Proper name

• ANTO'NINUS. 1. A Roman of high rank, and a contemporary and friend of Pliny the Younger, among whose letters there are three addressed to Antoninus. Pliny heaps the most extravagant praise upon his friend both for his personal character and his skill in composing Greek epigrams and iambics. (Plin. Epist. iv. 3, 18, v. 10.) 2. A new-Platonist, who lived early in the fourth century of our era, was a son of Eustathius and Sosipatra, and had a school at Canopus, near Alexandria in Egypt. He devoted himself wholly to those who sought his instructions, but he never expressed any opinion upon divine things, which he considered beyond man's comprehension. He and his disciples were strongly attached to the heathen religion; but he had acuteness enough to see that its end was near at hand, and he predicted that after his death all the splendid temples of the gods would be changed into tombs. His moral conduct is described as truly exemplary. (Eunapius, Vit. Aedesii, p. 68, ed. Antw. 1568.) (Wikisource | public domain)
• ANTONI'NUS. The work which bears the title of Antonini Itinerarium is usually attributed to the emperor M. Aurelius Antoninus. It is also ascribed in the MSS. severally to Julius Caesar, Antonius Augustus, Antonius Augustalis, and Antoninus Augustus. It is a very valuable itinerary of the whole Roman empire, in which both the principal and the cross-roads are described by a list of all the places and stations upon them, the distances from place to place being given in Roman miles. We are informed by Aethicus, a Greek geographer whose Cosmographia was translated by St. Jerome, that in the consulship of Julius Caesar and M. Antonius (b.c. 44), a general survey of the empire was undertaken, at the command of Caesar and by a decree of the senate, by three persons, who severally completed their labours in 30, 24, and 19, b.c., and that Augustus sanctioned the results by a decree of the senate. The probable inference from this statement, compared with the MS. titles of the Itinerary, is, that that work embodied the results of the survey mentioned by Aethicus. In fact, the circumstance of the Itinerary and the Cosmographia of Aethicus being found in the same MS. has led some writers to suppose that it was Aethicus himself who reduced the survey into the form in which we have it. The time of Julius Caesar and Augustus, when the Roman empire had reached its extent, was that at which we should expect such a work to be undertaken; and no one was more likely to undertake it than the great reformer of the Roman calendar. The honour of the work, therefore, seems to belong to Julius Caesar, who began it; to M. Antonius, who, from his position in the state, must have shared in its commencement and prosecution; and to Augustus, under whom it was completed. Nevertheless, it is highly probable that it received important additions and revision under one or both of the Antonines, who, in their labours to consolidate the empire, would not neglect such a work. The names included in it, moreover, prove that it was altered to suit the existing state of the empire down to the time of Diocletian (a.d. 285–305), after which we have no evidence of any alteration, for the passages in which the name 'Constantinopolis' occurs are probably spurious. Whoever may have been its author, we have abundant evidence that the work was an official one. In several passages the numbers are doubtful. The names are put down without any specific rule as to the case. It was first printed by H. Stephens, Paris. (1512.) The best edition is that of Wesseling, Amst. 1735, 4to. (The Preface to Wesseling's edition of the Itinerary; The Article 'Antoninus, the Itinerary of,' in the Penny Cyclopædia.) (Wikisource | public domain)
• ANTONI'NUS, M. AURE'LIUS. [M. Aurelius.] (Wikisource | public domain)
