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Imperator
Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (April 26, 121 –
March 17, 180) was Roman Emperor from 161 to his death in
180. He was born Marcus Annius Catilius Severus, and at
marriage took the name
Marcus Annius Verus. When he was named Emperor, he was given
the name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. He was the last of the
Five Good Emperors.
While on campaign between 170 and 180, Aurelius wrote his Meditations
as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement. He
had been a
priest at the sacrificial altars of Roman service and was an eager
patriot. He had a logical mind though his notes were
representative of
Stoic philosophy and spirituality. Meditations is
still revered as a
literary monument to a government of service and duty. It
has been
praised for its "exquisite accent and it's infinite
tenderness" and
"saintliness" being called the "gospel of his
life." They have been
compared by J. S. Mill in his Utility of Religion to the Sermon on
the
Mount. Like many of the emperors of Rome he was loved by the
people.
Yet, with all his benevolence, administered justice and reforms he
often
mistrusted the Christians whom he subjected to systematic
persecution.
Marcus Aurelius died on March 17, 180 during the expedition
against the
Marcomanni in the city of Vindobona (modern Vienna). His
ashes were
returned to Rome and rest in Hadrian's mausoleum (modern Castel
Sant'Angelo). He was able to secure the succession for his
son Commodus, whom he made co-emperor in his own lifetime (in
177), though the choice may have been unfortunate. Commodus
was a political and military outsider, as well as an extreme
egotist. Many historians believe that the decline of Rome
began under Commodus. For this reason, Aurelius' death is
often held to have been the end of the Pax Romana. |
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| It is not death that
we
should fear, but we
should fear never
beginning to live.
Marcus Aurelius
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