waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one. These words possibly more than any others sum up the best man to ever rule the Roman Empire, Marcus Aurelius. Actually, that's not true. There are way better words that some of aelio and the philosophy of sism. Five simple words, in fact. It is what it is. It is is what it is. Yep, that's pretty much stoicism, and Marcus Aurelius followed that wisdom to a tee, which made him different in a time where Roman emperors were basically the rulers of the known world, and ethics and morals did not apply to them. For most Emperors, human lives were playthings, and the law literally bent to their will. Emperors danced to their own tune. They danced to one song, one song only. So once he was Emperor Marcus aelio man, he could have had anything in the word, anything, and yet the dude practiced sleeping on the floor to steel his resolve for the stoic lifestyle. Come on man, Aurelius literally

thought of himself and all other humans as trees, and not in the way that some people now identify as trees. No, no, no. It's funny 'cause there's probably a tree pronoun person watching this, hearing me say, AOS thought people were trees, and they went, AIO. Meed in the way a tree fulfills its life's potential. The tree doesn't set out to be admired or be pretty or sturdy or great. These aspects are just a byproduct of the tree doing what trees do, of it fulfilling its potential, doing what nature intends. And to Marcus Aelio, the natural purpose of a man was to be good, to help others. That was man's potential, and fulfilling it was your only duty. And so, Maros AO decided to be a dictator that rules an Empire that was built on oppression, bloodshed, and slavery, and waged war for 19 years to keep and expand the Empire's lands and kill those who would dare to try and be free from the Romans. But hey, it is what it is. It is what it is.

let's talk about this stoic Emperor who seemingly did everything right, and then somehow decided it was a good idea to hand the Empire over to his incestuous, murderous, flat-out evil son Commodus. Let's talk about the stoic emperor that is known as the philosophy King, a nickname that I swear could only get you laid in Ancient Rome or Greece. Let's talk [Music] about Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus Germanicus Sarmaticus. Yep, that's his full name. Let's do this. Marcus Aurelius was actually born as Marcus Annius Verus on April 26, 121 CE into a super, super Noble family. And in other videos, this is when I usually tell you that the father was secretly some monster or the mother betrayed the family for more power or they stole their baby or ate seven of its toes or I don't know something weird. But no, not this time. No Trader mom, no deadbeat fathers. The only deadbeats were the

ones. Marcus Aurelius would later spit his fire ioic philosophy on. Marcus Aelius legit had great parents, and in his own words, he described them as follows: From the reputation and remembrance of my father, I learned modesty and a manly character; from my mother, piety and generosity, and abstinence not only from evil deeds, but even from evil thoughts; and further, simplicity in my way of living, far removed from the habit of the rich. I mean, the worst thing you could say is that she sounds like the OG hippie vegan mom that would have ridden her bicycle around Rome and told you about her holistic lifestyle even though you never asked, but that's about it. There was, however, one shadow of darkness that quickly cast itself over Marcus Aurelius' seemingly perfect life: death. His father died when Aurelius was just 3 years young, and from then on, death would follow Aurelius around for the rest of his life like herpes, which is why he focused a lot of his philosophical efforts on the inevitable.

final resting place. Which, spoiler alert, historic conclusion when it comes to death. Ultimately, was it is what it is, it is what it is. I'm telling you, man, these five words will basically apply at any point of this video. Marky Mark Aurelius also had a sister, Fatina, and after their father died, the siblings were adopted by their grandfather, a man that was consul of Rome several times throughout his life and expected the same successes from his late son and now his grandson, Aelius. Living up to your potential and leaving the world a better place than you found it was a mentality instilled in this boy from a young age, and opportunity to do just that came knocking early when the then Emperor Hadrian, a great man in his own R, realized that he's shooting blanks. And so, in 138 CE, when he was 62 years old, Emperor Hadrian adopted 51-year-old Antonos Peos as his heir to the throne on the simple condition that Peos was to adopt and groom then teenage Aurelius.

