Essays on Commodus

Commodus and the Fall of Rome

The son of the last of the Five Good Emperors of Rome, Commodus became known for his reign that led Roman Empire to its decline. He was co-emperor of his father Marcus Aurelius and became the only ruler in the days of calmness; Commodus had no competitors and enemies he needed to punish. His character traits and policies resulted in dissipation of resources, the rise of corruption, and the lack of success in state affairs. The goal of this paper is to discuss how Commodus contributed to the end of the Roman prosperity and the following period of disruption. ...

During the first 2 centuries C.E., there was a period of peace and prosperity, called Pax Romana , which remained in history as one of the happiest and prosperous periods in the entire human history. However, the achievements of the 3 emperors of the Flavian dynasty, Vespasian, and his sons, Titus and Domitian, laid the foundations for Pax Romana because it represented a period of able administration and important political, social, military and educational changes which brought prosperity in the empire. The succession of the first of these emperors, Nerva, put an end to the Flavian dynasty and in particular, ...

Ridley Scott’s Gladiator released in 2000 explores a number of important issues that are not limited in time or in space. This is not just a story that could have happened in the Roman Empire with a Roman military general only. It is a universal story about family values, loyalty, justice, friendship and a lot more. One of the main themes of the film is the struggle for fairness. Gladiator advocates the idea of a regime without totalitarianism and argues against the dictatorship in any form. One of the primary forms of inequality in the Roman Empire was ...