The University Press of France along with Fremeaux & Associes present this biography of Marc Aurele by Veronique Boudon-Millot, who is research director at CNRS and a specialist in ancient Greece. Marc Aurele will be remembered as a man of many facets: the emperor, the philosopher and the warrior. An exceptional man who ruled the Roman Empire at it's apogee, the second century of our era, and who cultivated philosophy from an early age. Can one be emperor while still being stoic? Starting from the Auguste History and the writings of the philosopher, Veronique Boudon-Millot traces his story from his childhood with his mother Domitia the pious, to his first years of governance, the fighting against the barbarians, and the fight against Christianity. This biography will allow us to grasp the complexity of this paradoxical historical figure, and to rediscover this rich era of ancient Rome.