{"id":161363,"date":"2026-08-09T22:35:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T20:35:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/?post_type=artykuly&#038;p=161363"},"modified":"2026-08-09T22:46:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T20:46:06","slug":"bellum-desertorum-commodus-versus-maternus","status":"publish","type":"artykuly","link":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/bellum-desertorum-commodus-versus-maternus\/","title":{"rendered":"Bellum desertorum: Commodus versus Maternus"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_87_1 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Chapters<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/bellum-desertorum-commodus-versus-maternus\/#desperation-and-its-consequences\" >Desperation and its consequences<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/bellum-desertorum-commodus-versus-maternus\/#maternus-who-was-he\" >Maternus, who was he?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/bellum-desertorum-commodus-versus-maternus\/#the-banditry-begins\" >The banditry begins<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/bellum-desertorum-commodus-versus-maternus\/#the-crackdown\" >The crackdown<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/bellum-desertorum-commodus-versus-maternus\/#a-farewell-bow\" >A farewell bow<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/bellum-desertorum-commodus-versus-maternus\/#aftermath\" >Aftermath<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>The reign of <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/emperor-who-was-chosen-by-gods\/\">Emperor<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/biographies\/commodus\/\">Commodus<\/a> (ruling from 17 March 180 to 31 December 192 CE), son of <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/biographies\/marcus-aurelius\/\">Marcus Aurelius<\/a>, began just as the <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/curiosities\/roman-army-bloody-brutal-vengeful\/\">brutal<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wars\/marcomannic-wars\/\">Marcomannic Wars<\/a> (<em>bellum Germanicum et Sarmaticum<\/em>) were finally winding down. At its height, according to Marcus Aurelius&#8217;s own letters, this conflict involved thirteen legions and dozens of auxiliary cohorts.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The war of 166\/167\u2013180 CE may have ended, but Commodus still had to deal with its aftermath, including the banditry that had taken root across regions only recently pulled out of active combat. The most notorious of these bandits was an ex-soldier named Maternus. He was a deserter whose gang grew troublesome enough that <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-geography\/roman-cities\/rome-eternal-city\/\">Rome<\/a> eventually declared a full-scale war against them.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"desperation-and-its-consequences\"><\/span>Desperation and its consequences<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Marcomannic Wars had badly strained the imperial <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-army\/\">army<\/a>, and replacing its losses proved no small task. Fourteen years of brutal military operations and raids had a way of scaring off potential volunteers, so Rome turned to freed <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-society\/social-layers-of-ancient-rome\/slavery-in-ancient-rome\/\">slaves<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-society\/entertainment-in-ancient-rome\/gladiator-fights\/\">gladiators<\/a> among them) and brigands (latrones) recruited from the <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-geography\/roman-provinces\/\">provinces<\/a> of Dalmatia and Dardania. Many of these new soldiers struggled to adjust to military discipline, pushing back against it in various ways.<\/p>\n<p>Desertion was the most common form of insubordination, and on a scale large enough that even decades later, under emperor <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/biographies\/septimius-severus\/\">Septimius Severus<\/a> (193\u2013211 CE), <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-geography\/roman-provinces\/roman-italy\/\">Italy<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-geography\/neighboring-lands-around-ancient-rome\/gaul\/\">Gaul<\/a>, and Spain were still being terrorized by armed gangs descended from these same dubious recruits (Birley, A.R., Septimius Severus: The African Emperor).<\/p>\n    <div class=\"ramka_ze_zdjeciem float-right \"\n         style=\"\">\n\n        <div class=\"zdjecie\">\n            <img\n                class=\"ramka-ze-zdjeciem\"\n                src=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Prowincje-Dalmacji-i-Dardanii-w-4-w.