'[181] Marcus's early reign proceeded smoothly; he was able to give himself wholly to philosophy and the pursuit of popular affection. does not believe in immortality, although he suggests a temporary persistence [289] Biological sons of the emperor, if there were any, were considered heirs;[290] 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. sybaritic freedom; a notion of freedom that Marketing plays with in order [58] Marcus reportedly greeted the news that Hadrian had become his adoptive grandfather with sadness, instead of joy. 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. "It is an … labyrinth to the Wisdom of the ancient Stoa. Father of a murdered son, husband of a murdered woman, and I will have my revenge in this life or the next. is no mean feat, considering how well written many of its entries seem to "[299], In the first two centuries of the Christian era, it was local Roman officials who were largely responsible for the persecution of Christians. 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'. L’impératrice Faustine, épouse de l’empereur Marc Aurèle, dans la seconde moitié du II e siècle apr. 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? The intelligentsia of the Church Lucius addressed the assembled troops, which then acclaimed the pair as imperatores. [221] 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. 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. [124] Domitia would die in 151. [264], Starting in the 160s, Germanic tribes, and other nomadic people launched raids along the northern border, particularly into Gaul and across the Danube. However, two years later he reverted to the previous values because of the military crises facing the empire. As the heir apparent, Marcus became princeps iuventutis, head of the equestrian order. Hegel puts his finger on Stoicism’s Help. [71] Marcus would struggle to reconcile the life of the court with his philosophic yearnings. [65], Immediately after Hadrian's death, Antoninus approached Marcus and requested that his marriage arrangements be amended: Marcus's betrothal to Ceionia Fabia would be annulled, and he would be betrothed to Faustina, Antoninus's daughter, instead. [250] A second force, under Avidius Cassius and the III Gallica, moved down the Euphrates, and fought a major battle at Dura. [19] The gens Annia was of Italian origins (with legendary claims of descendance from Numa Pompilius) and a branch of it moved to Ucubi, a small town south east of Córdoba in Iberian Baetica. Today’s political scoundrels have For this reason, Marcus decided not only against bringing more barbarians into Italy, but even banished those who had previously been brought there. Online: The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, Ancient Rome as seen in the year 2001 [44] A new set of tutors – the Homeric scholar Alexander of Cotiaeum along with Trosius Aper and Tuticius Proculus, teachers of Latin[45][note 3] – took over Marcus's education in about 132 or 133. [3] For Marcus's life and rule, the biographies of Hadrian, Antoninus, Marcus, and Lucius are largely reliable, but those of Aelius Verus and Avidius Cassius are not. [244], In 163, the Parthians intervened in Osroene, a Roman client in upper Mesopotamia centred on Edessa, and installed their own king on its throne. He attempts to formulate the congruence between them and to translate Découvrez les avancements des travaux ! [153][note 9] It was the first time that Rome was ruled by two emperors. What I was hoping for then, I have now. Birley, 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 163, citing. Our post-Christian, [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. [183], In either autumn 161 or spring 162,[note 12] the Tiber overflowed its banks, flooding much of Rome. Robin Hard, author of Meditations, on LibraryThing. Le Marc-Aurèle est le tout nouveau milieu de vie signé Groupe Patrimoine. Perhaps, not by chance ethicist. The child's name is unknown. of the State, and the cosmic order, or «logos», of divine nature. of Marcus Aurelius’ reign. He served as Roman consul in 140, 145, and 161. like unto them are the children of men. The formalities of the position would follow. to Edward Gibbon, who borrows words from Marc Antony’s panegyric to Brutus Fronto would later explain that he had not dared to write the emperors directly. 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. If a saint, of what Church, one would ask, since the Emperor held [263], Experienced governors had been replaced by friends and relatives of the imperial family. There … No wonder Stoicism lost out to Christianity, a religion full of [111] In any case, Marcus's formal education was now over. His first consulship was in 161, so he was probably in his early thirties,[208] and as a patrician, he lacked military experience. [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. Birley, 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 156. His name at birth was supposedly Marcus Annius Verus,[11] but some sources assign this name to him upon his father's death and unofficial adoption by his grandfather, upon his coming of age,[12][13][14] or at the time of his marriage. It drowned many animals, leaving the city in famine. [61], After a series of suicide attempts, all thwarted by Antoninus, Hadrian left for Baiae, a seaside resort on the Campanian coast. );[71] direct evidence for membership, however, is available only for the Arval Brethren. 