Difference between revisions of "Commodus"

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*This page is edited by [[Samuele Rocca]], Israel
#REDIRECT [[:Category: Commodus (subject)]]
*ANCIENT SOURCES: see [[Commodus (sources)]]
*SCHOLARLY AND FICTIONAL WORKS: see [[:Category: Commodus (subject)]]




[[Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus]] (161 – 192 CE), was associated by his father [[Marcus Aurelius]] to the throne in 177 CE, and succeeded him in 180 CE. He was murdered in 192 CE.
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[[Category:People]]
====Overview===
 
[[Commodus]], who succeeded to his father [[Marcus Aurelius]] in 180 CE, was the last ruler of the [[Antonine dynasty]]. His rule was characterized by certain instability. In 186 C.E. there were uprisings in [[Africa]] and [[Britain]], as well as the [[Brigands’s War]] in [[Italy]], and famine through the Empire in 189 C.E. Although various conspiracies, as that of [[Commodus]]’s sister, [[Lucilla]] in 183 C.E., were unsuccessful, [[Commodus]] was toppled and murdered by the Praetorian Praefectus [[Pertinax]] in 192 CE. The murder of [[Commodus]] resulted in a long civil war, from which emerged victorious in 197 C.E., [[Septimius Severus]].
 
====Early Career====
 
[[Lucius Aurelius Commodus]] was born in 161 CE, the son of the ruling emperor [[Marcus Aurelius]] and of his wife [[Faustina the Younger]]. He had a twin brother, [[T. Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus]], who did not survive the first years and died in 165 CE. [[Commodus]] was appointed Caesar, together with his younger brother [[Marcus Annius Verus]] in 166 CE. However the latter died in 169 CE. In 172 CE, [[Commodus]] rejoined his father at his headquarters of [[Carnutum]] during the [[First Marcomannic War]]. There he was bestowed the title of Germanicus, together with his father. In 175, [[Commodus]] entered the College of Pontiffs, and in the same year he received the toga virils. The same year, he followed his father in his travel to the East, where he was initiated to the Eleusine Mysteries. In 176 CE, [[Marcus Aurelius]] bestowed on [[Commodus]] the title of Imperator, and the following year, in 177 CE, which of Augustus, as well as the tribunician power, therefore associating him to the throne. The same year the two emperors celebrated a joined triumph, and afterwards he was appointed consul. He than was betrothed and married [[Bruttia Crispina]]. With the beginning of the [[Second Marcomannic War]], in 178 CE, [[Commodus]] followed his father on the Danubian frontier. In 1809, with the death of his father at [[Vindobona]], he succeeded to the Imperial throne.
 
====Imperial Succession====
 
[[Commodus]] remained with the [[Danube]] armies for only a short time before negotiating a peace treaty with the Danubian tribes. He then returned to Rome and celebrated a triumph for the conclusion of the wars on 22 October 180. It seems that [[Commodus]] had little interest in the business of administration and tended throughout his reign to leave the practical running of the state to a succession of favorites, as [[Saoterus]], [[Perennis]] and [[Cleander]], who acted as Imperial chamberlains. One of the first acts, upon his accession to the Imperial throne, was a devaluation of the Roman [[denarius]] in both weight and in the purity of the silver. His devaluation of Roman coinage was the greatest since [[Nero]] began this process. The first conspiracy against [[Commodus]] came as early as 182 CE. The conspiracy was conceived by [[Lucilla]], the Emperor ‘sister. The conspiracy was discovered and as consequence [[Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus]] and [[Appius Claudius Quintianus]] were executed, [[Lucilla]] was exiled to Capri and her husband [[Claudius Pompeianus]] had to retire from public life, although he did not take part in the conspiracy. In the aftermath of the conspiracy, [[Sextus Tigidius Perennis]], one of the two praetorian prefects, had [[Saoterus]] murdered, becoming the imperial chamberlain. A second conspiracy was discovered by [[Perennis]]. [[Tarrutenius Paternus]], the other praetorian prefect and [[Publius Salvius Julianus]] were executed. [[Commodus]] appointed [[Cleander]] as his chamberlain, although [[Perennis]] remained the Imperial favorite. There were disturbances in [[Dacia]] and in 184 CE, in [[Britannia]], the governor once more moved the frontier northwards to the [[Antonine wall]]. However the army revolted against the governor, [[Ulpius Marcellus]], and acclaimed another legate, [[Priscus]] as Emperor, who, however, refused the soldiers’ acclamations. The same year [[Perennis]] was toppled from his position and executed. [[Cleander]] succeeded as the Imperial favorite. In the same period a large numbers of army deserters who turned brigands troubled the peace in the provinces of [[Gallia]] and [[Germania]]. A further conspiracy was unveiled in 187 CE, when [[Maternus]], one of the deserters, was caught and executed in Rome. In 191 CE, part of the city of [[Rome burned]], and [[Commodus]] took the opportunity to "refound" the city of Rome in his own honor, naming it [[Colonia Commodiana]]. [[Commodus]] was very fond of gladiatorial games, which made him very unpopular with the [[Senate]], although till the end of his rule he maintained his popularity with the army and the plebs. [[Commodu]]s liked to portrait himself as [[Hercules]], and claimed to be the son of [[Jupiter]]. In 192 CE, [[Latus]] the praetorian prefect, set up a conspiracy to enthrone [[Pertinax]], then the praefectus urbis. [[Commodus]] was murdered by [[Narcissus]], his wrestling partner. The [[Senate]] at his death declared the [[damnatio memoriae]]. However in 195 CE, the Emperor [[Septimius Severus]] rehabilitated his memory and obliged the [[Senate]] to deify him. [[Commodus]] was succeeded by [[Pertinax]].
 
==[[Commodus]] in ancient sources==
 
== [[Commodus]] in Scholarship==
 
== [[Commodus]] in Fiction==
 
==Related categories==
 
*[[Roman Emperors]] / [[Commodus]]
 
==External links==
 
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Commodus Wikipedia]
 
[[Category: Index]]
[[Category: People]]

Latest revision as of 07:45, 21 February 2012

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