Editing Lucius Verus (section)

=== War with Parthia (161–166) ===
{{further|Roman–Parthian War of 161–166}}
{{See also|Roman–Persian Wars}}
[[File:Figura loricata con testa non pertinente di lucio vero, copro del 50-75 dc, testa del 160-169 dc ca. 6081, 01.JPG|thumb|upright|Head of Lucius Verus on an older statue from 50 to 75 AD, in military garb and wearing a muscle cuirass, [[Farnese Collection]], Naples]]

==== Origins to Lucius's dispatch (161–162) ====
On his deathbed, Pius spoke of nothing but the state and the foreign kings who had wronged him.<ref>''HA Pius'' 12.7; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 114, 121.</ref> One of those kings, [[Vologases IV of Parthia]], made his move in late summer or early autumn 161.<ref>Event: ''HA Marcus'' 8.6; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 121. Date: Jaap-Jan Flinterman, "The Date of Lucian's Visit to Abonuteichos," ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'' 119 (1997): 281.</ref> Vologases entered the [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Kingdom of Armenia]] (then a Roman client state), expelled its king and installed his own—[[Pacorus of Armenia|Pacorus]], an [[Arsacid Empire|Arsacid]] like himself.<ref>''HA Marcus'' 8.6; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 121.</ref>

At the time of the invasion, the Governor of Syria was [[Lucius Attidius Cornelianus]]. Attidius had been retained as governor even though his term ended in 161, presumably to avoid giving the Parthians the chance to wrong-foot his replacement. The Governor of Cappadocia, the front-line in all Armenian conflicts, was [[Marcus Sedatius Severianus]], a Gaul with much experience in military matters. But living in the east had a deleterious effect on his character.<ref>Lucian, ''Alexander'' 27; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 121.</ref>

Severianus had fallen under the influence of [[Alexander of Abonoteichus]], a self-proclaimed prophet who carried a snake named [[Glycon]] around with him, but was really only a confidence man.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 121. On Alexander, see: Robin Lane Fox, ''Pagans and Christians'' (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1986), 241–250.</ref> Alexander was father-in-law to the respected senator [[Publius Mummius Sisenna Rutilianus]], then-proconsul of Asia, and friends with many members of the east Roman elite.<ref>Lucian, ''Alexander'' 30; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 121.</ref> Alexander convinced Severianus that he could defeat the Parthians easily, and win glory for himself.<ref>Lucian, ''Alexander'' 27; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 121–122.</ref>

Severianus led a legion (perhaps the [[Legio IX Hispana|IX Hispana]])<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 278 n.19.</ref> into Armenia, but was trapped by the great Parthian general Chosrhoes at [[Elegeia]], a town just beyond the Cappadocian frontiers, high up past the headwaters of the Euphrates. Severianus made some attempt to fight Chosrhoes, but soon realized the futility of his campaign, and committed suicide. His legion was massacred. The campaign had only lasted three days.<ref>Dio 71.2.1; Lucian, ''Historia Quomodo Conscribenda'' 21, 24, 25; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 121–122.</ref>

There was threat of war on other frontiers as well—in Britain, and in [[Raetia]] and [[Germania Superior|Upper Germany]], where the [[Chatti]] of the [[Taunus]] mountains had recently crossed over the ''limes''.<ref>''HA Marcus'' 8.7; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 122.</ref> Marcus was unprepared. Pius seems to have given him no military experience; the biographer writes that Marcus spent the whole of Pius's twenty-three-year reign at his emperor's side—and not in the provinces, where most previous emperors had spent their early careers.<ref>''HA Pius'' 7.11; ''Marcus'' 7.2; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 103–104, 122.</ref>{{#tag:ref|[[Alan Cameron (classical scholar)|Alan Cameron]] adduces the fifth-century writer [[Sidonius Apollinaris]]'s comment that Marcus commanded "countless legions" ''vivente Pio'' (while Pius was alive) while contesting Birley's contention that Marcus had no military experience. (Neither Apollinaris nor the ''Historia Augusta'' (Birley's source) are particularly reliable on second-century history).<ref>''Pan. Ath.'' 203–204, qtd. and tr. Alan Cameron, review of Anthony Birley's ''Marcus Aurelius'', ''The Classical Review'' 17:3 (1967): 349.</ref>|group=notes}} Marcus made the necessary appointments: [[Marcus Statius Priscus]], the Governor of Britain, was sent to replace Severianus as Governor of Cappadocia.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 123, citing A.R. Birley, ''The'' Fasti ''of Roman Britain'' (1981), 123ff.</ref> [[Sextus Calpurnius Agricola]] took Priscus's former office.<ref>''HA Marcus'' 8.8; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 123, citing W. Eck, ''Die Satthalter der germ. Provinzen'' (1985), 65ff.</ref>

