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An Alternative History of the Roman Empire: The Last Years of Marcus Aurelius

What a wonderful article! I've always wondered what choices Marcus Aurelius would've made had he lived longer. Commodus--later famous for not only his inept rule but also killing a rhinoceros personally in the Roman games--was a disaster as an heir. I love the idea of ol' Marcus outliving all his potential heirs by blood--as you noted, being the heir apparent is a fiddly and bloody business. My Roman history is a bit shaky, but I've heard that the commonality between the Five Good Emperors (of which Aurelius was the last) was that each of them chose a successor based on merit and not on blood.
Is there a chance, you think, in this new timeline, that this practice of picking a successor (non-family) becomes encoded into best practices for the Empire? Could Marcus Aurelius, or his heirs, succeed in muscling such a clearly-needed reform through the Senate?
 
What a wonderful article! I've always wondered what choices Marcus Aurelius would've made had he lived longer. Commodus--later famous for not only his inept rule but also killing a rhinoceros personally in the Roman games--was a disaster as an heir. I love the idea of ol' Marcus outliving all his potential heirs by blood--as you noted, being the heir apparent is a fiddly and bloody business. My Roman history is a bit shaky, but I've heard that the commonality between the Five Good Emperors (of which Aurelius was the last) was that each of them chose a successor based on merit and not on blood.
Is there a chance, you think, in this new timeline, that this practice of picking a successor (non-family) becomes encoded into best practices for the Empire? Could Marcus Aurelius, or his heirs, succeed in muscling such a clearly-needed reform through the Senate?

Might I suggest the "History of Rome" by Mike Duncan series on YouTube?
 
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