Commodus

Lore & Background

Commodus accompanied his father during the Marcomannic Wars in 172 and on a tour of the Eastern provinces in 176. On 20 January 175, he entered the College of Pontiffs. On 7 July 175, he assumed his toga virilis on the Danubian front, formally entering adulthood. He subsequently accompanied his father to Athens, where they were initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries. On 27 November 176, Marcus Aurelius bestowed the title of Imperator on Commodus. On 1 January 177, Commodus became consul for the first time, making him, aged 15, the youngest consul up to that time. He 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. Upon his ascension, Commodus devalued the Roman currency, reducing the weight of the denarius from 96 per Roman pound to 105 per Roman pound and the silver purity from 79 percent to 76 percent. In 186, he further reduced the purity and silver weight to 74 percent and 2.22 grams respectively. His reign was comparatively peaceful in the military sense but characterised by political strife. He left the practical running of the state to a succession of favourites, beginning with Saoterus, a freedman from Nicomedia who had become his chamberlain. Dissatisfaction led to conspiracies and attempted coups. In 182, his sister Lucilla engineered a conspiracy against him; she was exiled to Capri and later killed. After the murder of Saoterus, Perennis took over the reins of government. Commodus was assassinated by the wrestler Narcissus in 192, ending the Nerva–Antonine dynasty.

In Their Own Story

The first crisis of Commodus's reign came in 182, when his sister Lucilla engineered a conspiracy against him. Two men alleged to have been her lovers, Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus and Appius Claudius Quintianus, attempted to murder Commodus as he entered a theater. They failed and were seized by the emperor's bodyguard. Quadratus and Quintianus were executed. Lucilla was exiled to Capri and later killed. One of the two praetorian prefects, Publius Tarrutenius Paternus, had been involved in the conspiracy but his involvement was not discovered until later. He and his colleague, Sextus Tigidius Perennis, arranged for the murder of Saoterus, the hated chamberlain. Perennis then implicated Paternus in a second conspiracy, and Salvius and Paternus were executed along with a number of other prominent consulars and senators. Commodus's performances as a gladiator in the Colosseum were part of his deific personality cult. 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 and mass entertainments was to tax the senatorial order. On many inscriptions, the traditional order of the Senate and People was provocatively reversed to Populus Senatusque.

Reader's Guide

Commodus was born on 31 August 161 in Lanuvium, near Rome, the son of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina the Younger. He had a twin brother, Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus, who died in 165. On 12 October 166, Commodus was made caesar together with his younger brother, Marcus Annius Verus, who died in 169, leaving Commodus as Marcus Aurelius's sole surviving son. He was looked after by his father's physician, Galen, who treated many of Commodus's common illnesses. Commodus received extensive tutoring from a multitude of teachers including Onesicrates, Antistius Capella, Titus Aius Sanctus, and Pitholaus. He was at Carnuntum in 172, where on 15 October 172 he was given the victory title Germanicus. On 20 January 175, he entered the College of Pontiffs. In 175, Avidius Cassius declared himself emperor following rumours that Marcus Aurelius had died, but Cassius was killed by one of his centurions before the campaign against him could begin. Commodus subsequently accompanied his father on a lengthy trip to the Eastern provinces, visiting Antioch, then Athens where they were initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries. They returned to Rome in the autumn of 176. On 27 November 176, Marcus Aurelius bestowed the title of Imperator on Commodus. On 23 December 176, the two imperatores celebrated a joint triumph. On 1 January 177, Commodus became consul for the first time, aged 15, the youngest consul up to that time. He 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. Upon his ascension, Commodus devalued the Roman currency, reducing the weight of the denarius from 96 per Roman pound to 105 per Roman pound and the silver purity from 79 percent to 76 percent. In 186, he further reduced the purity and silver weight to 74 percent and 2.22 grams respectively. He negotiated a peace treaty with the Danubian tribes and returned to Rome to celebrate a triumph on 22 October 180. He left the practical running of the state to a succession of favourites, beginning with Saoterus. The first crisis came in 182 with Lucilla's conspiracy. After the murder of Saoterus, Perennis took over the reins of government. Commodus was assassinated by the 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.

Did You Know?

• Commodus was the first emperor 'born in the purple,' meaning during his father's reign.
• He became the youngest emperor and consul up to that point at age 16.
• He reduced the weight of the denarius from 96 per Roman pound to 105 per Roman pound, the largest devaluation since Nero's reign.
• He was assassinated by the wrestler Narcissus in 192, ending the Nerva–Antonine dynasty.
• His sister Lucilla engineered a conspiracy against him in 182, but the attempt on his life failed.