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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}} | ||
{{Infobox royalty | {{Infobox royalty | ||
| birth_name = Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Antoninus<ref>{{cite book|last=Salomies|first=O|year=2014|contribution=Adoptive and Polyonymous Nomenclature in the Roman Empire – Some Addenda|editor1-last=Caldelli|editor1-first=M. L.|editor2-last=Gregori|editor2-first=G. L.|title=Epigrafia e ordine senatorio, 30 anni dopo|publisher=Edizioni Quasar|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/9860972|isbn=9788871405674|pages=492–493}}</ref> | | birth_name = Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Antoninus<ref>{{cite book|last=Salomies|first=O|year=2014|contribution=Adoptive and Polyonymous Nomenclature in the Roman Empire – Some Addenda|editor1-last=Caldelli|editor1-first=M. L.|editor2-last=Gregori|editor2-first=G. L.|title=Epigrafia e ordine senatorio, 30 anni dopo|publisher=Edizioni Quasar|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/9860972|isbn=9788871405674|pages=492–493|archive-date=4 January 2023|access-date=15 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104193018/https://www.academia.edu/9860972|url-status=live}}</ref> | ||
| image = Antoninus Pius | | image = Antoninus Pius bust S2436 ancient agora museum Athens.jpg | ||
| caption = Bust at the [[Ancient Agora Museum]] | |||
| caption = Bust | |||
| succession = [[Roman emperor]] | | succession = [[Roman emperor]] | ||
| reign = 11 July 138 – 7 March 161 | | reign = 11 July 138 – 7 March 161 | ||
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{{Nerva–Antonine dynasty}} | {{Nerva–Antonine dynasty}} | ||
'''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|æ|n|t|ə|ˈ|n|aɪ|n|ə|s|_|ˈ|p|aɪ|ə|s}};<ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Antoninus}} {{Cite Merriam-Webster|Pius}}</ref> {{IPA|la| | '''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|æ|n|t|ə|ˈ|n|aɪ|n|ə|s|_|ˈ|p|aɪ|ə|s}};<ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Antoninus}} {{Cite Merriam-Webster|Pius}}</ref> {{IPA|la|antoːˈniːnus ˈpius|lang}}; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was [[Roman emperor]] from AD 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the [[Five Good Emperors]] from the [[Nerva–Antonine dynasty]].{{sfn|Bowman|2000|p=150}} | ||
Born into a senatorial family, Antoninus held various offices during the reign of Emperor [[Hadrian]]. He married Hadrian's niece [[Faustina the Elder|Faustina]], and Hadrian adopted him as his son and successor shortly before his death. Antoninus acquired the [[cognomen]] [[Pius]] after his accession to the throne, either because he compelled the [[Roman Senate|Senate]] to [[Roman imperial cult|deify]] his adoptive father,{{sfn|Birley|2000|p=54; Dio, 70:1:2}} or because he had saved senators sentenced to death by Hadrian in his later years.{{sfn|Birley|2000|p=55; citing the ''[[Historia Augusta]]'', ''Life of Hadrian'' 24.4}} His reign is notable for the peaceful state of the Empire, with no major revolts or military incursions during this time. A successful military campaign in [[Geography of Scotland|southern Scotland]] early in his reign resulted in the construction of the [[Antonine Wall]]. | Born into a senatorial family, Antoninus held various offices during the reign of Emperor [[Hadrian]]. He married Hadrian's niece [[Faustina the Elder|Faustina]], and Hadrian adopted him as his son and successor shortly before his death. Antoninus acquired the [[cognomen]] [[Pius]] after his accession to the throne, either because he compelled the [[Roman Senate|Senate]] to [[Roman imperial cult|deify]] his adoptive father,{{sfn|Birley|2000|p=54; Dio, 70:1:2}} or because he had saved senators sentenced to death by Hadrian in his later years.{{sfn|Birley|2000|p=55; citing the ''[[Historia Augusta]]'', ''Life of Hadrian'' 24.4}} His reign is notable for the peaceful state of the Empire, with no major revolts or military incursions during this time. A successful military campaign in [[Geography of Scotland|southern Scotland]] early in his reign resulted in the construction of the [[Antonine Wall]]. | ||
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==Early life== | ==Early life== | ||
===Childhood and family=== | ===Childhood and family=== | ||
Antoninus Pius was born Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Antoninus in 86, near [[Lanuvium]] (modern-day [[Lanuvio]]) in [[Roman Italy|Italy]] to [[Titus Aurelius Fulvus (father of Antoninus Pius)|Titus Aurelius Fulvus]], [[Roman consul|consul]] in 89, and wife [[Arria Fadilla]].<ref>Kienast 1990: 134.</ref>{{sfn|Bowman|2000|p=150}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Harvey|first=Paul B.|title=Religion in republican Italy|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2006|page=134}}</ref> The Aurelii Fulvi were an [[Aurelia (gens)|Aurelian]] family settled in [[Nemausus]] (modern [[Nîmes]]).{{sfn|Bury|1893|p=523}} Titus Aurelius Fulvus was the son of a senator of the same name, who, as legate of [[Legio III Gallica]], had supported [[Vespasian]] in his bid to the Imperial office and been rewarded with a suffect consulship, plus an ordinary one under [[Domitian]] in 85. The Aurelii Fulvi were therefore a relatively new senatorial family from [[Gallia Narbonensis]] whose rise to prominence was supported by the [[Flavian dynasty|Flavians]].<ref>{{cite thesis|first=Hugo Thomas Dupuis|last=Whitfield|title=The rise of Nemausus from Augustus to Antoninus Pius: a prosopographical study of Nemausian senators and equestrians|type=MA|publisher=Queen's University|location=Ontario|year=2012|pages=49–57|url=http://qspace.library.queensu.ca/bitstream/1974/7181/1/Whitfield_Hugo_TD_201204_MA.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://qspace.library.queensu.ca/bitstream/1974/7181/1/Whitfield_Hugo_TD_201204_MA.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|access-date=24 January 2016}}</ref> The link between Antoninus's family and their home province explains the increasing importance of the post of [[proconsul]] of Gallia Narbonensis during the late second century.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Michel|last=Gayraud|title=Le proconsulat de Narbonnaise sous le Haut-Empire|journal=Revue des Études Anciennes|volume=72|year=1970|number=3–4|pages=344–363|doi=10.3406/rea.1970.3874|url=http://www.persee.fr/doc/rea_0035-2004_1970_num_72_3_3874|access-date=24 January 2016}}</ref> | Antoninus Pius was born Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Antoninus in 86, near [[Lanuvium]] (modern-day [[Lanuvio]]) in [[Roman Italy|Italy]] to [[Titus Aurelius Fulvus (father of Antoninus Pius)|Titus Aurelius Fulvus]], [[Roman consul|consul]] in 89, and wife [[Arria Fadilla]].<ref>Kienast 1990: 134.</ref>{{sfn|Bowman|2000|p=150}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Harvey|first=Paul B.