4: 27). Barnes, 'Hadrian and Lucius Verus', pp. personalized deity, caritas, humilitas, resignatio, ascesis, contemptu mundi, [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. «Deus E. S. Haldane and F. H. Simson. [160] Upon his accession he also devalued the Roman currency. 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. A fundamental text from the nineteenth century is Upon his adoption by Antoninus as heir to the throne, he was known as Marcus Aelius Aurelius Verus Caesar and, upon his ascension, he was Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus until his death;[17] Epiphanius of Salamis, in his chronology of the Roman emperors On Weights and Measures, calls him Marcus Aurelius Verus. [42] One of his teachers, Diognetus, a painting master, proved particularly influential; he seems to have introduced Marcus Aurelius to the philosophic way of life. The day after that, 7 March 161,[144] he summoned the imperial council, and passed the state and his daughter to Marcus. The extent to which Marcus himself directed, encouraged, or was aware of these persecutions is unclear and much debated by historians. One notorious case brought him into conflict with Atticus. Writing to Fronto, he declared that he would not speak about his holiday. The Meditations were The emperor's hand is outstretched in an act of clemency offered to a bested enemy, while his weary facial expression due to the stress of leading Rome into nearly constant battles perhaps represents a break with the classical tradition of sculpture. [207] M. Annius Libo, Marcus's first cousin, was sent to replace the Syrian governor. [191], On his deathbed, Antoninus spoke of nothing but the state and the foreign kings who had wronged him. [87] This was the age of the Second Sophistic, a renaissance in Greek letters. Professional jurists called him 'an emperor most skilled in the law'[271] and 'a most prudent and conscientiously just emperor'. The reign of Marcus Aurelius was marked by military conflict. Electronic Texts & Author Websites Numerous members of Germanic tribes settled in frontier regions like Dacia, Pannonia, Germany, and Italy itself. [177] The tutor was immensely proud of his students. [222][note 15] Whatever the case, the senate gave its assent, and, in the summer of 162, Lucius left. Fronto felt that, because of Marcus's prominence and public duties, lessons were more important now than they had ever been before. FAQ Purchasing Order Payment Delivery Returns Right of Withdrawal Service. in the last scene of «Julius Delivery by. A solemn child,6 he was overshadowed by the popular but ... (SHA Marc 29.1-3) and per-haps a dash of worldly wisdom-the empire was "Faustina's dowry" (19.7-9; 29.6). [294][295], Christians such as Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, and Eusebius also gave him the title. Christian persecutions, more or less dormant through the reigns of Trajan, The original title of this work, if it had one, is unknown. color, characters, drama, pious anecdote, and emotion; a theurgic religion, Fronto was hugely pleased. first printed in Zurich in 1558-59. [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. Historians have criticized the succession to Commodus, citing Commodus's erratic behaviour and lack of political and military acumen. [249] The Parthians retreated to Nisibis, but this too was besieged and captured. He was made consul soon after. 71–79. [170], 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). spite of himself, nor a Christian in every way but name. [89] Atticus was an inveterate opponent of Stoicism and philosophic pretensions. the recognition of a human civitas, or civilized hierarchy under the law [110] Marcus had grown tired of his exercises, of taking positions in imaginary debates. 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. not a dispassionate enquiry on right conduct. Western culture, a culture in rapid dissolution, is hardly compatible with 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 successor kingdoms), opened its gates to the invaders. 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'. an impasse between the Other and the self. The transition motif has been used to describe Meditations, the writings of "the philosopher" – as contemporary biographers called Marcus, are a significant source of the modern understanding of ancient Stoic philosophy. The Emperor be. (R. Bach-Pellicer, notes to «Meditaciones de Marco Aurelio». [80] Never particularly healthy or strong, Marcus was praised by Cassius Dio, writing of his later years, for behaving dutifully in spite of his various illnesses. Pater's "Marius the Epicurean" forms another outside commentary, which is of service in the imaginative attempt to create again the period. Lower Pannonia was under the obscure Tiberius Haterius Saturnius. a man of his time, rooted in his pagan culture, and a fine representative He had rested, and would rest often, but 'this devotion to duty! "[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. [127] He quoted from the Iliad what he called the 'briefest and most familiar saying...enough to dispel sorrow and fear':[128]. 