===== Strategic emergency in the East =====
[[File:Colossal head of Lucius Verus (mounted on a modern bust), from a villa belonging to Lucius Verus in Acqua Traversa near Rome, between AD 180 and 183 AD, Louvre Museum (23450299872).jpg|thumb|upright|Colossal head of Lucius Verus (mounted on a modern bust), from a villa belonging to him in [[Acqua Traversa]] near Rome, between 180 and 183 AD, [[Louvre Museum]], Paris]]
More news arrived: Attidius Cornelianus's army had been defeated in battle against the Parthians, and retreated in disarray.<ref>''HA Marcus'' 8.6; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 123.</ref> Reinforcements were dispatched for the Parthian frontier. [[Publius Julius Geminius Marcianus]], an African senator commanding [[Legio X Gemina|X Gemina]] at Vindobona (Vienna), left for Cappadocia with detachments from the Danubian legions.<ref>''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' [http://compute-in.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/pls/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=CIL+08,+07050&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 8.7050]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}–[http://compute-in.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/pls/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=CIL+08,+07051&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 51]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 123.</ref> Three full legions were also sent east: [[Legio I Minervia|I Minervia]] from Bonn in Upper Germany,<ref>''Incriptiones Latinae Selectae'' [http://compute-in.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/pls/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=D+01097&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 1097]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}–[http://compute-in.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/pls/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=D+01098&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 98]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 123.</ref> [[Legio II Adiutrix|II Adiutrix]] from Aquincum,<ref>''Incriptiones Latinae Selectae'' [http://compute-in.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/pls/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=D+01091&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 1091]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 123.</ref> and [[Legio V Macedonica|V Macedonica]] from Troesmis.<ref>''Incriptiones Latinae Selectae'' [http://compute-in.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/pls/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=D+02311&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 2311]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 123.</ref>

The northern frontiers were strategically weakened; frontier governors were told to avoid conflict wherever possible.<ref>''HA Marcus'' 12.13; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 123.</ref> Attidius Cornelianus himself was replaced by [[Marcus Annius Libo]], Marcus's first cousin. He was young—his first consulship was in 161, so he was probably in his early thirties<ref>''L'Année Épigraphique'' [http://compute-in.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/pls/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=AE+1972,+00657&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 1972.657]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 125.</ref>—and, as a mere patrician, lacked military experience. Marcus had chosen a reliable man rather than a talented one.<ref>''HA Verus'' 9.2; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 125.</ref>

Marcus took a four-day public holiday at [[Alsium]], a resort town on the [[Etruria]]n coast. He was too anxious to relax. Writing to Fronto, he declared that he would not speak about his holiday.<ref>''De Feriis Alsiensibus'' 1 (= Haines 2.3); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 126.</ref> Fronto replied ironically: "What? Do I not know that you went to Alsium with the intention of devoting yourself to games, joking and complete leisure for four whole days?"<ref>''De Feriis Alsiensibus'' 3.1 (= Haines 2.5), qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 126.</ref> He encouraged Marcus to rest, calling on the example of his predecessors (Pius had enjoyed exercise in the ''[[palaestra]]'', fishing, and comedy),<ref>''De Feriis Alsiensibus'' 3.4 (= Haines 2.9); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 126–127.</ref> going so far as to write up a fable about the gods' division of the day between morning and evening—Marcus had apparently been spending most of his evenings on judicial matters instead of at leisure.<ref>''De Feriis Alsiensibus'' 3.6–12 (= Haines 2.11–19); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 126–127.</ref> Marcus could not take Fronto's advice. "I have duties hanging over me that can hardly be begged off," he wrote back.<ref>''De Feriis Alsiensibus'' 4, tr. Haines 2.19; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 127.</ref> Marcus put on Fronto's voice to chastise himself: "'Much good has my advice done you', you will say." He had rested, and would rest often, but "—this devotion to duty. Who knows better than you how demanding it is?"<ref>''De Feriis Alsiensibus'' 4 (= Haines 2.19), qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 127.</ref>

Fronto sent Marcus a selection of reading material, including Cicero's ''pro lege Manilia'', in which the orator had argued in favor of [[Pompey]] taking supreme command in the [[Third Mithridatic War|Mithridatic War]]. It was an apt reference (Pompey's war had taken him to Armenia), and may have had some impact on the decision to send Lucius to the eastern front.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 127.</ref> "You will find in it many chapters aptly suited to your present counsels, concerning the choice of army commanders, the interests of allies, the protection of provinces, the discipline of the soldiers, the qualifications required for commanders in the field and elsewhere [...]{{#tag:ref|The text breaks off here.<ref>''De bello Parthico'' 10 (= Haines 2.31).</ref>|group=notes}}"<ref>''De bello Parthico'' 10 (= Haines 2.31), qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 127.</ref> To settle his unease over the course of the Parthian War, Fronto wrote Marcus a long and considered letter, full of historical references. In modern editions of Fronto's works, it is labeled ''De bello Parthico'' (''On the Parthian War''). There had been reverses in Rome's past, Fronto writes, at [[Battle of the Allia|Allia]], at [[Battle of the Caudine Forks|Caudium]], at [[Battle of Cannae|Cannae]], at [[Siege of Numantia|Numantia]], [[Siege of Cirta|Cirta]], and [[Battle of Carrhae|Carrhae]];<ref>''De bello Parthico'' 1 (= Haines 2.21).</ref> under Trajan, Hadrian, and Pius;<ref>''De bello Parthico'' 2 (= Haines 2.21–23); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 127.</ref> but, in the end, Romans had always prevailed over their enemies: "always and everywhere [Mars] has changed our troubles into successes and our terrors into triumphs".<ref>''De bello Parthico'' 1 (= Haines 2.21), qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 127.</ref>

