LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Marcus Aurelius: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
built 618 days ago
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was the Emperor of Rome from 161 until his death. Born Marcus Annius Verus, he was adopted by the emperor Antoninus Pius in 138, and married his daughter Annia Galeria Faustina a few years later. He succeeded to the throne without difficulty on Antoninus' death. Marcus Aurelius was educated by the best tutors in Rome and was a devotee of Stoicism. However, he felt with more religious fervour the communion of man in the unity of the universe than most other Stoics. In his later years he wrote the Meditations as a relief from his lonely office, in which he attempts to reconcile his Stoic philosophy of virtue and self-sacrifice with his role as emperor.
Source:
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was born Marcus Annius Verus in C.E. 121 on the 26th April while Hadrian was emperor. His parents died when he was young and young Marcus was adopted by his grandfather. His grandfather saw to it that Marcus Aurelius got an excellent education.
Source:
After his adoptive father died in 161, Marcus Aurelius rose to power and was officially then known as Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus. While some sources indicate that Antoninus selected him as his only successor, Marcus Aurelius insisted that his adopted brother served as his co-ruler. His brother was Lucius Aurelius Verus Augustus (usually referred to as Verus).
Source:
Marcus Aurelius discovered Stoicism by the time he was 11 and from his early twenties he deserted his other studies for philosophy. The Emperor Antoninus Pius, who succeeded Hadrian, adopted Marcus Aurelius as his son in 138. One might fairly apply to him what is recorded of Socrates, that he could either enjoy or leave things which most people find themselves too weak to abstain from, and too self-indulgent to enjoy." Antoninus Pius treated Aurelius as a confidant and helper throughout his reign; Marcus Aurelius ... married his daughter, Faustina, in 139. He was admitted to the Senate, and then twice the consulship. In 147 he shared tribunician power with Antoninus. During this time he began composition of his Meditations, which he wrote in Greek in army camps.
Source:
Marcus Aurelius, whose original name was Marcus Annius Verus, was born in Rome on April 20, 121, the nephew by marriage of Antoninus Pius, later emperor. After the latter succeeded to power, he adopted his nephew and married him to his daughter (145). Marcus Aurelius became emperor in 161, and throughout his reign he was engaged in defensive wars on the northern and eastern frontiers of the empire. His legions succeeded in repelling the invasion of Syria by the Parthians in 166, but Rome was again forced into battle in 167 by the Germanic tribes on the Rhine-Danube frontier. Marcus Aurelius returned to Rome intermittently during the German campaign to make legal and administrative reforms. Although he was particularly concerned with public welfare and sold even his personal possessions to alleviate the effects of famine and plague within the empire, he ruthlessly persecuted the Christians, believing them a threat to the imperial system.
Source:
Marcus Aurelius was born in AD 121. His early education was overseen by the Emperor Hadrian, and he was later adopted by the Emperor Antoninus Pius in AD 138. After an initial education in rhetoric undertaken by Fronto, Marcus later abandoned it in favor of philosophy. Marcus became Emperor himself in AD 161, initially alongside Lucius Verus, becoming sole Emperor in AD 169. Continual attacks meant that much of his reign was spent on campaign, especially in central Europe. However, he did find time to establish four Chairs of Philosophy in Athens, one for each of the principal philosophical traditions (Platonic, Aristotelian, Stoic, and Epicurean).
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus