Joaquin Phoenix's character is bad news, but he doesn't quite have the same unhinged level of megalomania as his real-life counterpart. Upon his ascension, Commodus devalued the Roman currency. ( Public Domain ). Then, discover the most fascinating facts from the entirety of ancient history. In 187, one of the leaders of the deserters, Maternus, came from Gaul intending to assassinate Commodus at the Festival of the Great Goddess in March, but he was betrayed and executed. He then returned to Rome and celebrated a triumph for the conclusion of the wars on 22 October 180. Nowadays Commodus is best remembered as the villain of Ridley Scott's movie "Gladiator", a sneering and arrogant portrayal by Joaquin Phoenix. Ulpius Marcellus was replaced as governor of Britain by Pertinax; brought to Rome and tried for treason, Marcellus narrowly escaped death. One of these is Commodus' relationship with his sister Lucilla. Commodus : The general who became a slave. The Syrian-born gladiator, who rose to fame under the reign of Emperor Hadrian (117 to 138 A.D.), is best known for the length of his career, and for being awarded his freedom four times . [33] Cassius Dio and the writers of the Augustan History say that Commodus was a skilled archer, who could shoot the heads off ostriches in full gallop, and kill a panther as it attacked a victim in the arena. 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. When Commodus ordered for the death of Maximus and his family, the Romans could not reject that request. Maximus is given a very clear ending, but what about the rest of Rome? 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. In hindsight, he should have kept the tradition of adopting his successor, which would have resulted in an appointment based on merit. Commodus never killed his gladiatorial adversaries, instead accepting their surrenders. His death, however, was the result of an assassination plot in 192, culminating with Narcissus killing him in the bath. Cassius Dio recorded one incident where, after becoming tired out, Commodus ordered a cup of chilled wine to him and drank it at one gulp. In an amusing anecdote, Dio continued, At this both the populace and we senators all immediately shouted out the words so familiar at drinking-bouts, Long life to you!'. [25], Cassius Dio, a first-hand witness, describes him as "not naturally wicked but, on the contrary, as guileless as any man that ever lived. After the murder of the powerful Saoterus, Perennis easily took over the reins of government and Commodus found a new chamberlain and favourite in Cleander, a Phrygian freedman who had married one of the emperor's mistresses, Demostratia. Maximus defeat of Commodus provides a dramatic conclusion to Gladiator, but the depiction of the malevolent emperors death is historically inaccurate. Only a famous death will do. Instead, he devoted himself to his harem of 300 females and a like number of males, played gladiator at Rome's. In April 175, Avidius Cassius, Governor of Syria, declared himself emperor following rumours that Marcus Aurelius had died. Political influence then passed to the emperors mistress and two advisers. Commodus also had a passion for gladiatorial combat, which he took so far as to take to the arena himself, dressed as a secutor. Was this German silver mine really defended by two Roman forts and a line of "spike defenses? In 186 he had his chief minister executed in order to appease the army; three years later he allowed the ministers successor to be killed by a rioting crowd. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. In fact, the rule of Commodus might have gone down as quite unremarkable in the history of Rome were it not for one unfortunate incident. He was the brother of Princess Lucilla, and uncle of Lucius. He is a particular fan of works by Stanley Kubrick, Wes Anderson, and Martin Scorsese. [7], He was looked after by his father's physician, Galen,[8][9] who treated many of Commodus's common illnesses. Ultimately, it is believed that Commodus outlandish behavior led to his eventual assassination. The film portrays a fictionalized account of historical events, and it illuminates aspects of the culture of ancient Rome. On the other hand, the real Emperor Commodus was even more outlandish than Gladiator's version in some ways, as he renamed Rome "the Colony of Commodus" at one point. Cassius, however, was killed by one of his centurions before the campaign against him could begin. The first attempt used poisoned meat, but Commodus vomited it up. 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. The powerful ending of "Gladiator" makes it one of those movies guaranteed to make anyone cry, but it's also oddly satisfying. 