|title=Religion in republican Italy|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2006|page=134}}</ref> The Aurelii Fulvi were an [[Aurelia (gens)|Aurelian]] family settled in [[Nemausus]] (modern [[Nîmes]]).{{sfn|Bury|1893|p=523}} Titus Aurelius Fulvus was the son of a senator of the same name, who, as legate of [[Legio III Gallica]], had supported [[Vespasian]] in his bid to the Imperial office and been rewarded with a suffect consulship, plus an ordinary one under [[Domitian]] in 85. The Aurelii Fulvi were therefore a relatively new senatorial family from [[Gallia Narbonensis]] whose rise to prominence was supported by the [[Flavian dynasty|Flavians]].<ref>{{cite thesis|first=Hugo Thomas Dupuis|last=Whitfield|title=The rise of Nemausus from Augustus to Antoninus Pius: a prosopographical study of Nemausian senators and equestrians|type=MA|publisher=Queen's University|location=Ontario|year=2012|pages=49–57|url=http://qspace.library.queensu.ca/bitstream/1974/7181/1/Whitfield_Hugo_TD_201204_MA.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://qspace.library.queensu.ca/bitstream/1974/7181/1/Whitfield_Hugo_TD_201204_MA.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|access-date=24 January 2016}}</ref> The link between Antoninus's family and their home province explains the increasing importance of the post of [[proconsul]] of Gallia Narbonensis during the late second century.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Michel|last=Gayraud|title=Le proconsulat de Narbonnaise sous le Haut-Empire|journal=Revue des Études Anciennes|volume=72|year=1970|number=3–4|pages=344–363|doi=10.3406/rea.1970.3874|url=http://www.persee.fr/doc/rea_0035-2004_1970_num_72_3_3874|access-date=24 January 2016|archive-date=14 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614225531/https://www.persee.fr/doc/rea_0035-2004_1970_num_72_3_3874|url-status=live}}</ref> | ||
Antoninus's father had no other children and died shortly after his 89 ordinary consulship. Antoninus was raised by his maternal grandfather [[Gnaeus Arrius Antoninus]],{{sfn|Bowman|2000|p=150}} reputed by contemporaries to be a man of integrity and culture and a friend of [[Pliny the Younger]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} The Arrii Antonini were an older senatorial family from Italy, very influential during [[Nerva]]'s reign. Arria Fadilla, Antoninus's mother, married afterwards [[Publius Julius Lupus]], suffect consul in 98; from that marriage came two daughters, Arria Lupula and Julia Fadilla.{{sfn|Birley|2000|p=242; ''Historia Augusta'', Antoninus Pius 1:6}} | Antoninus's father had no other children and died shortly after his 89 ordinary consulship. Antoninus was raised by his maternal grandfather [[Gnaeus Arrius Antoninus]],{{sfn|Bowman|2000|p=150}} reputed by contemporaries to be a man of integrity and culture and a friend of [[Pliny the Younger]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} The Arrii Antonini were an older senatorial family from Italy, very influential during [[Nerva]]'s reign. Arria Fadilla, Antoninus's mother, married afterwards [[Publius Julius Lupus]], suffect consul in 98; from that marriage came two daughters, Arria Lupula and Julia Fadilla.{{sfn|Birley|2000|p=242; ''Historia Augusta'', Antoninus Pius 1:6}} | ||
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===Marriage and children=== | ===Marriage and children=== | ||
[[File:Portrait of Faustina the Elder - Getty Museum (70.AA.113).jpg|thumb|Statue of Faustina the Elder in the [[Getty Villa]]]] | [[File:Portrait of Faustina the Elder - Getty Museum (70.AA.113).jpg|thumb|Statue of Faustina the Elder in the [[Getty Villa]]]] | ||
Some time between 110 and 115, Antoninus married Annia Galeria [[Faustina the Elder]].<ref name="Weigel, Antoninus Pius">Weigel, ''Antoninus Pius''</ref> They are believed to have enjoyed a happy marriage. Faustina was the daughter of consul [[Marcus Annius Verus (II)]]{{sfn|Bowman|2000|p=150}} and [[Rupilia Faustina]] (often thought to be a step-sister to the Empress [[Vibia Sabina]]<ref>[http://www.strachan.dk/family/rupilius.htm Rupilius]. Strachan stemma.</ref> or more likely a granddaughter of the emperor [[Vitellius]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Continuité gentilice et continuité familiale dans les familles sénatoriales romaines à l'époque impériale: mythe et réalité |last=Settipani |first=Christian |publisher=Unit for Prosopographical Research, Linacre College, University of Oxford |year=2000 |isbn=9781900934022 |pages=278–279, 297–300 |language=it |edition=illustrated |series=Prosopographica et genealogica |volume=2}}</ref>) Faustina was a beautiful woman, and despite rumours about her character, it is clear that Antoninus cared for her deeply.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Vagi |first1=David L. |title=Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, C. 82 B.C. – A.D. 480: History |date=2000 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781579583163 |page=240 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=raE7qzBM-OIC&pg=PA240}}</ref> | Some time between 110 and 115, Antoninus married Annia Galeria [[Faustina the Elder]].<ref name="Weigel, Antoninus Pius">Weigel, ''Antoninus Pius''</ref> They are believed to have enjoyed a happy marriage. Faustina was the daughter of consul [[Marcus Annius Verus (II)]]{{sfn|Bowman|2000|p=150}} and [[Rupilia Faustina]] (often thought to be a step-sister to the Empress [[Vibia Sabina]]<ref>[http://www.strachan.dk/family/rupilius.htm Rupilius] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214130401/http://www.strachan.dk/family/rupilius.htm |date=14 December 2022 }}. Strachan stemma.</ref> or more likely a granddaughter of the emperor [[Vitellius]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Continuité gentilice et continuité familiale dans les familles sénatoriales romaines à l'époque impériale: mythe et réalité |last=Settipani |first=Christian |publisher=Unit for Prosopographical Research, Linacre College, University of Oxford |year=2000 |isbn=9781900934022 |pages=278–279, 297–300 |language=it |edition=illustrated |series=Prosopographica et genealogica |volume=2}}</ref>) Faustina was a beautiful woman, and despite rumours about her character, it is clear that Antoninus cared for her deeply.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Vagi |first1=David L. |title=Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, C. 82 B.C. – A.D. 480: History |date=2000 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781579583163 |page=240 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=raE7qzBM-OIC&pg=PA240}}</ref> | ||
Faustina bore Antoninus four children, two sons and two daughters.{{sfn|Birley|2000|p=34; ''Historia Augusta'', Antoninus Pius 1:7}} They were: | Faustina bore Antoninus four children, two sons and two daughters.{{sfn|Birley|2000|p=34; ''Historia Augusta'', Antoninus Pius 1:7}} They were: | ||
