The film Gladiator is set in 180 AD, during the golden age of Rome. At the time, the Roman Empire ruled over a quarter of the world's population. More than 60 years had passed since the last expansion of the Roman Empire and Emperor Marcus Aurelius was now concentrating his forces exclusively against the barbarian invasions and fighting a series of wars against the Germanic tribes. Marcus Aurelius is also known as the philosopher king. He was a Stoic philosopher and is best known for his self-discipline as an emperor. He could have indulged in any short-term pleasure one could imagine, yet he practiced self-control. His Stoic teachings were of utmost importance to the Stoic school of thought. Historians believe that Aurelius is the last of the 5 good emperors. In the film, Marcus Aurelius had doubts about whether, instead of choosing a successor to become emperor, he should return power to the Senate. Although the Roman emperors had not chosen their sons as their successors, for over a century at that time, Marcus Aurelius actually believed in holding power closely and willingly passed power to his son. Commodus, son of Marcus Aurelius, had already been co-emperor for three years at the time of his father's death. Commodus was not as competent as his father in his role as emperor and passed on many of his responsibilities to those under him. He managed to keep the people happy by organizing many gladiatorial fights in the Colosseum. He had also taken part in several fights, killing gladiators and animals. However, the fights were usually staged, to ensure the Emperor's victory. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Although the story of the film, Gladiator, is entirely fictional and rather horribly historically inaccurate, it has an interesting historical setting. The film begins by showing Maximus in one of the Germanic wars. The Roman Empire, as the film accurately depicts, had a very advanced military. So advanced that rebels and intruders almost never stood a chance on the battlefield. One slight, but interesting, detail I noticed in the depiction of Marcus Aurelius was his behavior. Marcus Aurelius was a very humble man. Yet during one scene he brags about the expansion of the Empire in his time. Not only is this highly unusual for Marcus Aurelius, but it is also factually incorrect. Although he managed to keep the Empire intact, there was no expansion in the Empire for decades. Furthermore, it is highly unlikely that Marcus Aurelius would ask a general of his army to lead the Empire, when at the time of his death Commodus had already been co-emperor for three years. On the other hand, regarding the portrayal of Commodus, the film accurately portrays him as a maniac. Commodus was not interested in ruling, so he decided to please the people by organizing fights in the Colosseum. The film does a great job of showing how distracted people were by a terrible government, by this fighting. Furthermore, as depicted in the film, Commodus' sister actually plotted her brother's assassination. He hired an assassin to do the job. However, unfortunately for her, the assassin was captured by Commodus' guards, she was exiled and executed a year later. Although in the film Commodus was killed by Maximus, a fictional character, in real life, Commodus was killed by a wrestler. Commodus had hired a wrestler to train him. Once his concubine got him really drunk and brought in the fighter she had hired, who choked Commodus to death. Although this movie wasn't very accurate in the.