Those in particular that refer to the beating and robbing I will describe so that they savour of gall and bile. Lucius Verus may have died from the plague in 169. Wife of M. Annius Verus: Giacosa (1977), p. 10. In the 19th century, with the industrial [69] Marcus would later caution himself against taking the name too seriously: 'See that you do not turn into a Caesar; do not be dipped into the purple dye – for that can happen'. Paul II’s «amor providentiae»: man is only free when he does what '[181] Marcus's early reign proceeded smoothly; he was able to give himself wholly to philosophy and the pursuit of popular affection. 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'. He found it difficult to keep himself upright without stays. Marcus's grandfather owned a palace beside the Lateran, where he would spend much of his childhood. Suetonius a possible lover of Sabina: One interpretation of, Lover of Hadrian: Lambert (1984), p. 99 and. ought into fact. Birley, 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 164. page from him, and should, red-faced with shame. Marcus and his cousin-wife Faustina had at least 13 children during their 30-year marriage,[123][303] including two sets of twins. [151] The senate accepted, granting Lucius the imperium, the tribunician power, and the name Augustus. [241], Occupied Armenia was reconstructed on Roman terms. How is it between you and me? All citations to the Historia Augusta are to individual biographies, and are marked with a 'HA'. [238], The Armenian capital Artaxata was captured in 163. [231] Marcus moved up the date; perhaps he had already heard of Lucius's mistress Panthea. Accession of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus (161), Trade with Han China and outbreak of plague.    Ancient & Modern Authors [148] This may have been a genuine horror imperii, 'fear of imperial power'. Reason adumbrates «logos», which resides in the soul as an inspiring «daemon». color, characters, drama, pious anecdote, and emotion; a theurgic religion, The Emperor’s [247] 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. There had been reverses in Rome's past, Fronto writes,[219] 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'. never had a chance among the masses. waning of Christianity, which, in spite of Roman pontiffs and Protestant Marcus and Lucius nominated their father for deification. It is said that Le Livre Doré de Marc Aurèle demanded eleven years of work from the author and met with great success upon publication. This new impetus westwards was probably due to attacks from tribes further east. L’impératrice Faustine, épouse de l’empereur Marc Aurèle, dans la seconde moitié du II e siècle apr. [172] Marcus and Lucius proved popular with the people of Rome, who strongly approved of their civiliter ('lacking pomp') behaviour. first printed in Zurich in 1558-59. of the gods, in order to further the Empire’s civic consciousness, morality, The Emperor Découvrez la biographie de Marc-Aurèle, ainsi que des anecdotes, des citations de Marc-Aurèle, des livres, des photos et vidéos. Historians have criticized the succession to Commodus, citing Commodus's erratic behaviour and lack of political and military acumen. Professional jurists called him 'an emperor most skilled in the law'[271] and 'a most prudent and conscientiously just emperor'. The campaign had lasted only three days. Help. Madrid, [81] In April 145, Marcus married Faustina, legally his sister, as had been planned since 138. also impress the reader—this reader—as sincere, which [52] As part of his adoption, Commodus took the name, Lucius Aelius Caesar. Unlike Seneca’s writings, markedly He was immediately deified and his ashes were returned to Rome, where they rested in Hadrian's mausoleum (modern Castel Sant'Angelo) until the Visigoth sack of the city in 410. She leaves her husband of 67 years, Leo J.; 9 children: Paul L and his wife, Mar 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. Barnes, 'Hadrian and Lucius Verus. Hotline. However, the night before the speech, he grew ill and died of a hemorrhage later in the day. 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. [82] Little is specifically known of the ceremony, but the biographer calls it 'noteworthy'. phone + 49 5241 - 94 52 62. He now took the name Marcus Aelius Aurelius Verus Caesar. The formalities of the position would follow. Farquharson, «The Meditations» …, 2 vols., Oxford, 1944, is the leading contemporary scholar of the Emperor in the English language. Farquharson, «The Meditations» …, 2 vols., Oxford, 1944, is the leading contemporary scholar of the Emperor Le Marc-Aurèle est le tout nouveau milieu de vie signé Groupe Patrimoine. [235] 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. He had been consul once more than Lucius, he had shared in Antoninus's rule, and he alone was Pontifex Maximus. Shakespeare. [252], 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. His father died when he was three, and his mother and grandfather, raised Marcus. [276][277][278] In addition to Republican-era Roman glasswares found at Guangzhou along the South China Sea,[279] 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). Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (/ɔːˈriːliəs/ ə-REE-lee-əs,[1] Latin: [ˈmaːrkʊs̠ au̯ˈreːlijʊs̠ an̪t̪oːˈniːnʊs̠]; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180 AD) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic philosopher. Madrid, 1974) [53] After a brief stationing on the Danube frontier, Aelius returned to Rome to make an address to the Senate on the first day of 138. Unlike some of his predecessors, Marcus chose not to adopt an heir. Each one presupposes a culture. Barnes, 'Hadrian and Lucius Verus', pp. He told himself it was an attainable goal – 'Where life is possible, then it is possible to live the right life; life is possible in a palace, so it is possible to live the right life in a palace'[73] – but he found it difficult nonetheless. It 'affected his health adversely', his biographer writes, to have devoted so much effort to his studies. [287] Some scholars consider his death to be the end of the Pax Romana. 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. [75] But he felt drowned in paperwork and complained to his tutor, Marcus Cornelius Fronto: 'I am so out of breath from dictating nearly thirty letters'. A coin issue celebrates fecunditati Augustae, 'the Augusta's fertility', depicting two girls and an infant. Annette L. Juliano and Judith A. Lerner (eds). In 1920 there was 1 Marc Aurele family living in Massachusetts. He sent for Antoninus, who was at his side when he died on 10 July 138. He would not mention Herodes at all in his Meditations, in spite of the fact that they would come into contact many times over the following decades. [33][note 2] Though he can hardly have known his father, Marcus wrote in his Meditations that he had learnt 'modesty and manliness' from his memories of his father and the man's posthumous reputation. [85] He had three tutors in Greek – Aninus Macer, Caninius Celer, and Herodes Atticus – and one in Latin – Fronto. You can see how Marc Aurele families moved over time by selecting different census years. It drowned many animals, leaving the city in famine. The Parthian army dispersed in the Tigris. The Antonine Plague broke out in 165 or 166 and devastated the population of the Roman Empire, causing the deaths of five million people. If I happen to call him an uneducated little Greek it will not mean war to the death'. of the State, and the cosmic order, or «logos», of divine nature. of the self beyond death (Med. He was too anxious to relax. and object of valuable intellectual awareness. The next day, 1 December, Antoninus gave Marcus the tribunician power and the imperium – authority over the armies and provinces of the emperor. spirituality, if the terms is applicable—in spite of all appearances, Who knows better than you how demanding it is! The most important group of sources, the biographies contained in the Historia Augusta, claimed to be written by a group of authors at the turn of the 4th century AD, but it is believed they were in fact written by a single author (referred to here as 'the biographer') from about 395 AD. [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. [48] Alexander's influence – an emphasis on matter over style and careful wording, with the occasional Homeric quotation – has been detected in Marcus's Meditations. The Column of Marcus Aurelius in Piazza Colonna. Lower Pannonia was under the obscure Tiberius Haterius Saturnius. [202] Reinforcements were dispatched for the Parthian frontier. [98] The pair were very close, using intimate language such as 'Farewell my Fronto, wherever you are, my most sweet love and delight. The Column and Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius still stand in Rome, where they were erected in celebration of his military victories. Le biographe de Marc Aurèle raconte que Faustine la Jeune, l’épouse de ce dernier, s’était amourachée d’un gladiateur. labyrinth to the Wisdom of the ancient Stoa. [305] Their children included: Except where otherwise noted, the notes below indicate that an individual's parentage is as shown in the above family tree. The intelligentsia of the Church [206], The northern frontiers were strategically weakened; frontier governors were told to avoid conflict wherever possible. He decreased the silver purity of the denarius from 83.5% to 79% – the silver weight dropping from 2.68 g (0.095 oz) to 2.57 g (0.091 oz). There has been far too much E. S. Haldane and F. H. Simson. [253] Lucius took the title Parthicus Maximus, and he and Marcus were hailed as imperatores again, earning the title 'imp. [198], 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. traces the social conservatism and conformism at the root of the Emperor’s [242] A new king was installed: a Roman senator of consular rank and Arsacid descent, Gaius Julius Sohaemus. 