On many inscriptions, the traditional order of the two nominal powers of the state, the Senate and People (''[[SPQR|Senatus Populusque Romanus]]'') was provocatively reversed (''Populus Senatusque...'').

===Conspiracies of 182===

{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2024}}

[[File:Commodus, Hermitage Museum.JPG|thumb|left|Commodus with attributes of [[Helios]], [[Apollo]] and [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]], late 2nd century AD, [[sardonyx]] [[Cameo (carving)|cameo relief]], [[Hermitage Museum]], St. Petersburg]]

At the outset of his reign, Commodus, aged 18, inherited many of his father's senior advisers, notably [[Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus]] (the second husband of Commodus's eldest sister [[Lucilla]]), his father-in-law [[Gaius Bruttius Praesens (consul 153)|Gaius Bruttius Praesens]], Titus Fundanius Vitrasius Pollio, and [[Gaius Aufidius Victorinus|Aufidius Victorinus]] the [[Praefectus urbi|Prefect of the City of Rome]]. He also had four surviving sisters, all of them with husbands who were potential rivals. Lucilla was over ten years his senior and held the rank of [[Augustus (honorific)|Augusta]] as the widow of her first husband, [[Lucius Verus]].

The first crisis of the reign came in 182, when Lucilla engineered a conspiracy against her brother. Her motive is alleged to have been the envy of the [[Roman Empress|Empress]] [[Bruttia Crispina|Crispina]]. Lucilla's husband, Pompeianus, was not involved, but two men alleged to have been her lovers, [[Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus]] (the consul of 167, also her first cousin) and Appius Claudius Quintianus, attempted to murder Commodus as he entered a theater. They bungled the job and were seized by the emperor's bodyguard.

Quadratus and Quintianus were executed. Lucilla was exiled to [[Capri]] and later killed. Pompeianus retired from public life. One of the two [[praetorian prefect]]s, [[Publius Tarrutenius Paternus]], had actually been involved in the conspiracy but his involvement was not discovered until later. In the meantime, he and his colleague, [[Tigidius Perennis|Sextus Tigidius Perennis]], were able to arrange for the murder of Saoterus, the hated chamberlain.

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, the son of the jurist [[Salvius Julianus]] and betrothed to Paternus' daughter. Salvius and Paternus were executed along with a number of other prominent consulars and senators. [[Didius Julianus]], the future emperor and a relative of Salvius Julianus, was dismissed from the governorship of [[Germania Inferior]].

====Cleander====
After the murder of the powerful [[Saoterus]], Perennis took over the reins of government and Commodus found a new chamberlain and favourite in [[Marcus Aurelius Cleander|Cleander]], a [[Phrygia]]n [[freedman]] who had married one of the emperor's mistresses, Demostratia. Cleander was in fact the person who had murdered Saoterus. After these attempts on his life, Commodus spent much of his time outside Rome, mostly on the family estates at Lanuvium. As he was physically strong, his chief interest was sport: he took part in [[horse racing]], [[chariot racing]], and combat with beasts and men, mostly in private but occasionally in public.

===Dacia and Britain===
Commodus was inaugurated in 183 as consul with Aufidius Victorinus as colleague and assumed the title ''Pius''. War broke out in [[Dacia]]: few details are available, but it appears two future contenders for the throne, [[Clodius Albinus]] and [[Pescennius Niger]], both distinguished themselves in the campaign. Also, in [[Roman Britain|Britain]] in 184, the governor [[Ulpius Marcellus]] re-advanced the Roman frontier northward to the [[Antonine Wall]], but the [[legionaries]] revolted against his harsh discipline and acclaimed another legate, Priscus, as emperor.<ref name="ReferenceA">Dio, Cassius, 73.10.2, Loeb edition, translated E. Cary</ref>

Priscus refused to accept their acclamation, and Perennis had all the legionary [[Legatus|legates]] in Britain [[cashiered]]. On 15 October 184, at the [[Capitoline Games]], a [[Cynicism (philosophy)|Cynic]] philosopher publicly denounced Perennis before Commodus. His tale was considered false and he was immediately put to death. According to Cassius Dio, Perennis, though ruthless and ambitious, was not personally corrupt and was a generally good administrator.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

However, the following year a detachment of soldiers from Britain (they had been drafted to [[Roman Italy|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. The fall of Perennis brought a new spate of executions: Aufidius Victorinus committed suicide. Ulpius Marcellus was replaced as [[Governors of Roman Britain|governor of Britain]] by [[Pertinax]]. Brought to Rome and tried for treason, Marcellus narrowly escaped death.

