Annia Galeria Faustina the Younger (born probably 21 September AD, – 175/176 AD) was
Roman empress
This is a list of Roman and Byzantine empresses. A Roman empress was a woman who was the wife of a Roman emperor, the ruler of the Roman Empire.
The Romans had no single term for the position: Latin and Greek titles such as '' augusta'' (Greek ...
from 161 to her death as the wife of Emperor
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
,
her maternal cousin. Faustina was the youngest child of Emperor
Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius ( Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty.
Born into a senatori ...
and Empress
Faustina the Elder
Annia Galeria Faustina the Elder, sometimes referred to as Faustina I or Faustina Major (born on February 16 around 100; died in October or November of 140), was a Roman empress and wife of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius. The emperor Marcus Au ...
. She was held in high esteem by soldiers and her husband as
Augusta and ''Mater Castrorum'' ('Mother of the Camp') and was given divine honours after her death.
Life
Early life
![0 Faustina Minor - Palazzo Massimo alle Terme - Rome](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/0_Faustina_Minor_-_Palazzo_Massimo_alle_Terme_-_Rome.JPG)
Faustina, named after her mother, was her parents' fourth and youngest child and second daughter; she was also their only child to survive to adulthood. She was born and raised in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
.
Her second cousin three times removed, emperor
Hadrian, had arranged with her father for Faustina to marry
Lucius Verus. On 25 February 138, she and Verus were betrothed.
Verus' father was Hadrian's first adopted son and his intended heir; however, when Verus' father died, Hadrian chose Faustina's father to be his second adopted son, and eventually, he became Hadrian's successor. Faustina's father ended the engagement between his daughter and Verus and arranged for Faustina's betrothal to her maternal cousin,
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
; Aurelius was also adopted by her father.
Imperial heiress
![Marcus Aurelius bust Istanbul Archaeological Museum - inv](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Marcus_Aurelius_bust_Istanbul_Archaeological_Museum_-_inv._5129_T.jpg)
In April or May 145, Faustina and Marcus Aurelius were married, as had been planned since 138. Since Aurelius was, by adoption, Antoninus Pius' son, under Roman law he was marrying his sister; Antoninus would have had to formally release one or the other from his paternal authority (his ''
patria potestas
The ''pater familias'', also written as ''paterfamilias'' (plural ''patres familias''), was the head of a Roman family. The ''pater familias'' was the oldest living male in a household, and could legally exercise autocratic authority over his ext ...
'') for the ceremony to take place. Little is specifically known of the ceremony, but it is said to have been "noteworthy". Coins were issued with the heads of the couple, and Antoninus, as ''
Pontifex Maximus'', would have officiated. Marcus makes no apparent reference to the marriage in his surviving letters, and only sparing references to Faustina. Faustina was given the title of ''
Augusta'' on 1 December 147 after the birth of her first child, Domitia Faustina.
Empress
When Antoninus died on 7 March 161, Marcus and Lucius Verus ascended to the throne and became co-rulers. Faustina then became empress. Following the birth of her first child in 147, Faustina obtained the title of Augusta granted to her by the Senate, before her husband Marcus Aurelius became Augustus himself in 161.
![Aureus struck under Antoninus Pius depicting Faustina the Younger](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Aureus_struck_under_Antoninus_Pius_depicting_Faustina_the_Younger.jpg)
Not much has survived from the Roman sources regarding Faustina's life, but what is available does not give a good report.
Cassius Dio
Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
and the unreliable ''
Historia Augusta'' accuse Faustina of ordering deaths by poison and execution; she has also been accused of instigating the revolt of
Avidius Cassius against her husband. The ''Historia Augusta'' mentions adultery with sailors, gladiators, and men of rank; however, Faustina and Aurelius seem to have been very close and mutually devoted.
Faustina accompanied her husband on various military campaigns and enjoyed the excessive love and reverence of Roman soldiers. Aurelius gave her the title of ''Mater Castrorum'' or ‘Mother of the Camp’. She attempted to make her home out of an army camp. Between 170 and 175, she was in the north, and in 175, she accompanied Aurelius to the east.
Revolt of Avidius Cassius and death
That same year, 175, Aurelius's general
Avidius Cassius was proclaimed
Roman emperor after the erroneous news of Marcus's death; the sources indicate Cassius was encouraged by Marcus' wife Faustina, who was concerned about her husband's failing health, believing him to be on the verge of death, and felt the need for Cassius to act as a protector in this event, since her son
Commodus, aged 13, was still young. She also wanted someone who would act as a counter-weight to the claims of
Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus
Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus ( 125 – 193 AD) was a politician and military commander during the 2nd century in the Roman Empire. A general under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Pompeianus distinguished himself during Rome's wars against the Part ...
