Marcus Annius Verus Caesar

Marcus Annius Verus Caesar (born 162 or 163 AD) was the 12th of 13 children of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Empress Faustina the Younger. Annius was made caesar on 12 October 166 AD, alongside his brother Commodus, designating them co-heirs of the Roman Empire. Annius died on 10 September 169, at age seven, due to complications from a surgery to remove a tumor from under his ear. His death left Commodus as the sole heir.

Annius Verus
Caesar of the Roman Empire
A bust of Marcus Annius Verus Caesar
Reign	12 October 166 – 10 September 169
Died	10 September 169 (aged 7)
Full name Marcus Annius Verus Regnal name Marcus Annius Verus Caesar
Dynasty	Antonine
Father	Marcus Aurelius
Mother	Faustina the Younger

Life

Bust of Marcus Aurelius, Annius' father

Marcus Annius Verus was born in late 162 or 163 AD,[1] the son of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina the Younger. He was given the name of Marcus Annius Verus because it was the original name of his father, Marcus Aurelius.[2]

On 12 October 166 AD, during a triumph celebrating the victory of the Romans in the Parthian War of Lucius Verus, Annius and his elder brother Commodus were both made caesars, designating them as co-heirs to the Roman Empire. At the time, Annius was three, and Commodus was five.[3][4] This was the first time such an explicit declaration of heirship had been made at such a young age,[5] and showed a marked shift from the traditional cursus honorum, in which a presumed heir would be gradually raised through offices of increasing importance, in order to learn the skills of all positions, to a new system of imperial succession, wherein dynastic hereditary descent was the path to the throne, with heirs being instructed in how to be an emperor.[6]

Annius died on 10 September 169 AD, at seven years of age, due to complications in removing a tumor from under his ear.[7][8][9] This left Commodus as the sole heir.[3] His father, Marcus Aurelius, mourned his death for just five days, while still continuing public work.[8] Aurelius argued that because the games of Jupiter Optimus Maximus were ongoing, he should not interrupt them with his mourning. His lack of mourning was likely influenced by his Stoic philosophy, which taught of the dangers of emotion, and the brutal culture of the Romans, which considered hysterical grief at the loss of loved ones as unmanly and unnatural.[10] Aurelius ordered statues to be made in his honor, and a golden image of him to be carried during the procession of the games.[10] Aurelius also had his name inserted into the Carmen Saliare, the ritual songs sung by the Salii, a group of 12 priests.[11][10]

Family

Annius Verus was the son of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina the Younger. Annius was the younger brother of, in order of birth: Domitia Faustina, Titus Aurelius Antoninus, Titus Aelius Aurelius, Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla, Annia Galeria Aurelia Faustina, Titus Aelius Antoninus, an unnamed son, Annia Aurelia Fadilla, Annia Cornificia Faustina Minor, Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus Antoninus (Commodus). Annius was the older brother of Hadrianus and Vibia Aurelia Sabina.[12][13]

References

1. Adams 2013a, p. 99.
2. Stephens 2012, p. 22.
3. Adams 2013b, p. 82.
4. Adams 2013a, p. 94.
5. Adams 2013b, p. 95.
6. Adams 2013b, p. 99.
7. Adams 2013a, p. 104.
8. Stephens 2012, p. 31.
9. Klonnek 2014, p. 169.
10. McLynn 2009, p. 116.
11. Adams 2013a, p. 105.
12. Livius.
13. Birley 1993, p. Table F.

Bibliography

• Adams, Geoff W. (2013a). Marcus Aurelius in the Historia Augusta and Beyond. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books. ISBN 9780739176382.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Adams, Geoff W. (2013b). The Emperor Commodus: Gladiator, Hercules or a Tyrant?. Boca Raton: Universal-Publishers. ISBN 9781612337227.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Birley, Anthony (1993). Marcus Aurelius, a Biography. London: Routledge. OCLC 957321189.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Klonnek, Martin (2014). Chronologie des Römischen Reiches 2: 2. Jh. - Jahr 100 bis 199 [Chronology of the Roman Empire 2: 2nd century - year 100 to 199] (in German). Online: Berlin epubli GmbH. ISBN 9783737507028.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• McLynn, Frank (2009). Marcus Aurelius: a Life. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 9780786745807.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Stephens, William O. (2012). Marcus Aurelius: a Guide for the Perplexed. New York: Continuum International Publications Group. ISBN 9781441108104.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Websites

• "Marcus Aurelius - Livius". www.livius.org. Retrieved 2 January 2018.

Further reading

• Vagi, David L. (2000). Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, c. 82 B.C.- A.D. 480. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn. ISBN 9781579583163.