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. [187], Fronto's letters continued through Marcus's early reign. [224], Lucius spent most of the campaign in Antioch, though he wintered at Laodicea and summered at Daphne, a resort just outside Antioch. It is the prelate’s Marcus goes on to request the senate desist from earlier courses of Christian persecution by Rome.[302]. [113] He disdained philosophy and philosophers and looked down on Marcus's sessions with Apollonius of Chalcedon and others in this circle. The persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire appears to have increased during Marcus's reign, but his involvement in this is unknown. [141] In 160, Marcus and Lucius were designated joint consuls for the following year. has never forgiven Marcus Aurelius for his words, unkind to her, and for She leaves her husband of 67 years, Leo J.; 9 children: Paul L and his wife, Mar [242] A new king was installed: a Roman senator of consular rank and Arsacid descent, Gaius Julius Sohaemus. 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. Pay by. [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). Suetonius a possible lover of Sabina: One interpretation of, Lover of Hadrian: Lambert (1984), p. 99 and. Roman Calendar [64] For his dutiful behaviour, Antoninus was asked to accept the name 'Pius'. of the benevolent gods. [200][note 14], More bad news arrived: the Syrian governor's army had been defeated by the Parthians, and retreated in disarray. e historia. 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. metaphorical change, innovation, and loss since his time. Marcus and Lucius nominated their father for deification. also impress the reader—this reader—as sincere, which Lucius took the title 'Medicus',[255] and the emperors were again hailed as imperatores, becoming 'imp. [147], After Antoninus died in 161, Marcus was effectively sole ruler of the Empire. [262] The condition on the northern frontier looked grave. [47] Marcus thanks Alexander for his training in literary styling. [230], 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. Newsletter My Account Size Chart Marc Aurel B2B-Downloads Company. Massachusetts had the highest population of Marc Aurele families in 1920. [256] On 12 October of that year, Marcus proclaimed two of his sons, Annius and Commodus, as his heirs. [266] Soon thereafter, the Iranian Sarmatian Iazyges attacked between the Danube and the Theiss rivers. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them. waning of Christianity, which, in spite of Roman pontiffs and Protestant 'Marcus Aurelius as Ideal Emperor in Late-Antique Greek Thought'. Reign (161–180 AD). [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'. 5 talking about this. Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. Edessa was re-occupied, and Mannus, the king deposed by the Parthians, was re-installed. It would mean the end of the felicitas temporum ('happy times') that the coinage of 161 had proclaimed. [283] It is believed that the plague was smallpox. Marcus and his cousin-wife Faustina had at least 13 children during their 30-year marriage,[123][303] including two sets of twins. [105] Marcus pleaded with Fronto, first with 'advice', then as a 'favour', not to attack Atticus; he had already asked Atticus to refrain from making the first blows. Clinical Supervisor, Occupational Therapy. [126] Marcus steadied himself: 'One man prays: 'How I may not lose my little child', but you must pray: 'How I may not be afraid to lose him'. Marcus's sister, Annia Cornificia Faustina, was probably born in 122 or 123. The column, right, in the background of Panini's painting of the Palazzo Montecitorio, with the base of the Column of Antoninus Pius in the right foreground (1747). Indeed, at his accession, Marcus transferred part of his mother's estate to his nephew, Ummius Quadratus. strictly one way. New [37] Marcus thanks his grandfather for teaching him 'good character and avoidance of bad temper'. [274] In one speech, Marcus himself reminded the Senate that the imperial palace where he lived was not truly his possession but theirs. The latter two were the most esteemed orators of their time,[86] but probably did not become his tutors until his adoption by Antoninus in 138. 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. [9], Marcus was born in Rome on 26 April 121. [203] Three full legions were also sent east: I Minervia from Bonn in Upper Germany,[204] II Adiutrix from Aquincum,[205] and V Macedonica from Troesmis. [32] His father probably died in 124, when Marcus was three years old during his praetorship. Marc-Aurèle, le dernier des 12 caésars. [253] Lucius took the title Parthicus Maximus, and he and Marcus were hailed as imperatores again, earning the title 'imp. seu Deus» to the notional absurdity of a Christian God-man, second person [176], 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. [108] The outcome of the trial is unknown. 