, who was in a strong position to take the office of
Princeps
''Princeps'' (plural: ''principes'') is a Latin word meaning "first in time or order; the first, foremost, chief, the most eminent, distinguished, or noble; the first man, first person". As a title, ''princeps'' originated in the Roman Republic w ...
in the event of Marcus's death. The evidence, including Marcus's own ''
Meditations
''Meditations'' () is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from AD 161 to 180, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy.
Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the ''Meditations'' in Koine ...
'', supports the idea that Marcus was indeed quite ill, but by the time Marcus recovered, Cassius was already fully acclaimed by the Egyptian legions of
II Traiana Fortis and
XXII Deiotariana.
"After a dream of empire lasting three months and six days", Cassius was murdered by a
centurion; his head was sent to Marcus Aurelius, who refused to see it and ordered it buried. Egypt recognized Marcus as emperor again by 28 July 175.
The facts concerning the death of Faustina are not definite. She died in the winter of 175 at the military camp in
Halala (a city in the
Taurus Mountains
The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar'') are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğird ...
in
Cappadocia
Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde.
According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Re ...
). The causes of her death are of speculation of scholars and range from death from natural causes, suicide, an accident, or even possibly assassination in retaliation for her alleged affair with Cassius earlier that year, depending on the source.
Aurelius grieved much for his wife and buried her in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome. She was
deified
Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term has ...
: her statue was placed in the Temple of Venus in Rome and a temple was dedicated to her in her honor. Halala's name was changed to ''
Faustinopolis
Faustinopolis ( grc, Φαυστινόπολις), also Colonia Faustinopolis and Halala, was an ancient city in the south of Cappadocia, about 20 km south of Tyana. It was named after the empress Faustina, the wife of Marcus Aurelius, who died the ...
'' and Aurelius opened charity schools for orphan girls called ''Puellae Faustinianae'' or 'Girls of Faustina'. The Baths of Faustina in
Miletus are named after her.
Children
In their thirty years of marriage, Faustina and Marcus Aurelius had many children, at least 14 are known for certain. Only six survived to adulthood, five daughters and the son
Commodus. Faustina’s role as a mother was glorified, and with the birth of her daughter, Fadilla, coins were issued, portraying her as
Juno Lucina.
#Domitia Faustina (born 147, died around 155)
#Titus Aelius Antoninus (149–149), twin of the one below
#Titus Aelius Aurelius (149–149), twin of the one above
#
Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla (150–182), married her father's co-ruler
Lucius Verus
#Gemellus Lucillus (150 – died around 150), twin brother of Lucilla
#Aurelia (151–151)
#Tiberius Aelius Antoninus (born 152 – died before 161)
#Hadrianus (152–157)
#
Annia Aurelia Galeria Faustina (153 – after 165)
#Aurelius (157–158)
#
Annia Aurelia Fadilla (159 – after 211)
#
Annia Cornificia Faustina Minor
Annia Cornificia Faustina Minor (''Minor'' Latin for ''the younger'', 160–212 AD) was a daughter of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and his wife, Faustina the Younger. She was sister to Lucilla and Commodus. Her maternal grandparents were A ...
(160 – after 211)
#Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus (161–165), twin brother of emperor Commodus
#
Lucius Aurelius Commodus Antoninus (161–192), Roman emperor
#
Marcus Annius Verus Caesar
Marcus Annius Verus Caesar (born 162 or 163 – 10 September 169) was a son of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Empress Faustina the Younger. Annius was made caesar on 12 October 166 AD, alongside his brother Commodus, designating them co-heirs ...
(162–169)
#
Vibia Aurelia Sabina
Vibia Aurelia Sabina (170 AD – before 217 AD) was the youngest daughter and child born to Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Roman Empress Faustina the Younger. She was a sister to Roman Empress Lucilla and Roman Emperor Commodus. Her mater ...
(170 – died before 217)
References
Citations
Bibliography
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* ''
Scriptores Historiae Augustae
The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers from 117 to 284. Supposedly modeled on the sim ...
'' (nominally
Julius Capitolinus
The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers from 117 to 284. Supposedly modeled on the si ...
), ''Marcus Antoninus'' xix.1–9, xxvi.4–5, 7–9, xxix.1–3
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Faustina the Younger
130s births
175 deaths
Nerva–Antonine dynasty
Annii
Burials at the Castel Sant'Angelo
2nd-century Roman empresses
Deified Roman empresses
Marcus Aurelius
Ancient Roman women in warfare
Augustae
Daughters of Roman emperors