Emperor Lucius Verus: Life, Death, Reign

When we talk about the five good Roman emperors of the Antonine Dynasty, we are actively overlooking Lucius Verus. The five good emperors were Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius, all of whom succeeded one another and whose period of prosperity was ended by the problematic Emperor Commodus. However, this idealized timeline overlooks Lucius Verus, who served as co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius from the start of the joint reign in 161 CE until Verus’s death in 169 CE. Where does Lucius Verus fit into the story of the Antonine emperors, and why is he so often overlooked?

Born Lucius Ceionius Commodus on December 15, 130 CE, Lucius was within the imperial fold from his youth.

Adoption was a common strategy used by the Romans to ensure the continuity of Patrician families. Adoption allowed the Julio-Claudians to ensure their dynasty despite the unfortunate deaths of many male family members. Octavian was adopted by his uncle Julius Caesar in his will and went on to become Augustus Caesar. He adopted his grandsons from his daughter Julia and friend Marcus Agrippa, Gaius and Lucius Caesar. When they died, Augustus adopted his stepson Tiberius, on the condition he adopted Germanicus, the grandson of Augustus’s sister Octavia and ally-turned-rival Marcus Antonius. Germanicus also died before he could assume imperial power, which went to his youngest son Gaius Caligula, since his older brothers were dead.

The Antonine emperors took a similar approach, but their familial relations with their adopted heirs were less straightforward. Nerva, an elderly senator made emperor after the assassination of Domitian, the last of the Flavian emperors, adopted the general Trajan, who was not a familial relation. Trajan then adopted Hadrian, who was the son of his cousin.

Hadrian initially adopted Lucius Ceionius Commodus, Lucius’s father, as his heir in 136 CE, who then took the name Lucius Aelius Caesar. This was an extraordinary adoption as he was chosen in place of Hadrian’s presumed heir, Lucius Pedanius Fuscus Salinator, who was his great-nephew and had previously received special status at court. But it came to nothing as Lucius’s father died just two years later.

Following Lucius’s death in 138 CE, Hadrian adopted Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus, who would become the emperor Antoninus Pius later that same year. He was married to Hadrian’s niece Faustina before his adoption. As part of his adoption, Hadrian required him to adopt Marcus Annius Verus, the son of a good friend of Hadrian and a great-great-grandson of Trajan, who would go on to become Marcus Aurelius, and Lucius Ceionius Commodus, the son of Hadrian’s previous heir, who would become the emperor Lucius Verus.

Following these complex adoption mechanics, Marcus Aurelius would be the first emperor in almost a century to choose his biological son, Commodus, as his heir. But this would turn out to be a disaster and end the Antonine Dynasty.

Lucius Verus was recognized as an heir to power from the age of six, alongside Marcus Aurelius, who was ten years his elder. Initially, Verus was betrothed to Antoninus’s daughter Faustina, although she was legally his sister, and Marcus was betrothed to Verus’s sister Ceionia Fabia. But shortly after his succession, Antoninus changed this arrangement and betrothed Marcus to Faustina, with the pair marrying in 145 and having at least 14 children.

Both his superior age and this advantageous marriage marked Marcus Aurelius as the preferred heir, which was logical considering Lucius Verus was still very young. Both boys were educated for power, notably studying under the famous orator Fronto. Letters between both emperors and their old teacher survive, though it is clear from their correspondence that Marcus was his favored pupil.

Marcus was made princeps iuventutis in 139 CE, marking him out as a young heir, and then served as consul in 140 and 145. He joined several priestly colleges, and Antoninus set him up in an imperial palace on the Palatine so that he could learn about life at court. Verus would only assume the consulship in 154, and under Antoninus, received no extraordinary titles other than “son of Augustus.”

From the mid-150s, Marcus would take on increasing administrative duties, while Verus was largely left in the shadows. Marcus helped the elderly emperor in his daily dealings and was made Praetorian Prefect in 156/157, which was one of the most important administrative jobs in Rome.

