The Wars of Marcus Aurelius

Rome’s philosopher-emperor, his column, and his wars.
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Chapters:
0:00 The Column of Marcus Aurelius
2:08 The philosopher-emperor
4:13 Through Eternity Tours
5:00 The Parthian War
6:27 The Marcomannic Wars
9:17 Remembering Marcus Aurelius

[@QuantumHistorian]

It's nice to see someone talk about Aurelius' Column. Trajan's column is well known, but this one is scarcely talked about at all, for reasons that completely elude me.

[@Redhand1949]

It's a bit off the main tourist path, in a piazza off the Via Del Corso where the buildings surrounding it block a view from afar. You have to know it's there and hunt it down, so to speak. Trajan''s column is in an open area and can be seen from many directions. I think this has something to do with the relative lack of publicity about Marcus's Column.

[@QuantumHistorian]

@@Redhand1949 Yet the disparity in attention even exists in academic works. For example, I've often seen reconstructions of legionary kit based off Trajan's column, but never for Aurelius'.

[@Michael_the_Drunkard]

Column of Marcian, Phocas, Julian and Constantine: AMATEURS!

[@Redhand1949]

@@QuantumHistorian I agree. I almost wonder if it was because of the state of the Roman Empire at the time. There wasn't much to celebrate. The plague devastated the Empire, and the battles with the Marcomani and Quadi were desperate, so it was more a "the horrors of war" tableau than Trajan's triumphalism. At least, that's what this amateur thinks. The one scene that we do frequently see mentioned in the literature is "the so-called 'rain miracle in the territory of the Quadi', in which a rain god, answering a prayer from the emperor, rescues Roman troops by a terrible storm." (Citing Wiki.) A monument to an exhausting victory is the best theory I can come up with.

[@reddonevergreen1]

Why does it have to be a robot voice?! I can’t get through it- great topic though-

[@tribunateSPQR]

Great video! I always feel that Marcus Aurelius gets shortchanged by those that divide his character and look at him either as a philosopher or as an emperor but rarely as the sum of these two aspects of his person

[@Tinil0]

What about seeing him as "The man who forced Commodus on Rome"?

[@ancientflames6679]

It’s weird to think of Commodus, albeit briefly, as a son who was both dutiful and held his father in a regard high enough to immortalize him in such a blatantly virtuous, stoic manner.

[@reeyees50]

Commodus, being assasinated, received a massive propaganda slander by his briefly ruling sucessors

[@tylerbrickman]

The senate stoked his descent into madness.

[@Eazy-ERyder]

Commodus was an absolutely narcissistic TERRORIST of a leader. It's undeniable.

[@rockstar450]

He was blamed for the plague which us what really ended Rome

[@zippyparakeet1074]

​@@rockstar450the Western Roman Empire fell more than 250 years after the death of Commodus. Like, literally, a longer amount of time is between the death of Commodus and the Fall of Rome than the Rise of Augustus and Commodus. Also, let's not even talk about the Eastern Roman Empire which lasted for another 1,000 years after the West.

[@ardetag]

As a Persian, Marcus Aurelius is my second guiding role model in life after Cyrus the Great. Meditations is one of the best books I have ever read in english.

[@lookoutforchris]

Meditations is a fine work, more like a journal. If that’s the best book you’ve read in English then you haven’t even approached the pinnacles of the language. It’s odd to list a translation as the “best book” in some language that it was not even written in 😂

[@alisabouri1585]

@@lookoutforchrisyou must be fun at parties

[@SlimeBlueMS]

🤓

[@MG-ul3mi]

corny ahh@@lookoutforchris

[@spidle2653]

​@@lookoutforchrishe said it was one of the best books he had read in english, not that it was originally written in english or was one of "the pinnacles of the language". Also journals can be books. I appreciate that you can sit on such a high horse but please be patient for us mortals who havent grasped the pinnacles of english or managed to differentiate between books and journals

[@chazzatheninja]

Thanks Dr Ryan for your work. Hope your holiday was refreshing and look forward to YT memberships

[@toldinstone]

My pleasure - thanks for your generous donation!

[@Carlton-B]

After the plague ravaged his armies, M. Aurelius auctioned off some imperial goods to pay for his wars with the Germans. He also conscripted gladiators into the army to flesh out its ranks. It's sad to see the effects acid rain has had on the column.

[@dan_taninecz_geopol]

I wonder if the images of German huts and villages from the column have been analyzed much. Perhaps these representations could give a good idea of what these communities looked like.

