The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313 · External witness
Emperor Commodus
AD 161 – 192 (assassinated) · Roman Emperor (180–192) · Rome
External witness
Who Emperor Commodus was
Marcus Aurelius's unworthy son, under whom — Eusebius notes — the church enjoyed comparative peace, and whose Christian-sympathizing concubine Marcia obtained the release of the confessors from the Sardinian mines, the future pope Callistus among them.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses and roman emperors.
Common questions
When did Emperor Commodus live?
Emperor Commodus is dated AD 161 – 192 (assassinated) in the archive, which places Emperor Commodus in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313).
Which early sources mention Emperor Commodus?
Emperor Commodus is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Hippolytus of Rome, Dio Cassius and Eusebius of Caesarea. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Emperor Commodus from?
The archive associates Emperor Commodus with Rome.
Who were Emperor Commodus’ contemporaries?
The archive links Emperor Commodus to 4 other figures, including Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Marcia, Victor I of Rome and Apollonius the Martyr. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Refutation of All Heresies IX.12
c. AD 225Marcia, the concubine of Commodus, being desirous of performing some good work, summoned the blessed Victor and inquired what martyrs were in Sardinia.Hippolytus of Rome · IX · source text
Dio Cassius, Roman History 73 (the reign, and Marcia's influence)
c. AD 229Ecclesiastical History V.21 ('our condition became more favorable')
c. AD 325In the reign of Commodus our condition became more favorable, and through the grace of God the churches throughout the entire world enjoyed peace.Eusebius of Caesarea · Ecclesiastical History V.21 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Named alongside Emperor Commodus in the sources
This figure is placed with Emperor Commodus by the record — in a council roll, a martyr-act, a letter or a history — without Emperor Commodus naming them in return.
Events in this lifetime
- AD 135 · Bar Kokhba crushed; Aelia Capitolina, AD 135
- AD 144 · Marcion expelled at Rome, AD 144
- AD 156 · The New Prophecy erupts, AD 156
- AD 177 · Persecution at Lyon and Vienne, AD 177
- AD 180 · The Scillitan martyrs, AD 180
- AD 190 · The Quartodeciman controversy, AD 190
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Emperor Commodus.
- 1Rome