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The praetorian prefect Tigidius Perennis is removed and killed about 185 as received

About 185 Tigidius Perennis, praetorian prefect, was executed or delivered to death as Dio and Herodian print. In the causal graph this event strengthens Institutional Corruption, a driver that strengthens Political corruption index — a worsening welfare path.

Sources: [1][2]

Read the full account

About 185 Tigidius Perennis, praetorian prefect, was executed or delivered to death as Dio and Herodian print. This Fact is that prefect-fall instrument, not Cleander’s later fall and not a unique payroll of the Guard.

Context

Responsibility is shared with soldiers and rivals.

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

Perennis concentrated prefect power; army complaint and imperial fear are the received mechanism. Sources disagree on exact agency. Commodus is the named emperor under whom a prefect dies. HA is unreliable on details.

Why it matters

Confidence medium on motive, high on the fall as event.

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.

    1. FactThe praetorian prefect Tigidius Perennis is removed and killed about 185 as received
    2. strengthensDriverInstitutional Corruption
    3. strengthensIndicators (3)Political corruption index
    Worsening path

    impact weight 0.5 · Effect from 1 January 185 · verified

    Confidence medium on motive, high on the fall as event.

Evidence

The sources behind this fact and its verification state.

Verified2 sources on file
  1. 1.Herodian, Roman History — Livius EnglishLivius.org · High credibility · verified
  2. 2.Cassius Dio Book 73 (Loeb English) — CommodusLacusCurtius / University of Chicago · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish

Loeb Dio and Herodian independently narrate Perennis’s end in the mid-180s.

Established: Perennis dead about 185 as received. Not established: a forensic reconstruction of every charge.

Commodus did not file a later UNESCO form, a later Loeb colophon, or a later museum label as a personal act. A prefect’s death is not a gladiator bout. Keep 185 distinct from 190.

Causal path

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

  1. ActorCommodus
  2. contributed toFactThe praetorian prefect Tigidius Perennis is removed and killed about 185 as received
  3. strengthensDriverInstitutional Corruption
  4. strengthensIndicatorPolitical corruption index

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). The praetorian prefect Tigidius Perennis is removed and killed about 185 as received. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/com-perennis-185

https://factrail.ai/facts/com-perennis-185

Accessed 16 October 2026.

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

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