View source for Marcus Aurelius - Wikipedia View source for Marcus Aurelius ← Marcus Aurelius Jump to navigation Jump to search You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reasons: Your IP address is in a range that has been blocked on all Wikimedia Foundation wikis. The block was made by Jon Kolbert (meta.wikimedia.org). The reason given is Open Proxy: Webhost: Contact stewards if you are affected . Start of block: 20:12, 23 July 2019 Expiry of block: 20:12, 23 January 2022 Your current IP address is 40.76.139.33 and the blocked range is 40.76.0.0/16. Please include all above details in any queries you make. If you believe you were blocked by mistake, you can find additional information and instructions in the No open proxies global policy. Otherwise, to discuss the block please post a request for review on Meta-Wiki or send an email to the stewards OTRS queue at stewards@wikimedia.org including all above details. You are currently unable to edit Wikipedia due to a block affecting this IP address. This does not affect your ability to read Wikipedia pages. Most people who see this message have done nothing wrong. Some kinds of blocks restrict editing from specific service providers or telecom companies in response to recent abuse or vandalism, and affect other users who are unrelated to that abuse. See below if you do not believe you have done anything wrong. Editing from 40.76.0.0/16 has been blocked (disabled) by ‪SQL‬ for the following reason(s): The IP address that you are currently using has been blocked because it is believed to be a web host provider or colocation provider. To prevent abuse, web hosts and colocation providers may be blocked from editing Wikipedia. You will not be able to edit Wikipedia using a web host or colocation provider because it hides your IP address, much like a proxy or VPN. We recommend that you attempt to use another connection to edit. For example, if you use a proxy or VPN to connect to the internet, turn it off when editing Wikipedia. If you edit using a mobile connection, try using a Wi-Fi connection, and vice versa. If you have a Wikipedia account, please log in. If you do not have any other way to edit Wikipedia, you will need to request an IP block exemption. If you are confident that you are not using a web host, you may appeal this block by adding the following text on your talk page: {{unblock|reason=Caught by a colocation web host block but this host or IP is not a web host. My IP address is _______. Place any further information here. ~~~~}}. You must fill in the blank with your IP address for this block to be investigated. Your IP address can be determined here. Alternatively, if you wish to keep your IP address private you can use the unblock ticket request system. There are several reasons you might be editing using the IP address of a web host or colocation provider (such as if you are using VPN software or a business network); please use this method of appeal only if you think your IP address is in fact not a web host or colocation provider. Administrators: The IP block exemption user right should only be applied to allow users to edit using web host in exceptional circumstances, and requests should usually be directed to the functionaries team via email. If you intend to give the IPBE user right, a CheckUser needs to take a look at the account. This can be requested most easily at SPI Quick Checkuser Requests. Unblocking an IP or IP range with this template is highly discouraged without at least contacting the blocking administrator. This block has been set to expire: 16:25, 2 June 2023. Even when blocked, you will usually still be able to edit your user talk page and email other editors and administrators. For information on how to proceed, first see the FAQ for blocked users and the guideline on block appeals. The guide to appealing blocks may also be helpful. Other useful links: Blocking policy · Help:I have been blocked You can view and copy the source of this page: ==Emperor== {{Main|Reign of Marcus Aurelius}} ===Accession of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus (161)=== [[File:Co-emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, British Museum (23455313842).jpg|thumb|Busts of the co-emperors Marcus Aurelius (left) and [[Lucius Verus]] (right), [[British Museum]]|alt=Busts of Marcus Aurelius and his co-ruler Lucius Verus]] After Antoninus died in 161, Marcus was effectively sole ruler of the Empire. The formalities of the position would follow. 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. Marcus made some show of resistance: the biographer writes that he was 'compelled' to take imperial power.''HA Marcus'' vii. 5, qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 116. This may have been a genuine ''horror imperii'', 'fear of imperial power'. Marcus, with his preference for the philosophic life, found the imperial office unappealing. His training as a Stoic, however, had made the choice clear to him that it was his duty.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 116. Birley takes the phrase ''horror imperii'' from ''HA Pert''. xiii. 1 and xv. 8. 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.Birley, 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 156. Thus, although the senate planned to confirm Marcus alone, he refused to take office unless Lucius received equal powers.''HA Verus'' iii.8; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 116; 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 156. The senate accepted, granting Lucius the ''imperium'', the tribunician power, and the name Augustus.''HA Verus'' iv.1; ''Marcus'' vii.5; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 116. Marcus became, in official titulature, Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus; Lucius, forgoing his name Commodus and taking Marcus's family name Verus, became Imperator Caesar Lucius Aurelius Verus Augustus.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 116–17.{{refn|These name-swaps have proven so confusing that even the ''Historia Augusta'', our main source for the period, cannot keep them straight.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 117; 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 157 n.53. The 4th-century ecclesiastical historian [[Eusebius of Caesarea]] shows even more confusion.Birley, 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 157 n.53. The mistaken belief that Lucius had the name 'Verus' before becoming emperor has proven especially popular.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 117.|group=note}} It was the first time that Rome was ruled by two emperors.{{refn|There was, however, much precedent. The consulate was a twin magistracy, and earlier emperors had often had a subordinate lieutenant with many imperial offices (under Antoninus, the lieutenant had been Marcus). Many emperors had planned a joint succession in the past: [[Augustus]] planned to leave [[Gaius Caesar|Gaius]] and [[Lucius Caesar]] as joint emperors on his death; Tiberius wished to have [[Gaius Caligula]] and [[Tiberius Gemellus]] do so as well; [[Claudius]] left the empire to [[Nero]] and [[Britannicus]], imagining that they would accept equal rank. All of these arrangements had ended in failure, either through premature death (Gaius and Lucius Caesar) or judicial murder (Gemellus by Caligula and Britannicus by Nero).