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Commodus
Commodus (; ; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was Roman emperor from 177 to 192, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father Marcus Aurelius and then ruling alone from 180. Commodus's sole reign is commonly thought to mark the end of the Pax Romana, a golden age of peace and prosperity in the history of the Roman Empire. Commodus accompanied his father during the Marcomannic Wars in 172 and on a tour of the Eastern provinces in 176. The following year, he became the youngest Roman emperor, emperor and Roman consul, consul up to that point, at the age of 16. His solo reign saw less military conflict than that of Marcus Aurelius, but internal intrigues and conspiracies abounded, goading Commodus to an increasingly dictatorial style of leadership. This culminated in his creating a deific personality cult, including his performances as a gladiator in the Colosseum. Throughout his reign, Commodus entrusted the management of affairs to his palace chamberlain and praetorian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors and the last emperor of the Pax Romana, an age of relative peace, calm, and stability for the Roman Empire lasting from 27 BC to 180 AD. He served as Roman consul in 140, 145, and 161. Marcus Aurelius was the son of the praetor Marcus Annius Verus (father of Marcus Aurelius), Marcus Annius Verus and his wife, Domitia Calvilla. He was related through marriage to the emperors Trajan and Hadrian. Marcus was three when his father died, and was raised by his mother and Marcus Annius Verus (II), paternal grandfather. After Hadrian's Adoption in ancient Rome, adoptive son, Aelius Caesar, died in 138, Hadrian adopted Marcus's uncle Antoninus Pius as his new heir. In turn, Antoninus adopted Marcus and Lucius Verus, Lucius, the son of Aelius. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commodus As Hercules
''Commodus as Hercules'', also known as ''The Bust of Commodus as Hercules'', is a marble portrait sculpture created sometime in early 192 AD.Speidel, M. P.. "Commodus the God-emperor and the Army". ''The Journal of Roman Studies'' 83 (1993): 109–114. It is housed in the Capitoline Museums in Rome, Italy. Originally discovered in 1874 in the underground chambers of Horti Lamiani, it has become one of the most famous examples of Roman portraiture to date. Commodus (31 August 161 AD – 31 December 192 AD) was Roman emperor from 180 to 192 and the son of the previous emperor, Marcus Aurelius.Adams, Geoff W. ''The Emperor Commodus: Gladiator, Hercules or a Tyrant?'', 2013.Hekster, Olivier. "The Roman Empire after His Death." ''A Companion to Marcus Aurelius'' 96 (2012): 234. During his sole reign, he came to associate himself with the Greek hero, Herakles (whose myths were adopted in Rome under the name Hercules), eventually having a bust depicting him as the hero created near t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tigidius Perennis
Sextus Tigidius Perennis (died 185) served as Praetorian Prefect under the Roman emperor Commodus. Perennis exercised an outsized influence over Commodus and was the effective ruler of the Roman Empire. In 185, Perennis was implicated in a plot to overthrow the emperor by his political rival, Marcus Aurelius Cleander, and executed on the orders of Commodus. Sources Herodian, Cassius Dio, and the '' Augustan History'' provide conflicting accounts of the rise and fall of Perennis, but all three agree on the essential points of his powerful position under Commodus and his swift execution in 185. His name also appears among the signatories on the Tabula Banasitana, dated to 177. Rise to power Perennis perhaps served as '' praefectus annonae'' during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. The precise date of his elevation to Praetorian Prefect is uncertain. Herodian's account indicates that he did not assume the post until the accession of Commodus, but it is possible that he served as th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcus Aurelius Cleander
