Lucius Dasumius Tullius Tuscus, a distant relative of Hadrian, was in Upper Pannonia, succeeding the experienced Marcus Nonius Macrinus. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good Emperors (a term coined some 13 centuries later by Niccolò Machiavelli), and the last emperor of the Pax Romana, an age of relative peace and stability for the Roman Empire. [273], Marcus showed a great deal of respect to the Roman Senate and routinely asked them for permission to spend money even though he did not need to do so as the absolute ruler of the Empire. '[178] Fronto called on Marcus alone; neither thought to invite Lucius. Man Ambition Way. [153][note 9] It was the first time that Rome was ruled by two emperors. The Meditations is divided into 12 books that chronicle different periods of Marcus' life. But for my part, I admire him all the more for this very reason, that amid unusual and extraordinary difficulties he both survived himself and preserved the empire. [194] The governor of Cappadocia, the frontline in all Armenian conflicts, was Marcus Sedatius Severianus, a Gaul with much experience in military matters. My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. [165]) Faustina was three months pregnant at her husband's accession. Since I became Caesar, I … [5] Marcus's own Meditations offer a window on his inner life, but are largely undateable and make few specific references to worldly affairs. like unto them are the children of men. After his death the empire quickly descended into civil war. [231] Marcus moved up the date; perhaps he had already heard of Lucius's mistress Panthea. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Cleander fled to Commodus, who … When we find … [174] Lucius Volusius Maecianus, Marcus's former tutor, had been prefectural governor of Egypt at Marcus's accession. Numerous measures were promulgated and judicial decisions made, clearing away harshnesses and anomalies in the civil law, improving in detail the lot of the less-favoured—slaves, widows, minors—and giving recognition to claims of blood relationship in the field of succession (see inheritance). There was, however, much precedent. [149], Although Marcus showed no personal affection for Hadrian (significantly, he does not thank him in the first book of his Meditations), he presumably believed it his duty to enact the man's succession plans. Height 5'10" … Marcus Aurelio "Maximus" Born: 1973-08-18 AGE: 47 Fortaleza, Ceara Brazil. Realize this, and you will find strength. Marcus Aurelius was one of the most important Stoic philosophers, cited by H.P. [232] Lucilla's thirteenth birthday was in March 163; whatever the date of her marriage, she was not yet fifteen. [54][note 4], On 24 January 138, Hadrian selected Aurelius Antoninus, the husband of Marcus's aunt Faustina the Elder, as his new successor. The next day, 1 December, Antoninus gave Marcus the tribunician power and the imperium – authority over the armies and provinces of the emperor. [270] He took great care in the theory and practice of legislation. Marcus Aurelius. There are stray references in the ancient literature to the popularity of his precepts, and Julian the Apostate was well aware of his reputation as a philosopher, though he does not specifically mention Meditations. [3] For Marcus's life and rule, the biographies of Hadrian, Antoninus, Marcus, and Lucius are largely reliable, but those of Aelius Verus and Avidius Cassius are not. An Educated Emperor: Marcus Aurelius and Fronto. This may have been the port city of Kattigara, described by Ptolemy (c. 150) as being visited by a Greek sailor named Alexander and lying beyond the Golden Chersonese (i.e. The answer, we learn, is, “For the glory of the Roman Empire, sire.” This scene appears early in the 2000 movie Gladiator, and though the star of the film may be Russell Crowe as Maximus, it is Richard Harris as the elderly Marcus Aurelius who steals the … [158] This donative, however, was twice the size of those past: 20,000 sesterces (5,000 denarii) per capita, with more to officers. [63] The succession to Antoninus was peaceful and stable: Antoninus kept Hadrian's nominees in office and appeased the senate, respecting its privileges and commuting the death sentences of men charged in Hadrian's last days. Birley, 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 164. Marcus Aurelius' Meditations - tr. [76] He was being 'fitted for ruling the state', in the words of his biographer. Pulleyblank, Edwin G.; Leslie, D. D.; Gardiner, K. H. J. [58] Marcus reportedly greeted the news that Hadrian had become his adoptive grandfather with sadness, instead of joy. Annette L. Juliano and Judith A. Lerner (eds). During the pregnancy she dreamed of giving birth to two serpents, one fiercer than the other. In the East, the Roman Empire fought successfully with a revitalized Parthian Empire and the rebel Kingdom of Armenia. [250] A second force, under Avidius Cassius and the III Gallica, moved down the Euphrates, and fought a major battle at Dura. As the heir apparent, Marcus became princeps iuventutis, head of the equestrian order. This incongruous position did little harm in times of general security and prosperity, but when either of these were threatened, the local population might denounce Christians, a governor might be forced to act, and the law, as the central authority saw it, must then run its course. The greatest general of Rome during the 2nd century AD, he served loyally under Emperor Marcus Aurelius during his campaign against the Germanic tribes at Vindobona (Vienna, Austria). If not for his adoption, he probably would have become triumvir monetalis, a highly regarded post involving token administration of the state mint; after that, he could have served as tribune with a legion, becoming the legion's nominal second-in-command. Marcus, with his preference for the philosophic life, found the imperial office unappealing. The emperors permitted free speech, evidenced by the fact that the comedy writer Marullus was able to criticize them without suffering retribution. During his reign, the Rhine and Danube frontier was strengthened after successful wars against several Germanic tribes such as the Goths, Alamanni, Longiones, Franks, Burgundians, and Vandals. Indeed, at his accession, Marcus transferred part of his mother's estate to his nephew, Ummius Quadratus. It would mean the end of the felicitas temporum ('happy times') that the coinage of 161 had proclaimed. [193] Vologases entered the Kingdom of Armenia (then a Roman client state), expelled its king and installed his own – Pacorus, an Arsacid like himself. Hadrian then adopted Titus Aurelius Antoninus (the husband of Marcus’s aunt) to succeed him as the emperor Antoninus Pius (reigned 138–161), arranging that Antoninus should adopt as his sons two young men—one the son of Commodus and the other Marcus, whose name was then changed to Marcus Aelius Aurelius Verus. He ruled with Lucius Verus as co-emperor from 161 until Verus' death in 169. Marcus Aurelius. At the ceremonies commemorating the event, new provisions were made for the support of poor children, along the lines of earlier imperial foundation… There’s also a Netflix docuseries about Commodus called Roman Empire: Reign of Blood (2016), which approaches … Wife of M. Annius Verus: Giacosa (1977), p. 10. Marcus Aurelius, however, is not … He had kept his teachers on good terms, following them devotedly. [136][note 8] He did not marry until 164. Marcus would remain in Rome, as the city 'demanded the presence of an emperor'. Updates? After Severianus made some unsuccessful efforts to engage Chosrhoes, he committed suicide, and his legion was massacred. Just one thing prevented him from being completely happy, namely, that after rearing and educating his son in the best possible way he was vastly disappointed in him. This was not a new thing, but this time the numbers of settlers required the creation of two new frontier provinces on the left shore of the Danube, Sarmatia and Marcomannia, including today's Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary. Convalescent in his villa at Tivoli, he selected Lucius Ceionius Commodus, Marcus's intended father-in-law, as his successor and adopted son,[50] according to the biographer 'against the wishes of everyone'. Barnes, Timothy D. 'Some Persons in the Historia Augusta', Birley, Anthony R. 'Hadrian to the Antonines'. [103] Marcus asks that Fronto's pain be inflicted on himself, 'of my own accord with every kind of discomfort'. [220], Over the winter of 161–162, news that a rebellion was brewing in Syria arrived and it was decided that Lucius should direct the Parthian war in person. '[216], Fronto sent Marcus a selection of reading material,[218] and, to settle his unease over the course of the Parthian war, a long and considered letter, full of historical references. [47] Marcus thanks Alexander for his training in literary styling. He started nibbling on dry bread to give him the strength to stay awake through his morning receptions. Clemens was from the frontier province of Pannonia and had served in the war in Mauretania. [268], Like many emperors, Marcus spent most of his time addressing matters of law such as petitions and hearing disputes,[269] but unlike many of his predecessors, he was already proficient in imperial administration when he assumed power. Crafted of bronze in circa 175, it stands 11.6 ft (3.5 m) and is now located in the Capitoline Museums of Rome. [320], A close up view of the Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius in the Capitoline Museums, Marcus's victory column, established in Rome either in his last few years of life or after his reign and completed in 193, was built to commemorate his victory over the Sarmatians and Germanic tribes in 176. [287] Some scholars consider his death to be the end of the Pax Romana. Meditations is perhaps the only document of its kind ever made. [209], Marcus took a four-day public holiday at Alsium, a resort town on the coast of Etruria. The Death of Marcus Aurelius. 