Faustina the Younger

Faustina the Younger

Empress consort of the Roman Empire
Tenure	7 March 161 – 175 (alongside Lucilla from 164–169)

Born	21 September circa 130 Rome, Roman Empire
Died	175 (aged 45–50) Halala, Cappadocia, Roman Empire
Burial	Mausoleum of Hadrian, Rome
Spouse	Marcus Aurelius
Issue	Annia Aurelia Galeria Faustina Gemellus Lucillae Lucilla, Empress of Rome Titus Aelius Antoninus Titus Aelius Aurelius Hadrianus Domitia Faustina Fadilla Cornificia Faustina Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus Commodus, Emperor of Rome Marcus Annius Verus Caesar Vibia Aurelia Sabina
House	Nerva–Antonine Dynasty
Father	Antoninus Pius
Mother	Faustina the Elder

Roman imperial dynasties
Antonine Dynasty

Antoninus Pius
Children
Natural - Faustina the Younger, also one other daughter and two sons, all died before 138
Adoptive - Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus
Marcus Aurelius with Lucius Verus
Marcus Aurelius alone
Children
Natural - 13, including Commodus and Lucilla
Commodus

Annia Galeria Faustina Minor (Minor is Latin for the Younger), Faustina Minor or Faustina the Younger (born probably 21 September^[1] c. 130 CE,^[2] died in winter of 175 or spring of 176 CE^[3]) was a daughter of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius and Roman Empress Faustina the Elder. She was a Roman Empress and wife to her maternal cousin Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Though Roman sources give a generally negative view of her character, she was held in high esteem by soldiers and her own husband and was given divine honours after her death.

Life

Early life

Faustina, named after her mother, was her parents' fourth and youngest child and their second daughter; she was also their only child to survive to adulthood. She was born and raised in Rome.

Her great uncle, the emperor Hadrian, had arranged with her father for Faustina to marry Lucius Verus. On 25 February 138, she and Verus were betrothed. Verus’ father was Hadrian’s first adopted son and his intended heir; however, when Verus’ father died, Hadrian chose Faustina’s father to be his second adopted son, and eventually, he became Hadrian’s successor. Faustina’s father ended the engagement between his daughter and Verus and arranged for Faustina's betrothal to her maternal cousin, Marcus Aurelius; Aurelius was also adopted by her father.

Imperial heiress

In April or May 145,^[4] Faustina and Marcus Aurelius were married, as had been planned since 138. Since Aurelius was, by adoption, Antoninus Pius' son, under Roman law he was marrying his sister; Antoninus would have had to formally release one or the other from his paternal authority (his patria potestas) for the ceremony to take place.^[5] Little is specifically known of the ceremony, but it is said to have been "noteworthy".^[6] Coins were issued with the heads of the couple, and Antoninus, as Pontifex Maximus, would have officiated. Marcus makes no apparent reference to the marriage in his surviving letters, and only sparing references to Faustina.^[7] Faustina was given the title of Augusta on 1 December 147 after the birth of her first child, Domitia Faustina.^[8]

Reign as empress

When Antoninus died on 7 March 161, Marcus and Lucius Verus ascended to the throne and became co-rulers. Faustina then became empress.

Unfortunately, not much has survived from the Roman sources regarding Faustina's life, but what is available does not give a good report. Cassius Dio and the Augustan History accuse Faustina of ordering deaths by poison and execution; she has also been accused of instigating the revolt of Avidius Cassius against her husband. The Augustan History mentions adultery with sailors, gladiators, and men of rank; however, Faustina and Aurelius seem to have been very close and mutually devoted.

Faustina accompanied her husband on various military campaigns and enjoyed the love and reverence of Roman soldiers. Aurelius gave her the title of Mater Castrorum or ‘Mother of the Camp’. She attempted to make her home out of an army camp. Between 170–175, she was in the north, and in 175, she accompanied Aurelius to the east.

