2021The 1900th Anniv. of the Birth of Marcus Aurelius - Sheetlets

Marcus Aurelius (121 – 180) was the adopted son of Emperor Antoninus Pius (86 – 161), and he ruled the Roman Empire from 161 to 180. Marcus Aurelius was a significant proponent of Stoicism and is often referred to as “the philosopher on the emperor's throne”. Despite this the whole of his reign was affected by the Marcomannic Wars. The war also approached the territory of, what is today, Slovakia, where the Romans fought battles against the Quadi. During the second Germanic campaign, from 170 to 180, Marcus Aurelius wrote the Meditations or Notes to Himself in Greek (in Greek: Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν). At the end of the first book it is revealed that it was written “in the country of the Quadi above Granua” (in Greek: Τὰ ἐν Κουάδοις πρὸς τῷ Γρανούᾳ α΄). Another important monument that links Slovakia and Marcus Aurelius is the Roman inscription that was carved into the rock on which Trenčín castle stands. It is proof that units of the second auxiliary legion were stationed near Laugaricio during the winter of 179. It is the most significant Roman epigraphic monument to have been discovered north of the Danube. It was carved, on the instructions of Legate Marcus Valerius Maximianus, to honour the victory of Marcus Aurelius and his son, Commodus, over the Germans.