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Lucilla’s conspiracy fails in 182 and a senatorial purge follows as Dio and Herodian print it

In 182 a conspiracy associated with Lucilla failed; Commodus then executed leading senators as Dio and Herodian print. In the causal graph this event strengthens Judicial independence erosion (court capture), a driver that strengthens Rule of Law Gap from the Highest Governance Score — a worsening welfare path.

Sources: [1][2]

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In 182 a conspiracy associated with Lucilla failed; Commodus then executed leading senators as Dio and Herodian print. This Fact is that failed-plot-and-purge instrument. Historia Augusta colour is not used as a second tape.

Context

Palace assassination and reply-killings are a judicial-independence erosion: the household is the court. Confidence medium on names and totals, high that a 182 crisis sits in both Greek narratives.

Commodus’s documented role is bounded by other offices and collaborators named in the sources below.

Sister Lucilla, with senators, is the named plot. Failed assassination, then executions. Senatorial historians are hostile and later. The plot is still a dated palace-justice cluster, not a public independent court.

Why it matters

Confidence medium on magnitudes.

Who was responsible

Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.

  • Commodus

    Person

    Direct responsibility

    responsibility level 0.4 · verified

What changed

Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.

Evidence

The sources behind this fact and its verification state.

Verified2 sources on file
  1. 1.Cassius Dio Book 73 (Loeb English) — CommodusLacusCurtius / University of Chicago · High credibility · verified
  2. 2.Britannica — CommodusEncyclopaedia Britannica · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish

Loeb Dio and Britannica independently describe the 182 plot and the senatorial killings that followed.

Established: 182 conspiracy and subsequent executions as received.

Commodus did not file a later UNESCO form, a later Loeb colophon, or a later museum label as a personal act. Lucilla is not Cleander. Split sister-plot from chamberlain-riot.

Causal path

How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.

  1. ActorCommodus
  2. contributed toFactLucilla’s conspiracy fails in 182 and a senatorial purge follows as Dio and Herodian print it
  3. strengthensDriverJudicial independence erosion (court capture)
  4. strengthensIndicatorRule of Law Gap from the Highest Governance Score

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). Lucilla’s conspiracy fails in 182 and a senatorial purge follows as Dio and Herodian print it. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/com-lucilla-conspiracy-182

https://factrail.ai/facts/com-lucilla-conspiracy-182

Accessed 16 October 2026.

By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed

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