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=== Economy and administration === | === Economy and administration === | ||
[[File:Aureus d'Antonin le Pieux.jpg|thumb|An [[aureus]] of Antoninus Pius, 145 AD. Inscription: ANTONINVS {{abbr|AVG|AUGUSTUS}} PIVS {{abbr|PP|PATER | [[File:Aureus d'Antonin le Pieux.jpg|thumb|An [[aureus]] of Antoninus Pius, 145 AD. Inscription: ANTONINVS {{abbr|AVG|AUGUSTUS}} PIVS {{abbr|PP|PATER PATRIAE}} / {{abbr|TR|TRIBUNICIA}} {{abbr|POT|POTESTAS}} {{abbr|COS|CONSUL}} IIII]] | ||
Antoninus was regarded as a skilled administrator and builder. Despite an extensive building | Antoninus was regarded as a skilled administrator and builder. Despite an extensive building directive—under Antoninus' reign many bridges, roads and aqueducts have been continued or repaired—the emperor still managed to leave behind a sizable public treasury of around 2.7 billion [[Sestertius|sesterces]]. Rome would not witness another Emperor leaving his successor with a surplus for a long time, but the treasury was depleted almost immediately after Antoninus's reign due to the [[Antonine Plague]] brought back by soldiers after the Parthian victory.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Allen|first1=Timothy F. H.|last2=Hoekstra|first2=Thomas W.|last3=Tainter|first3=Joseph A.|title=Supply-Side Sustainability|date=2012|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231504072|pages=105–106|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lQjb04tfBHsC&pg=PA106}}</ref> | ||
The Emperor also famously suspended the collection of taxes from multiple cities affected by natural disasters, such as when fires struck Rome and Narbona, and earthquakes affected [[Rhodes]] and the [[Province of Asia]]. He offered hefty financial grants for rebuilding and recovery of various Greek cities after two serious earthquakes: the first, {{circa|140}}, which mainly affected Rhodes and other islands; the second, in 152, which hit [[Cyzicus]] (where the huge and newly built Temple to Hadrian was destroyed<ref>Barbara Burrell. ''Neokoroi: Greek Cities and Roman Emperors''. Leiden: Brill, 2004, {{ISBN|90-04-12578-7}}, p. 87</ref>), [[Ephesus]], and [[Smyrna]]. Antoninus's financial help earned him praise from Greek writers such as [[Aelius Aristides]] and Pausanias.<ref>E.E. Bryant, ''The Reign of Antoninus Pius''. Cambridge University Press: 1895, pp. 45–46, 68.</ref> These cities received the usual honorific accolades from Antoninus, such as when he commanded that all governors of Asia should enter the province when taking office through Ephesus.<ref>Conrad Gempf, ed., ''The Book of Acts in Its Graeco-Roman Setting''. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1994, {{ISBN|0-85364-564-7}}, p. 305</ref> Ephesus was especially favoured by Antoninus, who confirmed and upheld its distinction of having two temples for the imperial cult ([[neocorate]]), therefore having first place in the list of imperial honor titles, surpassing both Smyrna and [[Pergamon]].<ref>Emmanuelle Collas-Heddeland, "Le culte impérial dans la compétition des titres sous le Haut-Empire. Une lettre d'Antonin aux Éphésiens". In: ''Revue des Études Grecques'', tome 108, Juillet-décembre 1995. pp. 410–429. Available at [http://www.persee.fr/doc/reg_0035-2039_1995_num_108_2_2661] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180603005958/https://www.persee.fr/doc/reg_0035-2039_1995_num_108_2_2661|date=3 June 2018}}. Retrieved 22 January 2016; Edmund Thomas,(2007): ''Monumentality and the Roman Empire: Architecture in the Antonine Age''. Oxford U. Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-928863-2}}, p. 133</ref> | The Emperor also famously suspended the collection of taxes from multiple cities affected by natural disasters, such as when fires struck Rome and Narbona, and earthquakes affected [[Rhodes]] and the [[Province of Asia]]. He offered hefty financial grants for rebuilding and recovery of various Greek cities after two serious earthquakes: the first, {{circa|140}}, which mainly affected Rhodes and other islands; the second, in 152, which hit [[Cyzicus]] (where the huge and newly built Temple to Hadrian was destroyed<ref>Barbara Burrell. ''Neokoroi: Greek Cities and Roman Emperors''. Leiden: Brill, 2004, {{ISBN|90-04-12578-7}}, p. 87</ref>), [[Ephesus]], and [[Smyrna]]. Antoninus's financial help earned him praise from Greek writers such as [[Aelius Aristides]] and Pausanias.<ref>E.E. Bryant, ''The Reign of Antoninus Pius''. Cambridge University Press: 1895, pp. 45–46, 68.</ref> These cities received the usual honorific accolades from Antoninus, such as when he commanded that all governors of Asia should enter the province when taking office through Ephesus.<ref>Conrad Gempf, ed., ''The Book of Acts in Its Graeco-Roman Setting''. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1994, {{ISBN|0-85364-564-7}}, p. 305</ref> Ephesus was especially favoured by Antoninus, who confirmed and upheld its distinction of having two temples for the imperial cult ([[neocorate]]), therefore having first place in the list of imperial honor titles, surpassing both Smyrna and [[Pergamon]].<ref>Emmanuelle Collas-Heddeland, "Le culte impérial dans la compétition des titres sous le Haut-Empire. Une lettre d'Antonin aux Éphésiens". In: ''Revue des Études Grecques'', tome 108, Juillet-décembre 1995. pp. 410–429. Available at [http://www.persee.fr/doc/reg_0035-2039_1995_num_108_2_2661] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180603005958/https://www.persee.fr/doc/reg_0035-2039_1995_num_108_2_2661|date=3 June 2018}}. Retrieved 22 January 2016; Edmund Thomas,(2007): ''Monumentality and the Roman Empire: Architecture in the Antonine Age''. Oxford U. Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-928863-2}}, p. 133</ref> | ||
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{{See also|Sino-Roman relations}} | {{See also|Sino-Roman relations}} | ||
[[File:Green glass Roman cup unearthed at Eastern Han tomb, Guixian, China.jpg|thumb|Green [[Roman glass]] cup unearthed from an [[Eastern Han dynasty]] (25–220 AD) tomb, [[Guangxi]], China]] | [[File:Green glass Roman cup unearthed at Eastern Han tomb, Guixian, China.jpg|thumb|Green [[Roman glass]] cup unearthed from an [[Eastern Han dynasty]] (25–220 AD) tomb, [[Guangxi]], China]] | ||