-n.e-400x304.jpg\"\n                srcset=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Prowincje-Dalmacji-i-Dardanii-w-4-w.-n.e-400x304.jpg 400w, https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Prowincje-Dalmacji-i-Dardanii-w-4-w.-n.e-600x456.jpg 600w, https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Prowincje-Dalmacji-i-Dardanii-w-4-w.-n.e-200x152.jpg 200w, https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Prowincje-Dalmacji-i-Dardanii-w-4-w.-n.e-640x486.jpg 640w, https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Prowincje-Dalmacji-i-Dardanii-w-4-w.-n.e.jpg 1200w\"                alt=\"The provinces of Dalmatia and Dardania in the 4th century CE.\"\n                width=\"250\"\n                height=\"190\"\n               \n               \n            \/>\n\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Prowincje-Dalmacji-i-Dardanii-w-4-w.-n.e.jpg\"\n               rel=\"fancybox\"\n               title=\"The provinces of Dalmatia and Dardania in the 4th century CE.\">\n                <div class=\"iover\">\n                    <div class=\"zicon\">\n                        <i class=\"fa fa-search-plus\"><\/i>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n\n                    <div class=\"opis\">\n                                The provinces of Dalmatia and Dardania in the 4th century CE.            <\/div>\n        \n                    <div class=\"chmurka\">\n                Source: Wikipedia, user PANONIAN            <\/div>\n        \n    <\/div>\n    \n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"maternus-who-was-he\"><\/span>Maternus, who was he?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The first bandit leader of this kind whose <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-society\/roman-names-and-nicknames\/\">cognomen<\/a> (the third element of a Roman name, roughly equivalent to a nickname) has come down to us was Maternus. His origins and full name remain unknown, although some scholars (Kajanto, I., Latin Cognomina) argue that the name Maternus \u2014 meaning something like &#8220;mama&#8217;s boy,&#8221; &#8220;close <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/curiosities\/family-in-ancient-rome\/\">family<\/a> ties,&#8221; or simply &#8220;maternal,&#8221; depending on context \u2014 points to his Gallic or Iberian origins, since it appeared most frequently among Romanized populations of these two regions. Equally, he may have come from a freedman&#8217;s family elsewhere in the empire, where the name also enjoyed some popularity.<br \/>\nMost of what we know about Maternus comes from Herodian&#8217;s History of the <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-constitution\/roman-empire\/\">Roman Empire<\/a>, itself partly drawn from contemporaries such as Cassius Dio (Roman History), who had been living in Rome as a senator since 180 AD. From them we learn that Maternus was a Roman soldier of unknown unit who, after deserting, built a gang out of fellow deserters, runaway slaves, poor peasants and various fugitives. Why exactly he chose to desert remains a mystery, but he did so while on active duty, taking several other soldiers with him.<br \/>\nHerodian describes Maternus&#8217;s earlier &#8220;bold&#8221; exploits in the army, which had already gotten him into trouble. He seemes to be a soldier with a clear discipline problem, though <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/curiosities\/apparently-donuts-were-already-loved-by-ancient-romans\/\">apparently<\/a> not one serious enough to warrant severe punishment. Even his desertion wasn&#8217;t automatically a death sentence: had he voluntarily returned to his unit (and provided nothing worse like murdering a fellow soldier, perjury, involvement in rebellion, weighed on his conscience) he could have escaped execution.<br \/>\nRoman <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/curiosities\/military-law-ius-in-bello-of-republican-period\/\">military law<\/a> drew a sharp line between ordinary desertion and its gravest form: fleeing to the enemy (transfugae ad hostes), treated as treason (<a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/curiosities\/crimen-laesae-maiestatis\/\">crimen laesae maiestatis<\/a>).<br \/>\nA soldier who returned to <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-army\/roman-camp\/\">camp<\/a> of his own accord could hope for his commander&#8217;s clemency; one who crossed the empire&#8217;s borders and joined its enemies faced death with no right of appeal; death by <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/curiosities\/crucifixion-was-used-in-rome\/\">crucifixion<\/a>, burning alive, or being thrown into the arena filled with wild beasts.<br \/>\nIt&#8217;s possible Maternus deserted precisely because he suspected his conduct would eventually catch up with him in a much harsher way, making desertion, and whatever risk came with it, the better bet.