==== Lucius's dispatch and journey east (162–163?) ====
[[File:Co-emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, British Museum (23455313842).jpg|thumb|left|Busts of the co-emperors [[Marcus Aurelius]] (left) and Lucius Verus (right), [[British Museum]]]]
Over the winter of 161–62, as more troubling news arrived—a rebellion was brewing in Syria—it was decided that Lucius should direct the Parthian War in person. He was stronger and healthier than Marcus, the argument went, more suited to military activity.<ref>Dio 71.1.3; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 123.</ref> Lucius's biographer suggests ulterior motives: to restrain Lucius's debaucheries, to make him thrifty, to reform his morals by the terror of war, to realize that he was an emperor.<ref>''HA Verus'' 5.8; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 123, 125.</ref>{{#tag:ref|Birley believes there is some truth in these considerations.<ref name="Birley, Marcus Aurelius, 125">Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 125.</ref>|group=notes}} Whatever the case, the senate gave its assent, and Lucius left. Marcus remained in Rome; the city "demanded the presence of an emperor".<ref>''HA Marcus'' 8.9, tr. Magie; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 123.</ref>

Furius Victorinus, one of the two praetorian prefects, was sent with Lucius, as were a pair of senators, M. Pontius Laelianus Larcius Sabinus and M. Iallius Bassus, and part of the praetorian guard.<ref name="Birley, Marcus Aurelius, 125">Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 125.</ref> Victorinus had previously served as procurator of Galatia, giving him some experience with eastern affairs.<ref name=Birley-Pflaum>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 125, citing H.G. Pflaum, ''Les carrières procuratoriennes équestres sous le Haut-Empire romain I–III'' (Paris, 1960–61); ''Supplément'' (Paris, 1982), no. 139.</ref>{{#tag:ref|Victorinus had also served in Britain, on the Danube, in Spain, as prefect of the Italian fleets, as prefect of Egypt, and in many posts in Rome itself.<ref name=Birley-Pflaum />|group=notes}} Moreover, he was far more qualified than his praetorian partner, [[Sextus Cornelius Repentinus (prefect)|Cornelius Repentinus]], who was said to owe his office to the influence of Pius's mistress, [[Galeria Lysistrate]].<ref name="ReferenceA">''HA Pius'' 8.9; Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 160–161.</ref> Repentinus had the rank of a senator, but no real access to senatorial circles—his was merely a decorative title.<ref>Giuseppe Camodeca, "La carriera del prefetto del pretorio Sex.Cornelius Repentinus in una nuova iscrizione puteolana" (in Italian), ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'' 43 (1981): 47.</ref> Since a prefect had to accompany the guard, Victorinus was the clear choice.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Laelianus had been governor of both Pannonias and Governor of Syria in 153; thus he had first-hand knowledge of the eastern army and military strategy on the frontiers. He was made ''[[comes]] Augustorum'' ("companion of the emperors") for his service.<ref>''Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae'' [http://compute-in.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/pls/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=D+01094&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 1094]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, [http://compute-in.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/pls/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=D+01100&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 1100]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 125.</ref> Laelianus was, in the words of Fronto, "a serious man and an old-fashioned disciplinarian".<ref>''Ad Verum Imperator'' 2.6 (= Haines 2.84ff), qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 125.</ref> Bassus had been Governor of Lower Moesia, and was also made ''comes''.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 125, citing ''Prosopographia Imperii Romani''<sup>2</sup> 1.4.</ref> Lucius selected his favorite freedmen, including Geminus, Agaclytus, Coedes, Eclectus,<ref>''HA Verus'' 8.6, 9.3–5; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 125.</ref> and Nicomedes, who gave up his duties as ''praefectus vehiculorum'' to run the commissariat of the expeditionary force.<ref name=Birley-Pflaum /> The [[Classis Misenensis|fleet of Misenum]] was charged with transporting the Emperor and general communications and transport.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 125, citing C.G. Starr, ''The Roman Imperial Navy'', (1941), 188ff.</ref>