1948 - Nov. 25, 2020 George James Marc-Aurele, 71, died peacefully on November 25, 2020, surrounded by his children and grandchildren in … In the East, the Roman Empire fought successfully with a revitalized Parthian Empire and the rebel Kingdom of Armenia. 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). Lower Moesia was filled by Pontius Laelianus's son. [77] He was required to make a speech to the assembled senators as well, making oratorical training essential for the job. [71] Marcus would struggle to reconcile the life of the court with his philosophic yearnings. Today’s political scoundrels have [314], It is not known how widely Marcus's writings were circulated after his death. Pay by. Divine talk, of course, is metaphor. He was a man suited for a time of military crisis. L’Empire est le système à travers lequel le pouvoir politique était placé entre les mains d’une seule personne, l’empereur.Cette période a commencé avec l’empereur Auguste. [39] Marcus was grateful that he did not have to live with her longer than he did. He had a logical mind and his notes were representative of Stoic philosophy and spirituality. And Lucius, raising his hand to heaven, said, ' O Zeus, the king of the Romans in his old age takes up his tablets and goes to school.' 'The Roman Empire as Known to Han China'. There are translations. Writing to Fronto, he declared that he would not speak about his holiday. [274] In one speech, Marcus himself reminded the Senate that the imperial palace where he lived was not truly his possession but theirs. [237] He returned to Rome immediately thereafter, and sent out special instructions to his proconsuls not to give the group any official reception. [110] Marcus had grown tired of his exercises, of taking positions in imaginary debates. [157], Immediately after their senate confirmation, the emperors proceeded to the Castra Praetoria, the camp of the Praetorian Guard. The Emperor, however, was not a pagan in For this reason, Marcus decided not only against bringing more barbarians into Italy, but even banished those who had previously been brought there. Marcus consented to Antoninus's proposal. relieving tears, its happy self-sacrifice, were the very element, one feels, "[299], In the first two centuries of the Christian era, it was local Roman officials who were largely responsible for the persecution of Christians. If a saint, of what Church, one would ask, since the Emperor held [2] The later biographies and the biographies of subordinate emperors and usurpers are unreliable, but the earlier biographies, derived primarily from now-lost earlier sources (Marius Maximus or Ignotus), are much more accurate. This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. remained low throughout the Middle Ages. Malay Peninsula). Lucius asked Fronto to adjudicate in a dispute he and his friend Calpurnius were having on the relative merits of two actors. [129] Faustina probably had another daughter in 151, but the child, Annia Galeria Aurelia Faustina, might not have been born until 153. 17 juil. [214] Marcus could not take Fronto's advice. break into it,…everything else is kept outside of it” (History of Philosophy. 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. A first invasion of the Chatti in the province of Germania Superior was repulsed in 162. As Antoninus aged, Marcus would take on more administrative duties, more still when he became the praetorian prefect (an office that was as much secretarial as military) when Marcus Gavius Maximus died in 156 or 157. His health was so poor that, during a ceremony to mark his becoming heir to the throne, he was too weak to lift a large shield on his own. Husband of Salonia Matidia: Levick (2014), p. 161. However, two years later he reverted to the previous values because of the military crises facing the empire. After a long struggle, Marcus managed to push back the invaders. [68] He was made consul for 140 with Antoninus as his colleague, and was appointed as a seviri, one of the knights' six commanders, at the order's annual parade on 15 July 139. There are 81 editions of The Meditations during the 19th century History of Early Rome, Republic & Empire [280][note 17] 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 Roman coins in India suggests the Roman maritime trade for purchasing Chinese silk was centred there, not in China or even the overland Silk Road running through Persia. Barnes, Timothy D. 'Some Persons in the Historia Augusta', Birley, Anthony R. 