Marcus Aurelius was emperor of Rome from 161 to 180 AD. He was the last of the Five Good Emperors, and is also considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers. He succeeded Antoninus Pius as emperor and ruled with Lucius Verus until his own death in 180. During his reign, he fought wars in Germania, Parthia, Egypt and Syria against foreign enemies.
Marcus was a good ruler who tried to do his best by his people. He was a philosopher and wrote down his thoughts on how he should rule in the book Meditations.
He did not want to be like the previous emperors who had been greedy and selfish, so he gave up his power over people’s lives as much as possible and allowed them to make their own decisions. He thought that this would make them happier than if they were forced to obey rules that they did not agree with.
During his reign he fought the Marcomanni people in Italy and repulsed a Vandal invasion from North Africa. He also expanded Roman territory northwards into Dacia (modern day Romania).
However, there were still many problems during his reign because Rome was still suffering from invaders and disease and could not afford to pay for all its armies any more than Marcus Aurelius himself could afford to give up his power over people’s lives completely!
