Lucilla Vacondìo
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Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla or Lucilla (7 March 148 or 150 – 182) was the second daughter of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Roman Empress Faustina the Younger. She was the wife of her father's co-ruler and adoptive brother
Lucius Verus Lucius Aurelius Verus (15 December 130 – January/February 169) was Roman emperor from 161 until his death in 169, alongside his adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty. Verus' succession together with ...
and an elder sister to later Emperor
Commodus Commodus (; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. ...
. Commodus ordered Lucilla's execution after a failed assassination and coup attempt when she was about 33 years old.


Early life

Born and raised in Rome into an influential political family, Lucilla was a younger twin with her elder brother Gemellus Lucillae, who died around 150. Lucilla's maternal grandparents were Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius and Roman Empress Faustina the Elder and her paternal grandparents were Domitia Lucilla and praetor Marcus Annius Verus.


Marriages and ascension to Empress

In 161, when she was between 11 and 13 years old, Lucilla's father arranged a marriage for her with his co-ruler
Lucius Verus Lucius Aurelius Verus (15 December 130 – January/February 169) was Roman emperor from 161 until his death in 169, alongside his adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty. Verus' succession together with ...
. Cassius Dio
Roman History
71.1, 3; 73.4.4–5.
Verus, 18 years her senior, became her husband three years later in
Ephesus Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in t ...
in 164. At this marriage, she received her title of '' Augusta'' and became a Roman Empress.Lightman, Marjorie and Lightman, Benjamin, A to Z of Ancient Greek and Roman Women, Infobase Publishing, 2008. . At the same time, Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus were fighting a Parthian war in
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. Lucilla and Lucius Verus had three children: * Aurelia Lucilla was born in 165 in Antioch * Lucilla Plautia * Lucius Verus Aurelia and the boy died young.Peacock, Phoebe B., Library of Congress
Lucius Verus (161–169 A.D.)
roman-emperors.org. Accessed 29 May 2012.
Lucilla was an influential and respectable woman and she enjoyed her status. She spent much time in Rome, while Verus was away from Rome much of the time, fulfilling his duties as a co-ruler. Lucius Verus died around 168/169 while returning from the war theater in the Danube region, and as a result, Lucilla lost her status as Empress. As an unattached link to Emperor Aurelius and to the late co-Emperor Verus and because of her royal-born offspring, Lucilla was not destined for a long widowhood, and thus, a short time later, in 169, her father arranged a second marriage for her with
Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus Quintianus Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus Quintianus (170 – between 212 and 217) was the son of Syrian Roman Consul Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus.''Historia Augusta'', "Life of Caracalla" 3.8 During the reign of Roman Emperor Caracalla Marcus Aure ...
from Antioch. He was a Syrian Roman who was twice consul and a political ally to her father, but Lucilla and her mother were against the marriage as a less than ideal match, partly because Quintianus was at least twice Lucilla's age, but also because he was not of her own Roman '' nobilis'' social rank though he was descended from rulers in the East. They married nonetheless and, about a year later, in 170, Lucilla bore him a son named Pompeianus.


Rise of Commodus

In 172, Lucilla and Quintianus accompanied Marcus Aurelius to Vindobona (now Vienna) in support of the Danube military campaign and were with him on 17 March 180, when Aurelius died and Commodus became the new emperor. The change meant that any hope of Lucilla becoming
Empress An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
again was lost and she and Quintianus returned to Rome. Lucilla was not happy living the quiet life of a private citizen in Rome, and hated her sister-in-law
Bruttia Crispina Bruttia Crispina (164 – 191 AD) was Roman Empress from 178 to 191 as the consort of Roman Emperor Commodus. Her marriage to Commodus did not produce an heir, and her husband was instead succeeded by Pertinax. Family Crispina came from an illu ...
. Over time, Lucilla became very concerned with her brother Commodus' erratic behaviour and its resulting effect on the stability of the empire.


Plot to assassinate Commodus

In light of her brother's unstable rule, in 182 Lucilla became involved in a plot to assassinate Commodus and replace him with her husband and herself as the new rulers of Rome. Her co-conspirators included
Publius Tarrutenius Paternus Publius Tarrutenius Paternus was a Roman '' eques'' who flourished during the reign of emperor Marcus Aurelius. He achieved several military successes, leading first to his appointment as praetorian prefect and subsequently to his adlection into ...
the
Praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders be ...
, her daughter Plautia from her first marriage, a nephew of Quintianus also called Quintianus, and her paternal cousins, the former consul
Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus (138–182) was a Roman Senator and the nephew of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. He was involved in an unsuccessful plot to assassinate his cousin the Emperor Commodus, which led to his execution afterwards. Offic ...
and his sister Ummidia Cornificia Faustina.Lucius Aurelius Commodus (AD 161 – AD 192)
roman-empire.net. Accessed 29 May 2012.
Quintianus' nephew, brandishing a dagger or sword, bungled the assassination attempt. As he burst forth from his hiding place to commit the deed, he boasted to Commodus "Here is what the Senate sends to you", giving away his intentions before he had the chance to act. Commodus's guards were faster than Quintianus and the would-be assassin was overpowered and disarmed without injuring the emperor.Gibbon, Edward

Vol. 1, Chap. 4, Part I.
Commodus ordered the deaths of Quintianus' nephew and of Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus, and banished Lucilla, her daughter and Ummidia Cornificia Faustina to the Italian island of
Capri Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...
. He sent a
centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...
there to execute them later that year. Her son Pompeianus was later murdered by Caracalla.


In popular culture

* In the 1964 film ''
The Fall of the Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vas ...
'', Lucilla is played by
Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...
, her part in the film's plot bearing only a very loose relation to Lucilla's real life. * In the 2000 film ''
Gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...
,'' Lucilla is played by Connie Nielsen. * In the 2016 six-part docuseries '' Roman Empire: Reign of Blood,'' Lucilla is played by Tai Berdinner-Blades.


References


Further reading

* Balsdon, J.P.V.D., Roman Women, Barnes & Noble Inc, 1998. . * D'Ambra, Eve, Roman Women, Cambridge University Press, 2006. . * Fraschetti, Augusto, (Ed.), Lappin Linda (Transl.), Roman Women, University Of Chicago Press, 1999. . * Freisenbruch, Annelise, Caesars’ Wives: Sex, Power, and Politics in the Roman Empire, Free Press, 2011. . * Gardner, Jane F., Women in Roman Law and Society, Indiana University Press, 1991. . * Peck, Harry Thurston, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1898. {{Authority control 140s births 150s births 182 deaths Nerva–Antonine dynasty Annii Aurelii Fulvi 2nd-century Roman empresses 2nd-century executions Failed assassins Executed Roman empresses People executed by the Roman Empire Capri, Campania Executed Italian women Augustae Lucius Verus Remarried royal consorts Daughters of Roman emperors