1bh Antoninus Pius138-161
As
Laureate head, right, ANTONINUS AVG PIVS PP TR P XI
Wreath, PRIMI DECENALIS COS IIII SC
RIC 171
According to the Historia Augusta: Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Antoninus Pius. . . was born at an estate at Lanuvium on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of October in the twelfth consulship of Domitiaiiand first of Cornelius Dolabella. . . . In personal appearance he was strikingly hand-
some, in natural talent brilliant, in temperament kindly; he was aristocratic in countenance and calm in nature, a singularly gifted speaker and an elegant scholar, conspicuously thrifty, a conscientious land-holder, gentle, generous, and mindful of others' rights. He possessed all these qualities, moreover, in the proper mean and without ostentation, and, in fine, was praiseworthy in every way and, in the minds of all good men. . . . He was given the name of Pius by the senate, either because, when his father-in-law was old and weak, he lent him a supporting hand in his attendance at the senate. . . or because he spared those men whom Hadrian in his ill-health had condemned to death, or because after Hadrian's death he
had unbounded and extraordinary honours decreed for him in spite of opposition from all, or because, when Hadrian wished to make away with himself, by great care and watchfulness he prevented him from so doing, or because he was in fact very kindly by nature and did no harsh deed in his own time. . . .
The manner of his adoption, they say, was some what thus : After the death of Aelius Verus, whom Hadrian had adopted and named Caesar, a day was set for the meeting of the senate, and to this Arrius Antoninus came, supporting the steps of his father-in-law. For this act, it is said, Hadrian adopted him. But this could not have been the only reason for the adoption, nor ought it to have been, especially since Antoninus had always done well in his administration of public office. . . .
After his accession to the throne he removed none of the men whom Hadrian had appointed to office, and, indeed, was so steadfast and loyal that he retained good men in the government of provinces for terms of seven and even nine years. He waged a number of wars, but all of them through his legates. . . . With such care did he govern all peoples under him that he looked after all things and all men as if they were his own. As a result, the provinces all prospered in his reign, informers were abolished, and the confiscation of goods was less frequent than ever before. . . .
He died in the seventieth year of his age, but his loss was felt as though he had been but a youth. . . . On the second day, as he saw that his condition was becoming worse, in the presence of his prefects he committed the state and his daughter to Marcus Antoninus. . . .Blindado
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Italy, Rome, Arch of Dolabella(the Porta Caelimontana)
built by consul Publius Cornelius Dolabella in 10 AD.
It was part of Aqua Marcia and later Aqua Claudia leading to Palatin.J. B.
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