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The long reign of Antoninus Pius was one of the most peaceful and prosperous in Roman history. Pius did not support military undertakings and never left Italy during his reign. Disturbances to the Pax Romana occurred on the edges of the empire. As a consequence, neither Caesar gained military experience and were not shown to the armies. Marcus rose steadily through the cursus honorum, holding consulates in 140 and 145, combining magistracies with priesthoods. He received the tribunes potestas in 147, and may have also gotten imperium prosconsulare. His closest contacts were Fronto, a distinguished rhetorician and orator. His acquaintances included many other distinguished thinkers, such as Herodes Atticus, an Athenian millionaire and sophist, and Aelius Aristedes. Two of Aristedes's great speeches have survived and reveal much about the mood and beliefs of the age. But it was Epictetus who had the greatest philosophical imapct and made him a firm Stoic.
In the year 161 Marcus celebrated his fortieth birthday and was a figure of noble appearance and unblemished character. He was leading a life which gave him as much honor and glory as he could have ever wanted. Probably much more than Marcus may have really enjoyed. Marcus's life and the empire of Rome soon changed. The emperor Antoninus Pius died on March 7 of that year but not before clearly indicating to magistrates and the senate that he wanted Marcus Aurelius to succeed him by having the statue of Fortuna, which had been in Pius's bedroom, transferred to Marcus. There was no opposition or contrary voices to his succession. Marcus immediately chose his brother as co-emperor, as Hadrian had planned. From the beginning of the year they were joint consuls and held office for the entire year. Their official names were Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus and Imperator Caesar L. Aurelius Verus Augustus.