Commodus: Rise and Fall of a Roman Emperor (+ 10 more historical events on this day!)

A Daily Dose of History (17 Mar 2026) Today's historical events: Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of eighteen, following the death of his father, Marcus Aurelius. Petronius Maximus becomes, with support of the Roman Senate, emperor of the Western Roman Empire; he forces Licinia Eudoxia, the widow of his predecessor, Valentinian III, to marry him. Edward, the Black Prince is made Duke of Cornwall, the first Duchy in England. Turko-Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus. American Revolution: The British Army evacuates Boston, ending the Siege of Boston, after George Washington and Henry Knox place artillery in positions overlooking the city. The Italian Republic, with Napoleon as president, becomes the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as King of Italy. The Anglo-Dutch Treaty is signed in London, dividing the Malay archipelago. As a result, the Malay Peninsula is dominated by the British, while Sumatra and Java and surrounding areas are dominated by the Dutch. The First Taranaki War begins in Taranaki, New Zealand, a major phase of the New Zealand Wars. The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed. The first railway line of Finland between cities of Helsinki and Hämeenlinna, called Päärata, is officially opened. SS Utopia collides with HMS Anson in the Bay of Gibraltar and sinks, killing 562 of the 880 passengers on board. Information from this episode are sourced from API Ninjas Explanations from OpenAI ChatGPT API with proprietary prompts. This podcast is produced by Klassic Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices