December 31
Roman Emperor Commodus Assassinated
A small group of palace insiders, fearing imminent execution, poisoned Commodus and then had him strangled on the final day of 192, ending the Antonine line of emperors.
Summary
By late 192, Commodus had alienated senators and senior members of his own household through executions, erratic rule, and his public identification with Hercules and the arena. A court conspiracy formed around his chamberlain Eclectus, his mistress Marcia, and the praetorian prefect Laetus after members of the household reportedly learned that they faced death. On December 31, an attempt to poison Commodus failed, after which the wrestler Narcissus strangled him in his bath. Officials concealed the death long enough to arrange the accession of Pertinax. The killing ended Commodus's reign and the line of emperors associated with the Antonine dynasty.
Context
Commodus succeeded his father Marcus Aurelius in 180, becoming the first emperor born to the purple in nearly a century and ending the adoptive succession that had produced capable rulers from Nerva to Marcus. While the empire remained militarily secure on its frontiers, Commodus spent most of his reign in Rome, where his public performances as a gladiator and his self-identification with Hercules alienated the senatorial elite.
What Happened
By late 192 Commodus had ordered repeated purges of senators and courtiers. On 31 December he drew up a wax tablet listing those to be killed that night, with his mistress Marcia, chamberlain Eclectus, and praetorian prefect Laetus named first. A young palace favorite carried the tablet out of the emperor’s bedroom; Marcia intercepted it, recognized the handwriting, and immediately summoned Eclectus. The two alerted Laetus, and the three resolved to strike first.
Aftermath
Marcia mixed poison into Commodus’s wine after his bath. When he vomited the dose, the conspirators paid the wrestler Narcissus to strangle the emperor in the bath. They concealed the death through the night and, on 1 January 193, secured the acclamation of the senator Pertinax as emperor by the Praetorian Guard and Senate.
Legacy
Pertinax’s brief rule collapsed within three months when the Guard murdered him and auctioned the throne, launching the civil wars of 193–197. Septimius Severus ultimately prevailed, founding a new dynasty that subordinated the Senate and Praetorian Guard to provincial legions and made explicit the military basis of imperial power. Ancient writers presented Commodus’s death as the close of a more stable era.
Why It Matters
Commodus's assassination opened the political crisis of 193, when rapid successions and rival military claimants demonstrated how strongly imperial power depended on armed support. The ensuing civil wars ultimately brought Septimius Severus to power and reshaped the relationship among the emperor, Senate, Praetorian Guard, and provincial armies.
Related Questions
Why did Commodus’s courtiers turn against him?
They learned they were at the top of a death list Commodus had just written, prompting them to act before he could.
How was Commodus actually killed?
Marcia first tried poison in his wine; when he vomited, the wrestler Narcissus strangled him in the bath.
Who succeeded Commodus immediately?
The senator Pertinax was installed on 1 January 193 with the support of the conspirators and the Praetorian Guard.
What larger crisis followed the assassination?
Rapid turnover of emperors and competing military claimants produced civil war until Septimius Severus secured the throne in 197.
How did later historians view Commodus’s death?
They saw it as the end of the relatively stable Antonine era and the beginning of greater military influence over imperial succession.
Explore More
Related Events
Sources
- Herodian 1.17: Commodus Assassinated, Livius. Accessed 2026-07-12.
- Commodus, Livius. Accessed 2026-07-12.