Marcus Aurelius

Key Events• Born Marcus Annius Verus into a family from Ucubi, Spain, in the province

of Baetica• His family was powerful, as both of his grandfathers had been Consul• He became betrothed to Hadrian’s heir-apparent’s daughter, placing him in

the forefront of politics• He became consul at the age of 18, one of the youngest to ever bear it• After the death of Antoninus Pius, both Marcus Aurelius and his adopted

brother Lucius became co-emperors, which is something that their (adoptive) father had not wanted; he completely favored Marcus

• The Parthian War won waged and won under Verus’s direction, but both shared the triumph

• A plague brought back by Verus’s troops ended up killing Verus, and Marcus became the sole emperor

• Led a very successful series of campaigns in Germany, along the Danube• Died in 180, with his son Commodus side, as an opium addict• Finished the Meditations shortly before his death

His Legacy

• Mostly philosophy: The Meditations are considered a seminal work of the period

• He also was the first to establish the co-emperor model, something which became very common later on in the Empire

• He was considered to be a very good emperor, even if he was not much of a ruler

• He was considered the best of the untrained rulers that Rome ever had

Who He Was

• He was really into philosophy, and published a lot of books, the most famous being The Meditations

• He was competent, fair, and charismatic• He made sure to hear cases and lead his

people even when he was on campaign

His Reign

• Marcus was in power for almost 20 years• During this reign, there was always a war, and

he seemed to be where the war wasn’t writing a book

• However, after his co-emperor died, he really stepped up the plate to lead his people

• His is considered one of the best of the silver age Emperors