At age 14, Bassianus became emperor of Rome and assumed the name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus in A.D. 218. From that moment, his short, chaotic reign would scandalize Rome.

In Mary Beard’s book, she examines twenty-nine of ancient Rome’s emperors beginning with Julius Caesar and ending with Alexander Severus, who ruled from 222 until 235 C.E.

Macrinus Was Not a Black Emperor in Reality. Denzel Washington’s Macrinus is partially based on Marcus Opellius Macrinus, who ruled the Roman Empire from April 217 to June 218 following the murder of ...

By 217, Macrinus joined Emperor Caracalla’s campaign against the Parthian Empire in Central Asia. Caracalla didn’t fully trust Macrinus after allegedly hearing a prophecy that Macrinus would ...

Fred Hechinger plays Emperor Caracalla in "Gladiator II" (Paramount Pictures)Ironically enough, the real-life Caracalla, described as a soldier's emperor who bore all the hardships of an enlisted ...

Draped in flowy silk capes and adorned with rattling, chunky gold, and silver rings, Denzel Washington embodies the flashiest villain and the colosseum’s bullpen organizer, Macrinus.In Gladiator ...

In reality, Macrinus became the next emperor of Rome. In 217 ce , he ordered the assassination of Caracalla and was declared emperor by the Praetorian Guard and the Senate.

There's only one person left to rule Rome by the end of the sequel to Ridley Scott's classic 2000 film. IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.