page_title: Faustina the Younger
section_title: Reign as empress
hierarchical_section_title: Faustina the Younger / Life / Reign as empress
caption_attribution_description: English: Faustina Junior. Augusta, AD 147-175. AV Aureus (20mm, 7.31 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck under Antoninus Pius, circa AD 147-152. FAVSTINA AVG ANTONINI AVG PII FIL, draped bust right / CONCOR-DIA, Concordia standing facing, head left, holding hem of skirt in right hand, cornucopia in left. RIC III 500a (Pius) var. (obv. legend); Calicó 2043 var. (Concordia looking right); BMCRE 1078 note (Pius); Biaggi 918 var. (obv. legend). Choice EF. Well centered, and struck in high relief. Fine style.
context_page_description: Annia Galeria Faustina Minor, Faustina Minor or Faustina the Younger was a daughter of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius and Roman Empress Faustina the Elder. She was a Roman Empress and wife to her maternal cousin Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. She was held in high esteem by soldiers and her own husband and was given divine honours after her death.
context_section_description: When Antoninus died on 7 March 161, Marcus and Lucius Verus ascended to the throne and became co-rulers. Faustina then became empress.
  Not much has survived from the Roman sources regarding Faustina's life, but what is available does not give a good report. Cassius Dio and the unreliable Historia Augusta accuse Faustina of ordering deaths by poison and execution; she has also been accused of instigating the revolt of Avidius Cassius against her husband. The Historia Augusta mentions adultery with sailors, gladiators, and men of rank; however, Faustina and Aurelius seem to have been very close and mutually devoted.
  Faustina accompanied her husband on various military campaigns and enjoyed the love and reverence of Roman soldiers. Aurelius gave her the title of Mater Castrorum or ‘Mother of the Camp’. She attempted to make her home out of an army camp. Between 170–175, she was in the north, and in 175, she accompanied Aurelius to the east.
caption: Aureus of Antoninus Pius, struck at the Rome mint, dated c. 147–152. Obv: Bust of Faustina the Younger. Rev: Goddess Concordia standing.
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