Comments on Commodus: As a Roman, Commodus has the heart to pursue fame, participate in gladiatorial fights, and shape many golden statues, but he does not have the matching wisdom, effort and courage. As a Roman emperor, he was easily controlled by those around him because he wanted to stay out of politics, instead of using his power independently; he abandoned tradition, ignored the huge gap between slaves and citizens at the time, and lost the Senate the help of the emperor; he rarely has the scheming of the emperor, and he is ignorant of many political matters. About the Senate: Before Commodus came to power, the Senate was a rival to the Emperor. The Senate, headed by Dio, used the name of the Senate to pay the army when Commodus first came to power, with no mention of their emperor at all. Commodus retaliated by taxing the Senate and holding celebrations to gain public support. The conflict between the two has continued since the beginning. After experiencing various events, Commodus had doubts about the old tradition of the empire that lasted for more than 1,000 years, and believed that power could only be controlled in his own hands, and he did not need the senate as an intermediary between him and the people, which is also what he was evaluated as One of the reasons for the tyrant. About the army: In Gibbon's "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", the army plays an important role, they will realize that they have great power, so the Senate hopes to win the army from the beginning. It is worth mentioning that the strength of the Roman Empire's army also lies in its ability to build military defense projects. However, the intrusion of barbarians on the border has always accompanied the Roman Empire, such as the Germans in the north. About the people: The people of Rome are keen on graffiti and express their various opinions (who can imagine that the city of Rome has as many graffiti as there were at the time...). Among them were the elites who were given hereditary power in the Senate, the common people who cheered at the ceremonies watching the fighting performances, and slaves. But slaves sometimes played an important role, Commodus's lover Marcia, Commodus' sister Lucia's servant, including Naxos, who finally became a free man and finally killed the emperor. The inevitable actions of other characters: the jealousy of Clinde, the murder of his sister Lucia, partly because of his own decline: Commodus grants Otrus the status of chief advisor to the slave senate. He always seems to want to destroy Roman traditions, but this distinction of status is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. But the day-to-day administration of Commodus is less described in the documentary. It is difficult to find the reason why he was judged as a tyrant and the key to becoming one of the important nodes in the fall of the empire.
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