|group=note}} In spite of their nominal equality, Marcus held more ''[[auctoritas]]'', or 'authority', than Lucius. He had been consul once more than Lucius, he had shared in Antoninus's rule, and he alone was ''Pontifex Maximus''. It would have been clear to the public which emperor was the more senior. As the biographer wrote, 'Verus obeyed Marcus...as a lieutenant obeys a proconsul or a governor obeys the emperor'.''HA Verus'' iv.2, tr. Magie, cited in Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 117, 278 n.4. Immediately after their senate confirmation, the emperors proceeded to the [[Castra Praetoria]], the camp of the [[Praetorian Guard]]. Lucius addressed the assembled troops, which then acclaimed the pair as ''imperatores''. Then, like every new emperor since [[Claudius]], Lucius promised the troops a special donative.''HA Marcus'' vii. 9; ''Verus'' iv.3; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 117–18. This donative, however, was twice the size of those past: 20,000 [[sestertius|sesterces]] (5,000 [[denarius|denarii]]) per capita, with more to officers. In return for this bounty, equivalent to several years' pay, the troops swore an oath to protect the emperors.''HA Marcus'' vii. 9; ''Verus'' iv.3; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 117–18. 'twice the size': Duncan-Jones, p. 109. The ceremony was perhaps not entirely necessary, given that Marcus's accession had been peaceful and unopposed, but it was good insurance against later military troubles.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 118. Upon his accession he also devalued the [[Roman currency]]. He decreased the silver purity of the denarius from 83.5% to 79% – the silver weight dropping from {{cvt|2.68|g|oz}} to {{cvt|2.57|g|oz}}.[https://web.archive.org/web/20010210220413/http://www.tulane.edu/~august/handouts/601cprin.htm 'Roman Currency of the Principate']. Tulane.edu. Archived 10 February 2001. Antoninus's funeral ceremonies were, in the words of the biographer, 'elaborate'.''HA Marcus'' vii. 10, tr. Magie, cited in Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 118, 278 n.6. 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. Marcus and Lucius nominated their father for deification. In contrast to their behaviour during Antoninus's campaign to deify Hadrian, the senate did not oppose the emperors' wishes. A ''[[flamen]]'', or cultic priest, was appointed to minister the cult of the deified Divus Antoninus. Antoninus's remains were laid to rest in Hadrian's mausoleum, beside the remains of Marcus's children and of Hadrian himself.''HA Marcus'' vii. 10–11; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 118. The temple he had dedicated to his wife, Diva Faustina, became the [[Temple of Antoninus and Faustina]]. It survives as the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda. In accordance with his will, Antoninus's fortune passed on to Faustina.''HA Antoninus Pius'' xii.8; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 118–19. (Marcus had little need of his wife's fortune. Indeed, at his accession, Marcus transferred part of his mother's estate to his nephew, [[Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus|Ummius Quadratus]].''HA Marcus'' vii. 4; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 119.) Faustina was three months pregnant at her husband's accession. During the pregnancy she dreamed of giving birth to two serpents, one fiercer than the other.''HA Comm''. i.3; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 119. On 31 August, she gave birth at [[Lanuvium]] to twins: T. Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus.''HA Comm''. i.2; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 119.{{refn|The biographer relates the scurrilous (and, in the judgment of Anthony Birley, untrue) rumor that Commodus was an illegitimate child born of a union between Faustina and a gladiator.''HA Marcus'' xix. 1–2; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 278 n.9.|group=note}} Aside from the fact that the twins shared [[Caligula]]'s birthday, the omens were favorable, and the astrologers drew positive horoscopes for the children.''HA Commodus''. i.4, x.2; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 119. The births were celebrated on the imperial coinage.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 119, citing H. Mattingly, ''Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus'' (London, 1940), Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, nos. 155ff.; 949ff. ===Early rule=== Soon after the emperors' accession, Marcus's eleven-year-old daughter, Annia Lucilla, was betrothed to Lucius (in spite of the fact that he was, formally, her uncle).''HA Marcus'' vii. 7; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 118. At the ceremonies commemorating the event, new provisions were made for the support of poor children, along the lines of earlier imperial foundations.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 118, citing Werner Eck, ''Die Organization Italiens'' (1979), pp. 146ff. Marcus and Lucius proved popular with the people of Rome, who strongly approved of their ''civiliter'' ('lacking pomp') behaviour. The emperors permitted free speech, evidenced by the fact that the comedy writer Marullus was able to criticize them without suffering retribution. As the biographer wrote, 'No one missed the lenient ways of Pius'.''HA Marcus'' viii. 1, qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 119; 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 157. Marcus replaced a number of the empire's major officials. The ''[[ab epistulis]]'' Sextus Caecilius Crescens Volusianus, in charge of the imperial correspondence, was replaced with Titus Varius Clemens. Clemens was from the frontier province of [[Pannonia]] and had served in the war in [[Mauretania]]. Recently, he had served as procurator of five provinces. He was a man suited for a time of military crisis.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 122–23, citing H.G. Pfalum, ''Les carrières procuratoriennes équestres sous le Haut-Empire romain'' I–III (Paris, 1960–61); ''Supplément'' (Paris, 1982), nos. 142; 156; Eric Birley, ''Roman Britain and the Roman Army'' (1953), pp. 142ff., 151ff. Lucius Volusius Maecianus, Marcus's former tutor, had been [[Augustal prefect|prefectural governor]] of [[Egypt (Roman province)|Egypt]] at Marcus's accession. Maecianus was recalled, made senator, and appointed prefect of the treasury (''[[aerarium Saturni]]''). He was made consul soon after.