Essay on Commodus - 1453 Words

Some claim that Commodus was the worse emperor in the history of Rome. The fact that his father, Marcus Aurelius, was a popular and successful ruler may have raised the precedent that Commodus had to live up to. But for whatever reason, Commodus proved a disconnected and self indulgent leader. At the age of five Commodus was named Caesar, and at the age of seventeen he became co-Augustus with his father. He spent his childhood accompanying Marcus Aurelius on political campaigns, and learned a lot on how to run an empire. However, after the death of his father the people of Rome found that the years under Marcus Aurelius had not impacted Commodus leadership skills. Commodus reign was filled with bad decisions, causing the people of Rome†¦show more content†¦As Commodus reign continued it became clearer that the ruler was mentally instable. He lived a dark life, one of self indulgence and debauchery. He neglected his political responsibilities and focused more on his desires. Commodus had many concubines, and throughout his reign had flings with about 300 women and boys. While distracted by his lifestyle, the emperor allowed prefects to run the day to day business of the empire. As the prefects became more and more powerful the king would kill them, making sure that no one threatened his authority. The brutal way in which Commodus ruled created many enemies of the emperor. Even his sister conspired against him. However, when her plan came to Commodus attention he exiled her to an island, and after a while killed her along with all the others involved. Another instance of Commodus brutality comes from an event in which the emperor ordered the killing of a while city. He did this horrible act because one of its residents had looked at him in an unfriendly way. This massacre added to the many infamous deeds Commodus performed. In AD 190, Commodus took advantage of the unfortunate circumstance Rome found itself in. A fire had begun and had burned part of the city. The emperor took this opportunity to rebuild the city, and change its name to Colonia Commodiana. Not only did he rename the city, but he renamed months of the year after himself, andShow MoreRelatedSummary : Emperor Commodus 1581 Words   |  7 Pages Roman Emperor Commodus HIEU 322-B01 Joel Leviten October 6, 2016 Emperor Commodus By all accounts was a handsome man, with curly blonde hair. But he appeared to possess a weak character and was easily influenced by others. But so tooRead MoreCommodus : The Emperor Of Rome728 Words   |  3 Pages Commodus was bred to live like a king but wasn t born to rule as one. He was the most questionable emperors in the history of Rome. His rise to power is and always will be deliberated. The young emperor inherited the power from his father, Marcus Aurelius, the former emperor of Rome. Commodus was the Roman Emperor from 180 to 192. 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