August 31, 161 - Commodus
His reign is often marked as the close of the Pax Romana — not through conquest or catastrophic war, but through internal decay: a gradual withdrawal from governance in favor of personal spectacle and an expanding cult of self-deification. Power increasingly passed to chamberlains and prefects while Commodus performed as a gladiator in the Colosseum, casting himself as the incarnation of Hercules. The conspiracies that multiplied around him were in part a response to his erratic and autocratic rule, making his eventual assassination less a surprise than an inevitability long in the making.
From Wikipedia
Commodus (; Latin: [ˈkɔmmɔdʊs]; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was Roman emperor from 177 to 192, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father Marcus Aurelius and then ruling alone from 180. Commodus's sole reign is commonly thought to mark the end of the Pax Romana, a golden age of peace and prosperity in the history of the Roman Empire.
Commodus accompanied his father during the Marcomannic Wars in 172 and on a tour of the Eastern provinces in 176. The following year, he became the youngest emperor and consul up to that point, at the age of 16. His sole reign saw less military conflict than that of Marcus Aurelius, but internal intrigues and conspiracies abounded, goading Commodus to an increasingly dictatorial style of leadership. This culminated in his creating a deific personality cult, including his performances as a gladiator in the Colosseum. Throughout his reign, Commodus entrusted the management of affairs to his palace chamberlain and praetorian prefects, namely Saoterus, Perennis, and Cleander.
Commodus was assassinated by the wrestler Narcissus in 192, ending the Nerva–Antonine dynasty.
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