Was Commodus A Success Or Failure

The tenth child of fourteen children, Commodus was eventually the oldest male left in the family, which made him the immediate heir to the throne. Because of this, he was spoiled rotten. Any injury or illness was treated immediately, as he could not afford to pass away. Anything he longed for was at his feet in an instant, and he was groomed at an early age to be his father's successor. He was given a high level of education and was spoiled rotten. He was pushed into leadership at an early age, which probably led to his eventual downfall. This was not only because of the previous losses in his family, but because his father longed for a child of his own blood to succeed him.

As the years passed and Commodus grew, it was apparent that Commodus was very unlike his determined, prestigious father - he lacked work ethic and an interest in government affairs, a trait that would not leave him even in adulthood. He developed a love for gladiator battles, which led many to believe he was a product of an affair between his mother and a gladiator. After all, he shared few traits with his
He spiraled up the ranks thank to his father, and eventually became co-emperor with his father at the age of fifteen. They ruled together for 3 years until his father's passing.

Once the throne was passed to Commodus, the people began to show much more hostility and displeasure towards their new emperor. He continued to care very little for government affairs and only seemed interested in the position thanks to the advantages it granted him. His lust for power led to some outrageous behavior that upset and provoked many of the Roman people at the time.

Despite his obvious displeasure for state affairs, Commodus did meddle a few times. He negotiated a peace settlement that worked in favor of the Romans. However, he then reduced the value of Roman currency. This, historians believe, is what caused the inevitable downfall of