What the hell is Antoninus Pius?
How many people can answer such a question?
Many people know the name "Antoninus Pius" because it appears in world history textbooks and often appears in tests, but most people don't know what they did. I think.
Actually I didn't even know.
This time is the story of Antoninus Pius.
The benevolent emperor
Antoninus Pius is the fourth of the five emperors, known as the Five Good Emperors. Of course, the Five Good Emperors are evaluated by posterity, so I wouldn't think about that at that time.
How Antoninus Pius became an emperor is left to the section of the late emperor Hadrian, but this time I would like to see what kind of emperor he was.
First, the name Antoninus Pius, which is a nickname.
His real name is quite long.
His real name is Imperator Caesar Titus Aelius Hadrian Antoninus Augustus Pontifex Maximus.
Well, I also want to call this the nickname Antoninus Pius (benevolent Antoninus).
There are several theories about the origin of the nickname Pius, such as the tearful defense of his adoptive father Hadrian, who was about to be denied deification by the Senate, and Hadrian's attempt to execute him. There is a theory that it is because they saved people.
However, I think he was given the title of benevolent even if there were no special episodes to see his personality.
Famous for his conversation with Empress Faustina, he said that he was accused of being stingy.
"Now that I've become the lord of the empire, I don't even have the lord of what I had before. There is nothing vulgar or lowly. "
It was customary for the Roman emperor to give congratulatory money to the people when he took office, but it usually came from the emperor's property called the emperor's treasury.
But Antoninus Pius took it out of his private fortune.
In modern Japan, it seems that the person who became the prime minister distributed 10,000 yen each as a celebration of his inauguration.
Antoninus Pius was the one who paid a lot of money at such times, though he was usually stingy. He said everything was in this condition, and his adopted son Marcus Aurelius, who would later become the emperor, stated in his "Thoughts of the Emperor":
"I learned a lot of my private life from my dad. I'm not enthusiastic about building private palaces and villas, I'm not more impressed with my meals, I'm concerned about the number of clothes I own and the variety of colors. Do not use. Do not choose slaves by color.
His father, both public and private, did not behave in a rude manner, did not behave in a brave manner, and did not attack his opponent. He says, "manage to the sweat," but because all of his actions were the result of contemplation, he fits perfectly with time and case, which brings order, consistency and harmony to his words and deeds. I was giving.
If there is a personality ranking in Roman times, if there is a personality ranking in world history, I think Antoninus Pius would be number one.
Reigning Noh
Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina
Noh in the reign is a person who is called Cao Cao in the late Han Dynasty, but no one is as good as Antoninus Pius.
What the hell did Antoninus Pius do?
If I were to answer the opening question, I think it would be most accurate to say that he did nothing.
The Roman emperor was also the commander-in-chief of the military, but Antoninus Pius did little war.
"Almost" is about suppressing the rebellion in Britannia, and he is building the "Antonine Wall" north of Hadrian's Wall.
Pius himself seems to have become an emperor with little military experience, and his personnel affairs seem to have inherited the ones of Hadrian as they were, and he has not done any purges like his late emperor.
Public works projects have taken over the line of Emperor Hadrian, and have just improved the infrastructure.
The only building he left behind was the temple he built when his wife Faustina died, and it seems that the couple had a good relationship.
However, the couple are said to have been preceded by children one after another, issuing currency with her face engraved on her and building an orphanage after her wife died.
Unlike Hadrian, who toured the empire, Pius was basically in Rome and seemed to have good relations with the Senate and Roman citizens.
He seemed to be a tall and beautiful boy because he liked Hadrian, and he seemed to have a good voice.
Personal review of Antoninus Pius
There are no flashy policies, but there are no missteps, and it can be said that this is an irresistible achievement.
The largest version of the Roman Empire during the time of Trajan was reduced during the time of Hadrian.
The Roman Empire was too wide for proper governance.
A mediocre monarch may have tried to expand further, increasing spending and accelerating the decline of the country.
This is a version of the Roman Empire during the time of Antoninus Pius, but I think that maintaining such an empire without any major wars is superior to any achievement.
"Pax Romana" is the word of 18th century historian Edward Gibbon, but it can be said that it was the time of Antoninus Pius that Rome enjoyed a truly peaceful time.
The true prince may not be the prince who wages war against the people, but the prince who maintains a peaceful world.
In that sense, Antoninus Pius can be said to be a rare master.