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 123, citing H.G. Pfalum, ''Les carrières procuratoriennes équestres sous le Haut-Empire romain'' I–III (Paris, 1960–61); ''Supplément'' (Paris, 1982), no. 141. Fronto's son-in-law, [[Gaius Aufidius Victorinus]], was appointed governor of [[Germania Superior]].''HA Marcus'' viii. 8; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 123, citing W. Eck, ''Die Satthalter der germ. Provinzen'' (1985), pp. 65ff. Fronto returned to his Roman townhouse at dawn on 28 March, having left his home in [[Cirta]] as soon as news of his pupils' accession reached him. He sent a note to the imperial freedman Charilas, asking if he could call on the emperors. Fronto would later explain that he had not dared to write the emperors directly.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 120, citing ''Ad Verum Imperator'' i.3.2 (= Haines 1.298ff). The tutor was immensely proud of his students. Reflecting on the speech he had written on taking his consulship in 143, when he had praised the young Marcus, Fronto was ebullient: 'There was then an outstanding natural ability in you; there is now perfected excellence. There was then a crop of growing corn; there is now a ripe, gathered harvest. What I was hoping for then, I have now. The hope has become a reality.'''Ad Antoninum Imperator'' iv.2.3 (= Haines 1.302ff), qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 119. Fronto called on Marcus alone; neither thought to invite Lucius.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 120. Lucius was less esteemed by Fronto than his brother, as his interests were on a lower level. Lucius asked Fronto to adjudicate in a dispute he and his friend Calpurnius were having on the relative merits of two actors.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 120, citing ''Ad Verum Imperator'' i.1 (= Haines 1.305). Marcus told Fronto of his reading – [[Lucius Coelius Antipater|Coelius]] and a little Cicero – and his family. His daughters were in Rome with their great-great-aunt Matidia; Marcus thought the evening air of the country was too cold for them. He asked Fronto for 'some particularly eloquent reading matter, something of your own, or Cato, or Cicero, or Sallust or Gracchus – or some poet, for I need distraction, especially in this kind of way, by reading something that will uplift and diffuse my pressing anxieties.'''Ad Antoninum Imperator'' iv.1 (= Haines 1.300ff), qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 120. Marcus's early reign proceeded smoothly; he was able to give himself wholly to philosophy and the pursuit of popular affection.''HA Marcus'' viii. 3–4; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 120. Soon, however, he would find he had many anxieties. It would mean the end of the ''felicitas temporum'' ('happy times') that the coinage of 161 had proclaimed.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 120, citing H. Mattingly, ''Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus'' (London, 1940), Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, nos. 841; 845. {{multiple image|total_width=500 |image1=12 dicembre 2008 piena del tevere 17.JPG |alt1=Tiber Island in flood, December 2008 |image2=Piena del Tevere - Tiber in flood - Ponte Sisto - Rome, Italy - 12 Dec. 2008.jpg |alt2=Tiber Island in flood, December 2008 |footer=[[Tiber Island]] seen at a forty-year high-water mark of the [[Tiber]], December 2008 }} In either autumn 161 or spring 162,{{refn|Because both Lucius and Marcus are said to have taken active part in the recovery (''HA Marcus'' viii. 4–5), the flood must have happened before Lucius's departure for the east in 162; because it appears in the biographer's narrative after Antoninus's funeral has finished and the emperors have settled into their offices, it must not have occurred in the spring of 161. A date in autumn 161 or spring 162 is probable, and, given the normal seasonal distribution of Tiber flooding, the most probable date is in spring 162.Gregory S. Aldrete, ''Floods of the Tiber in ancient Rome'' (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007), pp. 30–31. (Birley dates the flood to autumn 161.)|group=note}} the [[Tiber]] overflowed its banks, flooding much of Rome. It drowned many animals, leaving the city in famine. Marcus and Lucius gave the crisis their personal attention.''HA Marcus'' viii. 4–5; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 120.{{refn|Since 15 AD, the river had been administered by a Tiber Conservancy Board, with a consular senator at its head and a permanent staff. In 161, the ''curator alevi Tiberis et riparum et cloacarum urbis'' ('Curator of the Tiber Bed and Banks and the City Sewers') was A. Platorius Nepos, son or grandson of [[Aulus Platorius Nepos|the builder]] of [[Hadrian's Wall]], whose name he shares. He probably had not been particularly incompetent. A more likely candidate for that incompetence is Nepos's likely predecessor, [[Marcus Statius Priscus|M. Statius Priscus]]. A military man and consul for 159, Priscus probably looked on the office as little more than 'paid leave'.''Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20120429224106/http://oracle-vm.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=D+05932&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 5932] (Nepos), [https://web.archive.org/web/20120429224111/http://oracle-vm.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=D+01092&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 1092] (Priscus); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 121.|group=note}} In other times of famine, the emperors are said to have provided for the Italian communities out of the Roman granaries.''HA Marcus'' xi. 3, cited in Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 278 n.16. Fronto's letters continued through Marcus's early reign. Fronto felt that, because of Marcus's prominence and public duties, lessons were more important now than they had ever been before. He believed Marcus was 'beginning to feel the wish to be eloquent once more, in spite of having for a time lost interest in eloquence'.''Ad Antoninum Imperator'' 1.2.2 (= Haines 2.35), qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 128. Fronto would again remind his pupil of the tension between his role and his philosophic pretensions: 'Suppose, Caesar, that you can attain to the wisdom of [[Cleanthes]] and [[Zeno of Citium|Zeno]], yet, against your will, not the philosopher's woolen cape'.''De eloquentia'' 1.12 (= Haines 2.63–65), qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 128. The early days of Marcus's reign were the happiest of Fronto's life: Marcus was beloved by the people of Rome, an excellent emperor, a fond pupil, and perhaps most importantly, as eloquent as could be wished.''Ad Antoninum Imperator'' 1.2.2 (= Haines 2.35); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 127–28. Marcus had displayed rhetorical skill in his speech to the senate after an earthquake at [[Cyzicus]]. 