• ANTONI'NUS PIUS. The name of this emperor in the early part of his life, at full length, was Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus—a series of appellations derived from his paternal and maternal ancestors, from whom he inherited great wealth. The family of his father was originally from Nemausus (Nismes) in Transalpine Gaul, and the most important members of the stock are exhibited in the following table: Titus Aurelius Fulvus, Consul a.d. 85 and 89, and Praefectus urbi.Titus Arrius Antoninus, Consul a.d. 69 and 96.Boionia Procilla. Aurelius Fulvus, Consul, bur not named in the Fasti.Arria Fadilla Titus Aurelius Fulvus, afterwards T. Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius Augustus, Married Annia Galeria Faustina. M. Galerius Antoninus.M. Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus.Aurelia Fadilla.Annia Faustina, wife of the emperor M. Aurelius. ​Antoninus himself was born near Lanuvium on the 19th of September, a.d. 86, in the reign of Domitian; was brought up at Lorium, a villa on the Aurelian way, about twelve miles from Rome; passed his boyhood under the superintendence of his two grandfathers, and from a very early age gave promise of his future worth. After having filled the offices of quaestor and praetor with great distinction, he was elevated to the consulship in 120, was afterwards selected by Hadrian as one of the four consulars to whom the administration of Italy was entrusted, was next appointed proconsul of the province of Asia, which he ruled so wisely that he surpassed in fame all former governors, not excepting his grandfather Arrius, and on his return home was admitted to share the secret counsels of the prince. In consequence, it would appear, of his merit alone, after the death of Aelius Caesar, he was adopted by Hadrian on the 25th of February 138, in the 52nd year of his age. He was immediately assumed by his new father as colleague in the tribunate and proconsular imperium, and thenceforward bore the name of T. Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Caesar. Being at this period without male issue, he was required to adopt M. Annius Verus, the son of his wife's brother, and also L. Ceionius Commodus, the son of Aelius Caesar, who had been previously adopted by Hadrian but was now dead. These two individuals were afterwards the emperors M. Aurelius Antoninus and L. Aurelius Verus. Hadrian died at Baiae on the 2nd of July, 138, but a few months after these arrangements had been concluded, and Antoninus without opposition ascended the throne. Several years before this event, he had married Annia Galeria Faustina, whose descent will be understood by referring to the account given of the family of her nephew, M. Aurelius. By her he had two daughters, Aurelia Fadilla and Annia Faustina, and two sons, M. Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus and M. Galerius Antoninus. Aurelia married Lamia Syllanus, and died at the time when her father was setting out for Asia. Faustina became the wife of her first cousin Marcus Aurelius, the future emperor. Of the male progeny we know nothing. The name of the first mentioned was discovered by Pagi in an inscription, the portrait of the second appears on a rare Greek coin, with the legend, Μ. ΓΑΛΕΡΙΟΣ. ΑΝΤΩΝΕΙΝΟΣ. ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΟΡΟΣ. ΑΝΤΩΝΕΙΝΟΥ ΥΙΟΣ. On the reverse of the medal is the head of his mother, with the words, ΘΕΑ ΦΑΥΣΤΕΙΝΑ, which prove that it was struck subsequently to her death, which happened in the third year after her husband's accession. It will be observed, that while Galerius is styled 'son of the emperor Antoninus,' he is not termed ΚΑΙΣΑΡ, a title which would scarcely have been omitted had he been born or been alive after his father's elevation. From this circumstance, therefore, from the absolute silence of history with regard to these youths, and from the positive assertion of Dion Cassius (lxix. 21), that Antoninus had no male issue when adopted by Hadrian, we may conclude that both his sons died before this epoch; and hence the magnanimity ascribed to him by Gibbon (c. 3) in preferring the welfare of Rome to the interests of his family, and sacrificing the claims of his own children to the talents and virtues of young Marcus, is probably altogether visionary. The whole period of the reign of Antoninus, which lasted for upwards of twenty-two years, is almost a blank in history—a blank caused by the suspension for a time of war, and violence, and crime. Never before and never after did the Roman world enjoy for an equal space so large a measure of prosperous tranquillity. All the thoughts and energies of a most sagacious and able prince were steadfastly dedicated to the attainment of one object—the happiness of his people. And assuredly never were noble exertions crowned with more ample success. At home the affections of all classes were won by his simple habits, by the courtesy of his manners, by