MARCUS AURELIUS and LUCIUS VERUS | Compressed History of the Principate

Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher king. And for the first time ever a bonus track, a legitimate co-emperor, Lucius Verus, a footnote to the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Marcus Aurelius had to be confirmed by the senate as the new emperor. So he performed a strange stunt that never happened in the history of Rome before. He refused to become the emperor alone. He asked the senate to confirm Lucius Verus as his co-emperor. The senate agreed and for the first time Rome had two parallel officially recognized emperors. They both had equal power and honors, except for the title of Pontifex Maximus, the head of the Roman religion, which couldn't be shared. So Marcus Aurelius kept it for himself. So the emperors were equal on paper, but everyone knew that one of them was more equal than the other. It seems that Lucius Verus was absolutely okay with being the other emperor. Indeed, it was an infinitely better option than the traditional one, a painful death. It was something worth celebrating, so Lucius Verus started celebrating and he never really stopped. Marcus Aurelius is almost universally considered one of the best emperors of Rome and up to this day he remains very popular, in part because of his philosophical notes, now known as the Meditations. But with all that posthumous cout of Marcus Aurelius, you have to be real and remember that he was a human like you and me, except for performing miracles and glowing in the dark, and the fact that he rose from the dead on the third day and was officially declared a god by the senate. But that's about it. There were many good and competent emperors of Rome, it just happened this way that nobody deserved to become the more than Marcus Aurelius. The times of peace have ended. Almost immediately after the death of Antoninus Pius, the Parthians invaded Roman territory in a dispute over the client kingdom of Armenia. It was decided that the emperor should personally oversee their operations, but the presence of the emperor was also required in Rome. Luckily, there were two emperors, so Marcus sent Lucius Verus to control their operations. Lucius slowly traveled to Antioch and decided to stay there, it was a much nicer place than the front line. He had very capable generals and made a logical decision to rely on their experience, which actually paid off, the war lasted for about five years and resulted in a victory. Lucius Verus received a triumph and title of Particus Maximus. One of his generals, Avidius Cassius, who was instrumental in the Roman success, as a result of his actions made an extraordinary career which later resulted in governing Egypt and also in his death. The problem here was that the legions returning from the east brought something that is known right now as the Antonine Plague, an infectious disease that killed probably millions, and it probably also took the life of Lucius Verus in the year 169. After a while, and it took about 7 years, Marcus Aurelius figured that it is boring to be the sole ruler of the empire and he needs a new junior co-emperor, who he could torture with his stoic philosophy. So, he chose his son, Commodus. Every day, he used to ask Commodus what is according to nature and what is not. At some point, poor Commodus just lost his mind and decided that professional wrestling is a more interesting career opportunity than being the emperor. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. The Parthian War was over, but the empire had problems with the Germanic tribes. So, for the rest of his life, Marcus had to deal with what is now called the Marcomannic Wars, and they ended only after his death. He actually died at the frontier, somewhere around the present day of Vienna. The cause of death is not clear, but it could be the same Antonine Plague. Marcus had poor health, which resulted in a truly bizarre episode when in the year 175 he almost died, and it is believed that his wife Faustina, as Marcus was dying and quite probably was mostly unconscious, made a logical decision to protect the interests of her family and ensure a transit of power to their son, Commodus. So, she contacted Ovidius Cassius, who was in control of Egypt and the whole east of the empire. It is believed that she persuaded him to proclaim himself the emperor, since Marcus was more dead than alive, and adopt Commodus, who was still very young. Because of the horrible miscommunication, Cassius started the rebellion. A couple of months later, his supporters figured out that Marcus Aurelius is actually somehow still alive, he is getting better, and he is sending the army to suppress the revolt. Cassius was killed, and his head was sent to Marcus as a way to apologize for the slow internet connection, and Marcus returned to fighting with the German tribes. Marcus Aurelius died in the year 180, and although it was not clear at the moment, the golden age of the empire died with him.