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'. Fronto was hugely pleased.''Ad Antoninum Imperator'' 1.2.4 (= Haines 2.41–43), tr. Haines; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 128. ===War with Parthia (161–166)=== {{main|Roman–Parthian War of 161–166}} {{see also|Roman–Persian Wars}} [[Image:VologasesIV.jpg|thumb|300px|Coin of [[Vologases IV of Parthia]]. Inscription: above ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ ΔΟΥ, right ΑΡΣΑΚΟΥ ΒΟΛΑΓΑΣΟΥ, left ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΦΙΛΕΛΛΗΝΟΣ, below ΔΙΟΥ (Greek inscription for KING OF KINGS – ARSAKIS VOLAGASES – ILLUSTRIUS PHILELLENE). Year ΔΟΥ = ΥΟΔ΄ = 474 = 162–63.]] On his deathbed, Antoninus spoke of nothing but the state and the foreign kings who had wronged him.''HA Antoninus Pius'' xii.7; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 114, 121. One of those kings, [[Vologases IV of Parthia]], made his move in late summer or early autumn 161.Event: ''HA Marcus'' viii. 6; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 121. Date: Jaap-Jan Flinterman, 'The Date of Lucian's Visit to Abonuteichos,' ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'' 119 (1997): p. 281. Vologases entered the [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Kingdom of Armenia]] (then a Roman client state), expelled its king and installed his own – [[Bakur|Pacorus]], an [[Arsacid Empire|Arsacid]] like himself.''HA Marcus'' viii. 6; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 121. The governor of Cappadocia, the frontline in all Armenian conflicts, was [[Marcus Sedatius Severianus]], a Gaul with much experience in military matters.Lucian, ''Alexander'' 27; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 121. Convinced by the prophet [[Alexander of Abonutichus]] that he could defeat the Parthians easily and win glory for himself,Lucian, ''Alexander'' 27; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 121–22. On Alexander, see: Robin Lane Fox, ''Pagans and Christians'' (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1986), pp. 241–50. Severianus led a legion (perhaps the [[Legio IX Hispana|IX Hispana]]Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 278 n.19.) into Armenia, but was trapped by the great Parthian general Chosrhoes at [[Elegeia]], a town just beyond the Cappadocian frontiers, high up past the headwaters of the Euphrates. After Severianus made some unsuccessful efforts to engage Chosrhoes, he committed suicide, and his legion was massacred. The campaign had lasted only three days.Dio 71.2.1; Lucian, ''Historia Quomodo Conscribenda'' 21, 24, 25; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 121–22. There was threat of war on other frontiers as well – in Britain, and in [[Raetia]] and Upper Germany, where the [[Chatti]] of the [[Taunus]] mountains had recently crossed over the ''[[Limes (Roman Empire)|limes]]''.''HA Marcus'' viii. 7; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 122. Marcus was unprepared. Antoninus seems to have given him no military experience; the biographer writes that Marcus spent the whole of Antoninus's twenty-three-year reign at his emperor's side and not in the provinces, where most previous emperors had spent their early careers.''HA Antoninus Pius'' vii.11; ''Marcus'' vii.2; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 103–04, 122.{{refn|[[Alan Cameron (classical scholar)|Alan Cameron]] adduces the 5th-century writer [[Sidonius Apollinaris]]'s comment that Marcus commanded 'countless legions' ''vivente Pio'' (while Antoninus was alive) while contesting Birley's contention that Marcus had no military experience. (Neither Apollinaris nor the ''Historia Augusta'' (Birley's source) are particularly reliable on 2nd-century history.''Pan. Ath.'' 203–04, qtd. and tr. Alan Cameron, review of Anthony Birley's ''Marcus Aurelius'', ''The Classical Review'' 17:3 (1967): p. 349.)|group=note}} More bad news arrived: the Syrian governor's army had been defeated by the Parthians, and retreated in disarray.''HA Marcus'' viii. 6; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 123. Reinforcements were dispatched for the Parthian frontier. P. Julius Geminius Marcianus, an African senator commanding [[Legio X Gemina|X Gemina]] at [[Vindobona]] ([[Vienna]]), left for Cappadocia with detachments from the Danubian legions.''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20120429223837/http://oracle-vm.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=CIL+08,+07050&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 8.7050]–[https://web.archive.org/web/20120429223843/http://oracle-vm.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=CIL+08,+07051&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 51]; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 123. Three full legions were also sent east: [[Legio I Minervia|I Minervia]] from Bonn in Upper Germany,''Incriptiones Latinae Selectae'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20120429223850/http://oracle-vm.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=D+01097&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 1097]–[https://web.archive.org/web/20120429223856/http://oracle-vm.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=D+01098&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 98]; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 123. [[Legio II Adiutrix|II Adiutrix]] from Aquincum,''Incriptiones Latinae Selectae'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20120429223904/http://oracle-vm.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=D+01091&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 1091]; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 123. and [[Legio V Macedonica|V Macedonica]] from Troesmis.''Incriptiones Latinae Selectae'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20120429223912/http://oracle-vm.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=D+02311&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 2311]; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 123. The northern frontiers were strategically weakened; frontier governors were told to avoid conflict wherever possible.''HA Marcus'' xii. 13; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 123. [[Marcus Annius Libo (consul 161)|M. Annius Libo]], Marcus's first cousin, was sent to replace the Syrian governor. His first consulship was in 161, so he was probably in his early thirties,''L'Année Épigraphique'' 1972.657 {{Cite web |url=http://oracle-vm.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=AE+1972,+00657&r_sortierung=Belegstelle |title=Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss/Slaby |access-date=15 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429223919/http://oracle-vm.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=AE+1972,+00657&r_sortierung=Belegstelle |archive-date=29 April 2012 |url-status=dead}}; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 125. and as a patrician, he lacked military experience. Marcus had chosen a reliable man rather than a talented one.''HA Verus'' 9.2; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 125. [[File:Marcus Aurelius, aureus, AD 166, RIC III 160.jpg|thumb|300px|Aureus of Marcus Aurelius (AD 166). On the reverse, [[Victoria (mythology)|Victoria]] is holding a shield inscribed 'VIC(toria) PAR(thica)', referring to his victory against the Parthians. Inscription: M. ANTONINVS AVG. / TR. P. XX, IMP. IIII, CO[N]S. III.Mattingly & Sydenham, ''Roman imperial coinage'', vol. III, p. 226.