A conspiracy to murder Roman Emperor Commodus came together on this day in history, as a small band of plotters set their deadly scheme into motion.
The conspirators enlisted a young wrestler to carry out the assassination on Dec 31st, AD 192. Commodus met his end when the wrestler strangled him in his bath. Among those who orchestrated the plot were Praetorian Prefect, Commodus Chamberlain, Electus, Aemilius Laetus, and Commodus mistress Marcia. Remarkably, this wasn't the first time someone had tried to kill the emperor.
At just 15 years old, Commodus began sharing power alongside his father. Marcus harbored deep concerns that once he was gone, his son would abandon his imperial responsibilities and descend into a life of excess. Sure enough, those fears proved justified — Commodus brought all wars with the Germanic tribe to an end, publicly humiliated his senator, and shirked his duties exactly as his father had foreseen on his deathbed. The earliest plot against his life was orchestrated by none other than his own sister, Annia Lucilla.
As the years went on, Commodus had a vast number of conspirators put to death — his sister Lucilla among them. Rather than attend to matters of state, he routinely handed off responsibilities to favored men and women in his circle. His passions lay elsewhere: fighting wild animals in grant arenas, chariot racing, and stepping into the role of a wrestling gladiator. Today, it's now widely accepted that Commodus was struggling with mental illness.
Commodus maintained a list of individuals he planned to have executed. When Marcia stumbled upon this list, she found not only her own name but also those of Electus and Laetus. It was this chilling discovery that ultimately set the final assassination attempt into motion.
In the wake of the emperor's death, a string of would-be successors tried and failed to claim the throne, plunging Rome into civil unrest. The resulting war raged on until Septimius Severus managed to eliminate his rivals and seize power for himself.