Birth:
April 26, 121 A.D., Rome
Death:
March 17, 180, Vindobona (Now Vienna, Austria)
Early Influences:
- Noticed by the Emperor Hadrian at a very young age
- Hadrian appointed him to the priesthood in 129
- Adopted by Emperor Antoninus Pius in 138
Education:
- Had the best tutors for a classical education in Greek learning
Major Accomplishments:
- Admitted to the Roman Senate
- Twice a Roman Consul
- Joint Emperor with adopted brother Lucius Aurelius Verus in 161
- Sole Emperor upon his brother's death in 169
- Wrote Meditations, 12 volumes of Stoic philosophy
Significance:
- Roman Emperor during the 'Golden Age'
- Unable to defeat the Danube tribes, bringing an end to the Pax Romana
- Heavily persecuted the Christians during his reign
- Left the throne to his son Commodus, considered to be the worst of Rome's Emperors
Contemporaries:
- Ptolemy - Greek Astronomer, Geographer and Mathematician
- Galen - Greek Physician and Philosopher
- Hadrian - Roman Emperor
