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Succession of Empire: How did Commodus become the sole emperor?
Commodus was an autocratic emperor of the Roman Empire whose reign marked an important turning point in the history of the Roman Empire. Commodus, born in 161, ascended the throne in 180 after the death of his father Marcus Aurelius, becoming the youngest sole emperor in history at the time. How did he stand out on the stage of power and obtain this supreme position?
"Commodus grew up with his father's energy pressure and military background. With the death of his father, he faced multiple challenges and opportunities."
Commodus's succession to the throne was not an easy one. As the son of Marcus Aurelius, his father was known for his statecraft and philosophical ideas, but Commodus presented a completely different style. The young emperor received a good education in his early years and received a certain amount of political influence under his father's rule, but his character gradually showed a tendency to make trouble. In addition, his ruling style soon showed completely different characteristics from his father's, and he faced many difficulties and challenges as a result.
After taking the throne, Commodus faced not only establishing the legitimacy of his own rule, but also consolidating his own political power. At that time, the Roman Empire was in a period of turmoil. The loyalty of the army and the power struggle among the gentry put the young emperor under tremendous pressure. Therefore, Commodus chose to rely more on the army to ensure his rule.
"Under his rule, Commodus chose to tilt national resources towards the army in order to win the support of military power."
Commodus's reign began with a series of wars and military campaigns. Unlike his father's image of a philosopher emperor, Commodus was more like an ambitious general who often participated in competitions in the Colosseum and promoted himself as the incarnation of "Hercules" among the people. These behaviors and styles of his were recognized by ordinary people to a certain extent, but they caused dissatisfaction among nobles and politicians. They all accused Commodus of being extravagant and lacking the ability to govern the country.
As time went on, Commodus's reign began to have its ups and downs. Although he won the support of the army, his overreliance on the army gradually made the regime unstable. His policies began to arouse dissatisfaction and opposition, and the power struggle among the nobles intensified, and there were even several assassination attempts.
"Commodus's reign struggled between violence and luxury, but failed to stabilize the foundation of his throne."
Eventually, Commodus' rule went to extremes and he began to lose control of the empire. The Roman Empire experienced chaos and corruption during this period, and Commodus was eventually assassinated in a coup in 192. From then on, the Roman Empire entered an era of co-rule by multiple emperors, which also laid the foundation for the subsequent era of "military empire".
The reign of Commodus allows us to see how a new emperor rose under the influence of his father, but ended up being destroyed because of his own extravagance and tyranny. His story reminds us that although power is easy to obtain, maintaining and stabilizing it requires a balance of wisdom and virtue. So, in the arena of power, inheritance or innovation, which strategy is more likely to succeed?
