All corrections
Wikipedia August 5, 2026 at 05:24 AM

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodus

3 corrections found

1
Claim
the fleet which imported grain from Africa was termed Alexandria Commodiana Togata
Correction

This mixes up two different renamings. Ancient and modern sources say Commodus renamed Carthage "Alexandria Commodiana Togata," while the African grain fleet was called "Commodiana Herculea."

Full reasoning

The article’s wording conflates a city name with a fleet name.

The ancient source Historia Augusta says Commodus:

  • organized an African fleet as a backup if Alexandrian grain shipments were delayed, and
  • named Carthage "Alexandria Commodiana Togata,"
  • after naming the African fleet "Commodiana Herculea."

In other words, "Alexandria Commodiana Togata" refers to Carthage, not the African grain fleet. The fleet’s name is given separately as "Commodiana Herculea."

A modern archaeological discussion of the same passage repeats this distinction explicitly, quoting the Latin and translation: Commodus "named Carthage 'Alexandria Commodiana Togata', after entitling the African fleet 'Commodiana Herculea'."

So the sentence in the post is incorrect because it assigns the name Alexandria Commodiana Togata to the fleet, whereas the sources assign that name to Carthage.

2 sources
  • Historia Augusta • Life of Commodus

    He did organize an African fleet, which would have been useful, in case the grain-supply from Alexandria were delayed. He jestingly named Carthage Alexandria Commodiana Togata, after entitling the African fleet Commodiana Herculea.

  • The auxiliary grain fleet of Commodus

    He did organize an African fleet, which would have been useful, in case the grain-supply from Alexandria were delayed. He jestingly named Carthage 'Alexandria Commodiana Togata', after entitling the African fleet 'Commodiana Herculea'.

2
Claim
The following year, he became the youngest emperor and consul up to that point, at the age of 16.
Correction

Commodus was 15, not 16, when he became consul and was elevated to co-ruler.

Full reasoning

This sentence gets Commodus’s age wrong.

Reliable sources date Commodus’s birth to August 31, 161. They also place his elevation to Augustus/co-emperor in 177, and one scholarly source states explicitly that he was "consul for 177 (at fifteen)".

Because Commodus was born at the end of August 161, he was 15 for most of 177. So when he became consul in 177—and when he was elevated to co-ruler in that same year—he was not yet 16.

The article itself later says he became consul on 1 January 177, "aged 15," which is consistent with the external sources and confirms that the lead’s age of 16 is incorrect.

3 sources
3
Claim
The 2017 docu-drama miniseries Roman Empire: Reign of Blood retells his story.
Correction

The Commodus season of Roman Empire: Reign of Blood premiered in 2016, not 2017.

Full reasoning

This gets the release year wrong.

Multiple entertainment databases list Roman Empire: Reign of Blood (the Commodus season) as premiering on November 11, 2016 on Netflix, not in 2017. Rotten Tomatoes dates the season and its episodes to Nov. 11, 2016, and other cataloging sources list the series/season as first aired in 2016.

So the article’s year for this miniseries is off by one year.

3 sources
Model: OPENAI_GPT_5 Prompt: v1.16.0