The first group of people claiming to be an ambassadorial mission of Romans to China was recorded in 166 AD by the ''[[Hou Hanshu]]''.<ref name="halsall 2000"/> Harper (2017)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Harper |first1=Kyle |title=The Fate of Rome |date=2017 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, New Jersey, United States}}</ref> states that the embassy was likely to be a group of merchants, as many Roman merchants traveled to India and some might have gone beyond, while there are no records of official ambassadors of Rome travelling as far east. The group came to [[Emperor Huan of Han|Emperor Huan]] of [[Han China]] and claimed to be an embassy from "Andun" ({{Lang-zh|安敦 ''āndūn''}}; for ''Anton''-inus), "king of [[Daqin]]" (Rome).<ref>"... 其王常欲通使于汉，而安息欲以汉缯彩与之交市，故遮阂不得自达。至桓帝延熹九年，大秦王安敦遣使自日南徼外献象牙、犀角、瑇瑁，始乃一通焉。其所表贡，并无珍异，疑传者过焉。" 《后汉书·西域传》<br/>Translation:<br/>"... The king of this state always wanted to enter into diplomatic relations with the Han. But Anxi wanted to trade with them in Han silk and so put obstacles in their way, so that they could never have direct relations [with Han]. This continued until the ninth year of the Yanxi (延熹) reign period of Emperor Huan (桓) (A.D. 166), when Andun 安敦, king of Da Qin, sent an envoy from beyond the frontier of [[Rinan]] (日南) who offered elephant tusk, rhinoceros horn, and tortoise shell. It was only then that for the first time communication was established [between the two states]." "Xiyu Zhuan" of the [[Hou Hanshu]] (ch. 88)<br/>in {{cite journal |last1=YU |first1=Taishan (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) |title=China and the Ancient Mediterranean World: A Survey of Ancient Chinese Sources |journal=Sino-Platonic Papers |date=2013 |volume=242 |pages=25–26 |citeseerx=10.1.1.698.1744 }}.<br/>Chinese original: {{cite web |title=Chinese Text Project Dictionary |url=https://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en&id=77775&remap=gb |website=ctext.org |language=en}}</ref> As Antoninus Pius died in 161, leaving the empire to his adoptive son [[Marcus Aurelius|Marcus Aurelius (Antoninus)]], and the envoy arrived in 166, confusion remains about who sent the mission, given that both emperors were named "Antoninus".<ref>{{cite book|last=Yü|first=Ying-shih|year=1986|chapter=Han Foreign Relations|editor1-first=Denis|editor1-last=Twitchett|editor2-first=Michael|editor2-last=Loewe|title=The Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220<!-- conflicting page refs removed |pages=377–462|pages=460–461-->|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-24327-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=de Crespigny|first=Rafe|year=2007|title=A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23–220 AD)|location=Leiden|publisher=Koninklijke Brill|page=600|isbn=978-90-04-15605-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Pulleyblank|first1=Edwin G.|last2=Leslie|first2=D. D.|last3=Gardiner|first3=K. H. J.|year=1999|title=The Roman Empire as Known to Han China|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=119|number=1|pages=71–79|doi=10.2307/605541|jstor=605541}}</ref> The Roman mission came from the south (therefore probably by [[sea]]), entering China by the frontier province of [[Jiaozhi]] at [[Rinan]] or [[Tonkin]] (present-day northern [[Vietnam]]). It brought presents of [[rhinoceros]] [[horn (anatomy)|horn]]s, [[ivory]], and [[tortoise]] [[Exoskeleton|shell]], probably acquired in [[South Asia]].<ref name="halsall 2000"/><ref>Hill (2009), p. 27 and nn. 12.18 and 12.20.</ref> The text states explicitly that it was the first time there had been direct contact between the two countries.<ref name="halsall 2000">For a full translation of that passage, see: {{cite web|orig-year=1998|date=2000|author=Paul Halsall|editor=Jerome S. Arkenberg|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/eastasia/romchin1.html|title=East Asian History Sourcebook: Chinese Accounts of Rome, Byzantium and the Middle East, c. 91 B.C.E. – 1643 C.E.|publisher=[[Fordham University]]|website=Fordham.edu|access-date=17 September 2016|archive-date=10 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910050947/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/eastasia/romchin1.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Hill 2009, p. 27">Hill (2009), p. 27.</ref> | The first group of people claiming to be an ambassadorial mission of Romans to China was recorded in 166 AD by the ''[[Hou Hanshu]]''.<ref name="halsall 2000"/> Harper (2017)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Harper |first1=Kyle |title=The Fate of Rome |date=2017 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, New Jersey, United States}}</ref> states that the embassy was likely to be a group of merchants, as many Roman merchants traveled to India and some might have gone beyond, while there are no records of official ambassadors of Rome travelling as far east. The group came to [[Emperor Huan of Han|Emperor Huan]] of [[Han China]] and claimed to be an embassy from "Andun" ({{Lang-zh|安敦 ''āndūn''}}; for ''Anton''-inus), "king of [[Daqin]]" (Rome).<ref>"... 其王常欲通使于汉，而安息欲以汉缯彩与之交市，故遮阂不得自达。至桓帝延熹九年，大秦王安敦遣使自日南徼外献象牙、犀角、瑇瑁，始乃一通焉。其所表贡，并无珍异，疑传者过焉。" 《后汉书·西域传》<br/>Translation:<br/>"... The king of this state always wanted to enter into diplomatic relations with the Han. But Anxi wanted to trade with them in Han silk and so put obstacles in their way, so that they could never have direct relations [with Han]. This continued until the ninth year of the Yanxi (延熹) reign period of Emperor Huan (桓) (A.D. 166), when Andun 安敦, king of Da Qin, sent an envoy from beyond the frontier of [[Rinan]] (日南) who offered elephant tusk, rhinoceros horn, and tortoise shell. It was only then that for the first time communication was established [between the two states]." "Xiyu Zhuan" of the [[Hou Hanshu]] (ch. 88)<br/>in {{cite journal |last1=YU |first1=Taishan (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) |title=China and the Ancient Mediterranean World: A Survey of Ancient Chinese Sources |journal=Sino-Platonic Papers |date=2013 |volume=242 |pages=25–26 |citeseerx=10.1.1.698.1744 }}.<br/>Chinese original: {{cite web |title=Chinese Text Project Dictionary |url=https://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en&id=77775&remap=gb |website=ctext.org |language=en |access-date=16 February 2021 |archive-date=2 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302230000/https://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en&id=77775&remap=gb |url-status=live }}</ref> As Antoninus Pius died in 161, leaving the empire to his adoptive son [[Marcus Aurelius|Marcus Aurelius (Antoninus)]], and the envoy arrived in 166, confusion remains about who sent the mission, given that both emperors were named "Antoninus".<ref>{{cite book|last=Yü|first=Ying-shih|year=1986|chapter=Han Foreign Relations|editor1-first=Denis|editor1-last=Twitchett|editor2-first=Michael|editor2-last=Loewe|title=The Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220<!-- conflicting page refs removed |pages=377–462|pages=460–461-->|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-24327-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=de Crespigny|first=Rafe|year=2007|title=A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23–220 AD)|location=Leiden|publisher=Koninklijke Brill|page=600|isbn=978-90-04-15605-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Pulleyblank|first1=Edwin G.