12. He might have had all the power in the world, but as Emperor, Commodus was regularly bored and distracted and didn’t want to rule
Unlike his predecessors, including Hadrian, Trajan and Marcus Aurelius himself, Commodus had no interest in government. In fact, he left most affairs of the Empire to his closest officials. He sacked those he inherited from his father and installed his own loyal men, even if they had little experience. In particular, a freeman called Saoterus was promoted from being the Emperor’s chamberlain to be the day-to-day ruler. This left Commodus free to pursue his real interests, namely hunting, pretending to be a gladiator and keeping his private brothels on the outskirts of Rome stocked with girls from across the Empire.
In 182, Commodus uncovered a plot to assassinate him. Saoterus was implicated. He had his right-hand-man executed, with another chamberlain taking his place. From then on, however, Commodus decided to be more involved in the running of the Empire. This marked the start of his descent into ruling as a tyrant and an increasingly-egotistical dictator. Even then, however, he preferred to stay away from Rome whenever possible. Indeed, he spent most of his time on the family estates at Lanuvium, indulging his love for horse-riding and hunting, as well as keeping himself amused with drunken parties and countless affairs.