===Cleander's zenith and fall (185–190)===
[[File:1699 - Archaeological Museum, Athens - A youth, possibly Commodus - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, Nov 11 2009.jpg|thumb|Remnant of a Roman bust of a youth with a [[blond]] beard, perhaps Commodus, who is said to have always dyed his hair and used gold dust.<ref>''[[Historia Augusta]]'' 17.3</ref> [[National Archaeological Museum, Athens]]]]
Cleander proceeded to concentrate power in his own hands and to enrich himself by taking responsibility for all public offices. He sold (and bestowed entry to) Senate seats, army commands, [[Roman governor|governorships]], and increasingly, [[suffect consul]]ships, to the highest bidder. Unrest rose throughout the empire, with large numbers of army deserters causing trouble in [[Gaul]] and [[Germania|Germany]]. Pescennius Niger dealt with the deserters in Gaul in a military campaign. The revolt in [[Brittany]] was put down by two [[Roman legion|legions]] brought over from Britain.

In 187, one of the leaders of the deserters, [[Maternus (rebel)|Maternus]], came from Gaul intending to assassinate Commodus at the Festival of the Great Goddess in March but was betrayed and executed. In the same year [[Pertinax]] unmasked a conspiracy by two enemies of Cleander, [[Lucius Antistius Burrus|Antistius Burrus]] (one of Commodus's brothers-in-law) and [[Gaius Arrius Antoninus|Arrius Antoninus]]. As a result, Commodus appeared more rarely in public, preferring to live on his estates.

Early in 188, Cleander disposed of the current praetorian prefect, [[Publius Atilius Aebutianus|Atilius Aebutianus]], and took over supreme command of the [[Praetorian Guard]] at the new rank of ''a pugione'' ("dagger-bearer"), with two praetorian prefects subordinate to him. Now at the zenith of his power, Cleander continued to sell public offices as his private business. The climax came in the year 190, which had 25 suffect consuls—a record in the 1,000-year history of the Roman consulship—all appointed by Cleander (they included the future Emperor [[Septimius Severus]]).

In the spring of 190, Rome was afflicted by a food shortage, for which the ''praefectus annonae'' [[Papirius Dionysius]], the official actually in charge of the [[Grain supply to the city of Rome|grain supply]], contrived to lay the blame on Cleander. At the end of June, a mob demonstrated against Cleander during a horse race in the [[Circus Maximus]]: he sent the Praetorian Guard to put down the disturbances, but Pertinax, who was now City Prefect of Rome, dispatched the ''[[Vigiles Urbani]]'' to oppose them. Cleander fled to Commodus, who was at [[Laurentum]] in the house of the [[Quinctilia gens|Quinctilii]], for protection, but the mob followed him calling for his head.

At the urging of his mistress [[Marcia (mistress of Commodus)|Marcia]], Commodus had Cleander beheaded and his son killed. Other victims at this time were the praetorian prefect Julius Julianus, Commodus's cousin [[Annia Fundania Faustina]], and his brother-in-law Mamertinus. Papirius Dionysius was executed, too. In AD 191, Commodus took more of the reins of power, though he continued to rule through a cabal consisting of Marcia, his new chamberlain Eclectus, and the new praetorian prefect [[Quintus Aemilius Laetus]].

===Megalomania (190–192)===
[[File:Medallion of Commodus as Hercules.jpg|thumb|367x367px|Medallion of Commodus depicting him as Hercules, AD 192.]]
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. Innumerable statues around the empire were set up portraying him in the guise of [[Hercules]], reinforcing the image of him as a demigod, a physical giant, a protector, and a warrior who fought against men and beasts (see {{seclink||Commodus and Hercules}} and {{seclink||Commodus the Gladiator}} below). Moreover, as Hercules, he could claim to be the son of [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]], the supreme god of the Roman [[Pantheon (gods)|pantheon]]. These tendencies now increased to [[wiktionary:megalomania|megalomaniacal]] proportions. Far from celebrating his descent from Marcus Aurelius, the actual source of his power, he stressed his own personal uniqueness as the bringer of a new order, seeking to re-cast the empire in his own image.

During 191, the city of Rome was extensively damaged by a fire that raged for several days, during which many public buildings including the [[Temple of Peace, Rome|Temple of Pax]], the [[Temple of Vesta]], and parts of the imperial palace were destroyed.

Perhaps seeing this as an opportunity, early in 192 Commodus, declaring himself the new [[Romulus]], ritually re-founded Rome, renaming the city ''Colonia Lucia Annia Commodiana''. All the months of the year were renamed to correspond exactly with his (now twelve) names: ''Lucius'', ''Aelius'', ''Aurelius'', ''Commodus'', ''Augustus'', ''Herculeus'', ''Romanus'', ''Exsuperatorius'', ''Amazonius'', ''Invictus'', ''Felix'', and ''Pius''. The legions were renamed ''Commodianae'', the fleet which imported grain from [[Africa (Roman province)|Africa]] was termed ''Alexandria Commodiana Togata'', the Senate was entitled the Commodian Fortunate Senate, his palace and the Roman people themselves were all given the name ''Commodianus'', and the day on which these reforms were decreed was to be called ''Dies Commodianus''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.roman-emperors.org/commod.htm|title=Roman Emperors – DIR commodus|website=www.roman-emperors.org|access-date=24 June 2022|archive-date=21 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321061813/http://www.roman-emperors.org/commod.htm|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref>

Thus, he presented himself as the fountainhead of the Empire, Roman life, and religion. He also had the head of the [[Colossus of Nero]] adjacent to the [[Colosseum]] replaced with his own portrait, gave it a club, placed a [[bronze]] [[lion]] at its feet to make it look like ''Hercules Romanus'', and added an inscription boasting of being "the only left-handed fighter to conquer twelve times one thousand men".<ref>Dio, Cassius, 73.22.3</ref>

===Assassination (192)===
[[File:Römermuseum Osterburken (DerHexer) 2012-09-30 008.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Damnatio memoriae]]'' of Commodus on an inscription in the Museum of Roman History in [[Osterburken]], Germany. The abbreviation "CO" has been restored with paint.]]
In November 192, Commodus held Plebeian Games, in which he shot hundreds of animals with arrows and javelins every morning, and fought as a gladiator every afternoon, winning all the fights. In December, he announced his intention to inaugurate the year 193 as both consul and gladiator on 1 January.

When Marcia found a list of people Commodus intended to have executed, she discovered that she, the prefect Laetus, and Eclectus were on it. The three of them plotted to assassinate the emperor. On 31 December, Marcia poisoned Commodus's food, but he vomited up the poison, so the conspirators sent his wrestling partner [[Narcissus (wrestler)|Narcissus]] to strangle him in his bath.<ref>Dio, Cassius, 73.22</ref>

Upon his death, the Senate declared him a public enemy (a ''de facto'' ''[[damnatio memoriae]]'') and restored the original name of the city of Rome and its institutions. Statues of Commodus were demolished. His body was buried in the [[Mausoleum of Hadrian]].

Commodus's death marked the end of the [[Nerva–Antonine dynasty]]. Commodus was succeeded by [[Pertinax]], whose reign was short; he became the first claimant to be usurped during the [[Year of the Five Emperors]].

In 195, the emperor [[Septimius Severus]], trying to gain favour with the family of Marcus Aurelius, rehabilitated Commodus's memory and had the Senate [[Apotheosis|deify]] him.<ref>To "accept kinship with Commodus&nbsp;... the bluntly pragmatic decision was taken to deify the former emperor, thus legitimizing Severus' seizure of power." See [[Annelise Freisenbruch]], ''Caesars' Wives: Sex, Power, and Politics in the Roman Empire'' (London and New York: Free Press, 2010), 187.</ref>

==Character and physical prowess==

===Character and motivations===
Cassius Dio, a first-hand witness, describes him as "not naturally wicked but, on the contrary, as guileless as any man that ever lived. His great simplicity, however, together with his cowardice, made him the slave of his companions, and it was through them that he at first, out of ignorance, missed the better life and then was led on into lustful and cruel habits, which soon became second nature."<ref>Dio, Cassius, 73.1.2, Loeb edition, translated E. Cary</ref>

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. It seems likely that he was raised in an atmosphere of [[Stoicism|Stoic]] [[asceticism]], which he rejected entirely upon his accession to sole rule.

