Antoninus Pius was Emperor of Rome from 138 CE to 161 CE.
However, despite this long reign (second only to that of Augustus out of all
the emperors) he is one of the lesser-known Roman emperors. This is due to the
fact that during those 23 years hardly anything happened!
His early years
Antoninus was born into an aristocratic family on 19th
September 86 CE at Lanuvium, which is about 20 miles from Rome. He rose
smoothly up the ranks of the Roman governmental system and included a spell as
governor of Asia from 130 to 135.
He made a very good marriage in around the year 112 (the
exact date is unknown). This was to Annia Galeria Faustina, who was the aunt of
Marcus Annius Verus, a young man who was highly favoured by Emperor Hadrian.
Hadrian had no natural sons of his own, and, when his
initial choice of successor died unexpectedly, he adopted Antoninus as next in
line.
Various conditions were attached to the adoption, including
that Antoninus must agree to adopt, in his turn, the young son and the intended
son-in-law (i.e. Marcus Annius Verus) of Hadrian’s original choice as
successor. Given that Antoninus was
already in his 50s at the time and with no natural sons of his own, Hadrian
clearly wished to establish the succession for the foreseeable future.
Antoninus ‘s piety
The title Pius (meaning “dutiful”) was added to Antoninus’s
name in recognition of his loyalty to Hadrian’s wishes. He also fought to clear
Hadrian’s name – he had made many enemies among the Senators who promptly
declared him “hated by all” at his death – by persuading them to lift this
“damnatio memoriae” and allow Hadrian to be deified.
An exemplary emperor
As emperor, Antoninus went out of his way not to cause
offence with people in all stations of life, and thus made few enemies during
his long reign. He was personally generous and ready to give immediate aid when
disaster struck, such as when 1,000 spectators were killed and many more
injured when a grandstand collapsed at the Circus Maximus.
He chose his governors and administrators wisely and
instructed them not to levy excessive taxes on the people under their
control. A general feeling of well-being
pervaded the Empire as a result, marking what was probably the high point of
the Empire in terms of overall prosperity.
There were no major wars, no scandals, and only one example
of an execution of a would-be challenger to Antoninus’s authority.
Unlike his predecessor, Antoninus saw no need to tour the
Empire in order to protect its borders, and did not set foot anywhere beyond
the Italian peninsula during the whole of his reign.
The Antonine Wall
This is the poor relation of Hadrian’s Wall, being a
construction mainly of turf blocks laid between the estuaries of the Firth and
Clyde in Scotland. It was therefore much shorter (39 miles as opposed to 73
miles) and less impressive than Hadrian’s Wall, and it was much less effective.
The wall was built on Antoninus’s orders on the advice of
Quintus Lollius Urbicus, the governor of Roman Britain who harboured ambitions
to extend Roman influence into Scotland.
The wall took twelve years to build and was intended to mark
the ultimate limit of the Empire 100 miles further north than Hadrian was
prepared to go. However, this proved to be a short-lived venture and the Wall
was finally abandoned in 163 only eight years after its completion.
The Wall only just outlived the Emperor who built it.
Antoninus died in 161 at the age of 74. His loyalty to Hadrian’s wishes
outlived him in that his two adopted sons ruled jointly, just as Hadrian had
intended.
© John Welford
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