What caused Commodus downfall?

It did not take long for the future emperor to become a disappointment to his father for although he enjoyed the benefits of a quality education, Commodus inherited none of his father’s work ethic and would find government life tedious and some believed this gave evidence that he was illegitimate, owing to his mother’s …

Who was the craziest Roman emperor?

Caligula
1) Caligula had sex with his sisters and gave his horse a marble house. Caligula: not as bad as you think. But pretty bad. How he got power: Caligula is Rome’s most famously perverse emperor, in part due to popular portrayals that were fantastically salacious.

What was Commodus like as an emperor?

Whereas the reign of Marcus Aurelius had been marked by almost continuous warfare, Commodus’ rule was comparatively peaceful in the military sense, but was also characterised by political strife and the increasingly arbitrary and capricious behaviour of the emperor himself.

How did Commodus affect Rome?

Commodus became the sole and absolute ruler of the Roman world. He immediately paid a donative to the legions. To fund this, he devalued the coinage for the first time since the reign of Nero. Commodus continued the campaign against the German tribes on the Danube but soon entered into negotiations with the enemy.

Which caused the collapse of the Roman Republic?

Economic problems, government corruption, crime and private armies, and the rise of Julius Caesar as emperor all led to its eventual fall in 27 BCE. Rome’s continued expansion resulted in money and revenue for the Republic.

What happened to Commodus’ brothers?

His twin brother Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus died in 165 when they were just four years old, and four years later Commodus’s baby brother Marcus Annius died after a medical operation went horribly wrong. 6. And Then There Was One As a result of all this tragedy, Commodus was his father’s only heir by the time he was eight.

What are Commodus’ duties as Emperor?

Commodus didn’t really bother with the duties of being an emperor, either. For most of his rule, he just put somebody else in charge. When he became emperor, he gave all of his duties to a man named Perennis—and then put himself in charge of the living-like-a-king part. [7]

What was Commodus’s ego like?

Commodus’s ego was unparalleled. He legitimately believed that he was a living god. He had the head of the Colossus chopped off and replaced with his own likeness and even pressured the Senate to officially declare him a living god.

What happened to the children of Roman emperors?

Ancient Rome was a truly brutal place, especially for an Emperor’s son. When Commodus rose to power, he was actually the first biological son of an emperor to succeed his father in almost an entire century. Most other Roman heirs were killed, exiled, or somehow disposed of before they could reach the throne. 4. Kissing Cousins