31.12.192 Commodus was served poison

Commodus "became famous" as a cruel Roman emperor. He killed animals and beat people who were amputees. The senators conspired to poison the ruler. But he vomited up the poison and was strangled by his fitness trainer.

Once Commodus ordered that all the cripples, hunchbacks, and generally undesirables in the city be rounded up, thrown into the arena, and forced to beat each other to death with meat cleavers. The emperor enjoyed killing animals, killing a hundred lions in one day to the disgust of the spectators. In addition to cripples, Commodus also killed exotic animals such as lions, ostriches, hippos, elephants and giraffes.

Alone in the arena, he killed three elephants, decapitated an ostrich, and taunted the senators present by holding the animal's head in his hand and suggesting that they were next. He speared a giraffe to death, an animal that the spectators did not find at all terrifying.

During the fighting in the arena, Commodus' opponents submitted to him as emperor, saving their lives. However, in private practice fights, Commodus would kill his opponents. "The Romans were outraged when the emperor ordered wounded soldiers and amputees to be brought into the arena and killed. Non-military citizens who had lost their legs through injury or illness were tied together and beaten to death by Commodus. This terrified the Roman people," writes Dag Heward-Mills in Be Mindful of Your Invisible Enemies.

The senators conspired and decided to poison the emperor. "That night Commodus' mistress Marcia brought the emperor a glass of wine for his bath as usual. She watched him sip the drink with the poison she poured into it, and then fall asleep. I'm sure she was relieved it was over. But he suddenly woke up and threw up. Perhaps his body was ridding itself of the poison," Sean Callery describes the events in Ancient Rome.

But Marcia acted quickly. She sent for Narcissus, a professional wrestler who was the emperor's fitnessm trainer, and promised him great riches if he fulfilled the terrifying task she had for him.

Soon strong hands were gripping the master's neck and strangling him. No one mourned Commodus's death. The Senate voted to destroy the statues and paintings of the Emperor-Gladiator, pretending he never existed. In fact, Commodus renamed Rome the Colony of Commodus. When he died, Rome was restored to its original name. Commodus' reign lasted twelve years, from 180 to 192 AD.

Sources: DagHeward-Mills, Be Mindful of Your Invisible Enemies, Sean Callery, Ancient Rome
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