1948 - Nov. 25, 2020 George James Marc-Aurele, 71, died peacefully on November 25, 2020, surrounded by his children and grandchildren in … A History of Philosophy. [180] Marcus told Fronto of his reading – Coelius and a little Cicero – and his family. Blaise [20][21] This branch of the Aurelii based in Roman Spain, the Annii Veri, rose to prominence in Rome in the late 1st century AD. After Antoninus died in 161, Marcus acceded to the throne alongside his adoptive brother, who took the name Lucius Verus. Others have concurred: “one of the noblest figures of antiquity…by nature a saint and a sage, by profession a warrior and a ruler” (M. [167][note 11] Aside from the fact that the twins shared Caligula's birthday, the omens were favorable, and the astrologers drew positive horoscopes for the children. Barnes, 'Legislation against the Christians'. Christianity in contempt (see book 11, paragraph 3). [190] Marcus had displayed rhetorical skill in his speech to the senate after an earthquake at Cyzicus. Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius, broke out in Southern Gaul during the last years Though the anecdotes of his life have the brittle quality of hagiography, Marcus displayed a consistent pattern of somber reserve and distaste for lesser mortals. [106] Fronto replied that he was surprised to discover Marcus counted Atticus as a friend (perhaps Atticus was not yet Marcus's tutor), and allowed that Marcus might be correct,[107] but nonetheless affirmed his intent to win the case by any means necessary: '[T]he charges are frightful and must be spoken of as frightful. [272] 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). [241], Occupied Armenia was reconstructed on Roman terms. Madrid, 1974) Modern man ignores Mnemosyne and the sacred functions of her daughters. Wife of M. Annius Libo: Levick (2014), p. 163. 2: 266). 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'. Pascal may have been its last major intellectual. 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). [265], 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. [233] Lucilla was accompanied by her mother Faustina and Lucius's uncle (his father's half-brother) M. Vettulenus Civica Barbarus,[234] who was made comes Augusti, 'companion of the emperors'. [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. [164] (Marcus had little need of his wife's fortune. James Marc-Aurele, Clinical Supervisor of Occupational Therapy, finds inspiration every day in the courage and perseverance of the cancer survivors whom he treats for lympedema. The city was sacked nonetheless, leaving a black mark on Lucius's reputation. is the nature of things. As it was, Marcus was set apart from his fellow citizens. he must do. Commodus was a known consumptive at the time of his adoption, so Hadrian may have intended Marcus's eventual succession anyway. This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. There is a double claim on the Emperor’s stoic soul: The individual, «civis Webrings. 2016 - Citation de Marc Aurèle - En te levant le matin, rappelle-toi combien précieux est le privilège de vivre, de respirer, d'être heureux. “Aurelius Antoninus, B2B FOS Marc Aurel Outlets Material Guidebook Stores and Premium Partner Contact About Us B2B Shop He had a logical mind and his notes were representative of Stoic philosophy and spirituality. In modern editions of Fronto's works, it is labeled De bello Parthico (On the Parthian War). [214] Marcus could not take Fronto's advice. 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 the night he vomited; he had a fever the next day. He sent a note to the imperial freedman Charilas, asking if he could call on the emperors. [316] The oldest surviving complete manuscript copy is in the Vatican library and dates to the 14th century. He modified the silver purity of the Roman currency, the denarius. [182] Soon, however, he would find he had many anxieties. [70] At the senate's request, Marcus joined all the priestly colleges (pontifices, augures, quindecimviri sacris faciundis, septemviri epulonum, etc. Lower Moesia was filled by Pontius Laelianus's son. witness the intimate moral struggle of an eminently civilized man. Marcus Annius Verus (initialement Marcus Catilius Severus) prend, après son adoption par l'empereur Antonin le Pieux, le nom de Marcus Ælius Aurelius Verus. Marcus had chosen a reliable man rather than a talented one. [173], Marcus replaced a number of the empire's major officials. It may have continued into the reign of Commodus. [136][note 8] He did not marry until 164. spirituality, if the terms is applicable—in spite of all appearances, He kept in close correspondence with Fronto for many years afterwards. “Marcus Aurelius Antoninus.” The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stoicism’s bias is intellectual and Barnes, 'Hadrian and Lucius Verus', p. 66. Ernest Renan: «Marc-Aurèle et la fin du monde Antique» (1882). The diarrhea has stopped, the little attacks of fever have been driven away.