Roman Gladiator Facts

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Gladiator Dying emperor Marcus Aurelius names his loyal and brave General Maximus as his successor to restore the power from the Caesars back to the people and the Roman Senate. Maximus a powerful general, who is loved by the people, is condemned to death by the emperor’s heir Commodus. Escaping an ordered execution, Maximus hurries back to his home, too late to save his wife and son from the same order. Maximus is captured and sold into slavery and trained as a gladiator. Training as a gladiator under the direction of Proximo, Maximus lives only that he might someday take his revenge. Proximo's troupe is called to Rome to participate in a marathon of gladiator games held by the new emperor, Commodus. Once in Rome, Maximus wastes no time in making his presence known, and is soon involved in a plot to overthrow the emperor with his former-love Lucilla (Commodus' sister) the widowed mother of Lucius, heir to the empire after his uncle, and democratic-minded senator, Gracchus. Maximus gains fame as a gladiator and uses his popularity to cause further damage to Commodus' tenuous hold on the Roman…show more content…
There was no last great battle with the Germanic tribes on the eve of Marcus Aurelius’ death; he died March 17, 180 AD. The last battle was in the campaigning season of 179 AD. Commodus was in fact joint ruler with his father from the beginning of 177 AD, when Commodus became the youngest of Roman consuls up to that time. From August of 178 AD, they jointly commanded the war on the Danube until Marcus’ death. In real life, Commodus’ sister, Lucilla, did plot with a number of senators to kill him within the first two years of his reign the unsuccessful conspirators were executed, including Lucilla after she was briefly exiled on the Isle of Capri. Commodus ruled as emperor for thirteen years, but due to time compression seems to have only ruled for two or three years at

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