was the chosen one. Hadrian really wanted in charge. See, Hadrian was the third of what would become a consecutive Roman all-time high of five great Emperors, and he saw in Marcus Aurelius an heir that would keep the Pax Romana, the golden age of Rome, going. Why he saw this in the teenage Marcus Aelius is a mystery to this day, but for once we can be sure it had nothing to do with weird underage sexual desires, something I feel the need to clarify after Emperors like Tiberius, Caligula, and Nero were all like, Uh, by the way, if it makes you feel any better, uh, I happen to like 8-year-old boys. So after Hadrian died later in 138 CE, Aelius found himself the adopted son of the Emperor of Rome, the adopted son of Antoninus Pius. Usually, this is where I cut the music and tell you some horrific thing the powerful Emperor did to his young heir out of jealousy or fear or lust, but no, Pius was a great father to

aelius and honored Hadrian's wishes, grooming Aurelius into a great successor and laying the foundation for the humble man he would become. Then in 145 CE, Aus also got married to fosa. And this is once again where some attentive listener might go, fosa, wait, I heard that name before. The sister he married, his sister. Finally, some incest here we go. Now it's a real Roman Emperor video. Yo, man, I'm sorry guys, different fostina, not his sister, just a common name at the time. I'm telling you, you will find no such T NOA drama in this one. I know it's super disappointing. Aelio married FAA, the younger, the daughter of Emperor posos, and he had 14 children with her, which was more than enough to fully tie him into the emperor's bloodline and to the throne. But I just want to point out that 14 children, of which two were twins, means 108 months of pregnancy. That's 9 years of being pregnant. Like, slow down Marcus, damn, come on, give her a break.

buty. Stoicism is all about being one with nature and doing like the animals do. And even squirrels chase n. You know, talking, you know, you know what I'm saying, you know. But other than literally having so many children they could play a full game of basketball against each other with substitutions, alelos dedicated himself to the opposite of being an athlete to become the philosopher king. You first have to master being the nerd prince, and the frail-bodied Aurelios was hard at work at a young age. He got bored studying all of the Greek and Latin fancy people discourse, and he took to stoicism, a philosophy that became his life's foundation and a school of thought that I personally believed is best summarized as it is what it is. I'm kidding, I'm sorry. I think in Marcus Aurelius's words, this quote beautifully encapsulates a major aspect of what stoicism is all about: think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what's left and live it.

properly. Thus, Marcus Aurelius was on a quest to live life properly, which again meant fulfilling his potential and Nature's calling to be good. AKA Marky Mark got real busy. At various points, he was in charge of administrating civil law, the Roman treasury, the Imperial Guard, and was Cil of Rome not once, not twice, but thrice. In other words, if there was ever anybody that had all the right tools to one day be the emperor, from a stable upbringing to great mentoring to perfect education and the right mindset, it was Marcus Aurelius. So when Antonius Pius died peacefully at age 74 in 161 CE after a great rule, forever going down as the fourth great emperor in a row, Aelius followed as the fifth great emperor in a row without a hitch. Aelius was so well suited for the role of Emperor and such a good man that he even refused to take office unless his younger brother Vos, who had also been adopted by Pius, is made co-emperor alongside with him.

so from March 7th, 161 CE onwards, the two brothers co-ruled Rome for 7 years without drama, without backstabbing, and without anything. They just ruled and did it well. My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined. If you're new to this channel, do know that this video is an absolute anomaly as far as Roman emperors go. And so, for the first time ever, Rome was ruled by two, but Aelius was very obviously the Man In Charge. Vos was the Scotty Pippen to Aurelius's Jordan, the Kelly Rowland to Aurelius's Beyonce, except there was no ego involved here. Aurelius didn't care to be in charge, he just strove to be the best man he could be, and his brother and co-emperor simply agreed that Aurelius was the better man to make most decisions. So, all in all, as far as his upbringing and his time as Emperor and Rome's interior politics at the time go, A's reign was absolute Bliss. Not going to lie, I kind.

