Antoninus Pius Profile | Antoninus Pius Basics
Dates: September 19, 86 - March 7, 161
Birthplace: Lanuvium, Italy
Father(s): Titus Aurelius Fulvus [birth]; Emperor Hadrian [adoptive]
Mother: Arria Fadilla
Wife: "Augusta" Annia Galeria Faustina, daughter of M. Annius Verus
Occupation: Emperor (138-161)
Full Name:
- Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus [original];
- Titus Aelius Caesar Antoninus [after adoption];
- Caesar Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius [as emperor]
Antoninus Pius reigned as Roman Emperor from A.D. 138-161. He was born T. Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus on September 19, A.D. 86 at Lanuvium. He was probably quaestor, praetor, and consul before he was consul, as well as proconsul in Asia. He married Annia Galeria Faustina, daughter of M. Annius Verus. When Hadrian's adopted son Verus died, the Emperor adopted Antoninus Pius as son. In return, Antoninus Pius adopted the future Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
When Hadrian died, Antoninus demonstrated such piety that he earned the name "pius." He also earned the title "pater patriae." He completed and restored earlier building projects, including Hadrian's mausoleum, rather than starting major ones of his own, although he did have built temples of the Divine Hadrian in the Campus Martius and one for his deceased and deified wife Faustina in the Forum. Although he stayed mainly in Rome, wars were conducted during his reign throughout the Empire. He established a fund for orphaned girls who are referred to as the puellae Faustinianae on coins [source: DIR].
When Antoninus Pius died in 161, the Senate deified him.
DIR Roman Emperors lists the following ancient sources on Antoninus Pius:
- Scriptores Historiae Augustae, by Aelius Spartianus
- Cassius Dio, Roman History, epitome of book 70
- Eutropius, Breviarium
- Fronto, Correspondence
- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
- Orosius, Seven Books Against the Pagans
- Pausanias, Description of Greece
- Philostratus, Lives of the Sophists