'Hadrian to the Antonines'. P. Julius Geminius Marcianus, an African senator commanding X Gemina at Vindobona (Vienna), left for Cappadocia with detachments from the Danubian legions. Many emperors had planned a joint succession in the past: 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. He was stronger and healthier than Marcus, the argument went, and thus more suited to military activity. [301] The early Christian apologist, Justin Martyr, includes within his First Apology (written between 140 and 150 A.D.) a letter from Marcus Aurelius to the Roman senate (prior to his reign) describing a battlefield incident in which Marcus believed Christian prayer had saved his army from thirst when "water poured from heaven," after which, "immediately we recognized the presence of God." sybaritic freedom; a notion of freedom that Marketing plays with in order It is impossible to be a stoic in our time. Because both Lucius and Marcus are said to have taken active part in the recovery (, Since 15 AD, the river had been administered by a Tiber Conservancy Board, with a consular senator at its head and a permanent staff. [84], After taking the toga virilis in 136, Marcus probably began his training in oratory. 2: 266). [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. Read this book using Google Play Books app on your PC, android, iOS devices. Marcus and Lucius gave the crisis their personal attention. Fronto would later explain that he had not dared to write the emperors directly. [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. Fronto was hugely pleased. [150] Thus, although the senate planned to confirm Marcus alone, he refused to take office unless Lucius received equal powers. The day after that, 7 March 161,[144] he summoned the imperial council, and passed the state and his daughter to Marcus. London: Routledge, 1968. Stoicism influenced Christianity. Jeannette Perreault is a passionate Canadian painter who has exhibited her work nationally. 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. [190] Marcus had displayed rhetorical skill in his speech to the senate after an earthquake at Cyzicus. Mythology, Philosophy & Religion [158] This donative, however, was twice the size of those past: 20,000 sesterces (5,000 denarii) per capita, with more to officers. They have been praised by fellow writers, philosophers, monarchs, and politicians centuries after his death. revolution, the flowering of unbridled capitalism, and the wholesale destruction survived by the grace of blessed ignorance. A fundamental text from the nineteenth century is Ernest Renan: «Marc-Aurèle et la fin du monde Antique» (1882). "[292], Michael Grant, in The Climax of Rome, writes of Commodus:[293], The youth turned out to be very erratic, or at least so anti-traditional that disaster was inevitable. [114] Marcus kept in close touch with Fronto, but would ignore Fronto's scruples. They He and Faustina, Marcus wrote, had been 'pretty occupied' with the girl's care. Fronto urged him in a letter to have plenty of sleep 'so that you may come into the Senate with a good colour and read your speech with a strong voice'. Marcus took the Parthicus Maximus now, after another tactful delay. His training as a Stoic, however, had made the choice clear to him that it was his duty. 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. In turn, Antoninus adopted Marcus and Lucius, the son of Aelius. As it was, Marcus was set apart from his fellow citizens. They were called Titus Aurelius Antoninus and Tiberius Aelius Aurelius. Ctesiphon was taken and its royal palace set to flame. Citations to the works of Fronto are cross-referenced to C.R. Our post-Christian, [113] He disdained philosophy and philosophers and looked down on Marcus's sessions with Apollonius of Chalcedon and others in this circle. 'Han Foreign Relations', in Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe (eds), This page was last edited on 17 December 2020, at 02:17. He started nibbling on dry bread to give him the strength to stay awake through his morning receptions. [91] In spite of the influence of Atticus, Marcus would later become a Stoic. His second modern editor, Champlin notes that Marcus's praise of Rusticus in the, Although part of the biographer's account of Lucius is fictionalized (probably to mimic Nero, whose birthday Lucius shared, These name-swaps have proven so confusing that even the. [169] The births were celebrated on the imperial coinage. [123][304] One son and four daughters outlived their father. In modern editions of Fronto's works, it is labeled De bello Parthico (On the Parthian War). '[178] Fronto called on Marcus alone; neither thought to invite Lucius. [179], Lucius was less esteemed by Fronto than his brother, as his interests were on a lower level. Delivery by. Boris Johnson threatens to COLLAPSE Brexit trade talks if EU insist we stick by their rules - Duration: 32:11. The boy did not survive long, as evidenced by coins from 156, only depicting the two girls. It would mean the end of the felicitas temporum ('happy times') that the coinage of 161 had proclaimed. tongue was in French by