Marcus Aurelius

He married Faustina the Younger, a relative, in 145. The couple had 13 children together in their marriage of three decades. Two of them went on to become famous; Lucilla and Commodus.

From 170 to 180, Aurelius wrote ‘Meditations’ a philosophical text. The book itself was first published in 1558 in Zurich and the only remaining copy can be found in the Vatican library.

He passed away in Vindobona (Vienna) on 17 March 180 and his ashes were taken back to Rome. His son, Commodus, succeeded his father as the emperor. In 410, his battles against the Germans were memorialized by a pillar and a shrine in Rome.

Marcus Aurelius was born on 26 April 121 into a wealthy, prominent family in Rome, Italy. He was extremely bright as a young boy and was a dedicated student, tutored by many private educators.

He was passionate about literature, music, Latin and Greek, but took great interest and absorbed himself in the works of the Stoic philosopher, Epictetus, who had a great influence over the Roman emperor’s ideologies from very early on. This sort of intellectual dedication was noticed by the-then emperor, Hadrian.

After Hadrian’s former choice of heir passed away, he adopted Titus Aurelius Antoninus to succeed him as emperor. Hadrian also organized for Antoninus to embrace and take young Aurelius under his wing at the age of 17.

Thus, he lived and worked closely with his adopted father, while learning the ways of political and public affairs.

In 140 CE, Aurelius became emissary, or leader of the senate—a post he would hold twice in his life. As the years passed, he was given more political errands and official powers and thus, he slowly progressed into a sturdy source of backing and guidance for Antoninus, his father.

During this time, he also continued to study philosophy and harbored an interest in law. After his father passed away in 161 CE, he rose to power and was officially known as ‘Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus’.

While many documents suggest that he was the emperor’s only successor, Aurelius is believed to have insisted that his adopted brother, Lucius Aurelius Verus Augustus, also serve as the co-ruler.

Unlike the nonviolent reign of their father, Antoninus, the joint sovereignty of the two brothers was dotted with countless bloody wars and plagues. Through the mid and late 160s, the brothers combated the Parthians for control of lands in the East.

Verus, his brother, supervised the war struggle, while Aurelius managed their empire back home. Much of their victory in this battle has been credited to the generals employed under Verus, particularly Avidius Cassius.

In 167, the German tribes invaded a Roman city. Marcus and Verus arranged for funds for their own soldiers and finally after assembling a strong army, they drove the Germans away from their lands. However, Verus died during this time and Aurelius was made the sole emperor of Roman empire.