Commodus was co-ruler for three years with his father Marcus Aurelius. After spending most of his youth with his father on the German frontier, when his father died, he quickly made a costly peace with the Germans and returned with the army to Rome. There he taxed the rich and became popular with the poor and the army. After a promising start, however, Commodus gradually slid into megalomania, identifying himself with Hercules, fighting in gladiatorial contests, apparently changing the name of the city, the months and the legions to reflect his own name and calling his own reign a 'golden age'. You might know him as the bad emperor in the movie "Gladiator". After several failed attempts on his life, Commodus was finally strangled in his bath by an athlete, likely paid by the Senate.

                                                      

Places in Rome to see the contributions of Commodus:

• Commodus erected an arch honoring his father Marcus Aurelius, which no longer exists, but three panels from it still survive in the Capitoline Museum, and others were reused to decorate the Arch of Constantine.

See also:

• My Commodus photos