of missed the drama the spice from Caligula and Nero so let see if things get spicier in chapter [Music] 2. Death had a firm grip on aurelius's reign as Emperor. After Marcus Aurelius lost his father as a young child, he lost six of his young children as a father. Death became an all to Common visitor in the emperor's life and a staple of his writing. Despise not death, but welcome it, for nature wills it like all else. Death is a release from the impressions of the senses, from desires that make us their puppets, from the vagaries of the mind, and from the heart service of the Flesh. To me, more than anything, these read like the words of a man trying to make peace with the losses he experienced all throughout his life. Aside from the grief in his personal life, Aurelius also had to wage war for most of his reign as Emperor along Rome's borders. Wars that took the life of many citizens and soldiers that were under Aurelius's protection while Rome's

interior might have been peaceful and quiet. Rome's borders were a constant battlefield. The Roman Empire was massive at this point, so naturally, there was always some oppressed or opposing nation trying to set something. And throughout the reign of Marcus Aurelius and his Kelly Roland, the most troublesome borders were those constantly tested by the Germanic people and the Parthians. The Parthians were a strong empire in their own right and fought with Rome over the border country Armenia. The barbarians coming out of the Germanic lands were just constantly wilding out. There are many videos detailing these wars, so I'm not going to do that, but the gist of it is simple. Actually, Parthia wanted a puppet king installed in Armenia, and Rome did too, so they fought over that. What's important is that the Romans returned from the Parthian frontiers with a new virus, the Antonine Plague, an epidemic that killed thousands of Romans every day. And so, once again, death visited Aurelius, this time in the

form of a plague, but the emperor was ready to meet his frequent visitor. Writing an infected mind is a far more dangerous pestilence than any plague; one only threatens your life, the other destroys your character, that's deep. Maros IO stood by his words and showed true character during the plague. And unlike many other wealthy Romans of the time, he did not flee the city during one of its Darkest Hours. He stayed amongst the sick and led the efforts to raise medical attention and awareness and did anything to slow down the death toll. Aelius cared deeply for his people and helping them, and he truly believed his life was no more valuable than any other human's. The plague was his chance to prove that he had accepted and embraced both the fact that it is in every man's nature to be great as much as it is in every man's nature to die. You think my life is some precious thing to me, as I would trade my honor for a few more years of war. But of course, Aurelius was just a man, and no man could

stop this plague. Ultimately, the plague killed an estimated 5 to 10 million people over the 15 years that it ravaged the Empire. In 169 CE, it also killed the co-emperor Vos. The foreign plague turned out to be a greater enemy than any foreign army, and it, along with the Parthian War, weakened the Roman troops and its people, which in turn taxed the Empire and ruined its economy. So Aurelio sold Imperial possessions and ornaments for gold to help those in need, and also sold his wife's jewelry and silk robes, as well as the few things of value that Aurelius even possessed himself, because that's just the type of good guy he was. His life's mission was to help everyone, except if you're Germanic or Parthian, or anyone not Roman, then he'll have his army kill your ass and oppress your people. All in all, though, Rome was so busy fighting its own collapse due to the Antonine plague that it was too weak against another threat, the Germanic

their suian tribes led by the momani people. These tribes invaded a weakened Rome that was stretched thin across its many border fires. And so, for the first time in 270 years, an enemy Army made it all the way into Italian territory. Rome needed a military Savior, and they needed one bad. And as genius as aelius was in just about every other area of Life, military matters and warfare was not one of his greatest areas of expertise. But part of his philosophy and ways of stoicism is also to be willing to let go of power, and arus never sought to be the man and lead the charge by any means necessary. He had no problem excepting when another steps up to fulfill their potential, and that other man was aidos Casio, and he was the one who ended the war against the parthians and allowed the rest of Rome to deal with the Germanic Invasion. And Rome really had a lot to deal with, like marus aelio spent a big chunk of his time on campaigns.

