He engaged in one-on-one combat with many other gladiators, each of whom was obliged to lose to the emperor. Commodus was born on August 31, 161 AD in Lanuvium, 14 miles (22.5 km) southeast of Rome. Striking story! Muller Edition 1.15.7, Echols, Edward C. "Herodian of Antioch's History of the Roman Empire." To "accept kinship with Commodus the bluntly pragmatic decision was taken to deify the former emperor, thus legitimizing Severus' seizure of power. The emperor Titus Flavian completed the Colosseum and endeared himself to the public with his generosity only to have his good works undone by his brother Domitian, who was assassinated by his own court. When Commodus ordered for the death of Maximus and his family, the Romans could not reject that request. Early in 188, Cleander disposed of the current praetorian prefect, 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. All Action 473K subscribers 86K 11M views 1 year ago #Gladiator #RidleyScott #AllAction Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) challenges Maximus (Russell Crowe) in combat in the hopes of killing him. 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.[31]. It appeared that he had no interest in being a leader, and only wanted to take advantage of his leadership powers to fulfill his own desires. Sporting critical wounds after enacting his vengeance at the end of Gladiator, Maximus dies moments after Commodus. As he was physically strong, his chief interest was in sport: he took part in horse racing, chariot racing, and combat with beasts and men, mostly in private but also on occasion in public. Commodus was inaugurated in 183 as consul with Aufidius Victorinus for a colleague and assumed the title Pius. It is of particular interest that Aurelius craved succession by one of his sons so much because there hadnt been an emperor who had been succeeded by his own son since Titus succeeded Vespasian in 79. A work of history that reads like fiction, The Gladiator brings to life Spartacus, Commodus, Caligula, and all of the other memorable players of the nearly thousand-year-long gladiatorial era. Commodus: The general who became a slave. In December, he announced his intention to inaugurate the year 193 as both consul and gladiator on 1 January. . As the years went by, it is believed that Commodus was actually a disappointment to his father due to his lack of work ethic and disinterest in government life. Commodus was a spoiled, narcissistic young man who was something of an embarrassment to his father. Cassius, however, was killed by one of his centurions before the campaign against him could begin. Cleander fled to Commodus, who was at Laurentum in the house of the Quinctilii, for protection, but the mob followed him calling for his head. As Greek mythology goes, the universe was once a big soup of nothingness. [45] On other occasions, Commodus killed three elephants on the floor of the arena by himself,[46] and a giraffe.[47]. But now, the people want to know how the story ends. Updates? 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."[26]. However, the ending, while sad, is true to Maximus's goals. By December of that year, he declared that he would inaugurate the New Year on January 1, 193 as a gladiator in the 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. On this channel we focus on Roman History and right now we're doing a video on every Roman Emperor, if you're interested in that subscribe or watch the playlist here: https://bit.ly/32CUA2g. www.alexanderdoddy.com. Commodus ( / kmds /; [4] 31 August 161 - 31 December 192) was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. One of the ways he paid for his donatives (imperial handouts) and mass entertainments was to tax the senatorial order, and on many inscriptions, the traditional order of the two nominal powers of the state, the Senate and People (Senatus Populusque Romanus) is provocatively reversed (Populus Senatusque). The consensus was that it was below his office to participate as a 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. The pivotal 2000 historical drama follows the betrayed general, Maximus, on a quest for revenge against Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), the usurper emperor of Rome, who murdered his wife and son. Now at the zenith of his power, Cleander continued to sell public offices as his private business. After those attempts on his life, Commodus spent much of his time outside Rome, mostly on the family estates at Lanuvium. It is uncertain whether Rupilia Faustina was Frugi's daughter by Salonia Matidia or another woman. By 192 A.D., the Roman people had had enough. He also believed himself to be a reincarnation of Hercules and enjoyed fighting in an arena as a gladiator. The fall of Perennis brought a new spate of executions: Aufidius Victorinus committed suicide. One of the two praetorian prefects, Publius Tarrutenius Paternus, had actually been involved in the conspiracy but his involvement was not discovered until later on, and in the aftermath, he and his colleague, Sextus Tigidius Perennis, were able to arrange for the murder of Saoterus, the hated chamberlain. First, she