In 160, both Marcus and Lucius were designated as consuls for the following year, which would keep Marcus one consulship ahead of his junior colleague. Antoninus Pius would die during their consulships in early 161.

When Antoninus Pius died on March 7, 161, the Senate was prepared to declare Marcus Aurelius as the new emperor. However, Marcus said that he would only accept the honor if Verus was granted equal power, and the Senate agreed. This was an important moment in history as it marked the first time that Rome had two emperors. The Senate may have considered it a risk, as it offered the potential for factions and infighting, but they seem to have been in no position to refuse Marcus.

Once they were confirmed by the Senate, both men went to the Praetorians to have themselves confirmed. Reportedly it was Lucius who spoke to the guard, perhaps because Marcus could already count on their support having served as a prefect of the guard. The pair also gave the guard an enormous donative of 20,000 sesterces per man, which was the equivalent of seven years’ pay.

The pair then completed their succession duties by having Antoninus Pius deified as Divus Antoninus. While the Senate had objected to the deification of Hadrian in 138, they seemed to have no problem granting Antoninus Pius the status of a god.

Following the completion of their succession, Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus and Imperator Caesar Lucius Aurelius Verus Augustus were ostensibly equal in power, but it was clear to all that Marcus was the senior member of the partnership. According to the Life of Lucius Verus in the Historia Augusta: “Verus obeyed Marcus, whenever he entered upon any undertaking, as a lieutenant obeys a proconsul or a governor obeys the emperor” (4.2).

While Lucius Verus is not vilified in the sources in the same way as Caligula or Domitian, the young princeps, in his early 30s when he came to power, is presented as an Antonine Nero. The Historia Augusta says that “it is agreed that if he did not bristle with vices, no more did he abound in virtues” and suffered from a “laxity of his principles and the excessive license of his life” (3).

While vices such as gambling, womanizing, and surrounding himself with unsavory people are mentioned throughout the sources, his vices are most clearly described when he is sent to Syria to deal with a rebellion there.

Serious problems with Parthia began in 161 CE, when Vologases IV of Parthia invaded the kingdom of Armenia, a client state of Rome, expelling its king and installing his own. While the governor of Cappadocia quickly went in, with the hope of winning glory for himself, within three days he had committed suicide, and his legion had been massacred. The region’s Roman forces were reinforced, strategically weakening the empire’s other borders, and further losses followed. By the end of 161, it was clear that the crisis needed the personal attention of an emperor.

Despite being marked as heir, Marcus Aurelius had no military experience. Unlike previous heirs, he was not sent to the provinces to develop his military experience and reputation. Instead, he stayed in Rome with the emperor. Therefore, it was decided that Lucius Verus should be dispatched, as the younger of the two men and because he had a more rugged disposition. He reportedly excelled at every kind of sport and loved hunting and wrestling. He was not sent alone. The emperor was accompanied by Furius Victorinus, one of the praetorian prefects and a former procurator of Galatia, M. Pontius Laelianus Larcius Sabinus, a former governor of both the Pannonias and Syria, and M. Iallius Bassus, a former governor of Lower Moesia. Marcus Statius Priscus, the experienced governor of Britain, was also sent separately to act as the new governor of Cappadocia.

While in Rome, Lucius’s reported hedonistic tendencies may have been tempered by Marcus’s more austere character. But he seems to have been able to indulge in the luxuries that he loved on the road.

Leaving in the summer of 162, he made his winding way from Italy to Antioch in Syria, stopping to feast, hunt, and enjoy himself at many country houses. As he passed through Greece, stopping at Corinth and Athens, Lucius was reportedly accompanied by musicians and singers, as if on a royal tour rather than heading to deal with a military crisis. As he made his way across the Aegean, Verus reported stopping at famed pleasure resorts at Pamphylia and Cilicia, before eventually arriving at Antioch in late 162 or early 163.

When in Antioch, while he was praised for his management and oversight of the army, he was also described as indulging in a luxurious lifestyle. He was known to gamble, enjoy the company of actors, and waste resources getting dispatches from Rome about his favorite chariot team.

