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Commodus, Lucius Aurelius AD161-92
Roman emperor

The son of Marcus Aurelius, he was carefully educated but proved unable to live up to the example of his virtuous father, and his reign (from AD186) degenerated into one of imperial despotism. After the discovery of his sister Lucilla's plot against his life (183), he gave uncontrolled vent to his savagery. He became increasingly unbalanced, imagining that he was the god Hercules and renamed Rome after himself. At length his mistress, Marcia, had him strangled by Narcissus, a famous athlete. His death brought to an end the dynasty of the Antonine emperors.