Revolt of Avidius Cassius and death

That same year, 175, Aurelius's general Avidius Cassius was proclaimed Roman emperor after the erroneous news of Marcus's death;^[9]^[10] the sources indicate Cassius was encouraged by Marcus's wife Faustina, who was concerned about her husband's failing health, believing him to be on the verge of death, and felt the need for Cassius to act as a protector in this event, since her son Commodus, aged 13, was still young.^[9]^[11] She also wanted someone who would act as a counter-weight to the claims of Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus, who was in a strong position to take the office of Princeps in the event of Marcus’s death.^[12] The evidence, including Marcus's own Meditations, supports the idea that Marcus was indeed quite ill,^[12] but by the time Marcus recovered, Cassius was already fully acclaimed by the Egyptian legions of II Traiana Fortis and XXII Deiotariana.

"After a dream of empire lasting three months and six days", Cassius was murdered by a centurion;^[13] his head was sent to Marcus Aurelius, who refused to see it and ordered it buried.^[11] Egypt recognized Marcus as emperor again by 28 July 175.^[13]

As would be expected, the events of Cassius' rebellion took their toll on Faustina, who died in the winter of 175, after an accident, at the military camp in Halala (a city in the Taurus Mountains in Cappadocia).

Aurelius grieved much for his wife and buried her in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome. She was deified: her statue was placed in the Temple of Venus in Rome and a temple was dedicated to her in her honor. Halala’s name was changed to Faustinopolis and Aurelius opened charity schools for orphan girls called Puellae Faustinianae or 'Girls of Faustina'.^[14] The Baths of Faustina in Miletus are named after her.

Children

In their thirty years of marriage, Faustina bore Marcus Aurelius thirteen children:

Annia Aurelia Galeria Faustina (147 – after 165)
Gemellus Lucillae (died around 150), twin brother of Lucilla
Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla (148/50–182), twin sister of Gemellus, married her father's co-ruler Lucius Verus
Titus Aelius Antoninus (born after 150, died before 7 March 161)
Titus Aelius Aurelius (born after 150, died before 7 March 161)
Hadrianus (152–157)
Domitia Faustina (born after 150, died before 7 March 161)
Annia Aurelia Fadilla (159–after 211)
Annia Cornificia Faustina Minor (160 – after 211)
Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus (161–165), twin brother of Commodus
Lucius Aurelius Commodus Antoninus (Commodus) (161–192), twin brother of Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus, later emperor
Marcus Annius Verus Caesar (162–169)
Vibia Aurelia Sabina (170 – died before 217)

Faustina the Younger

Nerva–Antonine family tree

Q. Marcius Barea Soranus

Q. Marcius Barea Sura

Antonia Furnilla

M. Cocceius Nerva

Sergia Plautilla

P. Aelius Hadrianus

Titus
(r. 79–81)

Marcia Furnilla

Marcia

Trajanus Pater

Nerva
(r. 96–98)

Ulpia^{[lower-roman 1]}

Aelius Hadrianus Marullinus

Julia Flavia^{[lower-roman 2]}

Marciana^{[lower-roman 3]}

C. Salonius Matidius^{[lower-roman 4]}

Trajan
(r. 98–117)

Plotina

P. Acilius Attianus

P. Aelius Afer^{[lower-roman 5]}

Paulina Major^{[lower-roman 6]}

Lucius Mindius
(2)

Libo Rupilius Frugi
(3)

Matidia^{[lower-roman 7]}

L. Vibius Sabinus
(1)^{[lower-roman 8]}

Paulina Minor^{[lower-roman 6]}

L. Julius Ursus Servianus^{[lower-roman 9]}

Matidia Minor^{[lower-roman 7]}

Suetonius?^{[lower-roman 10]}

Sabina^{[lower-roman 3]}

Hadrian^{[lower-roman 5]}^{[lower-roman 11]}^{[lower-roman 6]} (r. 117–138)