attempted to kill him by poisoning his food. On December 31, 192, his advisers had him strangled by a champion wrestler, following his announcement the day before that he would assume the consulship, dressed as a gladiator. ( Naughtynimitz/CC BY-SA 3.0 ). The real Commodus was also taken out by a Senate plot, although less publicly: After a few unsuccessful attempts, he was strangled to death in his bathroom by a professional wrestler moonlighting as an assassin. His father was the philosopher-king, Marcus Aurelius, who New Moai Statue Found on Chiles Easter Island Excites Researchers, Translation of 5,500-Year-Old Babel Text from China Reveals Oldest Known Map of Inner Solar System, The Gristhorpe Man: A Bronze Age Skeleton with a Story to Tell, 3: The Perfect Number - Trinity Symbolism in World Religious Traditions, Library in Stone: The Ica Stones of Professor Cabrera Part I, Two Sides to Every Story: The North American Martyrs Shrines and Indigenous/ Roman Catholic Relations, The Origins of the Faeries: Encoded in our Cultures Part I, Curse of the Buried Pearl: The Hunt for Ancient Treasures Part I, The Enigma of the Shugborough Inscription, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/128108/Commodus, http://www.roman-empire.net/highpoint/commodus.html, 5 Celebrity Gladiators of Bloodthirsty Ancient Rome, Romes African Emperor: Septimius Severus and the Scottish Invasion, Catastrophic Collapse: When Historic Good Governments Turned Bad, Mimicking Gods and Gladiators: The Assassination Of Emperor Commodus, The Philosopher-King of Ancient Rome: Marcus Aurelius' Imperium, Fair-Weather Friends: A Weird Explanation for 20% of Roman Emperor Assassinations. This caused much outrage, and inspired prefect Laetus to start a conspiracy to assassinate the emperor. Commodus, who is portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, was indeed the son of Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) and an emperor of Rome. It was presumably there that, on 15 October 172, he was given the victory title Germanicus, in the presence of the army. I am sure you are familiar with his legend which states that he was born in a manger surrounded by shepherds, about 5 Celebrity Gladiators of Bloodthirsty Ancient Rome, about Romes African Emperor: Septimius Severus and the Scottish Invasion, about Catastrophic Collapse: When Historic Good Governments Turned Bad, about Mimicking Gods and Gladiators: The Assassination Of Emperor Commodus, about The Philosopher-King of Ancient Rome: Marcus Aurelius' Imperium, about Fair-Weather Friends: A Weird Explanation for 20% of Roman Emperor Assassinations, The Lemon Grove Mummies: Ancient Corpses from Mexican Cave Found in California Garage, The Curious Apparitions of Pagan Goddesses to the German Knights Templar, Caesars Savage Human Skewers Unearthed In German Fort, The Warriors Who Shaped African History: The Horsemen of Oyo. One of these is Commodus' relationship with his sister Lucilla. 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). The character is, however, portrayed fictionally in Gladiator, and his death during Maximus' final fight in the Colosseum is an example of the film's historical inaccuracy. Or, were the Romans protecting something even more valuable than silver? Commodus, the son of the famous Emperor Marcus Aurelius, lived an interesting life, combining 15 years of rule alongside his father with 16 years of chaos. 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. His brutal misrule precipitated civil strife that ended 84 years of stability and prosperity within the empire. ( Louisonze/CC BY-SA 3.0 ). Cleander was in fact the person who had murdered Saoterus. 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 Pax, the Temple of Vesta, and parts of the imperial palace were destroyed. [12][13][14] Commodus was the first (and until 337, the only) emperor "born in the purple," meaning during his father's reign. On 31 December 192 AD, Commodus's concubine [2] and conspirator Marcia poisoned Commodus's wine. Watching him collapse and die after restoring his own freedom and ridding Rome of its Tyrant in Chief seems like, well, a downer. Sister of Trajan's father: Giacosa (1977), p.7. Be warned, though:If you thought Maximus's death was sad, you really won't like this. Interestingly, it took Scott a while to realize that, like a sadistic emperor at a gladiatorial display, the ending demanded Maximus's death. It's ironic that we watched the film Gladiator the other night. This horrified the Roman people. Under Commodus, Rome had descended from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust. Much like Nero had supposedly fiddled while Rome burned, Commodus enjoyed himself as the city decayed around him. Composite Character: Maximus, compared to real life. His death in history marks the end of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty; in the movie, his death marks the retributive end of Maximus Gladiator story. According to Dio Cassius, Perennis, though ruthless and ambitious, was not personally corrupt and generally administered the state well.[21]. 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