Table of Contents
How old was Commodus when he became emperor?
16 years old
Commodus was made coruler when he was just 16 years old, and he was emperor before he turned 19. Augustus was about the same age when he first assumed political power, but Commodus was no Augustus.
What is Commodus most known for?
Best known for his obsession with the gladiatorial games, he was one of the many emperors of Rome who ruled for a very brief time before being assassinated.
How did Commodus help Rome?
Commodus became the sole and absolute ruler of the Roman world. He immediately paid a donative to the legions. To fund this, he devalued the coinage for the first time since the reign of Nero. Commodus continued the campaign against the German tribes on the Danube but soon entered into negotiations with the enemy.
Who replaced Commodus as emperor?
Pertinax
Commodus was succeeded by Pertinax, whose reign was short-lived; he would become 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’ memory and had the Senate deify him.
Who were Commodus’s parents?
Commodus’s father was Marcus Aurelius, an emperor who presided over what has been regarded as one of ancient Rome ’s golden ages. His mother was Annia Galeria Faustina, a member of the Roman nobility and the daughter of the emperor Antoninus Pius.
Why did the Roman Emperor compete as a gladiator?
The executions of the senators had whet his appetite for blood and he devoted himself “to combats of wild beasts and of men.” Not merely content to hunt in private, the emperor began to perform in the Colosseum itself, competing as a gladiator to the delight of the crowds and horror of the senate, as depicted in Gladiator.
How did Lucius Aurelius end the Roman Empire?
His brutal misrule precipitated civil strife that ended 84 years of stability and prosperity within the empire. In 177 Lucius was made coruler and heir to his father, the emperor Marcus Aurelius (reigned 161–180).
What happened to Commodus’ sister Lucilla?
In 182 Commodus’s sister Lucilla conspired with a group of senators to assassinate him. The plot failed, and Commodus retaliated by executing a number of leading senators. Thereafter his rule became increasingly arbitrary and vicious.