Marcus Aurelius Cleander (; died 19 April 190), commonly known as Cleander, was a Roman freedman who gained extraordinary power as chamberlain and favourite of the emperor Commodus, rising to command the Praetorian Guard and bringing the principal offices of the Roman state into disrepute by selling them to the highest bidder. His career is narrated by Dio Cassius, Herodian and the ''Historia Augusta''. Career Cleander's date of birth is unknown but according to Herodian he was a Phrygian and "one of the slaves offered for sale by the public auctioneer for the benefit of the state"; according to Dio Cassius he was sold in Rome as one of a consignment of slaves to be a pack-carrier.Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'LXXIII.12/ref> By 182 however he had risen high enough to be an official of the Imperial household, and had married the Emperor's mistress Damostratia. Cleander was instrumental in the death of Commodus's favourite, the chamberlain Saoterus, attaining his position and s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pertinax
Publius Helvius Pertinax ( ; 1 August 126 – 28 March 193) was Roman emperor for the first three months of 193. He succeeded Commodus to become the first emperor during the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors. Born to the son of a freed slave, Pertinax became an officer in the army. He fought in the Roman–Parthian War of 161–166, where his success led to higher positions in both the military and political spheres. He achieved the rank of Roman governor, provincial governor and urban prefect. He was a member of the Roman Senate, serving at the same time as the historian Cassius Dio. Following the death of Commodus, Pertinax was proclaimed emperor. He instituted several short-lived reform measures, including the restoration of discipline among the Praetorian Guard. This led to resistance that culminated in Pertinax's assassination by the Guard. Pertinax would later be deified by the emperor Septimius Severus. His historical reputation has been largely positive, in line wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Year Of The Five Emperors
The Year of the Five Emperors was AD 193, in which five men claimed the title of Roman emperor: Pertinax, Didius Julianus, Pescennius Niger, Clodius Albinus, and Septimius Severus. This year started a period of civil war when multiple rulers vied for the chance to become emperor. The political unrest began with the murder of Emperor Commodus on New Year's Eve 192. Once Commodus was assassinated, Pertinax was named emperor, but immediately aroused opposition in the Praetorian Guard when he attempted to initiate reforms. They then plotted his assassination, and Pertinax was killed while trying to reason with the mutineers. He had only been emperor for three months. Didius Julianus, who purchased the title from the Praetorian Guard, succeeded Pertinax, but was ousted by Septimius Severus and executed on 1 June. Severus was declared Caesar by the Senate, but Pescennius Niger was hostile so he declared himself emperor. This started the civil war between Niger and Severus; both gathe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Narcissus (wrestler)
Narcissus (born 2nd century A.D.) was a Roman athlete,Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'', Book LXXII, pg. 117.Lampridius, ''Historia Augusta.'' "Life of Commodus," pg. 306. likely a wrestler,Herodian of Antioch, ''History of the Roman Empire from the Death of Marcus Aurelius to the Accession of Gordian III'', I.i.; Gibbon, ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', 1.4. from the 2nd century AD. He assassinated the Roman emperor Commodus in 192 AD. Life and work Narcissus was employed as a wrestling partner and personal trainer to Commodus in order to train him for his self-indulgent appearances in the Colosseum as a gladiator. In AD 192, several senators, led by Praetorian prefect Quintus Aemilius Laetus, recruited Narcissus to assassinate the emperor after a previous failed attempt by the conspirators. On 31 December 192, Commodus's concubine and conspirator Marcia poisoned Commodus's wine. The poison failed, so Narcissus entered Commodus's bedchamber. Commodus was supp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bruttia Crispina
Bruttia Crispina (164 – 191 AD) was List of Roman and Byzantine empresses, Roman empress from 178 to 191 as the consort of Roman emperor Commodus. Her marriage to Commodus did not produce an heir, and her husband was instead succeeded by Pertinax. Family Crispina came from an illustrious aristocratic family and was the daughter of twice Roman consul, consul Gaius Bruttius Praesens (consul 153), Gaius Bruttius Praesens and his wife Valeria. Crispina's paternal grandparents were consul and senator Gaius Bruttius Praesens Lucius Fulvius Rusticus, Gaius Bruttius Praesens and the rich heiress Laberia Hostilia Crispina, daughter of twice consul, Manius Laberius Maximus. Crispina's brother was future consul Lucius Bruttius Quintius Crispinus. Her father's family originally came from Volceii, Lucania, Italy and were closely associated with the Roman emperors Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. Empress Crispina married the sixteen-year-old Commodus in the summer of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Faustina The Younger
