0Marcus Aurelius was Emperor of Rome from 161 to 180 AD. He governed over a golden era of the Roman Empire. Despite being an emperor Marcus had a difficult life. Marcus ruled as a philosopher king, he practiced Stoicism and wrote about his own Stoic practice in his journals. Meditations is considered one of the pillars of western philosophy and literature. It is also a rare primary source into the mind of a man who ruled over one of the greatest empires built by man.