Biography of antoninus

Antoninus Pius

(Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus)

86–161
A ROMAN CHARIOT RACE
Antoninus Pius served in public offices under Hadrian, with good repute, before being unexpectedly elevated to emperor in 138 A.D. Although Antoninus had good relations with Hadrian, he was not the first choice for successor, and it was only upon the death of Aelius Verus, Hadrian's first choice for successor, that he was adopted and promoted to the imperial throne. One condition was that he, himself, adopt Marcus Aurelius and L. Verus, son of Aelius Verus. This he willingly did. Antoninus continued to reign with justice and integrity in the tradition of his predecessors. Unlike Trajan and Hadrian however, he did not embark upon many great building and infrastructure projects, but only completed several important projects that were begun under Hadrian's reign. He also spent much effort renovating existing roads and buildings, rather than planning new ones, and was generous in repairing damage done in provinces throughout the empire by floods, earthquakes, fires and famine. He continued Hadrian's policy of containment rather than expansion, and helped to relieve some of the provinces of their burden of debt and high taxes. Unlike his predecessors, he stayed primarily in Rome, and rarely left it, even to put down revolts and rebellions that were brewing in various parts of the empire. By the end of his reign Antoninus had become familiar with, and sympathetic to the Christian religion, and allowed the new sect to practice their religion openly. This was but a temporary respite however, since persecutions continued under his successor, Marcus Aurelius, who succeeded to the imperial throne on the death of Antoninus Pius in 161 A.D.

Key events during the life of Antoninus Pius:


Year
Event
112
Quaestor.
117
Praetor.
120
Consul.
130
Consular administrator of Italy under Hadrian.
135
Proconsul in Asia.
138

Antoninus Pius

Roman emperor from 138 to 161

Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius (;Latin:[antoːˈniːnʊsˈpiʊs]; 19 September AD 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from AD 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty.

Born into a senatorial family, Antoninus held various offices during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. He married Hadrian's niece Faustina, and Hadrian adopted him as his son and successor shortly before his death. Antoninus acquired the cognomenPius after his accession to the throne, either because he compelled the Senate to deify his adoptive father, or because he had saved senators sentenced to death by Hadrian in his later years. His reign is notable for the peaceful state of the Empire, with no major revolts or military incursions during this time. A successful military campaign in southern Scotland early in his reign resulted in the construction of the Antonine Wall.

Antoninus was an effective administrator, leaving his successors a large surplus in the treasury, expanding free access to drinking water throughout the Empire, encouraging legal conformity, and facilitating the enfranchisement of freed slaves. He died of illness in AD 161 and was succeeded by his adopted sons Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus as co-emperors.

Early life

Childhood and family

Antoninus Pius was born Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Antoninus near Lanuvium (modern-day Lanuvio) in Italy to Titus Aurelius Fulvus, consul in 89, and wife Arria Fadilla. The Aurelii Fulvi were an Aurelian family settled in Nemausus (modern Nîmes). Titus Aurelius Fulvus was the son of a senator of the same name, who, as legate of Legio III Gallica, had supported Vespasian in his bid to the Imperial office and been rewarded with a suffect consulship, plus an ordinary one under Domitian in 85. The Aurelii Fulvi were therefore a relatively new senatorial family from Gallia Narbonensis whose rise to prominen

  • Antoninus pius accomplishments

    • Antoninus Pius

    Antoninus Pius (Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus, 19 September 86 – 7 March 161), or simply Antoninus, was Roman Emperor from 138 to 161.

    Life

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    Marriage and children

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    As a private citizen between 110 and 115, he married Annia Galeria Faustina the Elder. They are believed to have enjoyed a happy marriage.Faustina was a beautiful woman, renowned for her wisdom. She spent her whole life caring for the poor and assisting the most disadvantaged Romans.

    Faustina bore Antoninus four children, two sons and two daughters. They included Faustina the Younger, a future Roman Empress, who married her maternal cousin, future Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

    When Faustina died in 141, Antoninus was greatly bereaved and had a temple built in the Roman Forum in her name, had coins with her portrait struck in her honor, and created a charity called Girls of Faustina, which assisted orphaned girls.

    Favor with Hadrian

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    Having filled with success the offices of quaestor and praetor, he was consul in 120. He was appointed by Hadrian as one of the four proconsuls to administer Italia, then Asia. The Emperor Hadrian adopted him as his son and successor on 25 February 138, after the death of his first adopted son Lucius Aelius. The condition was that Antoninus would in turn adopt Marcus Annius Verus, the son of his wife's brother, and Lucius, son of Aelius Verus, who afterwards became the emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus

    Emperor

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    There are no records of any military related acts in his time. One modern scholar has written "It is almost certain not only that at no time in his life did he ever see, let alone command, a Roman army, but that, throughout the twenty-three years of his reign, he never went within five hundred miles of a legion". His reign was the most peaceful in the entire history of the Pri

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