[@SonatasysInc]

Really need a full motion picture of his life-- such a tumultuous time for Marcus Aurelius ascension to power.

[@QuantumHistorian]

Nah, some things don't work as well on film as in a book. Plenty of good biographies of him, no need for Hollywood to completely misrepresent ancient warfare and reduce Stoicism to a few pithy lines.

[@imPyroHD]

@@QuantumHistorian I do agree that stoicism is heavily misunderstood nowadays and that the definition of a "stoic" has drastically changed but lets not pretend stoicism is some kind of super complex and deep philosophy, it can be resumed quite efficiently in less than 50 pages

[@QuantumHistorian]

@@imPyroHD Sure. And any film script would reduce it from 50 pages to 3 sentences that each make a "good" caption for a tiktok short.

[@jtgd]

@@QuantumHistorian yeah, but a movie also allows people to learn about him for the first time

[@QuantumHistorian]

@@jtgd True. But sometimes ignorance is better than misinformation. Don't get me wrong, I love historical-themed films, series and fiction books. But I think they're generally much better and less misleading when about fictional people in a real historical setting than when they're about actual historical figures. I mean, they're still inaccurate and full of anachronisms, but still not as misleading. Marcus Aurelius' life simply doesn't fit a nice narrative story, and would trying to make a good mass media film about it would inevitably lead the writers to just making up a bunch of stuff. Take the famous "I, Claudius" BBC mini-series. Fantastic show. But it's shaped a generations worth of views of the personality of the Julio-Claudians to be very far from what comes across in the actual sources we have.

[@billmiller4972]

Marc Aurel would be one of the Great Men of the past I'd like to have for a glass of wine and some talk.

[@F_C...]

One of the best Roman content channel talking about one of the best Roman emperors. How could I not click?

[@geordiejones5618]

Can you do a video on Tiberius Pompeianus? He rarely gets mentioned when talking about Marcus and Commodus but he was the FIRST choice to succeed Marcus because he was a very skilled general and more important, he was his son in law. He rejected the throne a total of three times before his death. For me it's the biggest what if of the Golden Age, because if he'd taken the throne and chosen a worthy successor, it would have extended Rome's imperial highmark. I think his choice to reject the throne can be viewed as the primary cause of the mess that was Commodus and the Severan Dynasty. It makes sense that Marcus chose to uplift his son over risking another round of civil wars between his best generals, especially after avoiding a lengthy revolt with Avidius Cassius. The other two times he turned it down were the right choice bc he was older and Pertinax/Julianus were trying to bolster their credibility during a very tumultuous time.

[@khumbaaba]

Doggedly indeed! The language and focus of this video were just wonderful. I've loved "The Meditations" for most of my life, and that ending gave me a sense of the sheer profundity of the man. I often wonder at the similarities between the Roman stoa and the Buddha's hut these days, and content like this provides very useful insight. The broken visage paired with the antinomy of terror and calm cuts to the core. Thanks Doc!

[@daveharden5929]

Marcus Aurelius is my favorite emperor. Could you please do some more videos on him? You could do a whole another video on his column alone. There's quite a lot of Roman history on his column. But, what a story - it was a good time to be Roman!🎉

[@megenberg8]

astonishing historical subject here presented w/ fine scholarship.

[@mathewwade4619]

This is the only channel where I never miss an update. 😊

[@julesl6910]

I look forward to the intro sound of your videos each weekend. Excellent video, the pacing is magnificent.

[@kevinmcqueenie7420]

If only Marcus had not pushed so hard for his son to take over, instead of adopting someone competent. Clearly his worst decision, would love to know why he went that route.

[@muscledavis5434]

He had originally planned to make one of his generals, Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus, his successor but Pompeianus didn't want to

[@AlbertYonson]

@@muscledavis5434 just wait till you hear about Maximus Decimus Meridius.

[@isaiahd5396]

Some say it's because it would have started a civil war and Marcus had no way of really knowing how bad of a ruler he would be

[@blugaledoh2669]

One thing you must understand that the appointment of an emperor was not arbitrary. Almost all emperor of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty were related in some way. The only reason no biological son succeeded their father is because many of them had no children or sons. If they had, they would have made them their successor.

[@blugaledoh2669]

Furthermore, it is questionable how much Marcus knows about his son’s character as he was often abscene

[@signoguns8501]

The sound design in your intro is fantastic. Very satisfying to listen to

[@Artur_M.]

