Joaquin Phoenix plays Commodus in the film "The Gladiator". In reality, the end of the tyrant was decided by a palace conspiracy
The stubborn commitment of Commodus to make himself disliked by anyone, it had the effect of provoking a conspiracy to get it out of the way, with great general satisfaction.
It seems that Commodus, Roman Emperor (officially) degenerate son of the immense Marcus Aurelius , to whom he resembled nothing, did everything to be hated, succeeding perfectly; not being able to take more of his gratuitous cruelties and his unbearable manias, it was decided to eliminate him to free the city from his oppressive tyranny.
At the end of December of the year 192 AD ., Commodus, endowed with a rather eccentric personality, announced that on the first day of the year he would appear before the people as a gladiator (gladiator games had always been his greatest passion), but he was betrayed by the people closest to him:the concubine at the time "in charge" Marcia Demetriade and the praetorian prefect Emilio Leto , decided to accelerate the events previously established.
On their order the athlete Narcisso, with whom they had agreed, often training companion of the Emperor, he grabbed Commodus by the neck and held it until the man, who was 31 years old, died in his hands.