the ready access granted to his presence, by the patient attention with which he listened to representations upon all manner of subjects, by his impartial distribution of favours, and his prompt administration of justice. Common informers were discouraged, and almost disappeared; never had confiscations been so rare; during a long succession of years no senator was punished with death; one man only was impeached of treason, and he, when convicted, was forbidden to betray his accomplices. Abroad, the subject states participated largely in the blessings diffused by such an example. The best governors were permitted to retain their power for a series of years, and the collectors of the revenue were compelled to abandon their extortions. Moreover, the general condition of the provincials was improved, their fidelity secured, and the resources and stability of the whole empire increased by the communication, on a large scale, of the full rights and privileges of Roman citizens to the inhabitants of distant countries. In cases of national calamity and distress, such as the earthquakes which devastated Rhodes and Asia, and the great fires at Narbonne, Antioch, and Carthage, the sufferers were relieved, and compensation granted for their losses with the most unsparing liberality. In foreign policy, the judicious system of his predecessor was steadily followed out. No attempt was made to achieve new conquests, but all rebellions from within and all aggressions from without were promptly crushed. Various movements among the Germans, the Dacians, the Jews, the Moors, the Greeks, and the Egyptians, were quelled by persuasion or by a mere demonstration of force; while a more formidable insurrection in northern Britain was speedily repressed by the imperial legate Lollius Urbicus, who advancing beyond the wall of Hadrian, connected the friths of the Clyde and the Forth by a rampart of turf, in order that the more peaceful districts might be better protected from the inroads of the Caledonians. The British war was concluded, as we learn from ​medals, between the years 140–145, and on this occasion Antoninus received for a second time the title of imperator—a distinction which he did not again accept, and he never deigned to celebrate a triumph. (Eckhel, vol. vii. p. 14.) Even the nations which were not subject to Rome paid the utmost respect to the power of Antoninus. The Parthians, yielding to his remonstrances, abandoned an attempt upon Armenia. The Scythians submitted disputes with their neighbours to his arbitration; the barbarians of the Upper Danube received a king from his hands; a great chief of the clans of Caucasus repaired to Rome to tender his homage in person, and embassies flocked in from Hyrcania and Bactria, from the banks of the Indus and of the Ganges, to seek the alliance of the emperor. In his reign various improvements were introduced in the law, by the advice of the most eminent jurists of the day; the health of the population was protected by salutary regulations with regard to the interment of the dead, and by the establishment of a certain number of licensed medical practitioners in the metropolis and all large towns. The interests of education and literature were promoted by honours and pensions bestowed on the most distinguished professors of philosophy and rhetoric throughout the world. Commercial intercourse was facilitated by the construction or repair of bridges, harbours, and lighthouses; and architecture and the fine arts were encouraged by the erection and decoration of numerous public buildings. Of these the temple of Faustina in the forum, and the mausoleum of Hadrian on the right bank of the Tiber, may still be seen, and many antiquarians are of opinion, that the magnificent amphitheatre at Nismes, and the stupendous aqueduct now termed the Pont du Gard, between that town and Avignon, are monuments of the interest felt by the descendant of the Aurelii Fulvi for the country of his fathers. It is certain that the former of these structures was completed under his immediate successors and dedicated to them. In all the relations of private life Antoninus was equally distinguished. Even his wife's irregularities, which must to a certain extent have been known to him, he passed over, and after her death loaded her memory with honours. Among the most remarkable of these was the establishment of an hospital, after