Great video! However, I've noticed that at 6:44, when explaining the location of Roman provinces of Noricum and Panonia in relation to modern nations, you confused Slovakia with Slovenia. Modern Slovakia is located significantly north of the Roman Limes.

[@watcherofvideoswasteroftim5788]

I was super absorbed into this video from start to finish, thank you!

[@KingNik1994]

Fantastic video, thank you very much!

[@ottomateck3560]

Really great video professor !

[@timbrumaghin]

I’m so glad you made this video. I need to go to Rome now.

[@TarpeianRock]

Excellent !

[@TXMEDRGR]

Thank you so much, I enjoy your narration of an interesting history.

[@rillloudmother]

i really like your title sequence music. the notes of it are based on a jazz lick that is a big meme in the jazz/music youtube community. they call it, 'the licc.'

[@josepinheiro292]

Thank you

[@RickLowrance]

Great video. Love the history lessons.

[@boris8787]

Reminds me of the Pilgrims Road through Chillingbourne.

[@robbabcock_]

Terrific video!

[@wilsontheconqueror8101]

Well done! Marcus is one of my favorite Emperors. I had his book "Meditations" i gave it to my nephew when he was in college. Marcus had experienced some tough times as leader of the Romans. He & his wife lost several children i believe. And wasn't his wife accused of betrayal when his general Declared himself Emperor?

[@solodrow4004]

His wife betrayed him because everyone believed that Aurelius had died in Germania to an Illness. His wife had to make plays before others did, or else her family would be slaughtered

[@ericjane747]

Thank you.

[@RemusKingOfRome]

Another great video.

[@Mark_GL]

You deserve way more subs.

[@phillylifer]

Fascinating. I recall your video essay on Augustus telling writing his own history in stone. I wonder how many of the emporars worked hard to create the sense they were not emporars.

[@chaz32]

great content

[@uncletiggermclaren7592]

OH YUSSS ! A new clip, thank you thank you.

[@n3307v]

Excellent video. Going to Italy in 2014, your videos are helping me plan my itinerary.

[@PlaylistWatching1234]

Let us know how the trip went 10 years ago :)

[@alexfilma16]

@@PlaylistWatching1234*9

[@SempreBionic]

Loved this video, Marcus Aurelius is such an interesting man.

[@westenicho]

Marcus Aurelius must've been a rare human.

[@MarvelSixable]

This channel is a blessing, every video the production gets better

[@bella_testastretta]

my coworker recommended me his book meditations 5 years ago when I flipped out during a meeting at work lol

[@MBP1918]

Nice

[@TheSteelDialga]

Toldinstone, your intro is almost the lick

[@Oldwhiteguy]

Arguably the one of the great minds throughout history.

[@kimblecheat]

More Aurelius 👍

[@s.d.357]

Thank you!

[@Eazy-ERyder]

Marcus Aurelius wasn't just a stoic philosophical genius but a heroic WARRIOR of an emperor as well. And he did such a magnificent job in the face of great peril and tragedy.

[@annakonda6727]

Anything to do with Marcus Aurelius and/or the Stoics, I'm in; doubly so when I see it on your channel(s), of which I am also a fan. Thanks!

[@locker011]

Bro casually dropped a masterpiece (not a sponsor)

[@mwh3227]

Stoic!

[@random22026]

0:35 2:28 3:08 3:21 3:26 3:59-4:00 5:23 5:46-6:06 6:13 8:27 9:12 9:34 I 9:55 10:17

[@ZakkWyldeman]

6:44 Pannonia is largely western Hungary (bordered by the Danube), Romans had never controlled the Carpathian mountain-range

[@gideonmeissner5060]

Idk if anyone has pointed this out before, but the intro theme must be a play on “the lick”

[@ozne_2358]

I guess it's not a coincidence that Marcus Aurelius face seems to be erased in all the slides from the column that are shown.

[@histguy101]

It is a coincidence. The column has weathered poorly because the sculptures are in very deep relief in soft marble.

[@dan_taninecz_geopol]

I've always been struck by how similar representations of Marcus Aurelius look to those of the Buddha. In particular, the eyes of Greco Bactrian examples.

[@robk8463]

The author Frank McLynn has an excellent biography of Marcus Aurelius.