Lucius left in the summer of 162 to take a ship from [[Brundisium]]; Marcus followed him as far as [[Capua]]. Lucius feasted himself in the country houses along his route, and hunted at [[Apulia]]. He fell ill at [[Canosa di Puglia|Canosa]], probably afflicted with a mild stroke, and took to bed.<ref>''HA Verus'' 6.7–9; ''HA Marcus'' 8.10–11; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 125–126. Stroke: Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 126; Haines 2.85 n. 1.</ref> Marcus made prayers to the gods for his safety in front of the senate, and hurried south to see him.<ref>''HA Marcus'' 8.11; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 125–126.</ref> Fronto was upset at the news, but was reassured when Lucius sent him a letter describing his treatment and recovery. In his reply, Fronto urged his pupil to moderate his desires, and recommended a few days of quiet bedrest. Lucius was better after three days' fasting and a bloodletting.<ref>''Ad Verum Imperator'' 2.6 (= Haines 2.85–87); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 125–126.</ref>

Verus continued eastward via [[Corinth]] and [[Athens]], accompanied by musicians and singers as if in a [[Royal Entry|royal progress]].<ref>''HA Verus'' 6.9; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 126; "Hadrian to the Antonines", 161.</ref> At Athens he stayed with Herodes Atticus, and joined the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]].<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 126, citing ''SIG''<sup>3</sup> 1.869, 872; ''HA Hadrian'' 13.1.</ref> During sacrifice, a falling star was observed in the sky, shooting west to east.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 126, citing Cassiodorus senator ''s.a.'' 162.</ref> He stopped in [[Ephesus]], where he is attested at the estate of the local aristocrat [[Publius Vedius Antoninus]],<ref>Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 161, citing ''I Eph'' 728, 3072; H. Halfmann, ''Itinera Principum. Geschichte und Typologie der Kaiserreisen im Römischen Reich'' (Stuttgart, 1986), 210–211.</ref> and made an unexpected stopover at [[Erythrae]].<ref>Christian Habicht, "Pausanias and the Evidence of Inscriptions", ''Classical Antiquity'' 3:1 (1984), 42–43, citing ''IErythrai'' 225.</ref> The journey continued by ship through the Aegean and the southern coasts of Asia Minor, lingering in the famed pleasure resorts of [[Pamphylia]] and [[Cilicia]], before arriving in [[Antioch]].<ref>''HA Verus'' 6.9; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 126.</ref> It is not known how long Verus's journey east took; he might not have arrived in Antioch until after 162.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 126; "Hadrian to the Antonines", 161.</ref> Statius Priscus, meanwhile, must have already arrived in Cappadocia; he would earn fame in 163 for successful generalship.<ref>Dio 71.3.1; ''HA Verus'' 7.1; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 126.</ref>

==== Luxury and logistics at Antioch (162?–165) ====
[[File:Antioch in Syria engraving by William Miller after H Warren.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Antioch from the southwest (engraving by [[William Miller (engraver)|William Miller]] after a drawing by H. Warren from a sketch by Captain [[Thomas Byam Martin|Byam Martin]], R.N., 1866)]]
[[File:Atleta, con testa non pertinente di lucio vero, corpo da mirone (460-450 ac.), inv. 2217.JPG|thumb|Statue of Lucius Verus on a body modelled after a sculpture by the [[Ancient Athens|ancient Athenian]] sculptor [[Myron]], [[Vatican Museums]]]]
Lucius spent most of the campaign in Antioch, though he wintered at [[Laodicea ad Mare|Laodicea]] and summered at Daphne, a resort just outside Antioch.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 129.</ref> He took up a mistress named Panthea,{{#tag:ref|Or "Pantheia".<ref>Barry Baldwin, review of C.P. Jones' ''Culture and Society in Lucian'', ''American Historical Review'' 92:5 (1987), 1185.</ref>|group=notes}} from [[Smyrna]].<ref>Smyrna: Lucian, ''Imagines'' 2; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 129.</ref> The biographer calls her a "low-born girl-friend",<ref>''HA Verus'' 7.10, qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 129.</ref> but she was described as a "woman of perfect beauty" by Lucius. One biographer has postulated that Panthea may have been more beautiful than any of [[Phidias]] and [[Praxiteles]]' statues.<ref>Lucian, ''Imagines'' 3, qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 129.</ref> The mistress was musically inclined and spoke [[Ionic Greek]], spiced with Attic wit.<ref>Lucian, ''Imagines'' 11, 14–15; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 129.</ref>

Panthea read Lucian's first draft, and criticized him for flattery. He had compared her to a goddess, which frightened her—she did not want to become the next [[Cassiopeia (Queen of Aethiopia)|Cassiopeia]].<ref>Lucian, ''Pro Imaginibus'' 7; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 129.</ref> She had power, too. She made Lucius shave his beard for her. The Syrians mocked him for this, as they did for much else.<ref>''HA Verus'' 7.10, cf. 7.4; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 129.</ref>

