A Study Of Roman Foreign Wars In The Period Of Marcus Aurelius

As one of the "Five Good Emperors",Marcus Aurelius,the Roman Empire under his rule should have been as prosperous and stable as before,but in his 21 years of rule（161-180 years）),the empire faced a huge threat,having experienced the Parthian War and the Marcomannic War.Under the emperor’s expeditions,the Roman Empire basically maintained a relatively peaceful situation and did not cause major crises.Although the war did not shake the Roman rule,the reasons for its occurrence,its specific process,and its influence on the later generations of Rome are all worthy of in-depth study.The purpose of this article is to examine in detail the two major wars of Marcus’ reign: the Parthian Wars and the Marcomannic Wars,to examine how Marcus dealt with the wars,and to explore the reasons for his victory and its subsequent impact on the Roman Empire.This paper consists of two parts.The first part is the introduction,according to the data collected at present,combs the relevant research status of Marcus Aurelius at home and abroad,and analyzes the significance of the topic,innovation and research methods.The second part is the main body of the thesis.The first chapter details the political,economic and military situation of the Roman Empire before and after Marcus ascended the throne.Firstly,it analyzes the strategies adopted by Marcus to consolidate his rule.Secondly,it discusses the border defense measures taken by Marcus according to the military situation of the Empire.The second chapter briefly introduces the general situation of the Parthian Empire during the reign of Marcus,the diplomatic relations between the Parthian Empire and the Roman Empire,narrates the beginning and end of the Parthian War,and then analyzes the reasons for Rome’s victory in the war.and the subsequent impact of the plague brought about by the war on Rome.The third chapter mainly describes Marcus’ s two Marcomannic wars against the Germans.On the basis of introducing the social living conditions of the Germans,this paper traces the root causes of the conflict between the Germans and Rome,and expounds the military strategies adopted by Marcus.The results of the war are analyzed.In the conclusion part,it makes a summary evaluation of Marcus’ s foreign war.