|last2=Leslie|first2=D. D.|last3=Gardiner|first3=K. H. J.|year=1999|title=The Roman Empire as Known to Han China|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=119|number=1|pages=71–79|doi=10.2307/605541|jstor=605541}}</ref> The Roman mission came from the south (therefore probably by [[sea]]), entering China by the frontier province of [[Jiaozhi]] at [[Rinan]] or [[Tonkin]] (present-day northern [[Vietnam]]). It brought presents of [[rhinoceros]] [[horn (anatomy)|horn]]s, [[ivory]], and [[tortoise]] [[Exoskeleton|shell]], probably acquired in [[South Asia]].<ref name="halsall 2000"/><ref>Hill (2009), p. 27 and nn. 12.18 and 12.20.</ref> The text states explicitly that it was the first time there had been direct contact between the two countries.<ref name="halsall 2000">For a full translation of that passage, see: {{cite web|orig-year=1998|date=2000|author=Paul Halsall|editor=Jerome S. Arkenberg|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/eastasia/romchin1.html|title=East Asian History Sourcebook: Chinese Accounts of Rome, Byzantium and the Middle East, c. 91 B.C.E. – 1643 C.E.|publisher=[[Fordham University]]|website=Fordham.edu|access-date=17 September 2016|archive-date=10 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910050947/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/eastasia/romchin1.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Hill 2009, p. 27">Hill (2009), p. 27.</ref> | ||
Furthermore, a piece of [[Roman Republic|Republican]]-era [[Roman glass]]ware has been found at a [[Western Han]] tomb in [[Guangzhou]] along the [[South China Sea]], dated to the early 1st century BC.<ref>{{cite book|last=An|first=Jiayao|year=2002|contribution=When Glass Was Treasured in China|editor1-first=Annette L.|editor1-last=Juliano|editor2-first=Judith A.|editor2-last=Lerner|title=Silk Road Studies VII: Nomads, Traders, and Holy Men Along China's Silk Road|location=Turnhout|publisher=Brepols|isbn=2503521789|page=83}}</ref> Roman golden medallions made during the reign of Antoninus Pius and perhaps even Marcus Aurelius have been found at [[Óc Eo]] in southern Vietnam, then part of the [[Kingdom of Funan]] near the Chinese province of [[Jiaozhi]].<ref name="young 2001 pp29-30"/><ref name="osborne 2006 pp24-25"/> This may have been the port city of [[Kattigara]], described by [[Ptolemy]] ({{Circa|150}}) as being visited by a Greek sailor named Alexander and lying beyond the [[Golden Chersonese]] (i.e., [[Malay Peninsula]]).<ref name="young 2001 pp29-30">{{cite book|first=Gary K.|last=Young| year=2001|title=Rome's Eastern Trade: International Commerce and Imperial Policy, 31 BC – AD 305|location=London & New York|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-415-24219-3|pages=29–30}}</ref><ref name="osborne 2006 pp24-25">For further information on [[Oc Eo]], see {{cite book|first=Milton|last=Osborne|year=2006|title=The Mekong: Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future|location=Crows Nest|publisher=Allen & Unwin|edition=revised|orig-year=first published 2000|isbn=1-74114-893-6|pages=24–25}}</ref> Roman coins from the reigns of [[Tiberius]] to [[Aurelian]] have been discovered in [[Xi'an]], China (site of the Han capital [[Chang'an]]), although the significantly greater amount of [[Indo-Roman trade relations|Roman coins unearthed in India]] suggest the Roman maritime trade for [[History of silk|purchasing Chinese silk]] was centered there, not in China or even the overland [[Silk Road]] running through ancient Iran.<ref name="ball 2016 p154">{{cite book|author-link=Warwick Ball|last=Ball|first=Warwick|year=2016|title=Rome in the East: Transformation of an Empire|edition=2nd|location=London & New York|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-72078-6|page=154}}</ref> | Furthermore, a piece of [[Roman Republic|Republican]]-era [[Roman glass]]ware has been found at a [[Western Han]] tomb in [[Guangzhou]] along the [[South China Sea]], dated to the early 1st century BC.<ref>{{cite book|last=An|first=Jiayao|year=2002|contribution=When Glass Was Treasured in China|editor1-first=Annette L.|editor1-last=Juliano|editor2-first=Judith A.|editor2-last=Lerner|title=Silk Road Studies VII: Nomads, Traders, and Holy Men Along China's Silk Road|location=Turnhout|publisher=Brepols|isbn=2503521789|page=83}}</ref> Roman golden medallions made during the reign of Antoninus Pius and perhaps even Marcus Aurelius have been found at [[Óc Eo]] in southern Vietnam, then part of the [[Kingdom of Funan]] near the Chinese province of [[Jiaozhi]].<ref name="young 2001 pp29-30"/><ref name="osborne 2006 pp24-25"/> This may have been the port city of [[Kattigara]], described by [[Ptolemy]] ({{Circa|150}}) as being visited by a Greek sailor named Alexander and lying beyond the [[Golden Chersonese]] (i.e., [[Malay Peninsula]]).<ref name="young 2001 pp29-30">{{cite book|first=Gary K.|last=Young| year=2001|title=Rome's Eastern Trade: International Commerce and Imperial Policy, 31 BC – AD 305|location=London & New York|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-415-24219-3|pages=29–30}}</ref><ref name="osborne 2006 pp24-25">For further information on [[Oc Eo]], see {{cite book|first=Milton|last=Osborne|year=2006|title=The Mekong: Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future|location=Crows Nest|publisher=Allen & Unwin|edition=revised|orig-year=first published 2000|isbn=1-74114-893-6|pages=24–25}}</ref> Roman coins from the reigns of [[Tiberius]] to [[Aurelian]] have been discovered in [[Xi'an]], China (site of the Han capital [[Chang'an]]), although the significantly greater amount of [[Indo-Roman trade relations|Roman coins unearthed in India]] suggest the Roman maritime trade for [[History of silk|purchasing Chinese silk]] was centered there, not in China or even the overland [[Silk Road]] running through ancient Iran.<ref name="ball 2016 p154">{{cite book|author-link=Warwick Ball|last=Ball|first=Warwick|year=2016|title=Rome in the East: Transformation of an Empire|edition=2nd|location=London & New York|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-72078-6|page=154}}</ref> | ||
