Commodus

Roman emperor (180-192 c.e.)

• Born: August 31, 0161
• Birthplace: Lanuvium, Latium (now Lanuvio, Italy)
• Died: December 31, 0192
• Place of death: Rome (now in Italy)

Cause of notoriety: Politically inept and self-indulgent, Commodus ushered in a period of decline for the Roman Empire during his reign.

Active: 180-192 c.e.

Locale: Italy, mainly Rome

Early Life

Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus (KAWM-uh-dus), son of Marcus Aurelius and Annia Faustina, was born on August 31, 161 c.e., at Lanuvium (near Rome). Most of his youth was spent with his father campaigning along the Danube. Although no Roman emperor had been in a position to select his own son as successor since the time of the Flavians (69-96 c.e.), it would appear that Marcus Aurelius, convinced that the security of the empire was at stake, was determined to prepare Commodus for that role. Despite concerns about the youth’s health and his predilection for nonroyal activities such as whistling, singing, dancing, and pottery-making, Commodus was accorded all of the titles and powers of an heir apparent. In 177 c.e., faced with uprisings in Gaul, Mauretania, and the Nile Delta, Commodus was proclaimed a co-Augustus. When Marcus Aurelius died on March 17, 180 c.e., at Vindobona (modern Vienna), Commodus became princeps.

Political Career

Although Marcus Aurelius attempted to educate his son in the proper methods of government and generalship, these efforts were largely wasted. Some of the ancient authorities are of the opinion that Commodus was not an evil man, but there is general agreement that he was a weak, malleable vessel who was easily influenced by a cortege of sycophants. Convinced by his associates that an emperor’s place was in Rome, not in the wilds of Germany, he broke off his father’s war with the Marcommani and Quadi in favor of a policy of conciliation and accommodation. That decision was to have far-reaching repercussions. Legions throughout the empire quickly lost confidence in the new emperor. There were mutinies in Britain, Gaul, Spain, and even Dacia (now southeastern Europe). Some of the disaffected soldiers turned to banditry and took to pillaging the countryside. Plague, famine, and widespread corruption in the government were other factors that weakened both the economy and the morale of the people.

A stronger emperor might have been able to effect solutions, but Commodus evinced little interest in the drudgeries of government business, preferring to leave such matters in the hands of disreputable minions while immersing himself in a life of debauchery and leisurely activities. Through royal favors and entertainment spectacles, he sought to win the support of the masses and the army, but his self-indulgent approach did not endear him to everyone. In 182 c.e., some members of the Senate, aided by the emperor’s sister Lucilla, who was jealous of her lost influence at court, conspired to assassinate Commodus. The plot failed, and Lucilla and others of distinction were put to death. Thereafter, no one was above suspicion, especially those of senatorial rank. In the purge that followed, many faithful servants of the empire and some members of Commodus’s inner circle perished.

In the meantime, Commodus had abandoned himself to a life of sensual delights—feasting, drinking, and cavorting, according to ancient sources, with a harem of several hundred women and an equal number of boys. Chief among the emperor’s concubines was a Christian named Marcia, whose influence may have provided some measure of protection for the oft-persecuted Church. The lurid descriptions of Commodus’s sexual appetite have almost certainly been exaggerated, but there can be little doubt that he stood alone among the emperors of Rome in his passion for the circus, gladiatorial combat, and wild beast shows. One source asserts that on 735 occasions, Commodus donned the accouterments of the gladiator and hunter and descended into the arena, where he bested his opponents and dispatched lions, leopards, hippopotami, camels, and rhinoceroses with unerring accuracy. So comfortable was Commodus in this role that he adopted the name of Hercules Romanus.

In the end, Commodus’s megalomaniacal behavior and cruelty proved more than even his obsequious companions could stomach. An assassination plot hatched by the praetorian prefect Quintus Aemilius Laetus and other members of the emperor’s court was carried to completion on December 31, 192 c.e., when a young wrestler strangled Commodus while he slumbered in a drunken stupor in his bath.

Impact

It is, perhaps, ironic that Marcus Aurelius, the last of the so-called good emperors, would eschew that principle that had brought the empire to its peak—the selection of a successor on the basis of merit—in favor of bestowing the emperorship on his youthful, unproven son Commodus. While it would be incorrect to blame Commodus for all of Rome’s problems, there can be no doubt that his reign ushered in a period of decline from which the empire would never really recover. Often compared with the infamous Nero, Commodus was a miserable failure as an emperor. In the words of one historian, Commodus “is one of the few Roman emperors of whom nothing good can be said.”

Bibliography

Boatwright, Mary T., Daniel J. Gargola, and Richard J. A. Talbert. The Romans from Village to Empire. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. General history of Rome from the earliest period to Constantine the Great. A short overview of Commodus’s reign suggests that the abandonment of the Germanic wars might have been the culmination of a process begun by his father.

Glay, Marcel Le, Jean-Louis Voisin, and Yann Le Bohec. A History of Rome. 3d ed. London: Blackwell, 2005. A history of Rome from the earliest period through the collapse of the empire in the fifth century. Written primarily for students, each section, including that telling of Commodus’s reign, is accompanied by an annotated list of important points.

Hekster, Olivier. Commodus: An Emperor at the Crossroads. Amsterdam: Gieben, 2002. First biography of Commodus in almost a half century. A somewhat sympathetic study that suggests that Commodus’s reign was a “crossroads” that signaled the approach of difficult times.