Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius ruled Rome for nineteen years and wrote a private notebook that became a classic of moral philosophy. Born in AD 121 into a wealthy senatorial family of Spanish origin, he was noticed by Hadrian as a boy, and Hadrian arranged the succession so that Antoninus Pius would adopt him. He was given the finest education available, turned to Stoicism at about twelve, and took to sleeping on the ground and wearing a rough cloak until his mother stopped him. He succeeded in AD 161 and immediately insisted that his adoptive brother Lucius Verus rule jointly with him — the first time the empire had two emperors. His reign was almost entirely war and disease. Parthia invaded Armenia in 161; the campaign was won, and returning troops brought back a plague, probably smallpox, that killed perhaps five million people over a generation. Germanic peoples then crossed the Danube in strength, and he spent most of his last fourteen years on that frontier. The Meditations were written in Greek in camp, addressed to himself, and were never intended to be read. They set out the Stoic argument that only judgement is within our control, that offence is taken rather than given, that the universe is change and life opinion, and that the proper response to difficulty is to do the work in front of you. He persecuted Christians no more than his predecessors and no less. He appointed his son Commodus as heir, which broke the pattern of adoption on merit. He died at Vindobona in AD 180.

• Lived: 121 CE – 180 CE
• Nationality: Roman
• Roles: ruler, philosopher, writer