Commodus | |||||
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18th Emperor of the Roman Empire | |||||
Reign | 177 – 31 December 192 | ||||
Predecessor | Marcus Aurelius, father | ||||
Successor | Pertinax | ||||
Co-emperor | Marcus Aurelius (177–180) | ||||
Born |
Lanuvium, near Rome |
31 August 161||||
Died | 31 December 192 Rome |
(aged 31)||||
Burial | Rome | ||||
Wife | |||||
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Dynasty | Nerva–Antonine | ||||
Father | Marcus Aurelius | ||||
Mother | Faustina |
Full name | |
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(with titles) Lucius Aurelius Commodus (from birth to 166); Caesar Lucius Aurelius Commodus (166 to 176); Caesar Lucius Aurelius Commodus Augustus (176 to 180); Caesar Lucius Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus (180); Caesar Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus (180 to 191); Caesar Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus Augustus (191 to death) |
Commodus (31 August 161 – 31 December 192), born Lucius Aurelius Commodus and died Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus, was Roman Emperor from AD 180 to 192. He also ruled as co-emperor with his father Marcus Aurelius from 177 until his father's death in 180.
His accession as emperor was the first time a son had succeeded his biological father since Titus succeeded Vespasian in 79. He was also the first emperor to have both a father and grandfather (who had adopted his father) as the two preceding emperors. Commodus was the first (and until 337, the only) emperor "born in the purple", i.e., during his father's reign.
Commodus was assassinated in 192, succeeded by Pertinax whose reign did not last long during the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors.
Commodus was born on 31 August AD 161, as Commodus, in Lanuvium, near Rome. He was the son of the reigning emperor, Marcus Aurelius, and Aurelius' first cousin, Faustina the Younger; the youngest daughter of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius, who had died only a few months before. Commodus had an elder twin brother, Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus, who died in 165. On 12 October 166, Commodus was made Caesar together with his younger brother, Marcus Annius Verus. The latter died in 169 having failed to recover from an operation, which left Commodus as Marcus Aurelius' sole surviving son.
He was looked after by his father's physician, Galen, in order to keep Commodus healthy and alive. Galen treated many of Commodus' common illnesses. Commodus received extensive tutoring by a multitude of teachers with a focus on intellectual education. Among his teachers Onesicrates, Antistius Capella, Titus Aius Sanctus, and Pitholaus are mentioned.