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| Annia Cornificia Faustina Minor | |
|---|---|
 Statue of Annia Cornificia Faustina Minor (Archaeological Museum in Ostia antica) | |
| Born | 160 AD Rome, Italy |
| Died | 212 AD |
| Spouse | Marcus Petronius Sura Mamertinus |
| Dynasty | Nerva–Antonine |
| Father | Marcus Aurelius |
| Mother | Faustina the Younger |
Annia Cornificia Faustina Minor (Minor Latin for the younger, 160–212 AD) was a daughter of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and his wife, Faustina the Younger. She was sister to Lucilla and Commodus. Her maternal grandparents were Antoninus Pius and Faustina the Elder, and her paternal grandparents were Domitia Lucilla and praetor Marcus Annius Verus. She was named in honor of her late paternal aunt Annia Cornificia Faustina.
Life
Cornificia Faustina was born and raised in Rome and later married the African Roman politician Marcus Petronius Sura Mamertinus, who served as consul in 182. Sometime after 173, they had a son, Petronius Antoninus. It is possible that she and her family were at the winter camp where Marcus Aurelius died in early 180.
Her brother Commodus succeeded her father as emperor and, sometime between 190 and 192, he ordered the deaths of her husband, her son, her brother-in-law and her sister-in-law's family. Cornificia survived the political executions of Commodus and later married Lucius Didius Marinus, a powerful Roman noble of equestrian rank who served as Procurator in various provinces. He later became a tax collector and tribune of the first Praetorian cohort.
During the brief reign of Pertinax (193), she was involved in an affair with the emperor. In 212, when she was in her fifties, Caracalla ordered her death and that of her son, thus eliminating the last surviving child of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina the Younger. Historian Cassius Dio recorded the manner of her death:
- Her last words were 'My poor, unhappy soul, trapped in an unworthy body, go forth, be free, show them that you are the daughter of Marcus Aurelius!' Then she took off her ornaments, composed herself, opened her veins, and died.
Nerva–Antonine family tree
| Nerva–Antonine family tree | |
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| Notes:
Except where otherwise noted, the notes below indicate that an individual's parentage is as shown in the above family tree.
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References:
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References
- I. Syvanne, Caracalla, a Military Biography, Pen & Sword Books Ltd., South Yorkshire, ç2017, p.138
Sources
- Septimius Severus: the African emperor, By Anthony Richard Birley Edition: 2 – 1999
- Roman social history: a sourcebook By Tim G. Parkin, Arthur John Pomeroy 2007
- A commentary on the Letters of M. Cornelius Fronto, By Michael Petrus Josephus van den Hout, Marcus Cornelius Fronto 1999
- From Tiberius to the Antonines: a history of the Roman Empire AD 14–192, by Albino Garzetti, 1974.
- Stefan Priwitzer, Faustina minor - Ehefrau eines Idealkaisers und Mutter eines Tyrannen quellenkritische Untersuchungen zum dynastischen Potential, zur Darstellung und zu Handlungsspielraeumen von Kaiserfrauen im Prinzipat (Bonn: Dr. Rudolf Habelt, 2008) (Tuebinger althistorische Studien, 6).
External links
- Did Faustina the Younger sleep around? Archived 2020-10-14 at the Wayback Machine
- Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
- Faustina II Archived 2013-05-18 at the Wayback Machine