<\/p>\n    <div class=\"ramka_ze_zdjeciem float-right \"\n         style=\"\">\n\n        <div class=\"zdjecie\">\n            <img\n                class=\"ramka-ze-zdjeciem\"\n                src=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ukrzyzowanie-bylo-jedna-z-mozliwych-kar-spotykajacych-dezerterow-dla-ktorych-nie-znaleziono-zadnych-okolicznosci-lagodzacych-wyrok-272x400.jpg\"\n                srcset=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ukrzyzowanie-bylo-jedna-z-mozliwych-kar-spotykajacych-dezerterow-dla-ktorych-nie-znaleziono-zadnych-okolicznosci-lagodzacych-wyrok-272x400.jpg 272w, https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ukrzyzowanie-bylo-jedna-z-mozliwych-kar-spotykajacych-dezerterow-dla-ktorych-nie-znaleziono-zadnych-okolicznosci-lagodzacych-wyrok-600x881.jpg 600w, https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ukrzyzowanie-bylo-jedna-z-mozliwych-kar-spotykajacych-dezerterow-dla-ktorych-nie-znaleziono-zadnych-okolicznosci-lagodzacych-wyrok-200x294.jpg 200w, https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ukrzyzowanie-bylo-jedna-z-mozliwych-kar-spotykajacych-dezerterow-dla-ktorych-nie-znaleziono-zadnych-okolicznosci-lagodzacych-wyrok-640x940.jpg 640w, https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ukrzyzowanie-bylo-jedna-z-mozliwych-kar-spotykajacych-dezerterow-dla-ktorych-nie-znaleziono-zadnych-okolicznosci-lagodzacych-wyrok.jpg 1200w\"                alt=\"Crucifixion was one of the punishments awaiting deserters for whom no mitigating circumstances could be found\"\n                width=\"250\"\n                height=\"367\"\n               \n               \n            \/>\n\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ukrzyzowanie-bylo-jedna-z-mozliwych-kar-spotykajacych-dezerterow-dla-ktorych-nie-znaleziono-zadnych-okolicznosci-lagodzacych-wyrok.jpg\"\n               rel=\"fancybox\"\n               title=\"Crucifixion was one of the punishments awaiting deserters for whom no mitigating circumstances could be found\">\n                <div class=\"iover\">\n                    <div class=\"zicon\">\n                        <i class=\"fa fa-search-plus\"><\/i>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n\n                    <div class=\"opis\">\n                                Crucifixion was one of the punishments awaiting deserters for whom no mitigating circumstances could be found            <\/div>\n        \n                    <div class=\"chmurka\">\n                V. A. Poirson, 1890            <\/div>\n        \n    <\/div>\n    \n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"the-banditry-begins\"><\/span>The banditry begins<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Maternus and his men main theatre of operations were Gaul, <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-geography\/neighboring-lands-around-ancient-rome\/germania\/\">Germania<\/a>, and Spain, ravaged by them from around 180 CE onward. At first they went after defenseless targets like country estates (villae) and rural communities. Intriguingly, French archaeologists have found traces of destruction in several towns in Normandy and Aquitaine dating to exactly this period (Picard, G.Ch., La r\u00e9volte de Maternus). It&#8217;s possible the deserters even struck larger settlements, including the <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-geography\/roman-cities\/\">cities<\/a> of Limonum and Mediolanum.<\/p>\n<p>The gang&#8217;s size grew, possibly into the thousands, earning Maternus the unofficial title of dux latronum, &#8220;leader of bandits.&#8221; Emboldened, he attacked <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/battles\/battle-of-argentoratum\/\">Argentoratum<\/a> (modern-day Strasbourg) in the summer of 185 CE. Back then it was a fortified camp of the VIII <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-army\/units-of-roman-army\/roman-legion\/\">Legion<\/a>, Legio Augusta, built on a river island. The attack was repelled, an inscription honoring military tribune <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/curiosities\/as-you-are-gaius-i-am-gaia-well-known-roman-phrase\/\">Gaius<\/a> Vesonius Vindex, who took part in defending the fort, survives to this day. The news of the assault however was enough to push the <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-constitution\/roman-republic\/roman-offices\/roman-senate\/\">Senate<\/a> into declaring Maternus and his followers <em>hostes publici<\/em>: enemies of the Roman state.<\/p>\n    <div class=\"ramka_ze_zdjeciem float-right \"\n         style=\"\">\n\n        <div class=\"zdjecie\">\n            <img\n                class=\"ramka-ze-zdjeciem\"\n                src=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Mapa-ukazujaca-rozmieszczenie-legionow-w-okolicach-125-r.