[@Brandazzo22]

The lack of none senatorial sources about Commodus leaves a big ???? in my head. If he's so terrible, why was the length of his rule nearly 90% than all the Western Roman emperors that preceded him. I mean 12-13 years is quite an accomplishment given the political scheming going on back then

[@Eazy-ERyder]

Commodus was a narcissist and a sadistic and almost holicaustic killer who never DESERVED the throne. Being born InTo it, he knew even as a youth that he could get away with virtually ANYTHING.

[@SocraticStateofMind]

To what extent do we think Marcus was personally in command for the Marcomannic Wars, rather than merely present and supervising other generals? What should we make of what historians tell us Marcus's intention to create two new provinces north of the Danube?

[@daveorilian5100]

but with the size of the iconography on columns/arches how could people on the ground actually see it in the needed detail to read it?

[@silurusdominus]

6:45 * roughly modern Austria and Hungary

[@kanyekubrick5391]

The narrator referring to Marcus as “quasi-divine” makes me wonder who was the last emperor to be deified before the empire became Christian

[@histguy101]

Christian emperors continued the tradition. The last to be deified was Anastasius. Justinian put an end to it.

[@Insectoid_]

I saw some ruins in Vienna. Its amazing how much higher the city is now.

[@John_Fugazzi]

arcus Aurelius had to deal with much harded times than he deserved.

[@Post-Truth_Cephalopod]

Man, I've never heard someone speak with this many commas.

[@zaco-km3su]

Marcus Aurelius....depicting himself to be above everything in spite him being ht one that lead to all of it.

[@hamentaschen]

Wasn't this dude the father of Joaquin Phoenix and Russell Crowe in Gladiator?

[@Tonixxy]

The best monument, is that arch of Hadrian

[@tosoledo]

It seem that Stoicism as a lot in common with Zen Buddhism.

[@automaticmattywhack1470]

Great video again! Marcus probably gazed out over those wailing women and thought "take the loss of your home and the deaths of your children stoicly."

[@noriyakigumble3011]

“But not all Romans. For long periods of Roman history, Romans told stories of their society progressing or renewing itself without undermining the conditions of the present. In the second and early third centuries, Romans spoke often about the restoration of buildings, cities, and political stability without blaming anyone for their decline. Buildings needed to be restored when they got old. Cities needed to be rebuilt because natural disasters damaged them. Civic traditions needed to be revitalized because over time, people lost interest in them. Outside invaders needed to be repelled and punished.” “… A successful society repairs things that break or wear out. It defends itself against invasion and responds to military defeats.” “This catastrophe [referring to the Antonine Plague] could have been a moment to focus on Roman decline, to identify culprits, and blame others for the suffering. Romans did so at other points in their history-including during another plague that hit the empire in the 250s. This was not the general response in the 160s and 170s. The emperor Marcus Aurelius reacted to the deaths of so many soldiers by recruiting slaves and gladiators to the legions. He filled the abandoned farmsteads and depopulated cities by inviting migrants from outside the empire to settle within its boundaries. Cities that lost large numbers of aristocrats replaced them by various means, even filling vacancies in their councils with the sons of freed slaves. The empire kept going despite death and terror on a scale no one alive had ever seen." The response to the Antonine Plague by the Roman historian Cassius Dio shows that one can choose not to use ideas of decline even when talking about the most serious catastrophes. Dio lived through the plague of the 160s and 170s, but he also saw the Roman recovery from it." This Roman resilience prompted Dio to call the empire under Marcus Aurelius "a kingdom of Gold" that persevered admirably "amidst extraordinary difficulties."" Rome survived the plague. Its communities rebuilt. Just about any snapshot one could offer of the Roman smallpox epidemic would have looked horruble. But, even under those circumstances, one could use that snapshot to tell a story that affirmed the good qualities of a dynamic society.” -Edward J Watts on the reign of Marcus Aurelius, The Eternal Decline and Fall of Rome: The History of A Dangerous Idea, Introduction

[@g4m3life86]

A previous chapter in history

[@adizmal]

When you briefly defined stoicism at 2:08, I hit pause for a moment and thought about the context of self-governance coming from a man who governed, well, everything. For a man in that position, even if he was "stoic", there has to be some latent ego that most of us can't comprehend. I wonder what he would take from a novel like Moby Dick, or conversely, what he would take out of Walden Pond. An interesting person for sure. Up until the time I typed this comment, I never even considered the possibility that the dude was a hypocrite... maybe too strong a word there... wasn't authentic? I guess what I'm getting at with this stoned rambling comment is that within Marcus Aurelius I find a contradiction, ultimately just like the rest of us to varying extents. Duality of man and all that shit.

