Latest / Marcus Aurelius: Rome's Philosopher King — Fexingo History / Marcus Aurelius and the Stoic Emperor's Succession Crisis
Transcript
- Lucas: Welcome back, Luna. Today we're picking up after Marcus Aurelius's death in 180 CE — a moment that really tested everything he built. Luna: Right, because he left the empire to his son Commodus, who's famous for being a disaster. Lucas: Exactly. Commodus is the emperor who fought as a gladiator, renamed Rome after himself, and was eventually strangled in his bath. But the question we're asking today is: could Marcus have chosen differently? And why did a Stoic philosopher-king hand power to someone so ill-suited? Luna: Wasn't Commodus his only surviving son? Lucas: He had several children, but by the time Marcus died, only Commodus and his younger brother Annius Verus were left — and Annius died in 169 at age seven. So Commodus was the sole male heir. But Marcus could have adopted someone, like his predecessors did. Trajan adopted Hadrian, Hadrian adopted Antoninus Pius, Antoninus adopted Marcus — it was a tradition of choosing the best man, not just the blood son. Luna: So why break that tradition? Lucas: That's the big question. The ancient sources — Cassius Dio, Herodian, the Historia Augusta — they all suggest Marcus was deeply conflicted. Dio says Marcus worried that Commodus was 'not naturally wicked, but rather weak and easily led astray.' He hoped that surrounding him with good advisers would help. And remember, Marcus was also under immense pressure: the Marcomannic Wars were still simmering, the empire was exhausted from plague and fighting. A smooth dynastic succession avoided civil war. Luna: But didn't Marcus already make Commodus co-emperor years before? Lucas: He did. Commodus became co-emperor in 177, when he was just fifteen. Marcus wanted to groom him, to teach him Stoic principles. He even took Commodus on campaign to the Danube frontier. But by all accounts, Commodus was more interested in hunting and chariot racing than philosophy. Herodian says Marcus was 'often saddened' by his son's behavior. Luna: So Marcus knew. Lucas: He knew. And yet he didn't adopt someone else. There's a famous line from the Historia Augusta — maybe apocryphal, but telling — that when Marcus was on his deathbed, he told Commodus: 'If you prove worthy, you will have the empire; if not, I have done my duty.' That's a devastating admission. And it raises the question: was Marcus too loyal to his bloodline, or did he simply have no better option? Luna: What about his wife, Faustina the Younger? Did she play a role? Lucas: Faustina is a complicated figure. She died in 175, five years before Marcus. There were rumors she had pushed for Commodus's elevation, and even that she had an affair with a gladiator — though most historians dismiss that as propaganda. But she was a key political player. Marcus was devoted to her, and he may have felt that honoring her memory meant keeping their son as heir. Cassius Dio implies that Marcus was 'enslaved' by his love for his family. Luna: So Stoicism didn't help him make a hard choice? Lucas: That's the irony. Stoicism teaches you to focus on what you can control — but who you leave as emperor is one of those things you can control. Marcus's own Meditations are full of warnings about vanity and power. Yet when it came to his son, he seems to have failed. Or maybe he thought he could still shape Commodus. Remember, Marcus died at 58, relatively young. He might have expected to live longer and guide his son more. Luna: But Commodus ruled for twelve years. He wasn't a quick disaster. Lucas: No, and ironically, he started well. He ended the Marcomannic Wars quickly — maybe too quickly, by making peace on terms his father might not have accepted. He also faced down a conspiracy in 182, the so-called 'Lucilla plot,' named after his sister. But after that, he withdrew from administration and gave himself over to pleasure. By the end, he was paranoid, megalomaniacal, and deeply unpopular. Luna: Was his assassination the end of the Antonine Dynasty? Lucas: It was. Commodus was strangled on New Year's Eve 192, after a failed poisoning. His death triggered the Year of the Five Emperors — a chaotic civil war. So Marcus's choice had huge consequences. But here's the thing: could anyone have predicted how bad Commodus would get? Maybe not. Marcus was a father, and fathers often hope for the best. Luna: It's a reminder that even great leaders are human. Lucas: Exactly. And that's what makes this period so compelling. Marcus wrote about the fragility of life, the need to face death with dignity. He faced his own death with calm, according to Dio. But he couldn't face the hardest decision of his reign. Luna: You know, talking about these tough choices — it makes me think about how we support shows like this. A couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these going — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, if you've gotten something out of them. Lucas: That's really appreciated. It's listener support that lets us keep digging into stories like this without any ads. And it truly makes a difference, even just a small amount. Luna: Yeah. So back to Commodus — what happened right after Marcus died? Lucas: Commodus immediately made peace with the tribes along the Danube, which was controversial. Some senators thought it was a betrayal of Marcus's hard-won victories. But it bought time. Then he returned to Rome and showered the people with spectacles. He was popular with the masses, at least at first. The problems came later, when he started executing senators and demanding divine honors. Luna: Did he really rename Rome 'Colonia Commodiana'? Lucas: He did. And he renamed the months after himself — August became 'Commodus,' September 'Hercules,' and so on. He identified with Hercules, wore a lion skin, and fought in the arena. The senators were horrified. Cassius Dio says that Commodus once killed a hundred lions in a single day. He was a skilled archer, but it was undignified for an emperor. Luna: So he went full megalomaniac. Lucas: Absolutely. And the irony is that Marcus's Stoic training emphasized humility, service, and self-control. Commodus rejected all of that. The question historians still debate is: was Commodus always bad, or did power corrupt him? Some argue that he was a product of his environment — a sheltered prince who never learned discipline. Others say he was simply a narcissist. We'll probably never know for sure. Luna: Either way, Marcus's legacy took a hit. Lucas: It did. But interestingly, the Romans still revered Marcus. They saw him as the ideal emperor, and Commodus as an aberration. The historian Herodian, writing a generation later, says that Marcus was 'the best and most gentle of emperors.' So the people could distinguish between father and son. Luna: Alright, so what can we learn from this whole succession mess? Lucas: I think it shows that even the wisest leaders can make catastrophic personal decisions. Marcus wrote in his Meditations: 'The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.' And his own succession was a failed wrestling match. But it also shows how fragile the Roman system was — everything depended on one man's judgment. After Marcus, the empire never fully recovered. Luna: So the philosopher king's greatest failure was his son. Lucas: That's a good way to put it. Next time, we'll look at the Year of the Five Emperors and how the empire almost tore itself apart. But for now, thanks for listening.