Antinous^{[lower-roman 12]}

Julia Balbilla?^{[lower-roman 13]}

C. Fuscus Salinator I

Julia Serviana Paulina

M. Annius Verus^{[lower-roman 14]}

Rupilia Faustina^{[lower-roman 15]}

Boionia Procilla

Cn. Arrius Antoninus

L. Ceionius Commodus

Appia Severa

C. Fuscus Salinator II

L. Caesennius Paetus

Arria Antonina

Arria Fadilla^{[lower-roman 16]}

T. Aurelius Fulvus

L. Caesennius Antoninus

L. Commodus

Fundania Plautia

ignota^{[lower-roman 17]}

C. Avidius Nigrinus

M. Annius Verus^{[lower-roman 15]}

Domitia Lucilla^{[lower-roman 18]}

Fundania^{[lower-roman 19]}

M. Annius Libo^{[lower-roman 15]}

FAUSTINA^{[lower-roman 16]}

Antoninus Pius
(r. 138–161)^{[lower-roman 16]}

L. Aelius Caesar^{[lower-roman 17]}

Avidia Plautia^{[lower-roman 17]}

Cornificia^{[lower-roman 15]}

MARCUS AURELIUS
(r. 161–180)^{[lower-roman 20]}

FAUSTINA Minor^{[lower-roman 20]}

C. Avidius Cassius

Aurelia Fadilla^{[lower-roman 16]}

LUCIUS VERUS
(r. 161–169)^{[lower-roman 17]}
(1)

Ceionia Fabia^{[lower-roman 17]}

Plautius Quintillus^{[lower-roman 21]}

Q. Servilius Pudens

Ceionia Plautia^{[lower-roman 17]}

Cornificia Minor^{[lower-roman 22]}

M. Petronius Sura

COMMODUS
(r. 177–192)^{[lower-roman 20]}

Fadilla^{[lower-roman 22]}

M. Annius Verus Caesar^{[lower-roman 20]}

Ti. Claudius Pompeianus
(2)

Lucilla^{[lower-roman 20]}

M. Plautius Quintillus^{[lower-roman 17]}

Junius Licinius Balbus

Servilia Ceionia

Petronius Antoninus

L. Aurelius Agaclytus
(2)

Aurelia Sabina^{[lower-roman 22]}

L. Antistius Burrus
(1)

Plautius Quintillus

Plautia Servilla

C. Furius Sabinus Timesitheus

Antonia Gordiana

Junius Licinius Balbus

Furia Sabina Tranquillina

GORDIAN III
(r. 238–244)

(1) = 1st spouse
(2) = 2nd spouse
(3) = 3rd spouse
Reddish purple indicates emperor of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty;
lighter purple indicates designated imperial heir of said dynasty who never reigned;
grey indicates unsuccessful imperial aspirants;
bluish purple indicates emperors of other dynasties
dashed lines indicate adoption; dotted lines indicate love affairs/unmarried relationships
small caps = posthumously deified (Augusti, Augustae, or other)

Notes:

Except where otherwise noted, the notes below indicate that an individual's parentage is as shown in the above family tree.

↑ Sister of Trajan's father: Giacosa (1977), p. 7.
↑ Giacosa (1977), p. 8.
1 2 Levick (2014), p. 161.
↑ Husband of Ulpia Marciana: Levick (2014), p. 161.
1 2 Giacosa (1977), p. 7.
1 2 3 DIR contributor (Herbert W. Benario, 2000), "Hadrian".
1 2 Giacosa (1977), p. 9.
↑ Husband of Salonia Matidia: Levick (2014), p. 161.
↑ Smith (1870), "Julius Servianus".
↑ Suetonius a possible lover of Sabina: One interpretation of HA Hadrianus 11:3
↑ Smith (1870), "Hadrian", pp. 319–322.
↑ Lover of Hadrian: Lambert (1984), p. 99 and passim; deification: Lamber (1984), pp. 2-5, etc.
↑ Julia Balbilla a possible lover of Sabina: A. R. Birley (1997), Hadrian, the Restless Emperor, p. 251, cited in Levick (2014), p. 30, who is sceptical of this suggestion.
↑ Husband of Rupilia Faustina: Levick (2014), p. 163.
1 2 3 4 Levick (2014), p. 163.
1 2 3 4 Levick (2014), p. 162.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Levick (2014), p. 164.
↑ Wife of M. Annius Verus: Giacosa (1977), p. 10.
↑ Wife of M. Annius Libo: Levick (2014), p. 163.
1 2 3 4 5 Giacosa (1977), p. 10.
↑ Husband of Ceionia Fabia: Levick (2014), p. 164.
1 2 3 Levick (2014), p. 117.

