We’re not 100% sure how many children he had, as the historical record is slightly ambiguous, and it’s also possible there were some miscarried, stillborn or who died in early infancy, who we would not necessarily hear anything about. The best estimate is that he had at least fourteen children, at least seven of whom died before him.

As mentioned above, Marcus’ favourite son died young, and Commodus was his only surviving son. These two boys were chosen by Marcus and Lucius Verus to rule together as co-emperors. Indeed, one was named after Marcus and the other after Lucius. (They had the same names the two co-emperors were given at birth.) The boy Marcus Annius Verus was also reputedly called Verissimus, his father’s nickname.