Critics decried Lucius' luxurious lifestyle.<ref>''HA Verus'' 4.4; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 129.</ref> He had taken to gambling, they said; he would "dice the whole night through".<ref>''HA Verus'' 4.6, tr. Magie; cf. 5.7; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 129.</ref> He enjoyed the company of actors.<ref>''HA Verus'' 8.7, 8.10–11; Fronto, ''Principae Historia'' 17 (= Haines 2.217); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 129.</ref> He made a special request for dispatches from Rome, to keep him updated on how his chariot teams were doing.<ref>''HA Verus'' 6.1; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 129.</ref> He brought a golden statue of the Greens' horse Volucer around with him, as a token of his team spirit.<ref>''HA Verus'' 6.3–4; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 129.</ref> Fronto defended his pupil against some of these claims: the Roman people needed Lucius' [[bread and circuses]] to keep them in check.<ref>''Principae Historiae'' 17 (= Haines 2.216–17); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 129.</ref>{{#tag:ref|Fronto called it "the corn-dole and public spectacles" (''annona et spectaculis''), preferring his own pompous rephrase to [[Juvenal]]'s plain ''panem et circenses''.<ref>''Principae Historiae'' 17 (= Haines 2.216–217); Juvenal, 10.78; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 129.</ref> (Fronto was, in any case, unfamiliar with Juvenal; the author was out of style through the classicizing mania of the [[Second Sophistic]], and would not become popular until the later fourth century).<ref>Alan Cameron, "Literary Allusions in the Historia Augusta", ''Hermes'' 92:3 (1964), 367–368.</ref>|group=notes}}

This, at least, is how the biographer has it. The whole section of the ''vita'' dealing with Lucius' debaucheries (''HA Verus'' 4.4–6.6) is an insertion into a narrative otherwise entirely cribbed from an earlier source. Some few passages seem genuine;{{#tag:ref|In the judgment of [[T.D. Barnes]]: 4.8, "He was very fond also of charioteers, favouring the 'Greens'."; 4.10, "He never needed much sleep, however; and his digestion was excellent."; perhaps 5.7,  "After the banquet, moreover, they diced until dawn.".<ref name="ReferenceB">Barnes, 69. Translations from the ''HA Verus'': Magie, ''ad loc''.</ref>|group=notes}} others take and elaborate something from the original.{{#tag:ref|In the judgment of T.D. Barnes: 4.8 ("He was very fond also of charioteers, favouring the 'Greens'.") and 10.9 ("Among other articles of extravagance he had a crystal goblet, named Volucer after that horse of which he had been very fond, that surpassed the capacity of any human draught.") are the seed for 6.2–6, "And finally, even at Rome, when he was present and seated with Marcus, he suffered many insults from the 'Blues,' because he had outrageously, as they maintained, taken sides against them. For he had a golden statue made of the 'Green' horse Volucer, and this he always carried around with him; indeed, he was wont to put raisins and nuts instead of barley in this horse's manger and to order him brought to him, in the [[House of Tiberius]], covered with a blanket dyed with purple, and he built him a tomb, when he died, on the Vatican Hill. It was because of this horse that gold pieces and prizes first began to be demanded for horses, and in such honour was this horse held, that frequently a whole peck of gold pieces was demanded for him by the faction of the 'Greens'."; 10.8, "He was somewhat halting in speech, a reckless gambler, ever of an extravagant mode of life, and in many respects, save only that he was not cruel or given to acting, a second Nero.", for the comparison with other "bad emperors" at 4.6 ("...he so rivalled Caligula, Nero, and Vitellius in their vices..."), and, significantly, the excuse to use [[Suetonius]].<ref name="ReferenceB">Barnes, 69. Translations from the ''HA Verus'': Magie, ''ad loc''.</ref>|group=notes}} The rest is by the biographer himself, relying on nothing better than his own imagination.<ref>Barnes, 69.</ref>

Lucius faced quite a task. Fronto described the scene in terms recalling [[Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo|Corbulo]]'s arrival one hundred years before.<ref>Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 162.</ref> The Syrian army had turned soft during the east's long peace. They spent more time at the city's open-air cafés than in their quarters. Under Lucius, training was stepped up. Pontius Laelianus ordered that their saddles be stripped of their padding. Gambling and drinking were sternly policed.<ref>''Ad Verum Imperator'' 2.1.19 (= Haines 2.149); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 129.</ref> Fronto wrote that Lucius was on foot at the head of his army as often as on horseback. He personally inspected soldiers in the field and at camp, including the sick bay.<ref>''Principae Historia'' 13 (= Haines 2.209–211); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 129–130.</ref>

Lucius sent Fronto few messages at the beginning of the war. He sent Fronto a letter apologizing for his silence. He would not detail plans that could change within a day, he wrote. Moreover, there was little thus far to show for his work: "not even yet has anything been accomplished such as to make me wish to invite you to share in the joy".<ref>''Ad Verum Imperator'' 2.2 (= Haines 2.117), tr. Haines; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 130; "Hadrian to the Antonines", 162.</ref> Lucius did not want Fronto to suffer the anxieties that had kept him up day and night.<ref>''Ad Verum Imperator'' 2.2 (= Haines 2.117–119); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 130; "Hadrian to the Antonines", 162.</ref> One reason for Lucius' reticence may have been the collapse of Parthian negotiations after the Roman conquest of Armenia. Lucius' presentation of terms was seen as cowardice.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 130; citing ''Panegyrici Latini'' 14(10).6.</ref> The Parthians were not in the mood for peace.<ref name="ReferenceC">Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 130; "Hadrian to the Antonines", 162.</ref>