the plan of a similar institution by Trajan, for the reception and maintenance of boys and girls, the young females who enjoyed the advantages of the charity being termed puellae alimentariae Fatistinianae. By fervent piety and scrupulous observance of sacred rites, he gained the reputation of being a second Numa; but he was a foe to intolerant fanaticism, as is proved by the protection and favour extended to the Christians. His natural taste seems to have had a strong bias towards the pleasures of a country life, and accordingly we find him spending all his leisure hours upon his estate in the country. In person he was of commanding aspect and dignified countenance, and a deep toned melodious voice rendered his native eloquence more striking and impressive. His death took place at Lorium on the 7th of March, 161, in his 75th year. He was succeeded by M. Aurelius. Some doubts existed amongst the ancients themselves with regard to the origin of the title Pius, and several different explanations, many of them very silly, are proposed by his biographer Capitolinus. The most probable account of the matter is this. Upon the death of Hadrian, the senate, incensed by his severity towards several members of their body, had resolved to withhold the honours usually conferred upon deceased emperors, but were induced to forego their purpose in consequence of the deep grief of Antoninus, and his earnest entreaties. Being, perhaps, after the first burst of indignation had passed away, somewhat alarmed by their own rashness, they determined to render the concession more gracious by paying a compliment to their new ruler which should mark their admiration of the feeling by which he had been influenced, and accordingly they hailed him by the name of Pius, or the dutifully affectionate. This view of the question receives support from medals, since the epithet appears for the first time upon those which were struck immediately after the death of Hadrian; while several belonging to the same year, but coined before that date, bear no such addition. Had it been, as is commonly supposed, conferred in consequence of the general holiness of his life, it would in all probability have been introduced either when he first became Caesar, or after he had been seated for some time on the throne, and not exactly at the moment of his accession. Be that as it may, it found such favour in the eyes of his successors, that it was almost universally adopted, and is usually found united with the appellation of Augustus. Our chief and almost only authority for the life of Antoninus Pius is the biography of Capitolinus, which, as may be gathered from what has been said above, is from beginning to end an uninterrupted panegyric. But the few facts which we can collect from medals, from the scanty fragments of Dion Cassius, and from incidental notices in later writers, all corroborate, as far as they go, the representations of Capitolinus; and therefore we cannot fairly refuse to receive his narrative merely because he paints a character of singular and almost unparalleled excellence. (Wikisource | public domain)

(adjective) : Antōnīnus, i, m.Antonius
* Antonine, the name of several Roman emperors; among whom the most distinguished were Antoninus Pius and M. Aurelius Antoninus Philosophus, Inscr. Orell. 834 sq.; 856 sq. —Hence, Antōnīnĭānus, a, um, , of or belonging to Antonine, Eutr. 8, 10; Lampr. Elag. 24 al.

Personal name
Confirmed occurences in the Roman Empire:

• T. Aelius Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR A 0140 | PIR ID706
• P. Aelius Antoninus Ti. Aelius Antoninus (Masc), ref: Excav. Dura-Eur. 3 (1952) 42ff n. 952 | PIR ID707
• P. Aelius Antoninus Ti. Aelius Antoninus (Masc), ref: Excav. Dura-Eur. 3 (1952) 42ff n. 952 | PIR ID707
• Annius Antoninus (Masc), ref: P. Oxy. 3567 | PIR ID1362
• M. Annius Verus Imp. Caes. M. Aurelius Antoninus Aug. (Masc, senator), ref: PIR A 0697 | PIR ID1434
• Antoninus (Masc), ref: PIR A 0787 | PIR ID1540
• Antoninus (Masc), ref: PIR A 0788 | PIR ID1541
• Antoninus (Masc), ref: PIR A 0789 | PIR ID1542
• Antoninus (Masc), ref: PIR A 0790 | PIR ID1543
• Antoninus (Masc), ref: PIR A 0791 | PIR ID1544
• Antoninus (Masc), ref: XV 7575 | PIR ID1545
• Antoninus Aquila Antonius Aquila (Masc), ref: PIR A 0792 | PIR ID1546
• Antoninus Secundus (Masc), ref: PIR A 0793 | PIR ID1547