1. Available from: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/128108/Commodus, Lucius Aurelius Commodus Roman-Empire. Corrections? On 31 December, Marcia poisoned Commodus's food, but he vomited up the poison, so the conspirators sent his wrestling partner Narcissus to strangle him in his bath.[24]. Commodus (Lucius Aurelius Commodus Antoninus, 31 August 161 - 31 December 192) was Roman emperor from 177 to 192. To "accept kinship with Commodus the bluntly pragmatic decision was taken to deify the former emperor, thus legitimizing Severus' seizure of power. The Horsemen of Oyo were legendary warriors who served the Oyo Empire of West Africa. Dio Cassius 73.1.2, Loeb edition translated E. Cary, Dio Cassius 73.5.3, Loeb edition translated E. Cary. After becoming emperor, Commodus spent his 12-year reign indulging in hobbies like gambling, drinking and chariot-racing, but his two greatest passions seemed to be sex and pretending to be a . Commodus is known to have been at Carnuntum, the headquarters of Marcus Aurelius during the Marcomannic Wars, in 172. Or, were the Romans protecting something even more valuable than silver? He also had four surviving sisters, all of them with husbands who were potential rivals. Throughout his reign, Commodus entrusted the management of affairs to his palace chamberlain and praetorian prefects, named Saoterus, Perennis and Cleander. The fall of Perennis brought a new spate of executions: Aufidius Victorinus committed suicide. Unlike Commodus, Maximus isn't driven by a desire for power but by loyalty to "the true emperor" whom Commodus murdered and to his family. The assassination attempt marked a turning point in Commodus reign, for once [he had] tasted human blood, he became incapable of pity or remorse. He began executing people without regard for rank, wealth, or sex. Commodus was a greater curse to the Romans than any pestilence or any crime and the city had descended into bankruptcy and chaos. It was presumably there that, on 15 October 172, he was given the victory title Germanicus, in the presence of the army. Whatever its roots, the conspiracy failed and the incident aroused an insane paranoia in Commodus, who began seeing plots and treachery everywhere. Commodus ruled with chaos and left chaos in his wake. Salvius and Paternus were executed along with a number of other prominent consulars and senators. In 192 AD, several senators, led by Praetorian prefect Quintus Aemilius Laetus, recruited Narcissus to assassinate the emperor after a previous failed attempt by the conspirators. The climax came in the year 190, which had 25 suffect consuls a record in the 1,000-year history of the Roman consulshipall appointed by Cleander (they included the future Emperor Septimius Severus). 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. It worked and the Nerva-Antonine dynasty which had ruled Rome for nearly a century had come to an end and the city soon descended into civil war. Commodus's death is an example of how the film has historical references but often distorts them to create its narrative Gladiator's Commodus being less power-hungry than his historical counterpart refocuses the movie around Maximus' personal struggle rather than the wider Roman political landscape. We will never see the like of the Roman Empire ever again. 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. Roman Emperor Lucius Aurelius Commodus was a corrupt ruler who was not well-received by the Roman people during his reign. He also believed himself to be a reincarnation of Hercules and enjoyed fighting in an arena as a gladiator. Cleander was in fact the person who had murdered Saoterus. According to Aurelius, Commodus received his educational training with "an abundance of good masters.". It's a great story of revenge but the character of Maximus is entirely made up. Wikimedia CommonsEmperor Commodus lust for power is widely credited with bringing an end to the fabled Pax Romana. Lucius Aurelius Commodus, born 161 A.D., was appointed co-emperor by his father Marcus Aurelius in 177 A.D. when he was just 16 years old. In December, he announced his intention to inaugurate the year 193 as both consul and gladiator on 1 January. After this look at Commodus, check out these interesting facts about Ancient Rome. 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. But now, the people want to know how the story ends. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Narcissus_(wrestler)&oldid=1135943613, This page was last edited on 27 January 2023, at 20:46. He negotiated a peace settlement in Romes favor. 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