Lucius needed to make extensive imports into Antioch, so he opened a sailing route up the [[Orontes River|Orontes]]. Because the river breaks across a cliff before reaching the city, Lucius ordered that a new canal be dug. After the project was completed, the Orontes' old riverbed dried up, exposing massive bones—the bones of a [[Giants (Greek mythology)|giant]]. [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] says they were from a beast "more than eleven cubits" tall; [[Philostratus III|Philostratus]] says that it was "thirty cubits" tall. The oracle at [[Claros]] declared that they were the bones of the river's spirit.<ref>Pausanias 8.29.3–4; Philostratus, ''Heroicus'' 138.6–9 K., 9.5–7 L.; Christopher Jones, "The Emperor and the Giant", ''Classical Philology'' 95:4 (2000): 476–481.</ref> These bones would later be understood to be that of several large unspecified animals.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NmCLOcvMnqwC&pg=PA73|year=2011|last=Mayor|first=Adrienne|title=The First Fossil Hunters: Dinosaurs, Mammoths, and Myth in Greek and Roman Times|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0691150130|page=73}}</ref>

[[File:Statue of Lucilla detail.jpg|thumb|Lucilla depicted as [[Ceres (mythology)|Ceres]]]]
In the middle of the war, perhaps in autumn 163 or early 164, Lucius made a trip to Ephesus to be married to Marcus' daughter Lucilla.<ref>''HA Verus'' 7.7; ''Marcus'' 9.4; Barnes, 72; Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 163; cf. also Barnes, "Legislation Against the Christians", ''Journal of Roman Studies'' 58:1–2 (1968), 39; "Some Persons in the Historia Augusta", ''Phoenix'' 26:2 (1972), 142, citing the ''Vita Abercii'' 44ff.</ref> Lucilla's thirteenth birthday was in March 163; whatever the date of her marriage, she was not yet fifteen.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 131; "Hadrian to the Antonines", 163.</ref> Marcus had moved up the date: perhaps stories of Panthea had disturbed him.<ref name="Birley, Marcus Aurelius, 131">Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 131.</ref> Lucilla was accompanied by her mother Faustina and M. Vettulenus Civica Barbarus, the half-brother of Lucius' father.<ref>''HA Verus'' 7.7; ''Marcus'' 9.4; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 131.</ref>

Marcus may have planned to accompany them all the way to Smyrna (the biographer says he told the senate he would); this did not happen.<ref>''HA Verus'' 7.7; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 131.</ref> Marcus only accompanied the group as far as Brundisium, where they boarded a ship for the east.<ref>''HA Marcus'' 9.4; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 131.</ref> Marcus returned to Rome immediately thereafter, and sent out special instructions to his proconsuls not to give the group any official reception.<ref>''HA Marcus'' 9.5–6; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 131.</ref> Lucilla would bear three of Lucius' children in the coming years. Lucilla became Lucilla Augusta.<ref>Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 163.</ref>

==== Counterattack and victory (163–166) ====
I Minervia and V Macedonica, under the legates M. Claudius Fronto and P. Martius Verus, served under Statius Priscus in Armenia, earning success for Roman arms during the campaign season of 163,<ref>Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 161–162, citing ''Prosopographia Imperii Romani''<sup>2</sup> C 874 (Claudius Fronto); ''Prosopographia Imperii Romani''<sup>2</sup> M 348.</ref> including the capture of the Armenian capital [[Artashat (ancient city)|Artaxata]].<ref>''HA Marcus'' 9.1; Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 162.</ref> At the end of the year, Verus took the title ''Armeniacus'', despite having never seen combat; Marcus declined to accept the title until the following year.<ref>''HA Marcus'' 9.1; ''HA Verus'' 7.1–2; ''Ad Verrum Imperator'' 2.3 (= Haines 2.133); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 129; "Hadrian to the Antonines", 162.</ref> When Lucius was hailed as ''imperator'' again, however, Marcus did not hesitate to take the ''Imperator II'' with him.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 129; "Hadrian to the Antonines", 162, citing H. Mattingly, ''Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus'' (London, 1940), Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, nos. 233ff.</ref> The army of Syria was reinforced by II Adiutrix and Danubian legions under X Gemina's legate Geminius Marcianus.<ref>''Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae'' [http://compute-in.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/pls/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=D+08977&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 8977]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (II Adiutrix); ''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' [http://compute-in.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/pls/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=CIL+08,+07050&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 8.7050]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}–[http://compute-in.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/pls/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=CIL+08,+07051&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 51]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (Marcianus); Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 162.</ref>

