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What a tormented reign it was! No sooner had Marcus Aurelius ascended the throne than he was suddenly overwhelmed by natural disasters, military and political difficulties, and family cares and mournings, which forced him to engage in a battle every day.

The sober - albeit partial - judgment of Cassius Dio is one of the most just that have been made on the subject of Marcus: "He didn't have the luck which he deserved... but was confronted, throughout his reign, by a multitude of disasters. That is why I admire him more than any other, for it was amidst these extraordinary and unparalleled difficulties that he was able to survive, and to save the Empire."