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Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus Pius (86 – 161 CE) was the first emperor of the Antonine dynasty. He succeeded to Hadrian in 138 CE. During his long reign, the Roman Empire enjoyed a long period of peace.

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Overview

Antoninus Pius, was born in a Senatorial family, which originated in Nemausus, in Gallia. He followed the various steps of the Senatorial cursus honorum under Trajan and Hadrian. Hadrian adopted him as his son and successor in 138 CE. Antoninus Pius, who ruled till 161 CE, was succeeded by the dual principate of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.

Early Career

Antoninus Pius was the son of Titus Aurelius Fulvus, consul in 89 CE and [[Arria Fadilla] ]. Although his family came from Nemausus, he was born near Lanuvium. As his father and paternal grandfather died when he was young, he was raised by Arrius Antoninus, his maternal grandfather, a friend of Pliny the Younger. His cursus honorum included the offices of quaestor and praetor. He was appointed consul in 120 CE. Hadrian appointed him as one of the four proconsuls, who administered Italy. Afterwards he was appointed governor of the province of Asia with proconsular rank. After the death of Lucius Aelius, heir to the Imperial throne, Hadrian adopted him in 138 CE, on the condition that he would adopt Marcus Annius Verus, the son of his wife's brother, and Lucius, son of Aelius Verus. Between 110 and 115 CE, Antoninus married Annia Galeria Faustina the Elder, daughter of the consul Marcus Annius Verus and Rupilia Faustina. The couple had four children, two sons, Marcus Aurelius Fulvius Antoninus and Marcus Galerius Aurelius Antoninus, who both died before 138 CE, and two daughters, Aurelia Fadilla, married to married Aelius Lamia Silvanus, who died in 135 CE, and Annia Galeria Faustina Minor or Faustina the Younger, who was married to Marcus Aurelius.

Imperial Succession

The Imperial succession went smoothly and the Senate hailed the successor of Hadrian as Imperator Caesar Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pontifex Maximus. However, once Emperor, Antoninus had to persuade the Senate to deify his predecessor Hadrian, who more than once clashed with the Senate and executed some of its members. Antoninus was successful, and because of that he was granted the title of Pius. All along his reign, he maintained cordial relationship with the Senate. His reign was quite peaceful. Antoninus Pius never left Italy, and his rule in the province was felt through the authority exerted by his governors, or through his imperial letters. The main military activity during the reign of Antoninus Pius was in Britain the extension of the frontier to Scotland, as consequence of troubles with the Brigantes, and the building of the Antonine Wall, north to Hadrian’s Wall, which spaced from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Clyde. In 139 CE, Antoninus Pius appointed as governor Quintus Lollius Urbicus. In Germania Superior, the governor Caius Popillius Carus Pedo fortified anew the area of the Agri Decumates. It seems that there were also disturbances in Mauretania and Judaea. In 141 CE, his wife Faustina the elder died. After she was deified, in her honor, Antoninus Pius erected a Temple in the Forum. He created as well, a charitable trust, called Puellae Faustinianae, which assisted orphaned girls. In 148 CE, Antoninus Pius celebrated the nine-hundredth anniversary of the foundation of Rome, offering lavish games to the population. However during his rein, Antoninus Pius had to debase the denarius to face the various expenses. His rule, characterized by deep concerns over humanity and equality, was much important for the development of Roman law. Antoninus Pius was assisted by L. Fulvius Aburnius Valens, an author of legal treatises; L. Volusius Maecianus, who was chosen to conduct the legal studies of Marcus Aurelius, and was the author of a large work on Fidei Commissa, and L. Ulpius Marcellus. During Antoninus Pius’s reign the Institutes of Gaius, an elementary legal manual for beginners saw the light. Antoninus legal rules included measures which eased the enfranchisement of slaves. However most of the legislative acts were passed in criminal law. Antoninus Pius introduced the principle that accused persons are not to be treated as guilty before trial. Besides, he legislated that the trial was to be held, and the punishment inflicted, in the place where the crime had been committed. Last but not least, he mitigated the use of torture in examining slaves by certain limitations. Antoninus Pius died in 161 CE at Lorium, near Rome. His ashes were buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian. The temple he had built in the Forum in 141 CE to his wife was rededicated to the deified Faustina and the deified Antoninus. Antoninus Pius was succeeded by Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.

Antoninus Pius and the Jews

Although the beginning of the reign of Antoninus Pius was probably characterized by troubles in Judaea, possibly the end of the Bar Kochba War, the Roman emperor assumed a conciliatory and peaceful attitude towards Judaism and Jews. Thus one of his first enactments was the revocation of the ban on the Circumcision enacted by his predecessor, Hadrian. Moreover Antoninus Pius probably restored most of the previous Jewish privileges concerning with the legal status of the Jewish communities. However Jews had still to pay the Fiscus Judaicus, proselytism was forbidden, and slaves owned by Jews could not be circumcised.

Antoninus Pius in ancient sources

• Antoninus Pius (sources) -- survey of ancient sources

Antoninus Pius in literature & the arts

• Antoninus Pius (arts) -- survey of fictional works

Antoninus Pius in scholarship

• Antoninus Pius (research) -- survey of scholarly works

Related categories

• Roman Emperors

External links

• Pius Wikipedia