He also reportedly started an affair with a beautiful but low-born Greek woman called Panthea. Among other things, she convinced Verus to shave his beard for her, which resulted in him being taunted. This anecdote is probably meant to demonstrate the power she had over the emperor. In 163 or 164, Marcus dispatched his daughter Lucilla to Ephesus to marry Verus, probably in an attempt to limit the damage being caused by this eastern mistress.

Despite these criticisms, Lucius Verus earned great praise for his exploits in Syria, though much of the credit probably belonged to his generals and commanders.

Lucius started by training the army, which had become soft in the luxurious East. Men becoming soft under Eastern influence is a common trope among Roman authors. He also secured supply lines by digging a canal to open up a new sailing route up the Orontes to Antioch.

In 163, Statius Priscus led a campaign in Armenia that captured the capital Artaxata. This allowed Verus to take the title “Armeniacus,” despite not being involved in the combat. But the emperor had the right to claim credit for the victory, and after a year, Marcus also claimed the title, despite being back in Rome. His delay was probably meant to let Verus enjoy the limelight for a period before reaffirming their imperial hierarchy. When Lucius was hailed “Imperator” the same year, changing his title to Imp. II, Marcus immediately adopted the same title, maintaining their hierarchy.

In 164, the Romans constructed a new capital for Armenia, called Kaine Polis. A new king was installed, Gaius Julius Sohaemus, who was a Roman senator and had links to Persian royalty.

But while the Romans were enjoying success in Armenia, the Parthians interfered with another client kingdom, Osroene, in upper Mesopotamia. In 165, the Romans entered this territory and reinstated the ousted king Mannus. At the end of the year, the Romans conquered the rest of the region, sacking the cities of Seleucia and Ctesiphon. Lucius was criticized for this unnecessary destruction, even though Avidius Cassius was in command of the forces. For this success, both Lucius and Marcus were hailed Imperators again, and Lucius took the title “Parthicus Maximus,” which Marcus would again adopt a year later.

In 166, the army, under Cassius, would take the field again, crossing the Tiber River and campaigning into Media. Again, the two emperors would be hailed Imperators, and Lucius would take the title “Medicus.”

The conflict was considered more-or-less won at this time and probably ended because an epidemic that was sweeping through Parthia spread to the Roman army, leaving neither side with the stomach to continue the conflict. But less than 20 years later, the Romans would be back.

Lucius Verus returned to Rome in 166, where he would continue the luxurious lifestyle he had become accustomed to during his years in the East. He reportedly took great pleasure in the games and built a tavern in his home to have all-night parties with his friends, who included a troupe of actors.

But this sojourn in Rome was brief as the Germanic Marcomanni tribe invaded Roman territory along the Danube border, which had been weakened by sending reinforcements to the East. In 168, Marcus and Lucius set out for the frontline together. Marcus probably realized he could not afford to be so completely overshadowed by Lucius on the military front. He also, reportedly, did not want to leave the unreliable Lucius alone in Rome.

Again, reportedly Lucius was more interested in enjoying himself on the journey than making war plans, which all fell to Marcus. This initial conflict with Marcomanni was resolved quickly, allowing the emperors to return to Rome before the end of the year. But the following year, the conflict would resume. Marcus would return and eventually die on campaign there in 180 CE.

But Lucius Verus’s time would be even shorter. While returning, the emperors stopped at Aquileia, where Lucius died, either of a stroke or the plague that was brought to Rome by the eastern soldiers. Marcus ensured all honors for his adopted brother, who was given an elaborate state funeral and a place among the gods as Divus Verus.

The story of Lucius Verus is difficult to unpick because of his ties to Marcus Aurelius, considered by the Romans themselves as one of the very best emperors. It was the custom in Roman literature to emphasize the positive qualities of one emperor by comparing them with the negative qualities of another. As Marcus’s junior co-emperor who died long before Marcus, he represents the perfect literary foil for Marcus. This clearly shaped the character of Lucius Verus that we meet in the sources.