After repeated attempts on Commodus's life, [[Roman citizenship|Roman citizens]] were often killed for making him angry. One such notable event was the attempted extermination of the house of the [[Quinctilia gens|Quinctilii]]. Condianus and Maximus were executed on the pretext that while they were not implicated in any plots, their wealth and talent would make them unhappy with the current state of affairs.<ref>Dio, Cassius, 73.5.3, Loeb edition, translated E. Cary</ref> Historian [[Aelius Lampridius]] recorded another event taking place at the Roman baths at [[Terme Taurine]], where a young Commodus ordered an attendant to be thrown into an oven after he had found his bathwater to be lukewarm, although a sheep skin was secretly substituted by a slave to replicate the burnt smell, sparing the attendant's life.<ref>Historia Augusta. C 1, 9.</ref><ref>Heinz, W. (1986). Die <nowiki>''Terme Taurine''</nowiki> von Civitavecchia – ein römisches Heilbad. ''Antike Welt,'' ''17''(4), 22–43.</ref>

===Changes of name===
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| caption2          = Two ''[[aureus|aurei]]'' of AD 186 and 192 showing Commodus' change from "Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus" to his original "Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus"
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His original name was Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus.{{sfn|Hammond|p=32}} On his father's death in 180, Commodus changed this to Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus, before changing back to his birth name in 191.{{sfn|Hammond|pp=32–33}} Later that year he adopted as his full style ''Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus Augustus Herculeus Romanus Exsuperatorius Amazonius Invictus Felix Pius'' (the order of some of these titles varies in the sources). "Exsuperatorius" (the supreme) was a title given to Jupiter, and "Amazonius" identified him again with Hercules.

An inscribed altar from [[Dura-Europos]] on the Euphrates shows that Commodus's titles and the renaming of the months were disseminated to the farthest 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). The latter eventually would be used as a conventional title by Roman emperors, starting about a century later, but Commodus seems to have been the first to assume it.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Spiedel |first=M.P. |title=Commodus the God-Emperor and the Army |journal=Journal of Roman Studies |volume=83 |pages=109–114 |year=1993 |jstor=300981 |s2cid=162303472 |doi=10.2307/300981}}</ref>

===Commodus and Hercules===
Disdaining the more philosophic inclinations of his father, Commodus was extremely proud of his physical prowess. The historian Herodian, a contemporary, described Commodus as an extremely handsome man.<ref>Grant, Michael. ''The Roman Emperors'' (1985) p. 99.</ref> As mentioned above, he ordered many statues to be made showing him dressed as Hercules with a lion's hide and a club. He thought of himself as the reincarnation of Hercules, frequently emulating the legendary hero's feats by appearing in the arena to fight a variety of wild animals. He was left-handed and very proud of the fact.<ref>Dio, Cassius, ''Roman History: Epitome of Book LXXIII'' pp 111.</ref> Cassius Dio and the writers of the ''[[Historia Augusta|Augustan History]]'' say that Commodus was a skilled archer, who could shoot the heads off [[ostrich]]es in full gallop, and kill a panther as it attacked a victim in the arena.

===Commodus the gladiator===
Commodus also had a passion for gladiatorial combat, which he took so far as to take to the [[arena]] himself, dressed as a [[secutor]].<ref>Gibbon, Edward, ''The history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire''. Vol. 5. Methuen, 1898.</ref> The Romans found Commodus's gladiatorial combat to be scandalous and disgraceful.<ref>Herodian's Roman History F.L. Muller Edition 1.15.7</ref> According to Herodian, spectators of Commodus thought it unbecoming of an emperor to take up arms in the amphitheater for sport when he could be campaigning against [[barbarians]] among other opponents of Rome. The consensus was that it was below his office to participate as a gladiator.<ref>Echols, Edward C., "Herodian of Antioch's History of the Roman Empire", English translation, UCLA Press, Berkeley, CA (1961), 1.15.1-9</ref> Popular rumors spread alleging he was not actually the son of Marcus Aurelius, but of a gladiator his mother Faustina had taken as a lover at the coastal resort of [[Caieta (city)|Caieta]].<ref>''Historia Augusta'', Life of Marcus Aurelius, XIX. The film ''The Fall of the Roman Empire'' makes use of this story: one of the characters is an old gladiator who eventually reveals himself to be Commodus's real father.</ref>