• Antonius Antoninus Iulianus (Masc), ref: PIR A 0843 | PIR ID1565
• Arrius Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR A 1087 | PIR ID1955
• C. Arrius Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR A 1088 | PIR ID1956
• C. Arrius Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR A 1089 | PIR ID1957
• C. Arrius Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR A 1090 | PIR ID1958
• Arrius Antoninus Cn. Arrius Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR A 1086 | PIR ID1959
• Arrius Antoninus Cn. Arrius Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR A 1086 | PIR ID1959
• T. Aurelius Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR A 1450 | PIR ID2442
• Aurelius Antoninus (Masc, eques), ref: PIR A 1447 | PIR ID2443
• M. Aurelius Antoninus (Masc, eques), ref: PIR A 1449 | PIR ID2444
• M. Aurelius Antoninus (Masc), ref: PIR A 1450a | PIR ID2445
• Aurelius Antoninus (Masc, eques), ref: AE 2000, 1539 | PIR ID2446
• Aurelius Antoninus Pelagius (Masc, eques), ref: PIR A 1448 | PIR ID2447
• M. Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR A 1511 | PIR ID2540
• T. Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR A 1512 | PIR ID2541
• T. Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus Imp. Caesar Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Aug. Pius (Masc, senator), ref: PIR A 1513 | PIR ID2543
• T. Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus Imp. Caesar Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Aug. Pius (Masc, senator), ref: PIR A 1513 | PIR ID2543
• Imp. Caesar M. Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Aug. Imp. Caesar L. Aelius Aurelius Commodus Aug. (Masc, senator), ref: PIR A 1482 | PIR ID3277
• L. Caesennius Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: RE Suppl. 12, 134 s.v. Caesennius 3a | PIR ID3304
• Ti. Claudius Antoninus (Masc, eques), ref: Devijver PME C 118 bis | PIR ID4170
• Ti. Claudius Dryantianus Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR C 0859 | PIR ID4275
• M. Claudius P. Vedius Antoninus Phaedrus Sabinianus (Masc, senator), ref: I. Ephesos 727ff. 4110 | PIR ID4524
• M. Claudius P. Vedius Antoninus Sabinus (Masc), ref: I. Ephesos 4110 | PIR ID4525
• Domitius Antoninus (Masc, eques), ref: CIL III 14156, 2 | PIR ID5402
• T. Flavius Vedius Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR F 0392 | PIR ID6263
• T. Flavius Vedius Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR F 0393 | PIR ID6264
• M. Galerius Aurelius Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR G 0026 | PIR ID6516
• Q. Haterius Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR H 0026 | PIR ID6786
• Iulius Antoninus (Masc, eques), ref: PIR I 0152 | PIR ID7320
• Iulius Antoninus (Masc), ref: PIR I 0153 | PIR ID7321
• L. Iulius Aurelius Sulpicius Uranius Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR I 0195 | PIR ID7367
• Sex. Iulius Maior Antoninus Pythodorus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR I 0398 | PIR ID7597
• Octavius Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR O 0024 | PIR ID9806
• M. Opellius Diadumenianus Imp. Caes. M. Opellius Antoninus Diadumenianus Aug. (Masc, senator), ref: PIR O 0107 | PIR ID9891
• Petronius Antoninus (Masc), ref: PIR P 0273 | PIR ID10287
• Petronius Sura Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR P 0272 | PIR ID10333
• Sallius Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR S 0076 | PIR ID11740
• Septimius Bassianus M. Aurelius Antoninus Caesar Imp. Caes. M. Aurelius Severus Antoninus Augustus qui et Caracalla (Masc, senator), ref: PIR S 0446 | PIR ID12164
• Septimius Bassianus M. Aurelius Antoninus Caesar Imp. Caes. M. Aurelius Severus Antoninus Augustus qui et Caracalla (Masc, senator), ref: PIR S 0446 | PIR ID12164
• T. Ulpius Aelianus Antoninus (Masc), ref: PIR V1 0537 | PIR ID13460
• Ulpius Antoninus (Masc), ref: RE Suppl. 14 (1974) 935 s.v. Ulpius 25 | PIR ID13465
• Varius Avitus Imp. Caes. M. Aurelius Antoninus Aug. imperator ElagabalusHeliogabalus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR V1 0184 | PIR ID14044
• Vedius Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: PIR V1 0211 | PIR ID14090
• P. Vedius Papianus Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: I. Ephesos 3079 | PIR ID14094
• Annius Antoninus, ref: P. Oxy. 50, 3567 Z. 1 | PIR ID14745
• Antoninus (Masc, senator), ref: AE 2007, 1790 | PIR ID15014

s. TLL