All language subtitles for 4 Rome Is Burning

[applause]

♪ ♪

This is for the Senate!

Bring him to the palace...

alive.

It's fine.

Let him through!

Commodus.

Thank the Gods, you're alright.

They came for you too?

We stopped at the brothel
on our way to the Coliseum.

They ambushed us.

Saoterus?

They moved too quickly.

I managed to hold them
off, but Saoterus...

Find out who was behind this.

It doesn't matter what it takes.

With pleasure.

[theme music playing]

Synced and corrected by Aaronnmb
www.addic7ed.com

[narrator] For Commodus,

the attempt on his life and the
murder of his closest advisor...

shakes the foundation of his reign.

[Prof. Clifford Ando]
When you think about

somebody like Commodus growing up

and coming into a position
of enormous responsibility.

It's not simply that they're
an individual of great wealth

and everybody's gonna be jealous.

One can suppose that they must
have felt enormously isolated.

The number of people whom
they felt they could trust

must be extraordinarily small.

[narrator] Cleander knows that
to keep the trust of the Emperor...

and eliminate any ties to
the murder of Saoterus,

he'll have to cover his tracks.

Starting with the Senate
member who aided in the plot...

Quintianus.

I've waited a long time for this.

Convince Commodus to spare my life.

If you do that,

I won't say anything.

You have my word.

That's one option.

Wait...

No, wait...

[gurgling]

Finish him.

[sword slicing]

[Quintianus screams]

[narrator] After the failed
attempt on her brother's life,

Lucilla knows her efforts
have gone to waste...

and her connection to the plot
could be exposed at any moment.

He talked.

I'll hear it for myself.

I'm afraid that won't be possible.

So he's dead.

Who else was involved?

There's one more.

Who?

Your sister. Lucilla.

Bring her to me.

[Prof. Aaron Irvin] If you
were Emperor, you would be

the individual upon which
millions of people depended

on a day-to-day basis.

But of course, it's far more than
any one individual can pull off.

You have to delegate.
You need assistance.

You have to find other people.

But Roman society is
incredibly competitive.

Who do you trust?

Bring her in.

Senator Quintianus tried to kill me.

He failed.

[Lucilla] So I've heard.

Ask your question, brother.

You are supposed to be the
most powerful man in the world.

Emperor of Rome.

Is that why your playmate
is not in chains beside me?

Would it be too difficult for you?

It always amazes me the lengths
a woman will go to to cover up...

well, anything really.

I see you've a cut, Cleander.

Is that from Saoterus's knife?

Enough!

Lies will get you nowhere.

Just because you can't handle the
answers doesn't make them lies.

If you want to know why
your sister wanted you dead,

all you need do is ask.

I've done nothing to you.

You were born.

And from the moment
you entered this world,

I've been pushed aside,

forgotten, sold into marriage.

All for the greater glory of Commodus.

I never asked for any of that.

And I never asked to be born a woman.

To have our father turn his
back on a century of tradition.

To have no control over
anything that happens to me.

But here we are.

You tried to kill me.

You've taken my life, brother.

I only thought it fair
I do the same to you.

Always the strong one, eh, Commodus?

It seems your Emperor cares
more for your family than you do.

He will spare your life,

but your time here in Rome is at an end.

I must admit, Cleander,

I am impressed.

[Prof. Irvin] With her conspiracy,
Lucilla was working directly

with members of that inner circle.

These were incredibly important people.

This was not simply a minor plot,

but this was essentially the
inner workings of the state

moving against itself.

[narrator] Cleander has successfully
eliminated his competition...

and any trace to his
involvement in the plot.

Commodus orders his sister
to the Island of Capri,

more than 100 miles from Rome...

where she's forced to live in exile.

♪ ♪

[gasping]

[yelping]

[Jerry Toner] Commodus has her murdered.

This isn't surprising.

What else would you do with someone
who has tried to assassinate you?

With a member of your own
family who has betrayed you?

It's too risky to have them alive.

[narrator] After ordering
the execution of his own sister,

Commodus begins to distance
himself from the throne...

and Cleander sees the opportunity
he's been waiting for.

It's finished then.

There were more on the list.

If we don't act now,
there will be others.

They'll see it as an opening.

Brother...

do we want to be seen as weak?

No...

I can't have this happen again.

You can count on me.

Cleander...

I won't forget this.

[narrator] By deceiving Commodus,

Cleander continues to gain his trust...

and is soon given the
position he's always wanted,

Chief Advisor to the Roman Emperor.

[Prof. Irvin] This is
the biggest problem

that Commodus faces.

He is easily manipulated.

He's easily manipulated by
the various groups around him.

And rather than taking a
leadership position as the Emperor,

he allows himself to be led.

He allows himself to be put aside.

And he allows individuals like Cleander
to take up a leadership position.

More.

Commodus, it's late.

