Antoninus Pius

Antoninus Pius (86–161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161 and the fourth of the Five Good Emperors. After a distinguished senatorial career, the emperor Hadrian adopted him in 138 on condition he in turn adopt Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. He is said to have taken the name Pius for forcing the Senate to deify Hadrian.

Roman writers praised his simple tastes, strict economy and clemency; he was nicknamed the ‘cummin-splitter’ for his thrift and spent his whole reign near Rome. Work began on the Antonine Wall across southern Scotland in 142, the northernmost frontier barrier of the empire. His reign saw no major revolts or invasions, and he left a large surplus in the treasury.

He died on 7 March 161 after a brief fever, and the last password he gave the night-watch tribune was ‘aequanimitas’, equanimity. Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus succeeded him as joint emperors.