[[File:ArRaqqahEuphrates.jpg|310px|thumb|right|The Euphrates river near [[Raqqa]], Syria]]
Occupied Armenia was reconstructed on Roman terms. In 164, a new capital, Kaine Polis ('New City'), replaced Artaxata.<ref>Dio 71.3.1; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 131; "Hadrian to the Antonines", 162; Millar, ''Near East'', 113.</ref> On Birley's reckoning, it was thirty miles closer to the Roman border.<ref name="Birley, Marcus Aurelius, 131"/> Detachments from Cappadocian legions are attested at [[Ejmiatsin, Armenia|Echmiadzin]], beneath the southern face of [[Mount Ararat]], 400&nbsp;km east of [[Satala]]. It would have meant a march of twenty days or more, through mountainous terrain, from the Roman border; a "remarkable example of imperialism", in the words of [[Fergus Millar]].<ref>''Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae'' [http://compute-in.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/pls/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=D+00394&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 394]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}; [http://compute-in.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/pls/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=D+09117&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 9117]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}; Millar, ''Near East'', 113.</ref>

A new king was installed: a Roman senator of consular rank and Arsacid descent, [[Sohaemus of Armenia|Gaius Julius Sohaemus]]. He may not even have been crowned in Armenia; the ceremony may have taken place in Antioch, or even Ephesus.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 280 n. 42; "Hadrian to the Antonines", 162.</ref> [[Sohaemus of Armenia|Sohaemus]] was hailed on the imperial coinage of 164 under the legend {{aut|Rex armeniis Datus}}: Verus sat on a throne with his staff while Sohaemus stood before him, saluting the emperor.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 131; "Hadrian to the Antonines", 162, citing H. Mattingly, ''Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus'' (London, 1940), Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, nos. 261ff.; 300 ff.</ref>

In 163, while Statius Priscus was occupied in Armenia, the Parthians intervened in [[Osroene]], a Roman client in upper Mesopotamia, just east of Syria, with its capital at [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]]. They deposed the country's leader, Mannus, and replaced him with their own nominee, who would remain in office until 165.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 130, 279 n. 38; "Hadrian to the Antonines", 163, citing ''Prosopographia Imperii Romani''<sup>2</sup> M 169.</ref> (The Edessene coinage record actually begins at this point, with issues showing Vologases IV on the obverse and "Wael the king" ([[Syriac language|Syriac]]: W'L MLK') on the reverse).<ref name="Millar, Near East, 112">Millar, ''Near East'', 112.</ref> In response, Roman forces were moved downstream, to cross the Euphrates at a more southerly point.<ref name="ReferenceC"/>

On the evidence of Lucian, the Parthians still held the southern, Roman bank of the Euphrates (in Syria) as late as 163 (he refers to a battle at Sura, which is on the southern side of the river).<ref>Lucian, ''Historia Quomodo Conscribenda'' 29; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 130; "Hadrian to the Antonines", 162.</ref> Before the end of the year, however, Roman forces had moved north to occupy Dausara and Nicephorium on the northern, Parthian bank.<ref>Fronto, ''Ad Verum Imperator'' 2.1.3 (= Haines 2.133); Astarita, 41; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 130; "Hadrian to the Antonines", 162.</ref>{{#tag:ref|The letter noting the victories (''Ad Verum Imperator'' 2.1) dates to 164 (Fronto makes a reference to Marcus' delay in taking the ''Armeniacus''; since he took the title in 164, the letter can be no earlier than that date),<ref>Champlin, "Chronology", 147.</ref> but the battles themselves date to 163.<ref>Astarita, 41; Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 162.</ref>|group=notes}} Soon after the conquest of the north bank of the Euphrates, other Roman forces moved on Osroene from Armenia, taking Anthemusia, a town south-west of Edessa.<ref>''Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae'' [http://compute-in.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/pls/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=D+01098&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 1098]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 130.</ref> There was little movement in 164; most of the year was spent on preparations for a renewed assault on Parthian territory.<ref name="Birley, Marcus Aurelius, 131"/>

==== Invasion of Mesopotamia (165) ====
[[File:The apotheosis of Lucius Verus.jpg|thumb|''The apotheosis of Lucius Verus'', 2nd-century relief plates from [[Ephesus]], on display at [[Humboldt University of Berlin]]]]
[[File:Buste 4 Bardo National Museum.jpg|thumb|upright|Ancient bust in the [[Bardo National Museum (Tunis)|Bardo National Museum]], Tunis, 2nd century AD]]
In 165, Roman forces, perhaps led by Martius Verus and the V Macedonica, moved on Mesopotamia. Edessa was re-occupied, Mannus re-installed.<ref>Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 163, citing ''Prosopographia Imperii Romani''<sup>2</sup> M 169.</ref> His coinage resumed, too: 'Ma'nu the king' (Syriac: M'NW MLK') or Antonine dynasts on the obverse, and 'King Mannos, friend of Romans' (Greek: ''Basileus Mannos Philorōmaios'') on the reverse.<ref name="Millar, Near East, 112"/> The Parthians retreated to Nisibis, but this too was besieged and captured. The Parthian army dispersed in the Tigris; their general Chosrhoes swam down the river and made his hideout in a cave.<ref>Lucian, ''Historia Quomodo Conscribenda'' 15, 19; Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 163.</ref> A second force, under Avidius Cassius and the III Gallica, moved down the Euphrates, and fought a major battle at Dura.<ref>Lucian, ''Historia Quomodo Conscribenda'' 20, 28; Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 163, citing Syme, ''Roman Papers'', 5.689ff.</ref>

