Marcus Aurelius

Philosopher

April 26, 121 Rome, Italy

March 17, 180 Vindobona, Austria

Faustina the Younger

Marcus Aurelius was one of the most revered Roman Emperors who believed in placing his empire before everything else. He served as the last emperor of the 'Pax Romana,' an age of relative stability and peace in the Roman Empire. An eager follower of Stoicism, his philosophical ideals and writings were compiled and preserved in a dairy for over ten years. This compilation is known to the world today as ‘Meditations.’ At a time when battle and malady destabilized the Roman empire, Aurelius made sure that he lived up to the expectation of his people by protecting them from the callousness of the Germans and the Parthians. It is believed that this powerful leader spent his childhood and early years by focusing on music, drama, literature, science, and geometry. In his youth, he studied philosophy with fervor and also developed an interest in law, which eventually earned him the position of the leader of the senate. During his reign as the emperor, he fought the northern nemeses along with his brother Verus and son Commodus and thus began expanding his empire’s borders. 13 centuries after his rule, Italian Renaissance diplomat and writer Niccolò Machiavelli named Marcus as one of Roman Empire's ‘Five Good Emperors.’ Today, he is remembered for his reign as a Roman emperor, writings, and reflective nature.