When Marcus Aurelius succeeded Antoninus Pius when he died on March 7, 161 AD, he refused to take office unless Lucius Verus was appointed co-emperor. This was the first instance of two emperors ruling at once in the Roman Empire. Of the pair, Marcus Aurelius held more power and Lucius Verus was the junior emperor. He led the Roman forces in a war against Parthia, 161-166 AD. When he returned a triumph was held. In 168 AD, war broke out along the Danube, and while leading the troops there, Verus fell ill with what is now thought to be smallpox, during a widespread epidemic known as the Antonine Plague.

    

Bust of Lucius Verus portrayed as an Arval Brother, in the National Museum of Rome, Terme di Diocleziano
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