Annia Galeria Faustina the Younger ( AD, – 175/176 AD) was Roman empress from 161 to her death as the wife of emperor Marcus Aurelius, cousin marriage, her maternal cousin. Faustina was the youngest child of emperor Antoninus Pius and empress Faustina the Elder. She was held in high esteem by soldiers and her husband as List of Augustae, Augusta and ''Mater Castrorum'' ('Mother of the Camp') and was given divine honours after her death. Life Early life Faustina, named after her mother, was her parents' fourth and youngest child and second daughter; she was also their only child to survive to adulthood. She was born and raised in Rome. Her second cousin three times removed, Hadrian, had arranged with her father for Faustina to marry Lucius Verus. On 25 February 138, she and Verus were betrothed. Lucius Aelius Caesar, Verus' father was Hadrian's first adopted son and his intended heir; however, when Verus' father died, Hadrian chose Faustina's father to be his second adopted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcus Annius Verus Caesar
Marcus Annius Verus Caesar (162 or 163 – 10 September 169) was a son of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Empress Faustina the Younger. Annius was made caesar on 12 October 166 AD, alongside his brother Commodus, designating them co-heirs of the Roman Empire. Annius died on 10 September 169, at age seven, due to complications from a surgery to remove a tumor from under his ear. His death left Commodus as the sole heir. Life Marcus Annius Verus was born in late 162 or 163 AD, the son of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina the Younger. He was given the name of Marcus Annius Verus because it was the original name of his father, Marcus Aurelius. On 12 October 166 AD, during a triumph celebrating the victory of the Romans in the Parthian War of Lucius Verus, Annius and his elder brother Commodus were both made caesars, designating them as co-heirs to the Roman Empire. At the time, Annius was three, and Commodus was five. This was the first time such an explicit declaration of heirship ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saoterus
Saoterus (; died 182) was a Bithynian Greek freedman from Nicomedia who served as the Roman Emperor Commodus's palace chamberlain (''a cubiculo''). His career is sketched by Herodian, Dio Cassius and the ''Historia Augusta''. Commodus preferred to exercise his rule through palace officials and Saoterus was the first of these; Saoterus was seen as in the Emperor's favour at the outset of his reign, as he accompanied Commodus in his chariot when he made his ceremonial entry into Rome on 22 October 180. Commodus placed him in a high position in his government, resulting in resentment from noble senatorial families. The ''Historia Augusta'', apparently drawing on the testimony of Marius Maximus, insinuates that Commodus had a homosexual infatuation with Saoterus.''Historia Augusta'', 'Commodus Antoninus', III.6 After the attempt on Commodus's life in 182, Saoterus was implicated in the plot by the praetorian prefect Tigidius Perennis Sextus Tigidius Perennis (died 185) served as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nerva–Antonine Dynasty
The Nerva–Antonine dynasty comprised seven Roman emperors who ruled from AD 96 to 192: Nerva (96–98), Trajan (98–117), Hadrian (117–138), Antoninus Pius (138–161), Marcus Aurelius (161–180), Lucius Verus (161–169), and Commodus (177–192). The first five of these are commonly known as the "Five Good Emperors". The first five of the six successions within this dynasty were notable in that the reigning emperor did not have a male heir, and had to adopt the candidate of his choice to be his successor. Under Roman law, an adoption established a bond legally as strong as that of kinship. Because of this, all but the first and last of the Nerva–Antonine emperors are called Adoptive Emperors. The importance of official adoption in Roman society has often been considered a conscious repudiation of the principle of dynastic inheritance and has been deemed one of the factors of the period's prosperity. However, this was not a new practice. It was common for pat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
