Marcus Aurelius was born in Rome in 121 AD. and reigned from 161 to 180 AD. in a period in which the barbarian invasions intensified and the problems related to the security of the empire's borders became accentuated.
The emperor Hadrian, who had understood his talents, had him adopted as successor by Antoninus Pius (Marcus Aurelius married his daughter Faustina), together with Lucius Verus (son of Lucius Aelius Caesar).
Upon the death of Antoninus Pius,
Marcus Aurelius associated Lucius Verus with the empire and effectively created a dyarchy, a...