Faustina the Younger
| Faustina the Younger | |
|---|---|
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| 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 |
Annia Galeria Faustina Minor (Minor is Latin for the Younger), Faustina Minor or Faustina the Younger (born probably 21 Septemberc. 130 CE, died in winter of 175 or spring of 176 CE) 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.
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.
In April or May 145, 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. Little is specifically known of the ceremony, but it is said to have been "noteworthy". 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. Faustina was given the title of Augusta on 1 December 147 after the birth of her first child, Domitia Faustina.
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