[@reeyees50]

Some people think that because of this fact, stoicism as a philosophy is inherently flawed

[@reybladen3068]

Tbf, Marcus was primarily a ruler and only a stoic secondarily.

[@sososo4713]

The entire purpose of his personal journal, which was posthumously published without his permission, was to help Marcus ground himself. Constantly he reminds himself that he is just a man, that he to will return to dust like all others, and that his role as Emperor did not make him any better than others. Simply put, Marcus Aurelius saw being Emperor as a job no better than the job of cart driver. Stoic philosophy is about acting with virtue (courage, wisdom, temperance, and justice). The Stoic’s viewed virtue as being in line with the plan of Nature (God, Zeus, the universe, etc). Stoic’s believed it to be unwise (therefore not virtuous) to dwell on things not within one’s control. However, just because one should not dwell on things outside of their control did not mean that one should never take any action outside of self improvement. To simplify, taking action is within one’s control. The outcome of said action isn’t. Therefore, acting with virtue should always occur without worry or dwelling on the potential outcome (which is outside one’s control).

[@adizmal]

@@sososo4713 Yeah I know what stoicism is, I'm just simply saying that Philosopher Kings as a concept are kind of a surreal ideal, and reality is much closer to them being just people who let their ego out of the cage from time to time. Marcus controlled everything, governed everything - self governance means nothing at that point, it's trivial, almost comical. Like... sure Marcus, you ruled yourself, lol.

[@MarcusAgrippa390]

My absolute favorite Roman Emperor for many reasons... If only Commodus hadn't been such a turd...

[@malcolmcurran6248]

One must wonder if Marcus's detached aloof stoic calm had as much to do with his daily intake of opium as with his belief in the principles of stoicism.

[@tyswenson7542]

Joy is actually virtuous

[@mznxbcv12345]

virtue? I mean, he's the reason behind all the fighting, what virtue?

[@pyropulseIXXI]

I don't believe smallpox did this and that we would know about this now

[@Aeyekay0]

Why does the anglophone world add an H to empire Adrian’s name?

[@eli5740]

Stoike

[@ComedyJakob]

What if small pox had not arrived at that moment, with Rome triumphant over Parthia?

[@TaoDeChing-ls5gz]

“Barbarians”, lol

[@mat3714]

Marcus algorithmicus

[@jileelmcdaniels7331]

I clicked this so fast. Almost as fast as Commodus ruines the empire.

[@mrhumble2937]

Germans were tough somehow never got conquered by the Roman's. But they did gaul.

[@mm-yt8sf]

what a disturbing thumbnail! i thought it was an alien/mummy with two eyes and a puckered tiny mouth, but then seeing it larger i saw it was a partial face of a normal person 🙂

[@4Pssf2w]

I just finished watching the entire thing on 2x speed and wow! It was great!

[@Chuckx97]

"The narcomaniac vs marcomanni"

[@JohnSmith-we1tb]

6:45 you mean Slovenia?

[@Khomann]

Curious as to why you think the Column of Trajan receives so much more attention than the Column of Marcus Aurelius?

[@bossman5370]

its more conveniently placed for tourists

[@QuantumHistorian]

I'm curious too. Is it artistically more refined? Or is Trajan just more popular as the epitome of the Roman Empire? I don't think it's a tourist thing, even academic works that interpret it to learn what legionary equipment was like far more often refer to Trajan's Column than to Aurelius'.

[@OptimusMaximusNero]

"Go to the rising sun, for I am setting.” *-Last words of Marcus Aurelius and the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire*

[@FandersonUfo]

by accident sometimes a good man becomes emperor

[@owfan4134]

I think people are too eager to elevate him to a god-like ideal; remember, the entire point of Roman art and media involving the Emperor was to make propaganda. Artists would try and emphasize the ideal and coopt whatever aspects of the person they could to reinforce the imperial narrative. It's not all that different today. I'm sure he was a noble person who genuinely wanted fulfill his part in the ecology of Roman civilization in accordance with the Dao of being a god-king, but he was just a person. There were probably a lot of actions he regretted in life. It's possible he was really depressed and miserable to be around, but nevertheless always did his duty with complete conviction. When you write lessons to yourself, they're usually goals and imprinted memories you want to retain in the future, using your will as a mast. You should remember that he lived almost 2 millennia ago. We can never really know who he was, therefore, we cannot be certain of what the nature of his character was like. It is safe to assume that, like every other human being to ever live, he was a contradiction and work in progress, and therefore not worthy of faith or idealistic projection.