Cassius Dio claimed that citizens of Rome who lacked feet (either through accident or illness) were taken to the arena, where they were tethered together for Commodus to club to death while pretending they were giants.<ref>Dio, Cassius, 73.20.3, Loeb edition, translated E. Cary</ref> Dio also wrote that it was Commodus's custom to privately use deadly weapons to fight, murdering and maiming his opponents.<ref name="Dio, Cassius, 73.10.3">Cassius DIO, 73.10.3</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2017-12-01 |title=Intrigue, Insanity, and the Reign of Commodus |url=https://www.wondriumdaily.com/intrigue-insanity-reign-commodus/ |access-date=2022-06-09 |website=Wondrium Daily |language=en-US |archive-date=26 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526054623/https://www.wondriumdaily.com/intrigue-insanity-reign-commodus/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Commodus was also known for fighting exotic animals in the arena, often to the horror and disgust of the Roman populace. According to Cassius Dio, Commodus once killed 100 lions in a single day.<ref>Gibbon, p. 106: "disgorged at once a hundred lions; a hundred darts"</ref> Later, he decapitated a running ostrich with a specially designed dart<ref>Gibbon, Edward, ''The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'': Volume I. Everyman's Library (Knopf) New York. 1910. p. 106: "with arrows whose point was shaped in the form of a crescent"</ref> and afterward carried his sword and the bleeding head of the dead bird over to the Senators' seating area, and motioned to suggest that they were to be next.<ref name=foxcomm>[[Robin Lane Fox|Lane Fox, Robin]], ''The Classical World: An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian'', Basic Books, 2006, p. 446 "brandishing a sword in one hand and bloodied neck...He gesticulated at the Senate."</ref> Dio notes that the targeted senators actually found this more ridiculous than frightening, and chewed on [[Laurus nobilis|laurel]] leaves to conceal their laughter.<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/73*.html Roman History by Cassius Dio] penelope.uchicago.edu</ref> On other occasions, Commodus killed three elephants on the floor of the arena by himself,<ref>Scullard, H. H., ''The Elephant in the Greek and Roman World'', Thames and Hudson, 1974, p. 252</ref> and a giraffe.<ref>Gibbon, p. 107: "*1 Commodus killed a camelopardalis or giraffe&nbsp;... the most useless of the quadrupeds".</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="220px">
File:The Emperor Commodus Leaving the Arena at the Head of the Gladiators by American muralist Edwin Howland Blashfield (1848-1936) 01 (cropped).jpg|''The Emperor Commodus Leaving the Arena at the Head of the Gladiators'' (detail) by [[Edwin Blashfield]] (1848–1936), Hermitage Museum and Gardens, Norfolk, Virginia.
</gallery>

==In popular culture==
* An evil and highly [[narcissistic]] Commodus is portrayed by Canadian actor [[Christopher Plummer]] in the classic epic film ''[[The Fall of the Roman Empire (film)|The Fall of the Roman Empire]]'' (1964), directed by [[Anthony Mann]]. This film depicts all of this emperor's reign, from the death of [[Marcus Aurelius]] until his own death while fighting against the fictional hero Livius.
* In the [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] winner ''[[Gladiator (2000 film)|Gladiator]]'' (2000), a fictionalized Commodus serves as the main antagonist of the film. He is played by [[Joaquin Phoenix]], who received a [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]] nomination at the [[73rd Academy Awards]].<ref>IMDB {{cite web |url=http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0002128/ |title=Commodus |publisher=[[IMDb]] |access-date=16 June 2021 |archive-date=9 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709123011/http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0002128/ |url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref>
* Commodus appears in the ''[[Horrible Histories (2009 TV series)|Horrible Histories]]'' song "Evil Emperors", alongside [[Caligula]], [[Elagabalus]] and [[Nero]], a parody of "[[Bad (Michael Jackson song)|Bad]]".
* The 2017 docu-drama miniseries ''[[Roman Empire: Reign of Blood]]'' retells his story.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.whatsontv.co.uk/news/blog/box-set-binge-432091/ |title=Box Set Binge: Roman Empire: Reign of Blood, The Path and Deutschland 83 |last=Agius |first=Den |date=19 November 2016 |access-date=20 July 2018 |website=[[What's on TV]] |publisher=[[TI Media Limited]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://decider.com/2016/11/15/roman-empire-reign-of-blood-lucilla-tai-berdinner-blades/ |title='Roman Empire: Reign Of Blood': Who Was The Real Lucilla? |last=O'Keefe |first=Meghan |date=25 November 2016 |access-date=20 July 2018 |website=[[Decider (website)|Decider]] |publisher=[[NYP Holdings, Inc.]]}}</ref> In this version, Narcissus kills Commodus in a duel after learning that the Emperor's arena opponents had been armed only with edgeless swords. At first, Narcissus strangles Commodus, but ultimately kills him by piercing his heart with a blunt sword. [[Aaron Jakubenko]] portrays Commodus in the series.
*Commodus appears as one of the antagonists in the popular young adult fiction novel series ''[[The Trials of Apollo]]''. He is revealed as having become a minor god after his death and has survived into modern times, along with two other Roman emperors, [[Caligula]] and [[Nero]].

