The second of Gibbon's Antonine pair was Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Stoic philosopher and Roman emperor. His philosophical writings are known as the Meditations. He is considered the last of the five good emperors and was succeeded by his son, the infamous Roman emperor Commodus.
Marcus Aurelius during the time of one of the great plagues of the Roman Empire. He also faced conflict on many confronts, especially from the Marcomanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians, in the Marcomannic Wars, and the Parthians.
