Commodus holds the ordinary consulship in 177 as the youngest consul in the received Roman file
This is a republican-form office under Marcus, not the 180 sole rule. In the causal graph this event strengthens Democratic Resilience, a driver that strengthens Having a say in government — an improving welfare path.
Read the full account
Dio’s Commodus book independently treats early offices inside the joint-rule narrative.
Context
A teenage consulship keeps republican form while accelerating hereditary rule. Marcus remains the senior author of the promotion.
Commodus’s documented role is bounded by other offices and collaborators named in the sources below.
Livius lists 177 as consul (youngest in Roman history as that page frames it). This is a republican-form office under Marcus, not the 180 sole rule. Split from the co-Augustus row: one is the imperial title, one is the consulship year.
Why it matters
The 177 consulship is a continuity path of high confidence on the year in Livius’s chronology.
Who was responsible
Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.
Commodus
PersonDirect responsibility
responsibility level 0.4 · verified
What changed
Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.
- FactCommodus holds the ordinary consulship in 177 as the youngest consul in the received Roman file
- strengthensDriverDemocratic Resilience
- strengthensIndicators (3)Having a say in government
impact weight 0.5 · Effect from 1 June 177 · verified
The 177 consulship is a continuity path of high confidence on the year in Livius’s chronology.
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.35 (weight 0.5 × strength 0.7)
Observed
29.8% of population aged 16-65 years · 8.13 below the normal line (2023)
Worse than normalTwo readings: 30.2% of population aged 16-65 years (2021) and 29.8% of population aged 16-65 years (2023).
20212023 Above normal = better
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.23 (weight 0.5 × strength 0.45)
Observed
0.53 score from 0 to 1 · 0.34 below the normal line (2024)
Worse than normal125 readings, 1900–2024: rose from 0.17 score from 0 to 1 to 0.53 score from 0 to 1.
Above normal = better
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.23 (weight 0.5 × strength 0.45)
Observed
0.55 index score (0-1) · 0.26 below the normal line (2024)
Worse than normalAbove normal = better
Evidence
The sources behind this fact and its verification state.
- 1.Livius — CommodusLivius.org · High credibility · verified
- 2.Cassius Dio Book 73 (Loeb English) — CommodusLacusCurtius / University of Chicago · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish
Livius records the 177 consulship.
Commodus did not file a later UNESCO form, a later Loeb colophon, or a later museum label as a personal act. Split from co-Augustus.
Causal path
How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.
- ActorCommodus
- contributed toFactCommodus holds the ordinary consulship in 177 as the youngest consul in the received Roman file
- strengthensDriverDemocratic Resilience
- strengthensIndicatorHaving a say in government
Cite this page
Factrail. (2026). Commodus holds the ordinary consulship in 177 as the youngest consul in the received Roman file. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/com-youngest-consul-177
https://factrail.ai/facts/com-youngest-consul-177
Accessed 16 October 2026.
By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed
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