[@onionwarlord1474]

Heroes aren't real because.... they just can't, OK!!! How would it be safe to assume that he is just like us today when you yourself just stated we can never really know who he was since he lived 2000 years ago? Your argument isn't worthy of faith and you'd probably agree with that since all humans are the same apparently.

[@Mankorra_Gomorrah]

Congratulations? You do realize you are talking about the man whose personality essentially boiled down to “perfection is impossible but that is ok because working toward perfection is the goal in and of itself.”

[@owfan4134]

@@onionwarlord1474 You are right that he set a great example for others to follow. Immediately, and most tellingly, his first instinctual response to being chosen as Emperor was fear and detestation. He knew that his entire world would be constrained to endless power and authority, and recoiled at the idea of slave-hood. Even if he fled from this duty, it would still have been in his nature, as the logos had implicitly intended by means of the growth of his personhood. Like a river being blocked, the delicate state of Roman high politics required a steady flow; whenever the Tiber flooded, it was *always* catastrophic for someone, somewhere. As the reality of what awaited him became more clear, he became animated by a hidden passion, stoked by the wisdom of advisors and instructors and let blossom into a very particular kind of ambition. Yet not all ventures return gold, even fewer in usable or immediately tradable quality. He supposedly developed quite the temper, and there was no shortage of pettiness to provoke it. He became addicted to various things, and felt his direct intention in regards to virtue, led astray. Despite, what we may assume must have been, direct evidence to the contrary, he still believed that his adoring son would become the ruler he hoped he could've been all those years ago. Not dipped in Tyrian purple, but a well-worn and well-travelled toga, nonetheless. It is not purity or cleanliness that marks the virtuous soul, but the tenacity and focus on intention one obtains in pursuit of that goal. Inevitably, it must have occurred to him that even the virtue he had obtained was insufficient and lacking; very few if any of the people around him changed and developed into those who love virtue as he did. The people he lists as being grateful for aren't perfect, but they never needed to be. All they needed was to have been *trying* to figure it out, and whatever help he could be along the way was enough. Such a person, when given god-like power, will surely try and influence those around them, what else could he do? There is no law that will enslave the human heart, nor should such a thing ever be. What good is it to be forced into the mold of wisdom, when one remains stubborn and opposed? Instead, one can only hope to set a good example and make every effort to value justice and wisdom above all else. That has never worked out the way anyone intended at the beginning. Failure was always in the cards, and it is one hell of a fight to get it out of your hands. Was he a good emperor? He certainly maintained the empire's boundaries, and stopped the influx of invaders from the border country. He survived a plague and earthquakes which ravaged his people. An "insurrection" occurred in the eastern legions, and he retained civil cooperation amongst factions shrouded by distrust and suspicion. He found time to write down his positive affirmations and encouraging remarks, written to himself but given to us. A decent emperor, to be sure. His greatest mistake was to break the lineage of emperorship passing by line of adoption. Even this strategy would reveal itself to be unmanageable and ineffective, but at that particular time and place, would have been ideal. This mistake of lineage however does not reflect much on the singular determination he had towards drawing evermore near to the will of the Logos. I imagine he would have held himself in great contempt for the failure of having been blinded by pride and the mistaken zeal he had placed in his capacity to see clearly. This does not indicate failure or worthlessness, only the humbling reality of being human. He was not an angel or a descendant of a god, just a human being. A man should not be judged as equal to divine things simply because he wears them as his garb. To deify him or place that identity on a pedestal is to forget the greatest lesson he had ever taught: We are all peers and colleagues in the business of civilization. We endure with evil and wrong-doing not because of a maxim or instruction, but because it is simply the nature of our reality that we must tolerate the operation of the human mechanism, whether in ourselves or another. We say, therefore, whatever results come forth do so according to their time and place and an individual nature of their own. Each event and occurrence has a story behind it, and is operating according to logic bound by the teleological endpoint of civilization, and indeed all of life: An understanding of our identical natures as living organisms manifesting from the same principled blueprint. What could be more insulting to someones legacy than to disregard their most cherished memory by pasting something extraneous and distracting on top of it? Luckily, he made every effort to remind himself that someone's legacy is almost entirely out of their hands, and may become in popular imagination like the deified Augustus or the loathed Nero, depending on the politics of the situation. I write comments like this because I think he'd appreciate someone keeping it *real*, yo. Thanks for reading.

