In this activity, students will the Year of the Five Emperors (AD 193), exploring how the assassination of Commodus triggered a succession crisis in which the imperial throne was auctioned, bought, and fought over by rival claimants. Learners will analyse how the absence of a formal succession law allowed military commanders to override the authority of the Senate, and how the resulting civil wars weakened Rome’s political institutions and confirmed that armed force, rather than legal tradition, determined who ruled the empire.

It has 12 questions for students to answer, as well as a paragraph response section for them to demonstrate their understanding of the topic.