AnarchoEngineer

Commodus—pictured at the bottom, who is the biological son of Marcus Aurelius (bottom right of top images)—marked the end of “Pax Romana” the golden age of Rome.

His rule was actually more peaceful than his father’s with regards to wars. However there was a lot of political turmoil and he was one of those “good soldiers don’t make good kings.” Many people thought they could rule better than a boy who was more interested in fighting as a gladiator than being a good ruler. Maybe he was just power hungry or maybe the threats from his rivals pressured him into it (or both), but he started consolidating power and shaping Rome towards dictatorship.

When he was inevitably assassinated, Rome plunged into an era of civil war starting with the “year of five emperors” which you can imagine was not very beneficial for Rome or anyone in it.

Sidenote: He was very proud of his physical prowess and form to the point he had lots of statues and portraits made of himself, portraying him as a god or mythic hero. This pride makes him similar to the greek myth of Narcissus, especially since that narcissistic behavior kinda lead to his death. The real kicker? He was assassinated by a guy whose name was literally “Narcissus”