Marcus Aurelius: A BiographyMarcus Aurelius, the philosopher-emperor who ruled the Roman Empire between AD 161 and 180, is one of the best recorded individuals from antiquity. Even his face became more than usually familiar: the imperial coinage displayed his portrait for over 40 years, from the clean-shaven young heir of Antonius to the war-weary, heavily bearded ruler who died at his post in his late fifties. His correspondence with his tutor Fronto, and even more the private notebook he kept for his last ten years, the Meditations, provides a unique series of vivid and revealing glimpses into the character and peoccupations of this emporer who spent many years in terrible wars against northern tribes. In this accessible and scholarly study, Professor Birley paints a portrait of an emporer who was human and just - an embodiment of the pagan virtues of Rome. |
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Contents
Family and Early Years | |
Aurelius Caesar | |
The Education of an Heir Apparent | |
The Stoic Prince | |
The First Years as Emperor | |
Triumph and Crisis | |
The Last Years | |
Marcus to Himself | |
Epilogue | |
Sources | |
The Antonine Dynasty | |
The Marcomannic Wars | |
Christianity | |
Abbreviations and Bibliography | |
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Common terms and phrases
A.R. Birley adoption Aelius Caesar Alföldy Annia Annius Verus Antoninus Pius Apollonius Aristides army Astarita Augustan History Augustus Avidius Cassius barbarian biographer Britain Carnuntum Cassius Dio Catilius Ceionius century Champlin Christians Claudius Commodus consul consulship Dacia Danube daughter death Domitia Domitia Lucilla emperor empire Eusebius fact Fasti father Faustina favour friends frontier Fronto Galen governor Greek Hadrian Haines honour imperial Italy Julianus Julius Justin Konsulat und Senatorenstand Laelianus later legions letter Libo Lucilla Marc Marcomanni Marcus and Lucius Marcus Aurelius marriage married master Maximianus Maximus Meditations military Moesia Nero Pannonia Parthian perhaps Pertinax Pflaum philosophy Philostratus PIR2 plague Pliny Pompeianus praetorian prefect Priscus probably proconsul provinces Quadi Quadratus recorded reign Roman Rome Rome’s Rusticus senate Senatorenstand 1977 Servianus Sestertius Severus slaves speech Stoic Syme Syria T.D. Barnes Tacitus Trajan Urbicus Victorinus wife wrote
Bibliographic information
| Title | Marcus Aurelius: A Biography Roman Imperial Biographies |
| Author | Anthony R Birley |
| Edition | 2, revised |
| Publisher | Routledge, 2012 |
| ISBN | 1134695691, 9781134695690 |
| Length | 336 pages |
| Subjects | › › History / Ancient / General |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |