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<p>[QUOTE="GinoLR, post: 8547856, member: 128351"]What happened in 193, after Commodus' unexpected death, can show us what was the opinion in Rome about Commodus. </p><p><br /></p><p>The constitutional system worked perfectly. The Senate immediately elected as his successor the senior in highest rank : P. Helvius Pertinax. Herodian and Cassius Dio write that the news of Commodus' death was cheered by the people, but mostly by the wealthier and their clients. Commodus was declared a public enemy and his memory was condemned by the Senate. On the opposite, the military (the praetorians) were less enthusiastic... </p><p><br /></p><p>Pertinax was soon assassinated in a military coup by the Praetorians, who elected the infamous Didius Julianus, just because he was the highest bidder when the praetorians auctioned the empire. When they marched to the Palatine, they had re-established Commodus portraits on their standards. Didius Julianus was soon toppled in another military coup, this time by Septimius Severus' legions. </p><p><br /></p><p>Septimius Severus first claimed he was there to avenge Pertinax, even adding Pertinax to his own name, but some time after he officially rehabilitated Commodus' memory, claimed he was Commodus' "brother". He had Commodus divinized by the Senate. There are official inscriptions from Rome and Numidia dedicated "<i>Divo Commodo fratri</i>" : "to the Divine Commodus, brother (of the emperor)". Commodus was still "divine" in the mid-3rd c. and Trajan Decius minted "<i>Divo Commodo</i>" antoniniani: obviously, in the official narrative, Commodus was considered one of the 11 good emperors. The list was : Augustus, Vespasian, Titus, Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, Septimius Severus and Severus Alexander. </p><p><br /></p><p>In literature Cassius Dio (a Roman senator who wrote c. 230), Herodian (close to the senatorial class, he wrote c. 240) and the <i>Historia Augusta</i> (a late 4th c. pagan) are unanimous to condemn Commodus and make him a bad, even very bad emperor. One thing is clear: though Commodus was officially Divus, Cassius Dio and Herodian were not afraid to severely criticize him. We can be sure he was hated by the senatorial class. </p><p><br /></p><p>On the other hand, it is obvious that Commodus would never have exposed himself in the amphitheatre if he was not 100% sure his appearances and performances would be greeted by a cheering crowd. And this is what happened every time. In Rome you don't cheat with the people assembled in the Circus or the Colosseum, they can freely boo you if they feel like (it happened to Didius Julianus, and there was nothing to do to silence the People). Among the modest ordinary citizens, Commodus was popular. He was also popular among the military. He was so popular than Septimius Severus felt it necessary to rehabilitate his memory and divinize him in order to strengthen his regime.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="GinoLR, post: 8547856, member: 128351"]What happened in 193, after Commodus' unexpected death, can show us what was the opinion in Rome about Commodus. The constitutional system worked perfectly. The Senate immediately elected as his successor the senior in highest rank : P. Helvius Pertinax. Herodian and Cassius Dio write that the news of Commodus' death was cheered by the people, but mostly by the wealthier and their clients. Commodus was declared a public enemy and his memory was condemned by the Senate. On the opposite, the military (the praetorians) were less enthusiastic... Pertinax was soon assassinated in a military coup by the Praetorians, who elected the infamous Didius Julianus, just because he was the highest bidder when the praetorians auctioned the empire. When they marched to the Palatine, they had re-established Commodus portraits on their standards. Didius Julianus was soon toppled in another military coup, this time by Septimius Severus' legions. Septimius Severus first claimed he was there to avenge Pertinax, even adding Pertinax to his own name, but some time after he officially rehabilitated Commodus' memory, claimed he was Commodus' "brother". He had Commodus divinized by the Senate. There are official inscriptions from Rome and Numidia dedicated "[I]Divo Commodo fratri[/I]" : "to the Divine Commodus, brother (of the emperor)". Commodus was still "divine" in the mid-3rd c. and Trajan Decius minted "[I]Divo Commodo[/I]" antoniniani: obviously, in the official narrative, Commodus was considered one of the 11 good emperors. The list was : Augustus, Vespasian, Titus, Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, Septimius Severus and Severus Alexander. In literature Cassius Dio (a Roman senator who wrote c. 230), Herodian (close to the senatorial class, he wrote c. 240) and the [I]Historia Augusta[/I] (a late 4th c. pagan) are unanimous to condemn Commodus and make him a bad, even very bad emperor. One thing is clear: though Commodus was officially Divus, Cassius Dio and Herodian were not afraid to severely criticize him. We can be sure he was hated by the senatorial class. On the other hand, it is obvious that Commodus would never have exposed himself in the amphitheatre if he was not 100% sure his appearances and performances would be greeted by a cheering crowd. And this is what happened every time. In Rome you don't cheat with the people assembled in the Circus or the Colosseum, they can freely boo you if they feel like (it happened to Didius Julianus, and there was nothing to do to silence the People). Among the modest ordinary citizens, Commodus was popular. He was also popular among the military. He was so popular than Septimius Severus felt it necessary to rehabilitate his memory and divinize him in order to strengthen his regime.[/QUOTE]
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