Antoninus Pius (19 September 86 AD-7 March 161 AD) was the Roman emperor from 138 to 161, succeeding his adoptive father Hadrian and preceding his adoptive sons Lucius Verus and Marcus Aurelius.
Biography[]
Antoninus Pius was born on 19 September 86 AD near Lanuvium, Italy in the Roman Empire, the son of consul Titus Aurelius Fulvus. His family came from Gallia Narbonensis and had risen to senatorial status under the rule of Emperor Vespasian, and Pius' father served as consul in 89 AD. When his father died, Antoninus was raised by Pliny the Younger's friend Gnaeus Arrius Antoninus. Antoninus held the titles of quaestor and praetor before becoming consul in 120 AD, and Emperor Hadrian appointed him one of the four proconsuls of Italia. From 134 to 135, he served as Proconsul of Asia, and on 25 February 138 Emperor Hadrian adopted Antoninus as his heir after his son Lucius Aelius predeceased him. In turn, he adopted Hadrian's nephew Marcus Aurelius and his grandson Lucius Verus as his heirs as a condition for his own adoption.
Emperor of Rome[]
The Roman Empire in 150 AD
Antoninus became known as "Pius" ("dutiful affection") after the death of Hadrian, as he had his adoptive father deified, and he saved several senators on death row from their executions. At no time during his reign did he ever command (or even see) a Roman army, having a peaceful reign. He instead delegated military affairs to his generals, sending Berber general Quintus Lollius Urbicus to Britannia to invade Scotland and also appointing a senator to lead Mauretania against rebels in the region. He attempted to build the Antonine Wall in Scotland to mark a new border for the Roman Empire in Britannia, but this move failed. Nevertheless, life in Rome was peaceful, and he even extended protection to Christians, giving them a break from persecution. He died in 161, and Lucius Verus and Marcus Aurelius succeeded him as co-emperors.