|alt=Coin of Marcus Aurelius. Victoria appears on the reverse, commemorating Marcus's Parthian victory.]] Marcus took a four-day public holiday at [[Alsium]], a resort town on the coast of Etruria. He was too anxious to relax. Writing to Fronto, he declared that he would not speak about his holiday.''De Feriis Alsiensibus'' 1 (= Haines 2.3); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 126. Fronto replied: 'What? Do I not know that you went to Alsium with the intention of devoting yourself to games, joking, and complete leisure for four whole days?'''De Feriis Alsiensibus'' 3.1 (= Haines 2.5), qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 126. He encouraged Marcus to rest, calling on the example of his predecessors (Antoninus had enjoyed exercise in the ''[[palaestra]]'', fishing, and comedy),''De Feriis Alsiensibus'' 3.4 (= Haines 2.9); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 126–27. going so far as to write up a fable about the gods' division of the day between morning and evening – Marcus had apparently been spending most of his evenings on judicial matters instead of at leisure.''De Feriis Alsiensibus'' 3.6–12 (= Haines 2.11–19); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 126–27. Marcus could not take Fronto's advice. 'I have duties hanging over me that can hardly be begged off', he wrote back.''De Feriis Alsiensibus'' 4, tr. Haines 2.19; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 127. Marcus Aurelius put on Fronto's voice to chastise himself: ''Much good has my advice done you', you will say!' He had rested, and would rest often, but 'this devotion to duty! Who knows better than you how demanding it is!'''De Feriis Alsiensibus'' 4 (= Haines 2.19), qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 127. {{multiple image|total_width=500 |image1=Antioch in Syria engraving by William Miller after H Warren.jpg |caption1=The dissolute Syrian army spent more time in [[Antioch]]'s open-air taverns than with their units.''Ad Verum Imperator'' 2.1.19 (= Haines 2.149); Birley, Marcus Aurelius, p. 129. (Engraving by [[William Miller (engraver)|William Miller]] after a drawing by H. Warren from a sketch by Captain [[Thomas Byam Martin|Byam Martin]], R.N., 1866) |alt1=Depiction of Antioch, Syria |image2=ArRaqqahEuphrates.jpg |caption2=The Euphrates River near [[Raqqa]], Syria |alt2=Euphrates River }} Fronto sent Marcus a selection of reading material,''De bello Parthico'' x. (= Haines 2.31), qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 127. and, to settle his unease over the course of the Parthian war, a long and considered letter, full of historical references. In modern editions of Fronto's works, it is labeled ''De bello Parthico'' (''On the Parthian War''). There had been reverses in Rome's past, Fronto writes,''De bello Parthico'' i–ii. (= Haines 2.21–23). but in the end, Romans had always prevailed over their enemies: 'Always and everywhere [Mars] has changed our troubles into successes and our terrors into triumphs'.''De bello Parthico'' i. (= Haines 2.21), qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 127. 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. He was stronger and healthier than Marcus, the argument went, and thus more suited to military activity.Dio, lxxi. 1.3; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 123. Lucius's biographer suggests ulterior motives: to restrain Lucius's debaucheries, to make him thrifty, to reform his morals by the terror of war, and to realize that he was an emperor.''HA Verus'' v. 8; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 123, 125.{{refn|Birley believes there is some truth in these considerations.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 125.|group=note}} Whatever the case, the senate gave its assent, and, in the summer of 162, Lucius left. Marcus would remain in Rome, as the city 'demanded the presence of an emperor'.''HA Marcus'' viii. 9, tr. Magie; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 123–26. On Lucius's voyage, see: ''HA Verus'' vi. 7–9; ''HA Marcus'' viii. 10–11; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 125–26. Lucius spent most of the campaign in Antioch, though he wintered at [[Laodicea in Syria|Laodicea]] and summered at Daphne, a resort just outside Antioch.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 129. Critics declaimed Lucius's luxurious lifestyle,''HA Verus'' iv.4; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 129. saying that he had taken to gambling, would 'dice the whole night through',''HA Verus'' iv. 6, tr. Magie; cf. v. 7; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 129. and enjoyed the company of actors.''HA Verus'' viii. 7, viii. 10–11; Fronto, ''Principae Historia'' 17 (= Haines 2.217); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 129.{{refn|The whole section of the ''vita'' dealing with Lucius's debaucheries (''HA Verus'' iv. 4–6.6), however, is an insertion into a narrative otherwise entirely cribbed from an earlier source. Most of the details are fabricated by the biographer himself, relying on nothing better than his own imagination.Barnes, 'Hadrian and Lucius Verus.', p. 69.|group=note}} Libo died early in the war; perhaps Lucius had murdered him.''HA Verus'' ix. 2; ''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' 3.199 {{Cite web |url=http://oracle-vm.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=CIL+03,+00199&r_sortierung=Belegstelle |title=Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss/Slaby |access-date=15 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429224122/http://oracle-vm.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=CIL+03,+00199&r_sortierung=Belegstelle |archive-date=29 April 2012 |url-status=dead}}; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 130–31. [[File:Statue of Lucilla detail.jpg|thumb|Marble statue of [[Lucilla]], 150–200 AD, [[Bardo National Museum (Tunis)|Bardo National Museum]], [[Tunisia]]|alt=Statue of Marcus's daughter Lucilla]] In the middle of the war, perhaps in autumn 163 or early 164, Lucius made a trip to [[Ephesus]] to be married to Marcus's daughter Lucilla.''HA Verus'' vii. 7; ''Marcus'' ix. 4; Barnes, 'Hadrian and Lucius Verus', p. 72; Birley, 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 163; cf. also Barnes, 'Legislation against the Christians', p. 39; 'Some Persons in the Historia Augusta', p. 142, citing the ''Vita Abercii'' 44ff. Marcus moved up the date; perhaps he had already heard of Lucius's mistress Panthea.''HA Verus'' 7.10; Lucian, ''Imagines'' 3; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 131. Cf. Lucian, ''Imagines'', ''Pro Imaginibus'', ''passim''. Lucilla's thirteenth birthday was in March 163; whatever the date of her marriage, she was not yet fifteen.