Marcus Aurelius Cleander

Marcus Aurelius Cleander was a freedman who rose to exceptional power in the household of the emperor Commodus. As chamberlain and political broker, he was accused of selling offices, manipulating appointments and enriching himself through access to the emperor. During a food shortage and public disturbance in 190, Commodus sacrificed him to the crowd and ordered his execution.

Cleander rose from enslavement within the imperial household to become chamberlain and one of Commodus’s most powerful favourites. Ancient sources accuse him of selling offices and manipulating appointments while accumulating enormous wealth. During a food shortage and public disorder in Rome in 190, Commodus sacrificed Cleander to popular anger and ordered his execution, illustrating the precarious nature of court power under the emperor.

In Simon Turney’s Praetorian: Eagles of Dacia: Volume 3, Dacia, late second century CE. Cleander uses his growing influence at court to send Rufinus away from Rome on a mission designed to be useful whether he succeeds or dies. In Simon Turney’s Praetorian: Lions of Rome: 4, in the capital, Cleander’s control over access to Commodus has deepened, and offices, favours and punishments increasingly serve the chamberlain’s private network. In Simon Turney’s Praetorian: The Cleansing Fire: 5, Rome, AD 190. Cleander has fallen, but his clients, debts and hidden arrangements remain embedded in the Guard and the city’s administration.