How was Marcus Aurelius as a ruler?

How was Marcus Aurelius as a ruler?

I love his Meditations, but I'm curious on how he actually was as a ruler.

He was a lot better of an emperor than his son was. And I mean like several orders of magnitude better.

Not terrible. Unfortunately, had a lot of shit going on during his rule. Plague broke out that really hurt the legions, eventually killing his brother and himself, constant fighting with the Marcomanni, the Parthians got uppity, then the general who defeated the Parthians got uppity.

He had an autistic drive to make sure his brother was named co-emperor despite the man's lack of interest and ability. And he unfortunately lacked the resolve to murder his son in the crib but I guess we can't really blame him for that.

Ultimately his rule was a decent one but people think better of him because he was one of the best men to become emperor rather than being one of the best emperors.

His son just seemed to be such a fuckup. Like the kind that could not be reasoned with.

it's really hard to untangle how good or bad a lot of the rulers were. it depends a lot on ideological assumptions held by modern researchers about what made economies grow and thrive during the period.

a large contingent of that opinion revolves around favoring centralization. this MAY or MAY NOT be correct. people argue about this very thing in modern contexts where we can directly see the result of policies.

there are also various things that get dragged into th discussion such as women's rights which really have no place in a discussion of ancient societies.

feminists have a tendency to praise the late roman empire because it set up pensions for widows, even though these pensions bankruptedt he state and debased the currency.

His biggest mistake was naming his son as successor

He didn't have an option. It was either kill him, preferably at a young age, or name him heir.

Adopting somebody else would've only led to civil war.

His campaign in germania were flawless
...well, except for the fact that his son wasn't able to capitalize on them

He dealt with great struggles and kept the empire together and strong.

Verus did nothing wrong.

Naming the heir someone other then their son is not unprecedented in the imperial Rome. Hell, Augustus did it, but all his children were degenerate retards, if I recall correctly.

Was there even any love or admiration for Commudus among the common folk?

He really wasn't that bad. He was a bit of a tard, degrading himself in the arena, but the plebs lapped it up.

Augustus only had a daughter.

The guy Augustus named as heir was assassinated by Augustus' family for that very reason IIRC. So it's not a good proof that adoption doesn't lead to strife.

At least it wasn't civil war.

I really don't get all this hate for Commodus. Ok, he was no Aurelius, he was full of himself and his foreign politics sucked, but under his reign there also was a great development of art and also religious tollerance. He really doesn’t deserve to be treated like a Caligula or a fucking Nero.
The plebeians and the army absolutely loved him, the problem is he didn't get along well with the senate, and that led to his death.

>He really doesn’t deserve to be treated like a Caligula or a fucking Nero.
He acted like them tho. From his refounding of Rome as a colony in his own name (like Nero wanted to do) to partecipating in vulgar public performances rather than bothering with government (like Caligula). He ruined the economy by debasing the currency (like who? Oh right Nero) and forcing the city of Rome to pay for his gladiatorial exhibitions absurd sums. As you said he was also full of himself (which was the single most impolitic thing a roman emperor could do) and a complete fuck up in foreign policy, issuing completely unfavorable treaties with the germans in spite of the conditions of war not even coming close to warranting them. Literally his only good side was that he was a half decent general, that's literally it.

Should i remember you about art and tolerance?

Unless Commodus actually painted and sculpted and wrote himself don't bother.

He was the worst because he didn't have balls; he was all about "temperance." The fuck kind of Emperor worries about Rling with compassion? Everyone should be like Chenghis - the greatest.

Anyone else find the Meditations to be an unenjoyable read? Maybe it was just the translation I was using but to me the writing was dense and convoluted.

He had two grandsons from Tiberius but both ended up dying. He also exiled his daughter for life from Rome iirc.
>All of his children were degenerate retards
>Augustus'
No they weren't. Germanicus and his brother had an extremely popular standing with the Roman senate and people, were very good military tribunes, and lead several successive campaigns against Germanic tribes in the North and against horsemen raiders in the East.