Faustina the Younger

Marble statue of Faustina the Younger (165 AD) - Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome.

Faustina, named after her mother, was her parents' fourth and youngest child and 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.

Bust of Marcus Aurelius in the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul, Turkey

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]

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

Aureus of Antoninus Pius, struck at the Rome mint, dated c. 147–152. Obv: Bust of Faustina the Younger. Rev: Goddess Concordia standing.

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 unreliable Historia Augusta 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 Historia Augusta 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 excessive 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 and 175, she was in the north, and in 175, she accompanied Aurelius to the east.

That same year, 175, Aurelius's general Avidius Cassius was proclaimed Roman emperor after the erroneous news of Marcus's death;[9] the sources indicate Cassius was encouraged by Marcus' 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][10] 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.[11] The evidence, including Marcus's own Meditations, supports the idea that Marcus was indeed quite ill,[11] 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;[12] his head was sent to Marcus Aurelius, who refused to see it and ordered it buried.[10] Egypt recognized Marcus as emperor again by 28 July 175.[12]

The facts concerning the death of Faustina are not definite. She died in the winter of 175 at the military camp in Halala (a city in the Taurus Mountains in Cappadocia). Although the causes of her death range from her dying from natural causes, suicide, or an accident, depending on the source.

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'.[13] The Baths of Faustina in Miletus are named after her.