-n.e-400x332.jpg\"\n                srcset=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Mapa-ukazujaca-rozmieszczenie-legionow-w-okolicach-125-r.-n.e-400x332.jpg 400w, https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Mapa-ukazujaca-rozmieszczenie-legionow-w-okolicach-125-r.-n.e-600x499.jpg 600w, https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Mapa-ukazujaca-rozmieszczenie-legionow-w-okolicach-125-r.-n.e-200x166.jpg 200w, https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Mapa-ukazujaca-rozmieszczenie-legionow-w-okolicach-125-r.-n.e-640x532.jpg 640w, https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Mapa-ukazujaca-rozmieszczenie-legionow-w-okolicach-125-r.-n.e.jpg 1200w\"                alt=\"Map showing legion deployments around 125 CE. Legion VIII (marked 9 on the map) was stationed in the same location sixty years later, when it faced Maternus&#039;s assault.\"\n                width=\"250\"\n                height=\"208\"\n               \n               \n            \/>\n\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Mapa-ukazujaca-rozmieszczenie-legionow-w-okolicach-125-r.-n.e.jpg\"\n               rel=\"fancybox\"\n               title=\"Map showing legion deployments around 125 CE. Legion VIII (marked 9 on the map) was stationed in the same location sixty years later, when it faced Maternus&#039;s assault.\">\n                <div class=\"iover\">\n                    <div class=\"zicon\">\n                        <i class=\"fa fa-search-plus\"><\/i>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n\n                    <div class=\"opis\">\n                                Map showing legion deployments around 125 CE. Legion VIII (marked 9 on the map) was stationed in the same location sixty years later, when it faced Maternus's assault.            <\/div>\n        \n                    <div class=\"chmurka\">\n                Wikipedia, user Andrein            <\/div>\n        \n    <\/div>\n    \n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"the-crackdown\"><\/span>The crackdown<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Commodus sent a combined force of several legions after the bandits: VIII Augusta, XXII Primigenia, I Minervia, and XXX Ulpia Victrix. Command of the operation in Gaul went to <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/biographies\/gaius-pescennius-niger\/\">Gaius Pescennius Niger<\/a>, appointed legatus contra rebelles for the occasion, while additional commanders and auxiliary forces sealed off the surrounding region. Detachments from Legion VII Gemina Felix guarded the Pyrenees along the Gallic-Spanish border, and units drawn from the main force, under Marcus Helvius Clemens Dextrianus, covered Upper Germania.<\/p>\n<p>The main phase of the operation wound down around August 186 CE, when Maternus, recognizing that his band stood no chance, decided to abandon most of his men in Gaul.<br \/>\nThe legions hunted most of them down by the following spring, for which they were later on richly rewarded by Commodus himself. Alongside the mopping-up operation came the first trials of captured bandits, who first had to be sorted by <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-constitution\/roman-law\/roman-citizenship\/\">citizenship<\/a> status, the nature of their crimes (army deserters and rural peasants were treated differently), and by whether they&#8217;d actually been arrested on solid grounds at all as plenty of arrests, it seems, were made at random.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"a-farewell-bow\"><\/span>A farewell bow<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Having abandoned most of his men, Maternus and a group of his best soldiers set out for Italy, intending to carry out the act that would earn them a place in the <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/curiosities\/annales-of-ennius-national-epic-of-romans\/\">annals<\/a> of history: the act of killing the emperor.<\/p>\n<p>Avoiding main <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-art-and-culture\/roman-architecture\/roman-roads\/\">roads<\/a> and towns, they eventually reached Rome, where they run into the problem of Praetorian Guard closely guarding Commodus. To improve their odds, they chose the day of <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-religion\/roman-feasts\/hilaria\/\">Hilaria<\/a> (25th of March), the festival honoring <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-religion\/gods-of-ancient-rome\/list-of-roman-gods\/cybele\/\">Cybele<\/a> and Attis, as the day of their planned assassination. During the procession, celebrants wore masks and costumes, which the conspirators planned to use to get close to the emperor. The plot collapsed on the very day of the festival though, when some of Maternus&#8217;s own men betrayed the plan to the authorities. The conspirators were arrested on the spot, and Maternus himself was most likely beheaded shortly after the same day. His men are said to have turned on him out of fear that, once Commodus was dead, Maternus himself would seize the throne, though this explanation doesn&#8217;t hold up especially well (for once \u2013 Maternus didn\u2019t have any political or military backing).