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 131; 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 163. Lucilla was accompanied by her mother Faustina and Lucius's uncle (his father's half-brother) M. Vettulenus Civica Barbarus,''HA Verus'' vii. 7; ''Marcus'' ix. 4; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 131. who was made ''[[comes]] Augusti'', 'companion of the emperors'. Marcus may have wanted Civica to watch over Lucius, the job Libo had failed at.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 131, citing ''Année Épigraphique'' 1958.15. Marcus may have planned to accompany them all the way to Smyrna (the biographer says he told the senate he would), but this did not happen.''HA Verus'' 7.7; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 131. He only accompanied the group as far as [[Brundisium]], where they boarded a ship for the east.''HA Marcus'' ix. 4; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 131. He returned to Rome immediately thereafter, and sent out special instructions to his proconsuls not to give the group any official reception.''HA Marcus'' ix. 5–6; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 131. The Armenian capital [[Artashat (ancient city)|Artaxata]] was captured in 163.''HA Marcus'' ix. 1; Birley, 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 162. 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.''HA Marcus'' ix. 1; ''HA Verus'' vii. 1–2; ''Ad Verrum Imperator'' 2.3 (= Haines 2.133); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 129; 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 162. When Lucius was hailed as ''imperator'' again, however, Marcus did not hesitate to take the ''Imperator II'' with him.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 129; 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 162, citing H. Mattingly, ''Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus'' (London, 1940), Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, nos. 233ff. Occupied Armenia was reconstructed on Roman terms. In 164, a new capital, Kaine Polis ('New City'), replaced Artaxata.Dio, lxxi.3.1; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 131; 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 162; Millar, ''Near East'', p. 113. A new king was installed: a Roman senator of consular rank and Arsacid descent, [[Sohaemus of Armenia|Gaius Julius Sohaemus]]. He may not even have been crowned in Armenia; the ceremony may have taken place in Antioch, or even Ephesus.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 280 n. 42; 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 162. Sohaemus was hailed on the imperial coinage of 164 under the legend {{Smallcaps|Rex armeniis Datus}}: Lucius sat on a throne with his staff while Sohaemus stood before him, saluting the emperor.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 131; 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 162, citing H. Mattingly, ''Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus'' (London, 1940), Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, nos. 261ff.; 300 ff. In 163, the Parthians intervened in [[Osroene]], a Roman client in upper Mesopotamia centred on [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]], and installed their own king on its throne.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 130, 279 n. 38; 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 163, citing ''Prosopographia Imperii Romani''2 M 169; Millar, ''Near East'', p. 112. In response, Roman forces were moved downstream, to cross the [[Euphrates]] at a more southerly point.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 130; 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 162. Before the end of 163, however, Roman forces had moved north to occupy Dausara and Nicephorium on the northern, Parthian bank.Fronto, ''Ad Verum Imperator'' ii.1.3 (= Haines 2.133); Astarita, 41; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 130; 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 162. Soon after the conquest of the north bank of the Euphrates, other Roman forces moved on Osroene from Armenia, taking Anthemusia, a town southwest of Edessa.''Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20120429223856/http://oracle-vm.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=D+01098&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 1098]; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 130. In 165, Roman forces moved on Mesopotamia. Edessa was re-occupied, and Mannus, the king deposed by the Parthians, was re-installed.Birley, 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 163, citing ''Prosopographia Imperii Romani''2 M 169. The Parthians retreated to Nisibis, but this too was besieged and captured. The Parthian army dispersed in the [[Tigris]].Lucian, ''Historia Quomodo Conscribenda'' 15, 19; Birley, 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 163. A second force, under Avidius Cassius and the III Gallica, moved down the Euphrates, and fought a major battle at Dura.Lucian, ''Historia Quomodo Conscribenda'' 20, 28; Birley, 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 163, citing Syme, ''Roman Papers'', 5.689ff. By the end of the year, Cassius's army had reached the twin metropolises of Mesopotamia: [[Seleucia]] on the right bank of the Tigris and [[Ctesiphon]] on the left. Ctesiphon was taken and its royal palace set to flame. The citizens of Seleucia, still largely Greek (the city had been commissioned and settled as a capital of the [[Seleucid Empire]], one of [[Alexander the Great]]'s [[Diadochi|successor kingdoms]]), opened its gates to the invaders. The city was sacked nonetheless, leaving a black mark on Lucius's reputation. Excuses were sought, or invented: the official version had it that the Seleucids broke faith first.''HA Verus'' 8.3–4; Birley, 'Hadrian to the Antonines', 163. Birley cites R.H. McDowell, ''Coins from Seleucia on the Tigris'' (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1935), pp. 124ff., on the date. Cassius's army, although suffering from a shortage of supplies and the effects of a plague contracted in Seleucia, made it back to Roman territory safely.Birley, 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 164. Lucius took the title Parthicus Maximus, and he and Marcus were hailed as ''imperatores'' again, earning the title 'imp. III'.Birley, 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 164, citing H. Mattingly, ''Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus'' (London, 1940), Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, nos. 384 ff., 1248 ff., 1271 ff. Cassius's army returned to the field in 166, crossing over the Tigris into [[Media (region)|Media]]. Lucius took the title 'Medicus',Birley, 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 164, citing P. Kneissl, ''Die Siegestitulatur der römischen Kaiser. Untersuchungen zu den Siegerbeinamen des 1. und 2. Jahrhunderts'' (Göttingen, 1969), pp. 99 ff. and the emperors were again hailed as ''imperatores'', becoming 'imp. IV' in imperial titulature. Marcus took the Parthicus Maximus now, after another tactful delay.Birley, 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 164, citing H. Mattingly, ''Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus'' (London, 1940), Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, nos. 401ff. On 12 October of that year, Marcus proclaimed two of his sons, [[Marcus Annius Verus Caesar|Annius]] and [[Commodus]], as [[Caesar (title)|his heirs]].Adams, p. 94. ===War with Germanic tribes (166–180)=== {{main|Marcomannic Wars}} [[File:Aurelius180AD.png|thumb|400px|upright=2.5|The [[Roman Empire]] at the death of Marcus Aurelius in 180, represented in purple. His annexation of lands of the Marcomanni and the Jazyges – perhaps to be provincially called [[Marcomannia]] and SarmatiaBirley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 253. – was cut short in 175 by the revolt of [[Avidius Cassius]] and by his death.