11. Commodus pushed even his allies to the limit, leading to the Roman Emperor’s ultimate violent death
In the Hollywood blockbuster Gladiator, the Emperor Commodus is portrayed as a power-mad, crazy man-child of a tyrant. The fictional version is infatuated with his sister, sees conspirators everywhere and likes to show off his virility by fighting gladiators in the Colosseum. Ultimately, he is killed by the hero of the movie. In some ways, the big-screen version of Commodus is truthful. But his imagined ending is not. Rather, the tyrannical Emperor was assassinated by those closest to him and not killed by a gladiator in the arena.
Commodus ruled alongside his father, the philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius, from 177 until 180 AD. Following his father’s death, he ruled on his own for 12 years. His reign was relatively peaceful, with Rome engaged in fewer battles with outside enemies and fewer wars of conquest. However, at home, Rome under Commodus was a hotbed of corruption, decadence and intrigue. Commodus increasingly assumed a God-like status, attempting to start a personality cult around himself. He was also renowned for his greed, lust and laziness.
Commodus was also regarded as a coward. He would fight in gladiatorial battles to counter this reputation, though the contests were always rigged in his favor. He saw threats everywhere and had countless Roman citizens executed for conspiracies real and imagined. Inevitably, he made many enemies. Even his sister Lucilla, his senior by a decade, conspired against him in the year 182. When he learned of the plot, Commodus had her co-conspirators executed and Livia exiled to Capri, where she too was later killed.
By the year 192, the elite of Roman society had had enough. The final straw came with the Plebian Games that November. Here, Commodus killed hundreds of wild animals and also fought in numerous fixed gladiatorial fights. On the final day of the year, his enemies acted. At first, they tried to poison his food, but he vomited this up. Finally, they persuaded, Narcissus, a famous wrestler who sparred with Commodus, to strangle the Emperor while he took a bath. This time, the plot was successful. The disastrous reign of Commodus had finally come to a violent end.