the Northern Frontiers against the Germanic people. But over time, he did eventually fight them back out of Roman territory, out of Italian territory, back across their borders. Yet with everything that was going on and the dust just settling from the Parthan War and the plague still raging, Communications to the front lines was disrupted. A rumor spread that the emperor Marcos Aelius had died, a rumor that was so persistent that eventually nobody questioned it anymore. And so, by 175 CE, for all accounts and purposes, it was assumed that Aurelius had died, either taken by the virus or the enemy. Even Aurelius's wife, Fosa, was certain that her husband was dead, and her beliefs were a major part in spreading the news. And of course, Fusa knew the fate of a dead emperor's family. She knew how succession in ancient Rome went. Do you have any notion of what happens when a city is sacked? No, you wouldn't, would you? If the city falls, these fine women should be in for a bit of a.

rape that along with the murder of your children and anyone loyal to you. You know, the usual stuff that I tell you about in these videos. And she wanted to protect her family from that, or rather protect what was left of her family from Dad. So she willingly supported Cassio's claim to the throne, knowing that he is an honorable man that would not murder her children nor harm her in any way. I mean, this is not funny, but even the one time, the one guy that actually usurps somebody in this video and has like real bad guy potential, even this guy does it with honor. Even Aelia's wife, if you think she kind of betrayed her husband here, even she did that with honor and reason. There really are no bad apples in this video. But Aelius did not die at the frontier and returned to Rome. And again, most Emperors would absolutely lose it and try to get rid of Cassio or be offended at their wife's perceived betrayal, but not this guy, not Aelius. He

knew that he owed a great debt to Casio for defeating the Parthians, and he understood that his wife only did what she had to do. And so, Aurelius told the people of Rome and the Senate that if they prefer Casio to be their Emperor, he would willingly step down because it is what it is, it is what it is. I know where's the bloodshed, where's the violence that we humans love so much. Well, here's a little tiny bit of it. Even though Aurelius and Casio never clashed, there was some tension over what would happen to Rome, and some of Casio's men could not take that tension. They were loyal to their great Emperor Aurelius, and so they killed Casio and brought Aurelius his severed head. But of course, the honorable philosophy King didn't want to even look at it, and was sad that a great man had died, and gave Casio a proper burial. He was the best guy around. What about the people he murdered? What murder. Aurelius then had to

return to the Frontiers again to oversee its defenses against those audacious Germanic people who still dare to fight back against Rome's oppression. Like, don't they know that the big stoic Aurelius is just here to help everybody? Don't they know we're all equals, you know, just some are more equal than others, and by some I mean Romans. But hey, what happens at the northern Frontier stays at the northern Frontier, so it's okay that the big stoic turned into the big hypocrite while at War. And to be fair, Marcus Aurelius did struggle with the ethics of said war versus the responsibility he had to the safety of the people and the Empire he was chosen to protect and lead, a struggle that he documented in his diary, a diary we now know as the book Meditations, the majority of which was written while campaigning against the Germanic tribes, a campaign that Aurelius continued until his death on March 17th, 180 CE. And in typical Marcus Aurelius fashion, when those

closest to him wept over his demise. Aelius said, Weep not for me. Think rather of the pestilence and the death of so many others. And then he went ahead and made his son Commodus his heir, a maniac that was a literal pestilence personified and caused the death of so many others. But whatever it is, what it is. And it is ironic that the one Emperor who cared the least about being known or remembered after death, because he understood that that stuff is even less relevant when you're dead, that this Emperor still means so much to millions of people living by his word today, living by the stoic writings of Aurelius summarized in Meditations, a book whose original title translates to literally mean things to one's self, a book that was merely written as a reminder from the man Marcos to the Emperor Aurelius to keep his ego in check, a reminder that was never meant to be shared with anyone else. And yet it is arguably Aurelius's greatest gift to

Finally An Honest Video On Marcus Aurelius

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