Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla or Lucilla (7 March 148 or 150 – 182) was the second daughter of
Roman 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 E ...
and Roman Empress
Faustina the Younger
Annia Galeria Faustina the Younger (born probably 21 September AD, – 175/176 AD) was Roman empress from 161 to her death as the wife of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, her maternal cousin. Faustina was the youngest child of Emperor Antoninus Pius a ...
. 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 wit ...
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
, 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 ...
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
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 Roman 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 ...
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 wit ...
.
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 ...
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 i ...
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
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...
* 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
Vindobona (from Gaulish ''windo-'' "white" and ''bona'' "base/bottom") was a Roman military camp on the site of the modern city of Vienna in Austria. The settlement area took on a new name in the 13th century, being changed to Berghof, or now si ...
(now
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
) 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 sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...
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 il ...
. 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 th ...
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 and his sister
Ummidia Cornificia Faustina
Ummidia Cornificia Faustina (AD 141–182) was a wealthy Roman noblewoman, an heiress and the niece of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
Family
Cornificia Faustina was the daughter of Marcus Aurelius’ sister, Annia Cornificia Faustina and a R ...
.
[Lucius Aurelius Commodus (AD 161 – AD 192)](_blank)
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 be ...
. 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
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor ...
.
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
Connie Inge-Lise Nielsen (born 3 July 1965) is a Danish actress. She has starred as Lucilla in the film ''Gladiator'' (2000) and as Hippolyta in the DC Extended Universe, and in the films ''Wonder Woman'' (2017), '' Justice League'' (2017), '' ...
.
* 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