Commodus

Commodus

The accession of the 19 year old Commodus upon the death of his father Marcus Aurelius on March 17, AD 180 is often considered a catalyst that sparked the initial decline of the Roman Empire. Whether or not the assertion is true and Commodus acted as a catalyst, or if he was simply a piece of an evolving and dynamic Roman puzzle is a matter of perspective and interpretation. It?s interesting that the death of Marcus Aurelius is considered the end of the ?Pax Romana? (The Roman Peace) but the reign of Commodus was largely as peaceful as that of Antoninus Pius a half century earlier...