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For twenty years, Gavius Maximus had been [[praetorian prefect]], an office that was as much secretarial as military.{{sfn|Birley|2000|p=112}}<ref>Grant, ''The Antonines'', 14</ref> Gavius Maximus had been awarded with the consular insignia and the honours due a senator.<ref>Michael Petrus Josephus Van Den Hout, ''A Commentary on the Letters of M. Cornelius Fronto''. Leiden: Brill, 199, {{ISBN|9004109579}}, p. 389</ref> He had a reputation as a most strict disciplinarian (''vir severissimus'', according to ''Historia Augusta'') and some fellow equestrian procurators held lasting grudges against him. A procurator named Gaius Censorius Niger died while Gavius Maximus was alive. In his will, Censorius Niger vilified Maximus, creating serious embarrassment for one of the heirs, the orator [[Marcus Cornelius Fronto|Fronto]].<ref>Champlin, ''Final Judgments'', 16</ref> | For twenty years, Gavius Maximus had been [[praetorian prefect]], an office that was as much secretarial as military.{{sfn|Birley|2000|p=112}}<ref>Grant, ''The Antonines'', 14</ref> Gavius Maximus had been awarded with the consular insignia and the honours due a senator.<ref>Michael Petrus Josephus Van Den Hout, ''A Commentary on the Letters of M. Cornelius Fronto''. Leiden: Brill, 199, {{ISBN|9004109579}}, p. 389</ref> He had a reputation as a most strict disciplinarian (''vir severissimus'', according to ''Historia Augusta'') and some fellow equestrian procurators held lasting grudges against him. A procurator named Gaius Censorius Niger died while Gavius Maximus was alive. In his will, Censorius Niger vilified Maximus, creating serious embarrassment for one of the heirs, the orator [[Marcus Cornelius Fronto|Fronto]].<ref>Champlin, ''Final Judgments'', 16</ref> | ||
Gavius Maximus's death initiated a change in the ruling team. It has been speculated that it was the legal adviser [[Lucius Volusius Maecianus]] who assumed the role of [[Éminence grise|grey eminence]]. Maecianus was briefly Praefect of Egypt, and subsequently [[Praefectus annonae]] in Rome. If it was Maecianus who rose to prominence, he may have risen precisely in order to prepare the incoming—and unprecedented—joint succession.<ref>[[Michel Christol]], "Préfecture du prétoire et haute administration équestre à la fin du règne d'Antonin le Pieux et au début du règne de Marc Aurèle". In: ''Cahiers du Centre Gustave Glotz'', 18, 2007. pp. 115–140. Available at [http://www.persee.fr/doc/ccgg_1016-9008_2007_num_18_1_1647] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180602015631/https://www.persee.fr/doc/ccgg_1016-9008_2007_num_18_1_1647|date=2 June 2018}}. Accessed 27 January 2016</ref> In 160, Marcus and Lucius were designated joint consuls for the following year. Perhaps Antoninus was already ill; in any case, he died before the year was out, probably on 7 March.{{refn|[[iarchive:inscriptionesgra01cagnuoft/page/496/mode/1up|''IGRR'' I, 1509]]. The date is found in an inscription by Titus Flavius Xenion.<ref>{{cite book|last=Graf|first=Fritz|title=Roman Festivals in the Greek East|date=2015|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|pages=89–90|isbn=9781107092112|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xE22CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA89}}</ref> The ''[[Feriale Duranum]]'' [http://papyri.info/ddbdp/rom.mil.rec;1;117 1.21.], written half a century later, states that his successors took power the day before: "''Prid(ie) Non[is Ma]r[tis''". However, most historians who cite the passage indicate that it occurred on 7 March (''nones martis'').<ref>Hammond, M. (1938). ''[http://www.jstor.org/stable/4238599 The Tribunician Day during the Early Empire]''. Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, '''15''', p. 46.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Istituto Italiano d'Arti Grafiche|title=Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, Vol. 24–25|date=1956|pages=101|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D-ZLAAAAYAAJ&q=%22March+7%22+%2B+%22duranum%22}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=H. Temporini, W. Haase|title=Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Principat. V|date=1972|publisher=[[De Gruyter]]|isbn=9783110018851|pages=534|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r0hoAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Duranum+1.21%22+%2B+%227+March%22}}</ref> More recent modern scholars cite the date as 6 March.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Levick |first1=Dr Barbara |title=The Government of the Roman Empire: A Sourcebook |last2=Levick |first2=Barbara |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-57264-9 |pages=143–146 |chapter=The Feriale Duranum |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5KSCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA144}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=A. D. |url= |title=Pagans and Christians in Late Antiquity: A Sourcebook |date=2013-04-15 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-61739-3 |pages=16–19 |chapter=A religious calendar: P. Dura |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V9j1YX3JC2gC&pg=PA18}}</ref> Either way, 7 March is the universally accepted date.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}}} | Gavius Maximus's death initiated a change in the ruling team. It has been speculated that it was the legal adviser [[Lucius Volusius Maecianus]] who assumed the role of [[Éminence grise|grey eminence]]. Maecianus was briefly Praefect of Egypt, and subsequently [[Praefectus annonae]] in Rome. If it was Maecianus who rose to prominence, he may have risen precisely in order to prepare the incoming—and unprecedented—joint succession.<ref>[[Michel Christol]], "Préfecture du prétoire et haute administration équestre à la fin du règne d'Antonin le Pieux et au début du règne de Marc Aurèle". In: ''Cahiers du Centre Gustave Glotz'', 18, 2007. pp. 115–140. Available at [http://www.persee.fr/doc/ccgg_1016-9008_2007_num_18_1_1647] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180602015631/https://www.persee.fr/doc/ccgg_1016-9008_2007_num_18_1_1647|date=2 June 2018}}. Accessed 27 January 2016</ref> In 160, Marcus and Lucius were designated joint consuls for the following year. Perhaps Antoninus was already ill; in any case, he died before the year was out, probably on 7 March.{{refn|[[iarchive:inscriptionesgra01cagnuoft/page/496/mode/1up|''IGRR'' I, 1509]]. The date is found in an inscription by Titus Flavius Xenion.<ref>{{cite book|last=Graf|first=Fritz|title=Roman Festivals in the Greek East|date=2015|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|pages=89–90|isbn=9781107092112|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xE22CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA89}}</ref> The ''[[Feriale Duranum]]'' [http://papyri.info/ddbdp/rom.mil.rec;1;117 1.21.], written half a century later, states that his successors took power the day before: "''Prid(ie) Non[is Ma]r[tis''". However, most historians who cite the passage indicate that it occurred on 7 March (''nones martis'').<ref>Hammond, M. (1938). ''[http://www.jstor.org/stable/4238599 The Tribunician Day during the Early Empire] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628030359/https://www.jstor.org/stable/4238599 |date=28 June 2021 }}''. Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, '''15''', p. 46.