<\/p>\n    <div class=\"ramka_ze_zdjeciem float-right \"\n         style=\"\">\n\n        <div class=\"zdjecie\">\n            <img\n                class=\"ramka-ze-zdjeciem\"\n                src=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Posag-Kybele-Bogini-Matki-261x400.jpg\"\n                srcset=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Posag-Kybele-Bogini-Matki-261x400.jpg 261w, https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Posag-Kybele-Bogini-Matki-600x920.jpg 600w, https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Posag-Kybele-Bogini-Matki-200x307.jpg 200w, https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Posag-Kybele-Bogini-Matki-640x981.jpg 640w, https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Posag-Kybele-Bogini-Matki.jpg 1200w\"                alt=\"Statue of Cybele, the Mother Goddess\"\n                width=\"250\"\n                height=\"383\"\n               \n               \n            \/>\n\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Posag-Kybele-Bogini-Matki.jpg\"\n               rel=\"fancybox\"\n               title=\"Statue of Cybele, the Mother Goddess\">\n                <div class=\"iover\">\n                    <div class=\"zicon\">\n                        <i class=\"fa fa-search-plus\"><\/i>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n\n                    <div class=\"opis\">\n                                Statue of Cybele, the Mother Goddess            <\/div>\n        \n                    <div class=\"chmurka\">\n                Wikipedia, J. Paul Getty Museum            <\/div>\n        \n    <\/div>\n    \n<p>The final mopping-up operations wrapped up around 188 CE, bringing Maternus&#8217;s career to roughly a decade <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/discoveries\/roman-remains-from-1600-years-ago-have-been-discovered\/\">in total<\/a>, two and a half years of which were spent in open, declared war against Rome.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"aftermath\"><\/span>Aftermath<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>By Rome&#8217;s state <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/propaganda-on-roman-coins\/\">propaganda<\/a>, the war ended in a clean victory: the legions received honorary titles, and Commodus&#8217;s image as a defender of the state was reinforced. But it wasn&#8217;t the end of banditry, as the later reign of Septimius Severus makes clear.<\/p>\n<p>Grave inscriptions found in what is now France, dated to 194 CE, mourn the deaths of Campanus of New <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-geography\/neighboring-lands-around-ancient-rome\/carthage\/\">Carthage<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-religion\/gods-of-ancient-rome\/list-of-roman-gods\/silvanus\/\">Silvanus<\/a>, both killed by bandits operating in Gaul. In Italy, meanwhile, a man named <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/bulla-felix-roman-robin-hood\/\">Bulla Felix<\/a> emerged around 203 CE. He was Maternus&#8217;s spiritual successor, leading a band several hundred strong and plundering the Italian countryside. Modern scholars remain divided on just how serious the banditry problem actually was in this period; some argue the scale of the threat was inflated for propaganda purposes, to magnify the emperor&#8217;s successes in fighting it. On the other hand, Commodus&#8217;s reign marks the start of a genuinely difficult stretch for Rome, one of mounting social and economic crisis, and the rise in banditry may simply have been an early symptom of that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":161362,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"kategorie_artykulow":[100,102],"class_list":["post-161363","artykuly","type-artykuly","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","kategorie_artykulow-events","kategorie_artykulow-war-army"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artykuly\/161363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artykuly"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/artykuly"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artykuly\/161363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":161374,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artykuly\/161363\/revisions\/161374"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"kategorie_artykulow","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kategorie_artykulow?post=161363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}