Nerva–Antonine family tree

Nerva–Antonine family tree
Q. Marcius Barea Soranus Q. Marcius Barea Sura Antonia Furnilla M. Cocceius Nerva Sergia Plautilla P. Aelius Hadrianus Titus (r. 79–81) Marcia Furnilla Marcia Trajanus Pater Nerva (r. 96–98) Ulpia[lower-roman 1] Aelius Hadrianus Marullinus Julia Flavia[lower-roman 2] Marciana[lower-roman 3] C. Salonius Matidius[lower-roman 4] Trajan (r. 98–117) Plotina P. Acilius Attianus P. Aelius Afer[lower-roman 5] Paulina Major[lower-roman 6] Lucius Mindius (2) Libo Rupilius Frugi (3) Matidia[lower-roman 7] L. Vibius Sabinus (1)[lower-roman 8] Paulina Minor[lower-roman 6] L. Julius Ursus Servianus[lower-roman 9] Matidia Minor[lower-roman 7] Suetonius?[lower-roman 10] Sabina[lower-roman 3] Hadrian[lower-roman 5][lower-roman 11][lower-roman 6] (r. 117–138) Antinous[lower-roman 12] Julia Balbilla?[lower-roman 13] C. Fuscus Salinator I Julia Serviana Paulina M. Annius Verus[lower-roman 14] Rupilia Faustina[lower-roman 15] Boionia Procilla Cn. Arrius Antoninus L. Ceionius Commodus Appia Severa C. Fuscus Salinator II L. Caesennius Paetus Arria Antonina Arria Fadilla[lower-roman 16] T. Aurelius Fulvus L. Caesennius Antoninus L. Commodus Fundania Plautia ignota[lower-roman 17] C. Avidius Nigrinus M. Annius Verus[lower-roman 15] Domitia Calvilla[lower-roman 18] Fundania[lower-roman 19] M. Annius Libo[lower-roman 15] FAUSTINA[lower-roman 16] Antoninus Pius (r. 138–161)[lower-roman 16] L. Aelius Caesar[lower-roman 17] Avidia Plautia[lower-roman 17] Cornificia[lower-roman 15] MARCUS AURELIUS (r. 161–180)[lower-roman 20] FAUSTINA Minor[lower-roman 20] C. Avidius Cassius[lower-roman 21] Aurelia Fadilla[lower-roman 16] LUCIUS VERUS (r. 161–169)[lower-roman 17] (1) Ceionia Fabia[lower-roman 17] Plautius Quintillus[lower-roman 22] Q. Servilius Pudens Ceionia Plautia[lower-roman 17] Cornificia Minor[lower-roman 23] M. Petronius Sura COMMODUS (r. 177–192)[lower-roman 20] Fadilla[lower-roman 23] M. Annius Verus Caesar[lower-roman 20] Ti. Claudius Pompeianus (2) Lucilla[lower-roman 20] M. Plautius Quintillus[lower-roman 17] Junius Licinius Balbus Servilia Ceionia Petronius Antoninus L. Aurelius Agaclytus (2) Aurelia Sabina[lower-roman 23] L. Antistius Burrus (1) Plautius Quintillus Plautia Servilla C. Furius Sabinus Timesitheus Antonia Gordiana Junius Licinius Balbus? Furia Sabina Tranquillina GORDIAN III (r. 238–244)
(1) = 1st spouse (2) = 2nd spouse (3) = 3rd spouse   Reddish purple indicates emperor of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty   lighter purple indicates designated imperial heir of said dynasty who never reigned   grey indicates unsuccessful imperial aspirants   bluish purple indicates emperors of other dynasties dashed lines indicate adoption; dotted lines indicate love affairs/unmarried relationships small caps = posthumously deified (Augusti, Augustae, or other)
Notes: Except where otherwise noted, the notes below indicate that an individual's parentage is as shown in the above family tree. Sister of Trajan's father: Giacosa (1977), p. 7. Giacosa (1977), p. 8. Levick (2014), p. 161. Husband of Ulpia Marciana: Levick (2014), p. 161. Giacosa (1977), p. 7. DIR contributor (Herbert W. Benario, 2000), "Hadrian". Giacosa (1977), p. 9. Husband of Salonia Matidia: Levick (2014), p. 161. Smith (1870), "Julius Servianus". Suetonius a possible lover of Sabina: One interpretation of HA Hadrianus 11:3 Smith (1870), "Hadrian", pp. 319–322. Lover of Hadrian: Lambert (1984), p. 99 and passim; deification: Lamber (1984), pp. 2–5, etc. Julia Balbilla a possible lover of Sabina: A. R. Birley (1997), Hadrian, the Restless Emperor, p. 251, cited in Levick (2014), p. 30, who is sceptical of this suggestion. Husband of Rupilia Faustina: Levick (2014), p. 163. Levick (2014), p. 163. Levick (2014), p. 162. Levick (2014), p. 164. Wife of M. Annius Verus: Giacosa (1977), p. 10. Wife of M. Annius Libo: Levick (2014), p. 163. Giacosa (1977), p. 10. The epitomator of Cassius Dio (72.22) gives the story that Faustina the Elder promised to marry Avidius Cassius. This is also echoed in HA "Marcus Aurelius" 24. Husband of Ceionia Fabia: Levick (2014), p. 164. Levick (2014), p. 117.
References: DIR contributors (2000). "De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and Their Families". Retrieved 2015-04-14. Giacosa, Giorgio (1977). Women of the Caesars: Their Lives and Portraits on Coins. Translated by R. Ross Holloway. Milan: Edizioni Arte e Moneta. ISBN 0-8390-0193-2. Lambert, Royston (1984). Beloved and God: The Story of Hadrian and Antinous. New York: Viking. ISBN 0-670-15708-2. Levick, Barbara (2014). Faustina I and II: Imperial Women of the Golden Age. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-537941-9. William Smith, ed. (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.