The Turning Wheel Podcast

We talk Marcus's notebook, his stereotyped wife, what would have happened if he'd killed Commodus, and whether or not he was a manipulated dupe.

Roman history fans know two things about Commodus: First, he was a horribly corrupt, psychopathic emperor. Second, he reigned at the end of the Pax Romana, and helped start Rome's slow decline towards eventual dissolution. 

The Roman senator and historian Cassius Dio, who knew Commodus and his father, Marcus Aurelius, personally, tells us that with the ascention of Commodus that, "our history now descends from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust, as affairs did for the Romans of that day."

And enough other sources have spoken of Commodus's misrule and cruelty to leave of thinking that he was probably right. But can we be certain he was correct with his conclusions? 

We know for certain that he probably made one choice, albeit for the wrong reasons, which probably contributed to to the Empire's longevity. And of his misdeeds? Just how impactful were they?

Today we're going to examine the life of Commodus. It's likely that he was indeed a bit of a psychopath, but what's more doubtful is if any of his actions really contributed to Rome's fall and the end of the Pax Romana. 

Find out why in this episode. 

 

Marcus Aurelius decides that he's going to crush that Germanic and Sarmatian tribes once and for all, even if it costs him his life.

Why a great emperor let an immoral tyrant take his throne.

The one man with the experience, position, and breeding to challenge Marcus Aurelius's claim to the throne decides to take a crack at him, and the Roman Empire is plunged into civil war.

With the Roman Empire on its knees, Marcus Aurelius must raise and personally lead an army against the combined might of Germania and Sarmatia. Plague, famine, and economic ruin might have something to say about that.

The Roman Empire's first mass epidemic brings a dramatic close to the pax Romona, and Marcus Aurelius struggles to keep everything together, turning ever more to Stoic philosophy to get him through.

After a talking snake cons their governor into a military disaster, the Romans rush to respond to the military crisis with Parthia as the conflict escalate to a full-scale war.

Hadrian's bad example taught Marcus how to avoid being a tyrant. Marcus's philosophy, Stoicism, and the example of his adoptive father, Antoninus Pius, showed him the right path. This episode discusses how a Stoic makes hard decisions.