Antoninus Pius Letters (Ἀντωνίνου Πίου Ἐπιστολαί)

Life The "Letters of Antoninus Pius" are attributed to the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius (r. 138–161 CE). Born in 86 CE near Lanuvium, he was adopted by Hadrian and succeeded him. His reign was marked by peace and administrative stability, earning him the epithet "Pius" [2][3]. He died in 161 CE and was succeeded by Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.

Works * Letters (Epistulae) – A collection of imperial correspondence. The work is considered lost; no complete collection survives. References to his letters or legal rescripts are found in later legal and historical sources [4].

Significance The significance lies in their potential as primary sources for the administrative and legal history of the Roman Empire during the Pax Romana. As imperial correspondence, they would provide insight into governance and legal judgments. While no corpus survives, individual citations, particularly in the Digest of Justinian, are crucial for understanding Roman law and administration in the Antonine period [4]. The mild tone of surviving fragments reflects his historical reputation [2][3].

Sources 1. Encyclopædia Britannica: Antoninus Pius: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antoninus-Pius 2. De Imperatoribus Romanis: Antoninus Pius (A.D. 138-161): http://www.roman-emperors.org/antopius.htm 3. World History Encyclopedia: Antoninus Pius: https://www.worldhistory.org/Antoninus_Pius/ 4. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics: Roman Law: https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-5570