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Istituto Italiano d'Arti Grafiche|title=Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, Vol. 24–25|date=1956|pages=101|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D-ZLAAAAYAAJ&q=%22March+7%22+%2B+%22duranum%22}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=H. Temporini, W. Haase|title=Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Principat. V|date=1972|publisher=[[De Gruyter]]|isbn=9783110018851|pages=534|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r0hoAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Duranum+1.21%22+%2B+%227+March%22}}</ref> More recent modern scholars cite the date as 6 March.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Levick |first1=Dr Barbara |title=The Government of the Roman Empire: A Sourcebook |last2=Levick |first2=Barbara |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-57264-9 |pages=143–146 |chapter=The Feriale Duranum |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5KSCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA144 |archive-date=16 June 2024 |access-date=16 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616071109/https://books.google.com/books?id=5KSCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA144 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=A. D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V9j1YX3JC2gC&pg=PA18 |title=Pagans and Christians in Late Antiquity: A Sourcebook |date=2013-04-15 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-61739-3 |pages=16–19 |chapter=A religious calendar: P. Dura |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V9j1YX3JC2gC&pg=PA18 |archive-date=16 June 2024 |access-date=16 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616071101/https://books.google.com/books?id=V9j1YX3JC2gC&pg=PA18 |url-status=live }}</ref> Either way, 7 March is the universally accepted date.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}}} | ||
[[File:Antoninus Pius (Museo del Prado) 01.jpg|thumb|left|The bust of Antoninus Pius at the [[Museo del Prado]], Madrid]] | [[File:Antoninus Pius (Museo del Prado) 01.jpg|thumb|left|The bust of Antoninus Pius at the [[Museo del Prado]], Madrid]] | ||
Two days before his death, the biographer reports, Antoninus was at his ancestral estate at [[Lorium]], in [[Etruria]],{{sfn|Bowman|2000|p=156}}<ref name="Victor, 15:7"/> about {{convert|12|mi|km|spell=in}} from Rome.<ref name="Victor, 15:7">Victor, 15:7</ref> He ate [[Alpine cheese]] at dinner quite greedily. In the night he vomited; he had a fever the next day. The day after that, he summoned the imperial council, and passed the state and his daughter to Marcus. The emperor gave the keynote to his life in the last word that he uttered: when the [[tribune]] of the night-watch came to ask the password, he responded, "aequanimitas" (equanimity).{{sfn|Bury|1893|p=532}} He then turned over, as if going to sleep, and died.<ref>''HA Antoninus Pius'' 12.4–8</ref>{{sfn|Birley|2000|p=114}} His death closed out the longest reign since [[Augustus]] (surpassing [[Tiberius]] by a couple of months).{{sfn|Bowman|2000|p=156}} His record for the second-longest reign would be unbeaten for 168 years, until 329 when it was surpassed by [[Constantine the Great]]. | Two days before his death, the biographer reports, Antoninus was at his ancestral estate at [[Lorium]], in [[Etruria]],{{sfn|Bowman|2000|p=156}}<ref name="Victor, 15:7"/> about {{convert|12|mi|km|spell=in}} from Rome.<ref name="Victor, 15:7">Victor, 15:7</ref> He ate [[Alpine cheese]] at dinner quite greedily. In the night he vomited; he had a fever the next day. The day after that, he summoned the imperial council, and passed the state and his daughter to Marcus. The emperor gave the keynote to his life in the last word that he uttered: when the [[tribune]] of the night-watch came to ask the password, he responded, "aequanimitas" (equanimity).{{sfn|Bury|1893|p=532}} He then turned over, as if going to sleep, and died.<ref>''HA Antoninus Pius'' 12.4–8</ref>{{sfn|Birley|2000|p=114}} His death closed out the longest reign since [[Augustus]] (surpassing [[Tiberius]] by a couple of months).{{sfn|Bowman|2000|p=156}} His record for the second-longest reign would be unbeaten for 168 years, until 329 when it was surpassed by [[Constantine the Great]]. | ||
Antoninus Pius' funeral ceremonies were, in the words of the biographer, "elaborate".<ref>''HA Marcus'' 7.10, tr. David Magie, cited in {{harvnb|Birley|2000|pp=118, 278 n.6.}}</ref> If his funeral followed the pattern of past funerals, his body would have been incinerated on a pyre at the [[Campus Martius]], while his spirit would rise to the gods' home in the heavens. However, it seems that this was not the case: according to his ''[[Historia Augusta]]'' biography (which seems to reproduce an earlier, detailed report) Antoninus's body (and not his ashes) was buried in [[Castel Sant'Angelo|Hadrian's mausoleum]]. After a seven-day interval (''justitium''), Marcus and Lucius nominated their father for deification.<ref>Robert Turcan, "Origines et sens de l'inhumation à l'époque impériale". In: ''Revue des Études Anciennes''. Tome 60, 1958, n°3–4. pp. 323–347. Available at [http://www.persee.fr/doc/rea_0035-2004_1958_num_60_3_3595] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180603225047/https://www.persee.fr/doc/rea_0035-2004_1958_num_60_3_3595|date=3 June 2018}}. Accessed 14 January 2016</ref> In contrast to their behaviour during Antoninus's campaign to deify Hadrian, the senate did not oppose the emperors' wishes. A ''[[flamen]]'', or cultic priest, was appointed to minister the cult of the deified Antoninus, now ''Divus Antoninus''. | Antoninus Pius' funeral ceremonies were, in the words of the biographer, "elaborate".<ref>''HA Marcus'' 7.10, tr. [[David Magie]], cited in {{harvnb|Birley|2000|pp=118, 278 n.6.}}</ref> If his funeral followed the pattern of past funerals, his body would have been incinerated on a pyre at the [[Campus Martius]], while his spirit would rise to the gods' home in the heavens. However, it seems that this was not the case: according to his ''[[Historia Augusta]]'' biography (which seems to reproduce an earlier, detailed report) Antoninus's body (and not his ashes) was buried in [[Castel Sant'Angelo|Hadrian's mausoleum]]. After a seven-day interval (''justitium''), Marcus and Lucius nominated their father for deification.<ref>Robert Turcan, "Origines et sens de l'inhumation à l'époque impériale". In: ''Revue des Études Anciennes''. Tome 60, 1958, n°3–4. pp. 323–347. Available at [http://www.persee.fr/doc/rea_0035-2004_1958_num_60_3_3595] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180603225047/https://www.persee.fr/doc/rea_0035-2004_1958_num_60_3_3595|date=3 June 2018}}. Accessed 14 January 2016</ref> In contrast to their behaviour during Antoninus's campaign to deify Hadrian, the senate did not oppose the emperors' wishes. A ''[[flamen]]'', or cultic priest, was appointed to minister the cult of the deified Antoninus, now ''Divus Antoninus''. | ||
