Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus was born on April 26, 121 in Rome. He ruled Rome in the period that started with 161 and ended with his death on March 17, 180. He was considered one of the Five Good Emperors, and was the last one of them. Marcus Aurelius was called "the Wise" and he is believed to be one of the greatest Stoic philosophers. His parents Marcus Annius Verus and Domitia Lucilla initially named him Marcus Annius Catilius Severus. When the future emperor got married he preferred to be called Marcus Annius Verus, on February 25, 138, he was called Marcus Aelius Aurelius Verus, the following year the name shortened to Aurelius Caesar and when on March 7, 161, Marcus Aurelius became the Roman Emperor, his name changed into Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus.
Annia Cornificia Faustina was his only natural sister, he had no brothers. His mother was a member of a wealthy family and his father, being Spanish from origin, worked as a praetor and passed away when Marcus Aurelius was a three-year-old boy. He was then adopted by his grandfather, Annius Verus. Ever since he was a boy he became friends with Emperor Hadrian and was under his patronage. Hadrian made Marcus Aurelius equestrian at the age of six. Later, when Marcus Aurelius turned eight, Hadrian granted him the honor of a member of the Salian priesthood. Right after Antoninus Pius was adopted, he was obliged to adopt two children, one of them was the little Marcus and the other one was Ceionius Commodus, who later was proclaimed Emperor Lucius Verus. In 128 Marcus Aurelius decided to study in the college of the Salii. Later in 136 he engaged to Ceiona Fabia, who was the daughter of Lucius Aelius, at that time the prefect of the Latin festival.
Some time later Marcus Aurelius decided to change his name from Marcus Aurelius Verus to Marcus Aurelius Antoninius, in order to honor father who adopted him. Emperor Hadrian wanted Marcus to marry the daughter of Antoninius Pius, Annia Galeria Faustina and under his will in 145 Marcus Aurelius married Faustina the Younger. In 147 he was granted the "tribunician power."
Marcus became a permanent adviser and friend of Antoninius Pius and when the later died, the Senate acclaimed Marcus Aurelius the new Roman Emperor. Instantly the new emperor named his adopted brother his partner, granting him the rights of the Roman Emperor. Thus the two had equal rights to rule the empire.
Shortly after taking over the rule of the empire, Marcus started issuing laws that were to change the civil jurisprudence in Rome. The laws were mainly focused on promoting a better treatment for slaves, widows and minors. Thus Marcus Aurelius continued the path started by his predecessors. He also issued a law according to which people were punished in regard to their distinction class. People were parted into "the more distinguished" called by the Romans "honestiores" and "the lowlier," called "humiliores".
Just like during the reign of Trajan, Christians were treated better. They were legally punishable and rarely harassed. Although several Christians were executed in 177 in Lyon, the fault was considered to be made by the local governor.
After the death of Antoninius Pius in 161, Marcus Aurelius took his place being at the age of 40. He was quite mature for a Roman Emperor. Although he granted Lucius Verus the powers of a Roman Emperor, making both joint Augusti, the Senate still was more on Marcus' side, looking forward to make him the only emperor of Rome. Verus was younger than Marcus, which is probably why he was less popular and it looks as though he usually was subordinate to Marcus. The emperor himself, however, wanted to continue the tradition of his predecessors Hadrian and Antoninius. Marcus' daughter Lucia became the wife of Verus in 164.
The two emperors, though securing a peaceful time in Roman Empire along with an excess of treasury, had several problems to face. One of them was the food scarcity and the other one was the increased level of Tibet River's waters. Being personally involved in solving the problem, the two emperors managed to overcome the crisis.
Wars - War in Parthia
The war in Orient, which started in 161, saw the destruction of a whole legion XXII Deiotariana. The event took place at Elegia and raised great concerns for the two emperors. Lucius Verus was the one to take command of the Roman troops in 162 and managed, during the war dubbed "Bellum Armeniacum el Parthicum," to take over the territories of Syria, Cappadocia, Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Media. Victory of Rome was celebrated in 161, but the outcome of the war lead to the taxation of all Roman resources. In addition the troops from the Danubian frontier had to withdraw during the war, thus making way for various tribes to enter the territory of Rome. The wave of tribes featured: the Marcomanni, Varistae, Hermanduri, Quadis, Suevi, Jazyges and Vandals. All of them served as an advance-guard of the large migration, also known as the "Wandering of the Nations."
After the death of Antoninius, the new diarchy represented by Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, was viewed by Vologaesus III as a weak point in Roman Empire. For the king of Parthia, two rulers meant that the empire was not strong enough. Taking into consideration also that the two Roman emperors did not have any military experience, the king of Parthia acclaimed his own candidate to rule Armenia. The first trip of the Romans towards Parthia was unsuccessful. Under to command of Severianus the Roman legions were defeated and retreated, making way for the Parthians to invade the territory of Roman empire.
