Emperor
Marcus Aurelius forms a new military command, the praetentura Italiae et Alpium.
Aquileia is relieved, and the
Marcomanni are evicted from Roman territory.
May –
June –
Aelius Aristides, Greek orator, delivers a public speech in
Smyrna, lamenting the damage recently inflicted to the sacred site of Eleusis.
Emperor
Marcus Aurelius crosses the
Danube with an expeditionary force. He subdues the
Marcomanni and their allies and then, in a pact signed with the
Germanic tribes, he imports them into the
Roman Empire to occupy areas that have been depopulated by the
plague.
Miracle in
Moravia: As the
Roman army is encircled by the
Quadi under intense heat, a violent
thunderstorm sweeps away the Quadi in a torrent of water and mud, and refreshes the parched
legionaries.
Empress
Faustina the Younger accompanies her husband,
Marcus Aurelius, on various military campaigns and enjoys the love of the
Roman soldiers. Aurelius gives her the title of Mater Castrorum ("Mother of the Camp").
Avidius Cassius fails in seeking support for his rebellion and is
assassinated by Roman officers. They send his head to Aurelius, who persuades the
Senate to
pardon Cassius's family.
Marcus Aurelius drives the
Marcomanni over the Danube and reinforces the border. To repopulate and rebuild a devastated
Pannonia,
Rome allows the first German colonists to enter territory controlled by the
Roman Empire.
Han DynastyChina: The full title of the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art appears on two bronze standard measures dated to this year, yet there is speculation that the same book existed beforehand only under different titles. In the 3rd century,
Liu Hui would provide commentary on this important early Chinese mathematical treatise.