A [[Column of Antoninus Pius|column]] was dedicated to Antoninus on the Campus Martius,<ref name="Weigel, Antoninus Pius"/> and the [[Temple of Antoninus and Faustina|temple]] he had built in the Forum in 141 to his deified wife Faustina was rededicated to the deified Faustina and the deified Antoninus.{{sfn|Bury|1893|p=532}} It survives as the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda.{{sfn|Birley|2000|p=118}} | A [[Column of Antoninus Pius|column]] was dedicated to Antoninus on the Campus Martius,<ref name="Weigel, Antoninus Pius"/> and the [[Temple of Antoninus and Faustina|temple]] he had built in the Forum in 141 to his deified wife Faustina was rededicated to the deified Faustina and the deified Antoninus.{{sfn|Bury|1893|p=532}} It survives as the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda.{{sfn|Birley|2000|p=118}} | ||
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{{Blockquote|however estimable the man, Antoninus was hardly a great statesman. The rest which the Empire enjoyed under his auspices had been rendered possible through Hadrian's activity, and was not due to his own exertions; on the other hand, he carried the policy of peace at any price too far, and so entailed calamities on the state after his death. He not only had no originality or power of initiative, but he had not even the insight or boldness to work further on the new lines marked out by Hadrian.{{sfn|Bury|1893|p=524}}}} | {{Blockquote|however estimable the man, Antoninus was hardly a great statesman. The rest which the Empire enjoyed under his auspices had been rendered possible through Hadrian's activity, and was not due to his own exertions; on the other hand, he carried the policy of peace at any price too far, and so entailed calamities on the state after his death. He not only had no originality or power of initiative, but he had not even the insight or boldness to work further on the new lines marked out by Hadrian.{{sfn|Bury|1893|p=524}}}} | ||
German historian [[Ernst Kornemann]] | German historian [[Ernst Kornemann]] notes in his ''Römische Geschichte'' [2 vols., ed. by H. Bengtson, Stuttgart 1954] that the reign of Antoninus comprised "a succession of grossly wasted opportunities", given the upheavals that were to come. There is more to this argument, given that the Parthians in the East were themselves soon to make no small amount of mischief after Antoninus's death. Kornemann's brief is that Antoninus might have waged preventive wars to head off these outsiders. [[Michael Grant (classicist)|Michael Grant]] agrees that it is possible that had Antoninus acted decisively sooner (it appears that, on his death bed, he was preparing a large-scale action against the Parthians), the Parthians might have been unable to choose their own time, but current evidence is not conclusive. Grant opines that Antoninus and his officers did act in a resolute manner dealing with frontier disturbances of his time, although conditions for long-lasting peace were not created. On the whole, according to Grant, Marcus Aurelius's eulogistic picture of Antoninus seems deserved, and Antoninus appears to have been a conservative and nationalistic (although he respected and followed Hadrian's example of Philhellenism moderately) emperor who was not tainted by the blood of either citizen or foe, combined and maintained Numa Pompilius's good fortune, pacific dutifulness and religious scrupulousness, and whose laws removed anomalies and softened harshnesses.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Grant|first1=Michael|title=The Antonines: The Roman Empire in Transition|date=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317972112|pages=14–23|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-FwfDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT28}}</ref> | ||
Krzysztof Ulanowski argues that the claims of military inability are exaggerated, considering that although the sources praise Antoninus's love for peace and his efforts "rather to defend, than enlarge the provinces", he could hardly be considered a pacifist, as shown by the conquest of the Lowlands, the building of the [[Antonine Wall]] and the expansion of Germania Superior. Ulanowski also praises Antoninus for being successful in deterrence by diplomatic means.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ulanowski|first1=Krzysztof|title=The Religious Aspects of War in the Ancient Near East, Greece, and Rome: Ancient Warfare Series, Volume 1|date=2016|publisher=Brill|isbn=9789004324763|pages=360–361|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KX6kDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA358}}</ref> | Krzysztof Ulanowski argues that the claims of military inability are exaggerated, considering that although the sources praise Antoninus's love for peace and his efforts "rather to defend, than enlarge the provinces", he could hardly be considered a pacifist, as shown by the conquest of the Lowlands, the building of the [[Antonine Wall]] and the expansion of Germania Superior. Ulanowski also praises Antoninus for being successful in deterrence by diplomatic means.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ulanowski|first1=Krzysztof|title=The Religious Aspects of War in the Ancient Near East, Greece, and Rome: Ancient Warfare Series, Volume 1|date=2016|publisher=Brill|isbn=9789004324763|pages=360–361|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KX6kDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA358}}</ref> | ||
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;Secondary sources | ;Secondary sources | ||
{{Refbegin|30em}} | {{Refbegin|30em}} | ||
* {{cite web|url=http://www.roman-emperors.org/tonypis.htm|last=Weigel|first=Richard D.|title=Antoninus Pius (A.D. 138–161) De Imperatoribus Romanis|date=2 August 2023 }} | * {{cite web|url=http://www.roman-emperors.org/tonypis.htm|last=Weigel|first=Richard D.|title=Antoninus Pius (A.D. 138–161) De Imperatoribus Romanis|date=2 August 2023|access-date=23 November 2010|archive-date=3 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503141042/http://www.roman-emperors.org/tonypis.htm|url-status=live}} | ||
* {{cite book|last=Bowman|first=Alan K.|title=The Cambridge Ancient History: The High Empire, A.D. 70–192|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=2000}} | * {{cite book|last=Bowman|first=Alan K.|title=The Cambridge Ancient History: The High Empire, A.D. 70–192|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=2000}} | ||
* {{cite book|last=Birley|first=Anthony|title=Marcus Aurelius|publisher=Routledge|date=2000}} | * {{cite book|last=Birley|first=Anthony|title=Marcus Aurelius|publisher=Routledge|date=2000}} | ||
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[[Category:Roman governors of Asia]] | [[Category:Roman governors of Asia]] | ||
[[Category:Roman quaestors]] | [[Category:Roman quaestors]] | ||
[[Category:Roman | [[Category:Roman emperor-consuls]] | ||