[@onionwarlord1474]

@@owfan4134 Took you three weeks to drum up a response to three sentences. A week per sentence! Anyways, you are totally wrong on both accounts of the reality and the ideal of rulership. The crushing burden of expectations in leadership positions, like a Caesar, are precisely what push a man to heights and accomplishments that he would not normally be capable of. The reality of Marcus Aurelius' understanding of his own burden of leadership, as you recognize, is precisely how an aspiring ruler fulfills that ideal. Ideals of leadership sober the mind and discipline it to fulfill those big shoes, and Marcus did precisely that despite unbelievable odds. It is precisely because Marcus Aurelius was a wise man that he viewed his position of Imperator as so important and deserving of respect. The dumb and fat emperors of decadence didn't, and thus languished in feasts amidst a crumbling empire. Heroes thus exist for the necessity of them! Take a few months to respond to this one since its longer than 3 sentences.

[@brennanmacdowell284]

More Sarmatians required.

[@dodiswatchbobobo]

Marcus Aurelius, the most disappointed father in the world.

[@OptimusMaximusNero]

*Fun fact:* Speaking of Marcus Aurelius, the Dokuha manga adaptation of his book "Meditations" magnificently depicted the Emperor's life from his youth as a student of Stoicism to his death in Pannonnia. Something really good about that manga was how it reduced the sensationalism and the black legend when it came to depicting Commodus (who is represented here as a normal boy and not as a madman who believes himself to be Hercules reincarnated) and Faustina (who dies of old age and being a faithful wife instead of being killed by her husband for betraying him in order to crown a general)

[@mileslong3904]

There's a Manga about every subject ever.

[@Michael_the_Drunkard]

There is no evidence that Marcus killed his wife.

[@mcbeaty3971]

All copies of it should be burned

[@OptimusMaximusNero]

Imagine how roman citizens felt while watching how a really smart and rrasonable leader like Marcus was inmediately replaced by a Bully Maguire like Commodus. It was a change of power everyone definitely felt...

[@asadabdulqaabir4006]

Oh boy. I think that ancient roman people, as many modern day people, wasn't very impressed but much amused by the fact that such a clown came to power. But they surely regretted about that.

[@kingspore5000]

Kinda shame you didn't mention that Romans managed to kill one of the barbarian kings and catch the 2nd one into captivity. Forgot from wich tribes but It was done. Also Aurelius managed to save 100k Roman citizens in captivity moments before b*rbarians took them to their lands

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

I call BS on the siege tower being struck by lighting.

[@Michael_the_Drunkard]

Because lightning can't strike a siege tower, it seems too ominous right? You just sound like the modern "scholars" who deny everything that goes against their nihilistic historiography.

[@mcbeaty3971]

Phft lightning strike tall object during lightning storm, me no accept this!

[@asadabdulqaabir4006]

A wizard did it.

[@applesandgrapesfordinner4626]

It's cool though

[@darius219]

Jupiter was just helping out his boys in Lorica Segmentata

[@marcionphilologos5367]

The ROMANS believed that conflict and war between peoples was NATURAL, and that victory was GOD GIVEN. This mentality completely conflicted with rising Christianity and after the execution of Justin Martyr followed the persecution of the Catholic church. Marcus Aurelius ended the persecution after he had seen that CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS DID PRAY FOR VICTORY OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. After the Persian empire had made the ZOROASTRIAN RELIGION and the kingdom ARMENIA made the Christian religion STATE-RELIGIONS, Constantine the Great introduced Catholicism as state religion. FROM THIS TIME ON THE ROMAN MILITARY TRANSFORMED FROM DESTOYER OF BARBARIAN PEOPLES TO THE DEFENSE OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE. This mentality would not work in the West and the Western empire was destoyed by invading GOTHS/ VISIGOTHS/ VANDALS. IT IS OBIVIOUS THAT THIS HISTORY AND FATE WAS DIALECTIC, AND FOLLOWED DIVINE PROVIDENCE. SO, ONE HAS TO ADMIT THAT GOD HAS INDEED GIVEN THE ROMANS THEIR VICTORIES AND EMPIRE, AND HAVE TAKEN IT FROM THEM IN THE 4TH CENTURY......