Commodus (177 - 192CE)

Commodus (177 - 31 December 192CE). Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus was the son of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina Junior, the first emperor born in the purple and the first since Titus to succeed his father. His name changed throughout his reign, eventually becoming Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus. He was made Caesar on October 12, 166, and reigned jointly with his father from 177 to Aurelius' death in 180. He devalued the currency. His reign is thought to be the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire. He concentrated on his spectacular gladiatorial combats believing himself to be the reincarnation of Hercules and ignored affairs of state. In 192, he renamed the months after his then twelve names: Lucius, Aelius, Aurelius, Commodus, Augustus, Herculeus, Romanus, Exsuperatorius, Amazonius, Invictus, Felix, Pius. The Nervan-Antonian dynasty ended with his strangulation on December 31, 192.