Commodus was nineteen when his father's death left him sole emperor of the Roman world. His ascension was uneventful in that there were no challengers to the imperial throne. The German wars... were soon abandoned. Commodus arranged a hasty peace with the barbarian chieftains that relinquished the gains of two years' campaigning and returned to the luxuries and pleasures of Rome in the autumn of 180. The son had his father deified on his return, and held a triumph, which, although it undoubtedly featured some spectacles, was something less than the hundred-some days of gladiatorial combats so central to the film.