'Meditations' – as well as other titles including 'To Himself' – were adopted later. together with the preliminary discourse of the learned Gataker” [199] Marcus was unprepared. Marcus Aurelius : Maximus, that is why it must be you. Although Marcus disliked the Christians, there was no systematic persecution of them during his reign. [83] Coins were issued with the heads of the couple, and Antoninus, as Pontifex Maximus, would have officiated. "[299], In the first two centuries of the Christian era, it was local Roman officials who were largely responsible for the persecution of Christians. ― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. [146] His death closed out the longest reign since Augustus, surpassing Tiberius by a couple of months. [77] He was required to make a speech to the assembled senators as well, making oratorical training essential for the job. The war that followed (162–166) was nominally under the command of Verus, though its successful conclusion, with the overrunning of Armenia and Mesopotamia, was the work of subordinate generals, notably Gaius Avidius Cassius. [81] In April 145, Marcus married Faustina, legally his sister, as had been planned since 138. The formalities of the position would follow. He may not even have been crowned in Armenia; the ceremony may have taken place in Antioch, or even Ephesus. Marcus's great-grandfather Marcus Annius Verus (I) was a senator and (according to the Historia Augusta) ex-praetor; his grandfather Marcus Annius Verus (II) was made patrician in 73–74. Marcus had chosen a reliable man rather than a talented one. [64] For his dutiful behaviour, Antoninus was asked to accept the name 'Pius'. Will you accept this great honor I have offered you? His master, he writes to Fronto, was an unpleasant blowhard, and had made 'a hit at' him: 'It is easy to sit yawning next to a judge, he says, but to be a judge is noble work'. Nationality: Roman. To what extent he intended them for eyes other than his own is uncertain; they are fragmentary notes, … Marcus Aurelius was born in Spain on 26 April 121 CE to an aristocratic patrician family. In 145 he married his cousin, the emperor’s daughter Annia Galeria Faustina, and in 147 the imperium and tribunicia potestas, the main formal powers of emperorship, were conferred upon him; henceforth, he was a kind of junior coemperor, sharing the intimate counsels and crucial decisions of Antoninus. Marcus Aurelius (Marcus Aelius Aurelius Antoninus) (mär`kəs ôrē`lēəs), 121–180, Roman emperor, named originally Marcus Annius Verus.He was a nephew of Faustina, the wife of Antoninus Pius Antoninus Pius (Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus) , A.D. 86–A.D. Do you see that map, Maximus? Marcus goes on to request the senate desist from earlier courses of Christian persecution by Rome.[302]. After Antoninus died in 161, Marcus acceded to the throne alongside his adoptive brother, who took the name Lucius Verus. [162] If his funeral followed those of his predecessors, his body would have been incinerated on a pyre at the Campus Martius, and his spirit would have been seen as ascending to the gods' home in the heavens. 'Han Foreign Relations', in Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe (eds), This page was last edited on 22 December 2020, at 02:54. Husband of Ceionia Fabia: Levick (2014), p. 164. Cite this Page: Citation. Marcus had a long apprenticeship at the side of Antoninus, learning the business of government and assuming public roles, before peacefully assuming power upon Antoninus’s death. There is little that is known of his childhood but he was a serious young man who also enjoyed wrestling, boxing and … [239] At the end of the year, Lucius took the title Armeniacus, despite having never seen combat; Marcus declined to accept the title until the following year. Marcus Aurelius. At his own insistence, however, his adoptive brother was made coemperor with him (and bore henceforth the name Imperator Caesar Lucius Aurelius Verus Augustus). Blavatsky amongst famous classic sages and writers such as