Unsuccessful was also Attidius Cornelianus, the governor of Syria. Such troubles lead to personal involvement of the emperors. Marcus sent Lucius to manage the war in Parthia. However, Lucius was probably more concerned about his enjoyment rather than the preparation for the war.
According to Historia Augusta "Verus, after he had come to Syria, lingered amid the debaucheries of Antioch and Daphne and busied himself with gladiatorial bouts and hunting." Marcus Aurelius knew about the behavior of Verus, but considered that the presence of Verus was the one considered important. Despite the behavior of Lucius, his troops had a central and most important task to accomplish. The commanders of the legions were appointed Statius Priscus, Avidius Cassius and Martius Verus.
Although the Historia Augusta states that Priscus was the one that achieved victory in Armenia, conquering its capital, Artaxata, Cassius Dio, a historian from a family of Nicaea in Bithynia, states that Avidius Cassius was in reality the one to lead the entire campaign. Being able to bravely stand the attacks of Vologaesus, Avidius Cassius took the Roman troops into Mesopotamia, destroying Seleucia and the Parthian palaces located in Ctesiphon. The victory of the Parthian war that lasted for five years is believed to be one of the most significant in Roman history.
After the War
After the return of Verus to Rome, the two emperors were granted the titles of Armeniacus and Parthicus. This period, however, is marked with another great issue, and that is the plague that extended all over the empire. There is different data regarding the number of victims of the plague, but it is sure that the Romans fought with it during the next few years. About 15 million people died during the 15 years of plague predomination. Apparently Lucius Verus fall the victim of the plague as well. This was the time when, being together with Marcus, Lucius went to oversee the impact of the Germanic tribes along the Danube. Both discovered that the plague took over the legions. When they returned to Rome in 169, Verus probably fell ill and died at the age of 38, bringing the end of the diarchy.
The death of the co-emperor brought Marcus into a difficult situation. The plague continued spreading westward as the legions returned from the Danube boarders. In addition several earthquakes stroke the territories of the empire and a number of inundations brought great damage to the vast Roman granaries. The people of Rome were so scared that they brought back superstition along with the rituals of sacrifice. They considered that all the problems are coming from the anger of the gods.
When Verus died, Marcus had to struggle against the German tribes on his own, which took the greater part of the rest of his life. The Quadi and the Marcomanni brought serious damage to the Roman armies. Being at war with the Costoboci, who came from the Carpathan region to penetrate into Moesia, Macedonia and Greece, the Roman emperor was able to force the invaders to retreat. Lots of German tribes settled on the boarder of Dacia, Pannonia, Germany and Italy.
The Last Years of the Roman Emperor
In 171 Marcus celebrated the Decennalia, marking 10 years of his rule. The following year he received the title of Germanicus and in 173 the false news about Marcus death brought a revolt in the East. The commander of the rebels was Avidius Cassius. After discovering that the news about emperor's death was fiction, Cassius became the victim of his own troops, who killed him after only 100 days of rule. Accompanied by his wife, Faustina, Marcus Aurelius in 173 paid a visit to Athens and proclaimed himself the defender of philosophy.
The next year marked the starting point of Marcus' "Meditations." During the same year he also managed to establish peace with Marcomanni. In 175 Marcus is granted the title of Sarmaticus and together with Commodus, his son, goes on a journey to the east. Faustina accompanied Marcus on most of his tours. She was called Mater Castrorum, meaning "mother of the camps" on the coinage. Various military campaigns together with her husband had a serious impact on Faustina. Marcus' wife died in 175 from an accident in one of the Roman military camps located in Halala. After her death, Marcus wanted the Senate to deify Faustina and raise a temple to honor her. On his will, Faustina the Younger was buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian, located in Rome. Faustina was deified and Marcus erected a statue of her in the Temple of Venus, found in Rome.
In 180 the emperor fell ill. He was saddened by the fact that his son Commodus would become his heir. On March 17, 181, Marcus Aurelius dies in the city of Vindobona, today known as Vienna. The decision to make his biological son the Roman Emperor contradicted the tradition of the previous four good emperors, whose heirs were all adopted. Commodus, according to the historians, was a bad political leader and knew little about managing the armies. Thus the death of Marcus Aurelius was marked by the historians as the end of the "Pax Romana," translated as "Roman peace." It is believed that Marcus had chosen Commodus as his successor due to the absence of other possible heirs.
Marcus was deified and the emperor's ashes were brought back to Rome and settled in Hadrian's mausoleum, which is today known as Castel Sant'Angelo. In order to honor the victories of Marcus in his struggles with the Germans and Sarmatians, the Romans raised a column in Rome.
