According to the Greek philosopher Plato, "There will be no end to the troubles of states, or indeed of humanity itself, until philosophers become kings in this world, or until those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers." While Marcus Aurelius could indeed be considered Rome's first "philosopher King" (followed only perhaps by Julian), the irony is that his otherwise often considered exemplary reign also included a nearly constant state of war along the Danubian frontier.
Unfortunately, written ancient material on Marcus Aurelius is scattered among several sources or of dubious quality. Much like the history of his immediate predecessors, the history of Cassius Dio for this period is very fragmentary. The account in the Historia Augusta is extant but long debated for its accuracy and even the origin of its authorship. Later writings of Christian authors Tertullian, Eusebius and Orosius do provide additional and important information (though perhaps biased from a perspective of Christian persecution and martyrdom) along with the correspondence of Marcus' teacher Fronto. Of course, the emperor's own work "Meditations" provides intricate detail into the philosophy of the man but is less useful as a history of events.
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