It's not good for you to sit
here drinking all night...

I know it's been difficult,
but this isn't going...

Done! Just...

Enough.

Just come to bed with me.

And what would be the purpose of that?

You have one job,

and you have failed me...

again and again.

Tell me, dear wife,

where is my son?

Please Marcia, clean
up my husband's mess.

[Anthony Everitt] Crispina
didn't produce any children.

What a woman had to do was
not be sexually attractive,

but she must be able to have children.

She must produce sons.

Provided she did that,

that was her main task.

If she didn't do that, then that
was potentially quite serious.

♪ ♪

[pouring]

[narrator] As Commodus grows further
detached from his role as Emperor,

Cleander begins to
consolidate his power.

[Prof. Corey Brennan] One of
the most important figures

for understanding the role
of the Emperor Commodus

is the figure of Cleander.

Cleander was the second freedman

that Commodus put enormous trust in.

And Commodus had checked
out at this point

and was not interested in the
serious business of governing.

So what happens is Cleander,

in particular we're told,
sought to enrich himself.

[narrator] With his power cemented,

Cleander can set in
motion his ultimate plan.

Determined to win favor
among the Roman people,

and amass a fortune of his own,

Cleander begins selling off
high-ranking positions in the Empire...

starting with seats

in the Roman Senate.

Something the matter, Dio?

I have never heard the Senate so silent.

I wouldn't enjoy it too much.

It's the sound of betrayal, after all.

[Dio] Or the absence of it.

For these few who remain
are as loyal as you and I,

are they not?

Perhaps,

but wise men know things are
not always as they appear.

You speak the truth, Cleander.

You know, it really is quite
impressive, all you've accomplished,

and there is much more
to come, I have no doubt.

But for now, the business of the
Senate awaits us old wise men.

You forget yourself, Dio.

Not all of the Senate are here.

[narrator] By removing the old guard,

and selling seats to his allies,

Cleander has secured
the Senate's loyalty...

and has disturbed the
balance of an institution

that has governed for nearly 700 years.

Since the founding of the republic,

seats of the Senate have
been reserved for the elite.

[Tom Holland] Traditionally,
to be in the Senate

was to attain the very pinnacle
of status within the Roman state.

It took its name from the Latin
for "old man", senex.

It embodied the great
and the good of the city.

[narrator] Only those
from Senate lineage

are eligible for service.

[Toner] To be a Senator in Rome,

your father had to be a Senator.
So it was largely hereditary.

Cassius Dio, he was a
Senator and later a consul,

and his father had been a Senator.

So he's very much from the
aristocratic part of Roman society.

[narrator] With the
Senate in his pocket,

Cleander now looks to the Roman people,

and believes there's only one
way to guarantee their support.

Cleander knows the masses are
a powerful force in the Empire.

and he can solidify their dependence,

and gain their favor,

by threatening their food supply.

For centuries,

the survival of the Empire has
depended on imported grain.

[Toner] The city of Rome was probably

over one million people strong.

It's an enormous city by
preindustrial standards.

Because of that, they ship
huge quantities of grain in

from North Africa and
above all, from Egypt,

and they give it to every Roman citizen.

It probably accounts for something like

40 or 50 percent of the family
food requirement in each year.

So it's a very significant
perk of being a Roman citizen.

[narrator] But in Rome,

grain does more than
just feed the people.

As those in power have used
rations and shortages...

to keep control of the lower classes.

[Holland] Rome had vastly
outgrown the capacity

to feed those who lived in it.

So, ambitious Roman politicians
had begun to recognize

that a way to entrench
power was to provide

the mass of common citizens in the city

with a bread dole.

But if they did not supply
bread to the Roman people,

then their own survival
might well be at stake.

[narrator] Determined to gain
the favor of the Roman people,

Cleander devises a sophisticated plan.

He believes if he can
manipulate the grain supply,

he can create a food crisis in Rome.

Take this to the Senate.

[Prof. Irvin] Cleander
looks at his position

as a way for him to gain his own
power and gain his own popularity.

The rumors being of course that Cleander
takes stores of food and keeps them,

and then purposely creates

a famine within the city so that
he can come out as the hero,

and popular among the people.

[narrator] While Cleander continues
his campaign for power,

Commodus returns to his reckless ways.

♪ ♪

Marcia is a slave in the royal palace.

But after catching the
eye of the Emperor,

she becomes his personal
servant and mistress,

known in Rome as a concubine.

In the palace,

the Emperor has his choice
of attractive slaves...

servants available for
pleasure day and night.

[Holland] To be sure,
Emperors, by and large,

slept with as many
people as they wanted,

used as many people as they wanted.

Provided that they were
not of citizen status.

[Prof. David Levene] There was
a provision in Roman law that

any Roman, not just an Emperor,

could indeed have a concubine.

Concubinage was a
status under Roman law,

but it was less common
for an Emperor to do it

quite as openly as Commodus took Marcia.

[narrator] But while Marcia begins
spending more time with the Emperor,

she's still a servant in the palace...

alongside her husband, Eclectus.

Hey, I thought you
were done for the night.

The Emperor required me,
but I'm going to bed now.

Please sit down.

You're leaving Rome.

Where are we going?

[Commodus] You'll go
to the country estate.

It'll be safe there,
away from the plague.

You'll follow later, then.

My place is in Rome.

How long will I be gone for?

I'll send for you when I
think it's safe to return.

- But I don't want to leave...
- It's best you leave immediately.

Safer.

- Marcia, let's go.
- No.

Marcia and Eclectus will stay with me.

You'll let me know
when wish me to return?

As soon as it's safe.

[narrator] For Commodus,

the Empress has failed one of the
most important roles in the palace.

Unable to give him an heir,

she's banished to Capri,

never to return to Rome.

The Emperor's focus continues to drift,

allowing Cleander to continue
with his ruthless scheme.

But news of the grain shortage

soon reaches high-ranking
members of the Senate.

[Cleander] Now go see to it.

[Dio] You seem to have taken to
the managing of the city well.

All it takes is a firm hand.

Strength. I've never lacked for that.

I'm sure you already have a plan
to deal with the grain shortage.

Well, it's certainly strange.

All shipments from Alexandria
have stopped, but no one knows why.

[Cleander] I'm aware
of the grain shortage.

And...

do you intend to do anything about it?

I intend to manage it.

Well, within the week,

the mills at the Aqua Traiana
will have nothing to produce,

and then a few days after that,

all distribution in the city will cease.

People will starve.

And I'm sure the Senate would resolve
this through endless discussion.

No, Dio.

You may talk as much as you
wish. The palace will act.

Oh, so the Emperor is aware of
the danger to his beloved city?

The Emperor is not to be
bothered with trivialities.

[narrator] Cleander has redirected
shipments of grain from Egypt,

stashing them away for
just the right moment.

But what he fails to predict,

is that the food shortage,
and spreading famine,

create the perfect conditions
for the return of the plague.

Gentlemen.

Try the wine.

It's delicious.

[narrator] Throughout Rome,

thousands fall ill

as the plague wreaks
havoc on the Roman people.

[Everitt] Large cities, like Rome,

had poor sort of health systems.

And so, they were sinks of germs
and diseases of one sort or another.

And it took a very long time
for that to be shaken off.

[narrator] With riots
breaking out around the city,

word of starvation and
disease reaches the palace.

[crowd clamoring]

Cleander, thank you for coming.

Would you mind filling my cup?

Certainly.

The plague. What are we doing about it?

All that we can, of course.

We are disposing of the
bodies as quickly as possible,

setting up quarantines and
sick tents outside the city.

Don't worry.

We'll have it taken care of in no time.

Why am I hearing that
my people are starving?

We're having issues
with the grain shipments.

Hungry people get sick. Sick people die.

People need food.

I'm afraid it's not
as easy as it sounds.

Double the subsidies.

The shipments will
straighten themselves out.

In the meantime, the people need food.

Of course. You're right. I'll
double the grain shipments now.

Is there anything else
my Emperor requires?

Perhaps some time alone.

[chuckles]

♪ ♪

[narrator] With his advisor at the helm,

Commodus continues to
avoid his obligations.

But what he doesn't realize...

is that in the hands
of his trusted advisor,

the fate of his beloved city

is in danger.

The streets of Rome
have turned to chaos.

But Cleander is determined
to stick to his plan,

believing he still has time
to release his grain supply

and save the Empire.

But before he can act,

the masses begin to
blame the royal palace

and voice their frustrations
on the city walls.

Used as a means of communication,

graffiti is a powerful
tool of the Roman people.

[Toner] Graffiti was very
commonplace in the Roman Empire.

If you look at the city of Pompeii,

there are 13,000 examples
of it that survive

in a town that had a population
of probably only that size.

Mostly the graffiti is about politics.

It's saying, "Vote for so-and-so
in the upcoming election."

Or they are criticizing other people.

Or many of them are just names
scratched onto the surfaces.

[murmuring]

[narrator] As anger spreads,

the Roman people demand answers...

and begin to call for the man Commodus
trusted with the food supply...

Cleander.

[murmuring]

[crowd chatter]

[man] That's him! That's Cleander.

[crowd yells]

Get away from me!

You...

I want two guards on every door.

No one is to enter the palace!

[distant crowd yells]

Commodus!

[crowd yelling]

The whole city's gone mad.

They attacked me in the streets! I'm
lucky to have gotten back here alive.

Why would they attack you?

Why are my people calling for your head?

Cleander, what did you do?

What did you do?

[theme song playing]

Synced and corrected by Aaronnmb
www.addic7ed.com