His demise in Unbiased History was based on the plot of Ridley Scott's Gladiator, where he was killed by his son Commodus rather than an illness that was shown in the 'joke' clip from Severan Dynasty episode.

Marcomannic Wars was ended by him through resettlement of tribes in border region rather than sudden end by his son Commodus.

What was left out of Marcus Aurelius were his devotion to stoicism through sleeping on a stone floor with only his scholarly robe, and his mourning of his late teacher being defended by Antonius Pius.

Many scholars assumed that his book, Meditations, was only published post-humously from his letters written during his personal time-off.

Sadly, he was murdered by Commodus, who seized the throne and attempted to execute Maximus along with his family. Marcus would spend the rest of his life fighting the barbarian hordes, composing his life work *Meditations* along the way- a book of philosophy still widely studied and referenced today, The Obstacle is the Way teaches you how to let go of the things you cant control and turn every new obstacle into an opportunity to. This, in turn, lead to the weakening of the Northern border defenses along the Danube, allowing the Marcomanni Germs under Bellomar and their allies such as the Quadi, the Vandals, and the Sarmatians to invade the Empire en mass and begin the incredibly destructive conflict known as the Marcomannic Wars, making it the first time when an enemy army invaded Italy since the Cimbrian War over three centuries prior. The Obstacle is the Way, Ego is the Enemy, and Stillness is the Key, Ryan Holiday has helped bring the Stoicism of Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus to hundreds of thousands of new readers all over the world. When Marcus ascended to the throne, he proved himself to be the more serious and studious of the two emperors, as the younger Lucius preferred to party and go on campaigns against the enemies of the Empire, including Parthia.Įarly on in Marcus' reign, he was tested by one of the greatest crises to yet face the Empire- the Antonine Plague, a smallpox pandemic that wiped out a tenth of the population and as many as one in three legionaries who contracted it. As he was too young to properly succeed Hadrian, the Emperor named Antonius Pius as his heir on the condition that he made Marcus and Lucius Verus his own heirs to the throne. As he grew up, the Emperor Hadrian quickly took note of this young man, who was already a budding philosopher and writer. His reign is noted for the smallpox pandemic that wiped out a tenth of the population of the Empire, and for the Marcomannic Wars which had posed the biggest threat to the continent since the Illyrian Revolt over a century prior.īorn in Rome in the year 121, he was initially given the name of Marcus Annius Verus.

Marcus Aurelius was The last of the 5 Good Emperors, and the second-to-last of the Nerva-Antonine Dynasty.

The ego is the enemy marcus aurelius