Pardoux Duprat in 1570. FAQ Purchasing Order Payment Delivery Returns Right of Withdrawal Service. New York. FAQ Purchasing Order Payment Delivery Returns Right of Withdrawal Service. weakness when he discourses on a disconnect between the external realm of Galen, who was in Rome when the plague spread to the city in 166,[282] 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. [147], After Antoninus died in 161, Marcus was effectively sole ruler of the Empire. Nonetheless, his biographer attests that his character remained unaffected: 'He still showed the same respect to his relations as he had when he was an ordinary citizen, and he was as thrifty and careful of his possessions as he had been when he lived in a private household'. [199] Marcus was unprepared. Voir plus d'idées sur le thème saviez vous que, faits de psychologie, le savier vous. Stoic freedom He was there with his wife and children (another child had stayed with Fronto and his wife in Rome). He may not even have been crowned in Armenia; the ceremony may have taken place in Antioch, or even Ephesus. The political scoundrels of our world could take a The individual, «civis romanus» —Roman citizen—serves Marcus, with his preference for the philosophic life, found the imperial office unappealing. work of art, and the only equestrian, bronze statue extant from antiquity, [38] He was less fond of the mistress his grandfather took and lived with after the death of his wife Rupilia. While on campaign between 170 and 180, Marcus wrote his Meditations in Greek as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement. 'Marcus Aurelius as Ideal Emperor in Late-Antique Greek Thought'. necessity. Intelligence (nous), which is of the divine, returns to the Pulleyblank, Leslie and Gardiner, pp. Commodus was a known consumptive at the time of his adoption, so Hadrian may have intended Marcus's eventual succession anyway. The infants were buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian, where their epitaphs survive. 1: 437). [72], Antoninus demanded that Marcus reside in the House of Tiberius, the imperial palace on the Palatine, and take up the habits of his new station, the aulicum fastigium or 'pomp of the court', against Marcus's objections. [22] Through his grandmother Rupilia, Marcus was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty; the emperor Trajan's sororal niece Salonia Matidia was the mother of Rupilia and her half-sister, Hadrian's wife Sabina. This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. Lucius took the title 'Medicus',[255] and the emperors were again hailed as imperatores, becoming 'imp. Languages eshop@marc-aurel.com. 58 (1968): 32–50. [6] The main narrative source for the period is Cassius Dio, a Greek senator from Bithynian Nicaea who wrote a history of Rome from its founding to 229 in eighty books. [54][note 4], On 24 January 138, Hadrian selected Aurelius Antoninus, the husband of Marcus's aunt Faustina the Elder, as his new successor. Her inheritance included large brickworks on the outskirts of Rome – a profitable enterprise in an era when the city was experiencing a construction boom – and the Horti Domitia Calvillae (or Lucillae), a villa on the Caelian hill of Rome. [104], Fronto never became Marcus's full-time teacher and continued his career as an advocate. [160] Upon his accession he also devalued the Roman currency. [174] Lucius Volusius Maecianus, Marcus's former tutor, had been prefectural governor of Egypt at Marcus's accession. [293], Marcus acquired the reputation of a philosopher king within his lifetime, and the title would remain after his death; both Dio and the biographer call him 'the philosopher'. The first translation to any vernacular [316] The oldest surviving complete manuscript copy is in the Vatican library and dates to the 14th century. Edessa was re-occupied, and Mannus, the king deposed by the Parthians, was re-installed. The waxing of the Emperor’s popularity correlates with the As the grandson of Arulenus Rusticus, one of the martyrs to the tyranny of Domitian (r. 81–96), he was heir to the tradition of 'Stoic Opposition' to the 'bad emperors' of the 1st century;[119] the true successor of Seneca (as opposed to Fronto, the false one). Archaeology There was then a crop of growing corn; there is now a ripe, gathered harvest. was taken as representing the Emperor Theodosius, a Christian. Newsletter My Account Size Chart Marc Aurel B2B-Downloads [140], In 156, Antoninus turned 70. them, he passed them by.” One can almost hear an organ groaning in the background Stoicism’s bias is intellectual and 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 Egypt to India, as well as significantly decreased Roman commercial activity in Southeast Asia. ancient Greek text, which has never been seen again. Stanforth. At some time between 155 and 161, probably soon after 155, Marcus's mother Domitia Lucilla died.