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 183. The light pink territory represents Roman dependencies: [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]], [[Colchis]], [[Kingdom of Iberia|Iberia]], and [[Caucasian Albania|Albania]].|alt=Expanse of the Roman Empire during Marcus Aurelius's reign]] {{multiple image|header = Scenes from the [[Marcomannic Wars]], 176–180 AD (bas reliefs from the Arch of Marcus Aurelius, now in the [[Capitoline Museums]]) |image1=0 Relief - Monument honoraire de Marc Aurèle - La soumission des germains (1).JPG |width1=210 |caption1=Marcus Aurelius receiving the submission of the vanquished, with raised ''[[vexillum]]'' standards |alt1 =Scene from the Arch of Marcus Aurelius |image2=Rilievo da monumento onorario di Marco Aurelio trionfo, 176-180.JPG |width2=258 |caption2=Marcus Aurelius celebrating [[Roman triumph|his triumph]] over Rome's enemies in 176 AD, riding in a ''[[quadriga]]'' chariot |alt2=Scene from the Arch of Marcus Aurelius }} [[File:Marcus Aurelius, AE medallion, AD 168, Gnecchi II 52.jpg|thumb|300px|alt=Bust of Marcus Aurelius.|Bronze medallion of Marcus Aurelius (AD 168). The reverse depicts [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]], flanked by Marcus and [[Lucius Verus]]. Inscription: M. ANTONINVS AVG. ARM. PARTH. MAX. / TR. P. XXII, IMP. IIII, COS III.Gnecchi, ''Medaglioni Romani'', p. 33.]] [[File:Marcus Aurelius, aureus, AD 161-180, RIC III 362.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Aureus]] of Marcus Aurelius (AD 176–177). The pile of trophies on the reverse celebrates the end of the Marcomannic Wars. Inscription: M. ANTONINVS AVG. GERM. SARM. / TR. P. XXXI, IMP. VIII, CO[N]S. III, P. P.Mattingly & Sydenham, ''Roman imperial coinage'', vol. III, p. 241.|alt=Aureus of Marcus Aurelius.]] During the early 160s, Fronto's son-in-law Victorinus was stationed as a legate in Germany. He was there with his wife and children (another child had stayed with Fronto and his wife in Rome).Dio 72.11.3–4; ''Ad amicos'' 1.12 (= Haines 2.173); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 132. The condition on the northern frontier looked grave. A frontier post had been destroyed, and it looked like all the peoples of central and northern Europe were in turmoil. There was corruption among the officers: Victorinus had to ask for the resignation of a [[legionary]] legate who was taking bribes.Dio, lxxii. 11.3–4; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 132, citing ''De nepote amisso'' ii (= Haines 2.222); ''Ad Verum Imperator'' ii. 9–10 (= Haines 2.232ff.). Experienced governors had been replaced by friends and relatives of the imperial family. [[Lucius Dasumius Tullius Tuscus]], a distant relative of Hadrian, was in Upper Pannonia, succeeding the experienced [[Marcus Nonius Macrinus]]. Lower Pannonia was under the obscure [[Tiberius Haterius Saturnius]]. [[Marcus Servilius Fabianus Maximus]] was shuffled from Lower Moesia to Upper Moesia when [[Marcus Iallius Bassus]] had joined Lucius in Antioch. Lower Moesia was filled by Pontius Laelianus's son. The Dacias were still divided in three, governed by a praetorian senator and two procurators. The peace could not hold long; Lower Pannonia did not even have a legion.Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 133, citing Geza Alföldy, ''Konsulat und Senatorenstand'' (1977), Moesia Inferior: pp. 232ff.; Moesia Superior: pp. 234ff.; Pannonia Superior: pp. 236ff.; Dacia: pp. 245ff.; Pannonia Inferior: p. 251. Starting in the 160s, [[Germanic tribes]], and other nomadic people launched raids along the [[limes Germanicus|northern border]], particularly into [[Gaul]] and across the [[Danube#Human history|Danube]]. This new impetus westwards was probably due to attacks from tribes further east. A first invasion of the Chatti in the province of Germania Superior was repulsed in 162.McLynn, ''Marcus Aurelius: A Life'', pp. 323–24. Far more dangerous was the invasion of 166, when the [[Marcomanni]] of Bohemia, clients of the Roman Empire since 19 AD, crossed the Danube together with the [[Lombards]] and other Germanic tribes.Le Bohec, p. 56. Soon thereafter, the Iranian [[Sarmatians|Sarmatian]] [[Iazyges]] attacked between the Danube and the [[Tisza|Theiss]] rivers.Grant, ''The Antonines: The Roman Empire in Transition'', p. 29. The [[Costoboci]], coming from the [[Carpathian Mountains|Carpathian]] area, invaded [[Moesia]], [[Macedonia (Roman province)|Macedonia]], and Greece. After a long struggle, Marcus managed to push back the invaders. Numerous members of Germanic tribes settled in frontier regions like [[Dacia]], Pannonia, Germany, and Italy itself. 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 [[Czech Republic]], [[Slovakia]], and [[Hungary]]. Some Germanic tribes who settled in [[Ravenna]] revolted and managed to seize possession of the city. For this reason, Marcus decided not only against bringing more barbarians into Italy, but even banished those who had previously been brought there.Dio, lxxii.11.4–5; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 253. ===Legal and administrative work=== [[File:Portrait de Marc Aurèle 2.jpg|thumb|Bust of Marcus Aurelius in the [[Liebieghaus]], Frankfurt.]] Like many emperors, Marcus spent most of his time addressing matters of law such as petitions and hearing disputes,Fergus Millar, ''The Emperor in the Roman World, 31 BC – AD 337'' (London: Duckworth, 1977), 6 and ''passim''. See also: idem. 'Emperors at Work', ''Journal of Roman Studies'' 57:1/2 (1967): 9–19. but unlike many of his predecessors, he was already proficient in imperial administration when he assumed power.[http://www.military-history.org/articles/thinkers-at-war-marcus-aurelius.htm 'Thinkers At War – Marcus Aurelius']. [http://www.military-history.org ''Military History Monthly''], published 2014. (This is the conclusion of [[Iain King]]'s biography of Marcus Aurelius.) 'Pius, one of longest-serving emperors, became infirm in his last years, so Marcus Aurelius gradually assumed the imperial duties. By the time he succeeded in AD 161, he was already well-practised in public administration.' He took great care in the theory and practice of legislation. Professional jurists called him 'an emperor most skilled in the law'''Codex Justinianeus'' 7.2.6, qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 133. and 'a most prudent and conscientiously just emperor'.''Digest'' 31.67.10, qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 133. He showed marked interest in three areas of the law: the manumission of slaves, the guardianship of orphans and minors, and the choice of city councillors (''decuriones'').Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 133. 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.Irvine, pp. 57–58. In one speech, Marcus himself reminded the Senate that the imperial palace where he lived was not truly his possession but theirs.Dio, lxxii.33 In 168, he revalued the denarius, increasing the silver purity from 79% to 82% – the actual silver weight increasing from {{cvt|2.57–2.67|g|oz}}. However, two years later he reverted to the previous values because of the military crises facing the empire. ====Trade with Han China and outbreak of plague==== {{main|Sino-Roman relations|Antonine Plague}} A possible contact with [[Han Dynasty|Han China]] occurred in 166 when a [[Sino-Roman relations|Roman traveller visited the Han court]], claiming to be an ambassador representing a certain Andun ([[Chinese language|Chinese]]: [[wikt:安|安]] [[wikt:敦|敦]]), ruler of [[Daqin]], who can be identified either with Marcus or his predecessor Antoninus.Pulleyblank, Leslie and Gardiner, pp. 71–79.Yü, pp. 460–61.De Crespigny, p. 600. In addition to [[Roman Republic|Republican]]-era [[Roman glass]]wares found at [[Guangzhou]] along the [[South China Sea]],An, 83. Roman golden medallions made during the reign of Antoninus and perhaps even Marcus have been found at [[Óc Eo]], [[Vietnam]], then part of the [[Kingdom of Funan]] near the Chinese province of [[Jiaozhi]] (in northern Vietnam). 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. [[Malay Peninsula]]).Young, pp. 29–30.For further information on [[Óc Eo]], see Osborne, Milton. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uxF2kH04WKgC ''The Mekong: Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future'']. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin, 2006, revised edition, first published in 2000. pp. 24–25. {{ISBN|978-1741148930}}. Roman coins from the reigns of Tiberius to [[Aurelian]] have been found in [[Xi'an]], China (site of the Han capital [[Chang'an]]), although the far greater amount of [[Indo-Roman trade relations|Roman coins in India]] suggests the Roman maritime trade for [[History of silk|purchasing Chinese silk]] was centred there, not in China or even the overland [[Silk Road]] running through Persia.Ball, p. 154. The [[Antonine Plague]] started in [[Mesopotamia]] in 165 or 166 at the end of Lucius's campaign against the Parthians. It may have continued into the reign of Commodus. Galen, who was in Rome when the plague spread to the city in 166,Haas, pp. 1093–1098. mentioned that 'fever, diarrhoea, and inflammation of the pharynx, along with dry or pustular eruptions of the skin after nine days' were among the symptoms.Murphy, Verity. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4381924.stm 'Past pandemics that ravaged Europe']. BBC News, 7 November 2005. It is believed that the plague was [[smallpox]].Haas, pp. 1093–98. In the view of historian [[Rafe de Crespigny]], the plagues afflicting the [[Eastern Han]] empire of China during the reigns of [[Emperor Huan of Han]] (r. 146–168) and [[Emperor Ling of Han]] (r. 168–189), which struck in 151, 161, 171, 173, 179, 182, and 185, were perhaps connected to the plague in Rome.De Crespigny, p. 514. Raoul McLaughlin writes that the travel of Roman subjects to the Han Chinese court in 166 may have started a new era of Roman–Far East trade. However, it was also a 'harbinger of something much more ominous'. According to McLaughlin, the disease caused 'irreparable' damage to the Roman maritime trade in the [[Indian Ocean]] as proven by the archaeological record spanning from [[Roman Egypt|Egypt]] to [[Indo-Roman relations|India]], as well as significantly decreased [[Roman commerce|Roman commercial]] activity in [[Southeast Asia]].McLaughlin, pp. 59–60. ===Death and succession (180)=== [[File:Delacroix-Marc Aurèle-MBA-Lyon.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|left|''[[Last Words of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius]]'' (1844) by [[Eugène Delacroix]]|alt=Painting that depicts Marcus on his deathbed and his son Commodus, surrounded by the emperor's philosopher friends]] Marcus died at the age of 58 on 17 March 180 of unknown causes in his military quarters near the city of Sirmium in Pannonia (modern [[Sremska Mitrovica]]). He was immediately deified and [[Cremation|his ashes]] were returned to Rome, where they rested in Hadrian's [[mausoleum]] (modern [[Castel Sant'Angelo]]) until the [[Visigoth]] [[Sack of Rome (410)|sack of the city]] in 410. His campaigns against Germans and Sarmatians were also commemorated by a [[Column of Marcus Aurelius|column]] and a [[temple of Marcus Aurelius|temple]] built in Rome.Kleiner, p. 230. Some scholars consider his death to be the end of the [[Pax Romana]].Merrony, p. 85. Marcus was succeeded by his son Commodus, whom he had named Caesar in 166 and with whom he had jointly ruled since 177.Birley, 'Hadrian to the Antonines', pp. 186–91. Biological sons of the emperor, if there were any, were considered heirs;Kemezis, p. 45. however, it was only the second time that a "non-adoptive" son had succeeded his father, the only other having been a century earlier when [[Vespasian]] was succeeded by his son Titus. Historians have criticized the succession to Commodus, citing Commodus's erratic behaviour and lack of political and military acumen. At the end of his history of Marcus's reign, Cassius Dio wrote an [[encomium]] to the emperor, and described the transition to Commodus in his own lifetime with sorrow:Tr. Cary, ''ad loc''.
[Marcus] did not meet with the good fortune that he deserved, for he was not strong in body and was involved in a multitude of troubles throughout practically his entire reign. 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. 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 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. :–Dio lxxi. 36.3–4
Dio adds that from Marcus's first days as counsellor to Antoninus to his final days as emperor of Rome, "he remained the same [person] and did not change in the least."Dio lxxii. 36, 72.34 [[Michael Grant (classicist)|Michael Grant]], in ''The Climax of Rome'', writes of Commodus:
The youth turned out to be very erratic, or at least so anti-traditional that disaster was inevitable. But whether or not Marcus ought to have known this to be so, the rejections of his son's claims in favour of someone else would almost certainly have involved one of the civil wars which were to proliferate so disastrously around future successions.Grant, ''The Climax Of Rome'', p. 15.
Return to Marcus Aurelius. Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius" Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Page information Wikidata item Languages Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Contact Wikipedia Mobile view Developers Statistics Cookie statement