{{Nerva-Antonine family tree}}

==See also==
* [[List of Roman emperors]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
*{{cite EB9 |wstitle=Lucius Aurelius Commodus |volume=6 |pages=207&ndash;208 |short=1}}
*{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Commodus, Lucius Aelius Aurelius |volume=6 |page=777 |short=1}}

== Further reading ==
* Geoff W Adams [2013]. ''The Emperor Commodus: gladiator, Hercules or a tyrant?''. Boca Raton, FL: BrownWalker Press. {{ISBN|1612337228}}.
* G. Alföldy, "Der Friedesschluss des Kaisers Commodus mit den Germanen", ''Historia'', '''20''' (1971), pp.&nbsp;84–109.
* P. A. Brunt, "The Fall of Perennis: Dio-Xiphilinus 79.9.2", ''Classical Quarterly'', '''23''' (1973), pp.&nbsp;172–177.
* J. Gagé, "La mystique imperiale et l'épreuve des jeux. Commode-Hercule et l'anthropologie hercaléenne", ''ANRW'' 2.17.2 (1981), 663–683.
* {{cite journal |last=Hammond |year=1957 |first=Mason |title=Imperial Elements in the Formula of the Roman Emperors during the First Two and a Half Centuries of the Empire |journal=Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome |volume=25 |pages=19–64 |doi=10.2307/4238646 |jstor=4238646 |url=https://archive.org/details/memoirsofamerica25ameruoft |author-link=Mason Hammond |ref={{sfnref|Hammond}}}}
* Olivier Hekster, ''Commodus: An Emperor at the Crossroads: Dutch monographs on ancient history and archaeology'', 23. Brill, 2002. {{ISSN|0924-3550}}.
** On Heksters study, see the detailed commentary by Christian Witschel, "Kaiser, Gladiator, Gott. Zur Selbstdarstellung des Commodus", ''Scripta Classica Israelica'', '''23''' (2004), pp.&nbsp;255–272 ([https://scriptaclassica.org/index.php/sci/article/view/3573/3093 online]).
* L. L. Howe, ''The Praetorian Prefect from Commodus to Diocletian (A.D. 180–305)''. Chicago, 1942. {{ISBN?}}
* Falko von Saldern, ''Studien zur Politik des Commodus.'' Verlag Marie Leidorf, 2003, {{ISBN|3-89646-833-2}}.
* M.P. Speidel, "Commodus the God-Emperor and the Army," ''Journal of Roman Studies'', '''83''' (1993), pp.&nbsp;109–114.
* Jerry Toner, ''The Day Commodus Killed a Rhino: Understanding the Roman Games''. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014. {{ISBN?}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Commodus*.html Historia Augusta: Life of Commodus]
* [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/73*.html Book 73 of Cassius Dio's History]
* [https://www.livius.org/sources/content/herodian-s-roman-history/ Herodian's Roman History]

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{{s-hou|[[Nerva–Antonine dynasty]]|31 August|161|31 December|192}}
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{{S-end}}

{{Roman Emperors}}
{{Pharaohs}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Commodus| ]]
[[Category:161 births]]
[[Category:192 deaths]]
[[Category:2nd-century murdered monarchs]]
[[Category:2nd-century Roman emperors]]
[[Category:Aelii]]
[[Category:Aurelii]]
[[Category:Burials at the Castel Sant'Angelo]]
[[Category:Deaths by strangulation]]
[[Category:Deified Roman emperors]]
[[Category:Eponymous archons]]
[[Category:2nd-century Roman consuls]]
[[Category:Nerva–Antonine dynasty]]
[[Category:People from Lanuvio]]
[[Category:Roman emperors murdered by the Praetorian Guard]]
[[Category:Roman emperors to suffer posthumous denigration or damnatio memoriae]]
[[Category:Sons of Roman emperors]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman twins]]
[[Category:Roman pharaohs]]
[[Category:Assassinated heads of state in Europe]]
[[Category:Damnatio memoriae]]
[[Category:Lanuvium]]