References:

DIR contributors (2000). "De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and Their Families". Retrieved 2015-04-14.
Giacosa, Giorgio (1977). Women of the Caesars: Their Lives and Portraits on Coins. Translated by R. Ross Holloway. Milan: Edizioni Arte e Moneta. ISBN 0-8390-0193-2.
Lambert, Royston (1984). Beloved and God: The Story of Hadrian and Antinous. New York: Viking. ISBN 0-670-15708-2.
Levick, Barbara (2014). Faustina I and II: Imperial Women of the Golden Age. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-537941-9.
William Smith, ed. (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.

Notes

↑ Levick (2014), p. 137, gives her date of birth as 11 or possibly 10 or 9 days before the Kalends of October, i.e. 21, 22, or 23 September.
↑ Levick (2014), p. 170, gives the year of her birth as 130–132.
↑ Levick 2014, p. 172.
↑ Levick 2014, pp. 170.
↑ Birley 2000, pp. 90–91.
↑ "Antoninus Pius", Historia Augusta, 10.2 , qtd. and tr. (Birley 2000, p. 91).
↑ Birley 2000, p. 91.
↑ Levick 2014, pp. 63, 170.
1 2 Birley 2001, p. 184.
↑ Canduci 2010, p. 44.
1 2 Smith 1870, p. 441.
1 2 Birley 2001, p. 185.
1 2 Birley 2001, p. 189.
↑ "Life of Marcus Aurelius", Historia Augusta, 26.4–9, retrieved 31 March 2014

References

Birley, Anthony R. (2000). Marcus Aurelius: A Biography. ISBN 0415171253.
Canduci, Alexander (2010). Triumph and Tragedy: The Rise and Fall of Rome's Immortal Emperors. Murdoch Books. ISBN 1741965985.
Levick, Barbara (2014). Faustina I and II: Imperial Women of the Golden Age. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-537941-9.
Minaud, Gérard (2012). "Ch. 8, La vie de Faustine, femme de Marc-Aurèle". Les vies de 12 femmes d’empereur romain - Devoirs, Intrigues & Voluptés (in French). Paris: L’Harmattan. pp. 189–210.
Priwitzer, Stefan (2008). Faustina minor – Ehefrau eines Idealkaisers und Mutter eines Tyrannen quellenkritische Untersuchungen zum dynastischen Potential, zur Darstellung und zu Handlungsspielräumen von Kaiserfrauen im Prinzipat. Tübinger althistorische Studien, 6. Bonn: Dr. Rudolf Habelt.
Scriptores Historiae Augustae (nominally Julius Capitolinus), Marcus Antoninus xix.1–9, xxvi.4–5, 7–9, xxix.1–3
Smith, William (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Faustina Minor.

Wikisource has the text of a 1920 Encyclopedia Americana article about Faustina the Younger.

Honorary titles
Vacant Title last held by Faustina Major	Augusta 147–175 with Lucilla (164–182)	Vacant Title next held by Bruttia Crispina
Vacant Title last held by Faustina Major	Roman empress 161–175 with Lucilla (164–169)	Vacant Title next held by Bruttia Crispina

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 213116237 GND: 118532111

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