By the end of the year, Cassius' army had reached the twin metropolises of Mesopotamia: [[Seleucia]] on the right bank of the Tigris and [[Ctesiphon]] on the left. Ctesiphon was taken and its royal palace set to flame. The citizens of Seleucia, still largely Greek (the city had been commissioned and settled as a capital of the [[Seleucid Empire]], one of [[Alexander the Great]]'s [[Diadochi|successor kingdoms]]), opened its gates to the invaders. The city got sacked nonetheless, leaving a black mark on Lucius' reputation. Excuses were sought, or invented: the official version had it that the Seleucids broke faith first.<ref>''HA Verus'' 8.3–4; Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 163. Birley cites R.H. McDowell, ''Coins from Seleucia on the Tigris'' (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1935), 124ff., on the date.</ref> Whatever the case, the sacking marks a particularly destructive chapter in Seleucia's long decline.<ref>John F. Matthews, ''The Roman Empire of Ammianus'' (London: Duckworth, 1989), 142–143. Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 163–164, says that the siege marked the end of the city's history.</ref>

Cassius' army, although suffering from a shortage of supplies and the effects of a plague contracted in Seleucia, made it back to Roman territory safely.<ref>Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 164.</ref> Iunius Maximus, a young ''tribunus laticlavius'' serving in III Gallica under Cassius, took the news of the victory to Rome. Maximus received a generous cash bounty (''dona'') for bringing the good news, and immediate promotion to the quaestorship.<ref>Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 164, citing Alföldy and Halfmann, "Iunius Mauricus und die Victoria Parthica", ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'' 35 (1979): 195–212 = Alföldy, ''Römische Heeresgeschichte. Beiträge 1962–1985'' (Amsterdam, 1987), 203 ff (with addenda, 220–221); Fronto, ''Ad amicos'' 1.6.</ref> Lucius took the title Parthicus Maximus, and he and Marcus were hailed as ''imperatores'' again, earning the title 'imp. III'.<ref>Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 164, citing H. Mattingly, ''Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus'' (London, 1940), Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, nos. 384 ff., 1248 ff., 1271 ff.</ref> Cassius' army returned to the field in 166, crossing over the Tigris into Media. Lucius took the title 'Medicus',<ref>Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 164, citing P. Kneissl, ''Die Siegestitulatur der römischen Kaiser. Untersuchungen zu den Siegerbeinamen des 1. und 2. Jahrhunderts'' (Göttingen, 1969), 99 ff.</ref> and the emperors were again hailed as ''imperatores'', becoming 'imp. IV' in imperial titulature. Marcus took the Parthicus Maximus now, after another tactful delay.<ref>Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 164, citing H. Mattingly, ''Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus'' (London, 1940), Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, nos. 401ff.</ref>

Most of the credit for the war's success must be ascribed to subordinate generals. The forces that advanced on Osroene were led by M. Claudius Fronto, an Asian provincial of Greek descent who had led I Minervia in Armenia under Priscus. He was probably the first senator in his family.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 130, citing ''Prosopographia Imperii Romani''<sup>2</sup> C 874.</ref> Fronto was consul for 165, probably in honor of the capture of Edessa.<ref>Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 164, citing Alföldy, ''Konsulat'', 179 ff.</ref> P. Martius Verus had led V Macedonica to the front, and also served under Priscus. Martius Verus was a westerner, whose ''patria'' was perhaps [[Toulouse|Tolosa]] in [[Gallia Narbonensis]].<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 130, citing ''Prosopographia Imperii Romani''<sup>2</sup> M 348.</ref>

The most prominent general, however, was [[Avidius Cassius|C. Avidius Cassius]], commander of III Gallica, one of the Syrian legions. Cassius was a young senator of low birth from the north Syrian town of [[Cyrrhus, Syria|Cyrrhus]]. His father, Heliodorus, had not been a senator, but was nonetheless a man of some standing: he had been Hadrian's ''[[ab epistulis]]'', followed the emperor on his travels, and was prefect of Egypt at the end of Hadrian's reign. Cassius also, with no small sense of self-worth, claimed descent from the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid kings]].<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', 130, citing ''Prosopographia Imperii Romani''<sup>2</sup> A 1402f.; 1405; Astarita, ''passim''; Syme, ''Bonner Historia-Augustia Colloquia'' 1984 (= ''Roman Papers'' IV (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988), ?).</ref> Cassius and Martius Verus, still probably in their mid-thirties, took the consulships for 166.<ref>Birley, "Hadrian to the Antonines", 164, citing Alföldy, ''Konsulat'', 24, 221.</ref>