Rome In the second century AD was at the heart of a colossal empire stretching from southern Britain to Mesopotamia. This period also witnessed the rule of one of the most iconic figures not only in the history of the infamous Roman Empire but in all of Riccordi's history itself. This is the story of Marcus Aurelius. Marcus Anius Verus, who would later become known as Marcus Aurelius, was born in AD 121 into a distinguished Roman family. His father died shortly after his birth, leaving his mother, Domitia Lucilia, a woman of considerable wealth to raise Marcus along with his grandfather, a notable Roman politician who adopted Marcus as a young boy. In his teens, Marcus was adopted by his uncle, the Roman Emperor Antonius Pius, who reigned from AD 138 to 161, with his name changing to Marcus Aurelius Verus. In addition to Marcus, Pius adopted another son, who became known as Lucius Verus. In AD 145, Marcus married his cousin and Pius's daughter, Ania Galeria Fustina Minor, with this marriage producing 14 children, although seven died in early childhood. In AD 161, Emperor Pius died. In AD 161, Emperor Pius died. This was sudden the first reign of Coemperers in the history of the Roman Empire, as Pius's two adopted sons, Marcus Andelusius, succeeded him. One of the first major challenges facing the new emperors was a threat from the east. In AD 161, under King Valagesis IV, armies of the Parthian Empire triumphed over a Roman garrison in Comagene and began to move into Syria itself. Marcus responded by dispatching a massive army to Syria, which was led by a number of high ranking generals in addition to Lucius. This started the Roman Parthian War, which lasted five years, and resulted in the Roman army managing to push the Parthian forces back into modern day Iran. After stabilizing the region, the Roman forces began to withdraw back to Rome in AD 166. Unknowingly, however, the Roman legions may have been the source of bringing back a devastating yet invisible challenge to the Roman Empire, as it is likely that the source of the Antonine plague came from the Roman soldiers contracting the virus during their campaigns in the east. One line of argument suggests that as Roman soldiers returned to their posts across the empire, the disease spread rapidly through the population. The precise death rate from the Antonine plague is largely unknown. Estimates range widely, with some scholars arguing that approximately 10% or 6 to 7 million people of the empire's population contracted the disease, with perhaps around 1 million people dying from it. Although the definitive nature of the disease is unknown, it has been speculated that it may have been smallpox. The medicine of the day had no cure for the mysterious sickness, with many powerful and wealthy men in Rome amongst the victims. Some even suggest that the Coemperer Lucius was a victim of the plague, although others argue that he died from a stroke. Regardless of the cause of death, Lucius dying in AD 169 made Marcus the sole Emperor of Rome. In addition to facing the challenge of the devastating plague, Marcus was also confronted with a persistent and growing threat from the north of his empire, the tribes north of the Great Danube River. Based with these threats, Marcus looked to the gods for help. In order to gain assistance in dealing with the plague and the tribes north of the Danube, Marcus visited a Greek mystic and oracle called Alexander. The mystic had a snake called Klaikon, who is saved to have given advice to those who posed questions to it. Part of the advice given to Marcus was to sacrifice two lions as an offering to the river gods that would stop the tribes north of the Danube from crossing the river and heading south towards Rome. Marcus, Julia obliged throwing two lions into the Danube. This attempted sacrifice failed miserably, however, as the lions simply swam the river, and by AD 170, the tribes had advanced as far as Aquilia in northern Italy, with Marcus himself coming under threat on one occasion. The wars with the various groups north of the Danube, known as the Macromannic Wars, became a major feature of Marcus's reign. The Romans did manage to largely prevail in the Macromannic Wars, with them managing to conclude a series of agreements that created various client states by the end of Marcus's reign. Although this was achieved only after great brutality was inflicted on the people of the Danube. The column of Marcus Aurelius, which still stands in Rome today, depicts and celebrates the brutal reality of the war overseen by the Emperor. Bringing into question the one-dimensional notion of Marcus being a cam rational, almost gentle philosopher ruler. Throughout his life there is evidence to suggest that Marcus had a running battle on another more personal front, in the form of an opium addiction. It was common in ancient times for rulers to take certain compounds as preventive panaceas in the hope that these substances would protect them against being poisoned by rivals or envious relatives. Usually these took the form of a Therayaka, a concoction of various substances that was often drunk. When Marcus ruled Rome, he took a Therayaka on a daily basis, with his formula usually including poppy juice. Gallen, who served as Marcus's physician for a period, described how Marcus was unable to sleep at night if poppy juice was not added to his Therayaka. Gallen also noted that there was at least one attempt where Marcus tried to stop using opium on a daily basis, yet this failed. On 17 March 180 AD, Marcus died, potentially often infectious disease. This brought to an end the reign of the last ruler in the period of the so-called Five Good Emperors of Rome, which started with Nerva, who ruled from 96 to 98 AD. Marcus was succeeded by his son, Commodus. The first time an emperor of Rome had passed on his powers to a biological son for over seven decades, with Commodus being the first teenage Roman ruler since Nero. It appears as though Marcus did not pretend to engage in a search for the most qualified person to succeed him. A move that perhaps was detrimental to the prosperity and stability of the Roman Empire, as history does not look kindly in the reign of Commodus. One of the main features of Marcus's legacy pertains to him being one of the leading figures in the branch of philosophy known as Stoicism. His book Meditations, which was originally written in Greek when on campaign in the Danube region, and which was never intended for publication, is still widely read today as a major work in the Stoic tradition. Stoicism is thought to have been founded in Athens by Zeno of Sityam, a few centuries prior to Marcus's time, with Zeno teaching at his school of Colonad or Stoa. Undoubtedly, Stoicism is a complex philosophical branch with a multitude of streams. It can in part, however, be viewed as a philosophy that emphasizes virtue, rationality, control over one's emotions, and living in accordance with nature. you