Plato, Eu- ripides, Socrates, Aristophanes, Pindar, Plutarch, Isocrates, Diodorus, Cicero, and Epictetus. [214] Marcus could not take Fronto's advice. Early in 138, however, Commodus died, and later, after the death of Hadrian, the engagement was annulled. Author of. [118] He was older than Fronto and twenty years older than Marcus. Marcus Aurelius—and indeed all the Stoics—believed that we were part of an inner-connected organism. Marco Aurelio Antonino Augusto, [ 2 ] ​ apodado el Sabio o el Filósofo [ 3 ] ​ (Roma, 26 de abril de 121 [ 4 ] ​- Vindobona o Sirmio, 17 de marzo de 180), fue emperador del Imperio romano desde el año 161 hasta el año de su muerte en 180. While on campaign between 170 and 180, Marcus wrote his Meditations in Greek as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement. Three years of fighting were still needed, with Marcus in the thick of it, to restore the Danubian frontier, and three more years of campaigning in Bohemia were enough to bring the tribes beyond the Danube to peace, at least for a time. Casaubon v. 8.16, uploaded to www.philaletheians.co.uk, 14 July 2013 Page 1 of 128 The meditations of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Originally translated by Meric Casaubon About this edition Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus was Emperor of Rome from 161 to his death, the last of the “Five Good Emperors.” He was nephew, son-in-law, and adoptive son of Antonius Pius. [133], Lucius started his political career as a quaestor in 153. The senate would soon grant him the name Augustus and the title imperator, and he would soon be formally elected as Pontifex Maximus, chief priest of the official cults. Lower Pannonia was under the obscure Tiberius Haterius Saturnius. [145] He then turned over, as if going to sleep, and died. In return for this bounty, equivalent to several years' pay, the troops swore an oath to protect the emperors. It had conveyed the drama of the disaster, and the senate had been awed: 'Not more suddenly or violently was the city stirred by the earthquake than the minds of your hearers by your speech'. Marcus Aurelius Life Quotes Look within. View the list Some people say I have attitude - maybe I do... but I think you have to. Maximus : Two years, two hundred and sixty-four days and this morning. The major sources depicting the life and rule of Marcus are patchy and frequently unreliable. Marcus was the last of the rulers best known as the Five Good Emperors, as follows Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius. Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher-emperor who ruled the Roman Empire between AD 161 and 180, is one of the best recorded individuals from antiquity. [263], Experienced governors had been replaced by friends and relatives of the imperial family. [35] His mother Lucilla did not remarry[33] and, following prevailing aristocratic customs, probably did not spend much time with her son. [266] Soon thereafter, the Iranian Sarmatian Iazyges attacked between the Danube and the Theiss rivers. Quoting from Kaufman’s Introduction, “if the Meditations were simply another tract of mainstream Stoicism, it would likely not have emerged as a revered classic. [4], A body of correspondence between Marcus's tutor Fronto and various Antonine officials survives in a series of patchy manuscripts, covering the period from c. 138 to 166. ', p. 69. Marcus Aurelius Quotes. He modified the silver purity of the Roman currency, the denarius. Quintus may have justified his loyalty to the usurper on his commitment to his own family’s safety. [148] This may have been a genuine horror imperii, 'fear of imperial power'. Lucius had a markedly different personality from Marcus: he enjoyed sports of all kinds, but especially hunting and wrestling; he took obvious pleasure in the circus games and gladiatorial fights. They have been praised by fellow writers, philosophers, monarchs, and politicians centuries after his death. It survives as the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda. [262] The condition on the northern frontier looked grave. [243] Sohaemus was hailed on the imperial coinage of 164 under the legend .mw-parser-output span.smallcaps{font-variant:small-caps}.mw-parser-output span.smallcaps-smaller{font-size:85%}Rex armeniis Datus: Lucius sat on a throne with his staff while Sohaemus stood before him, saluting the emperor. He was the Roman ruler from 161 -180 CE and a Stoic philosopher. Topics. [180] Marcus told Fronto of his reading – Coelius and a little Cicero – and his family. This matter must be our next topic; for our history now descends from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust, as affairs did for the Romans of that day.