Marcus Aurelius (121 - 180 AD) was Roman Emperor from 161 to 180, and is considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers. What today we call the Meditations take the form of a personal notebook; they weren't intended for publication and he called them "Writings To Myself." They were written in Greek, even though his native tongue was Latin, and were probably composed while Marcus was on military campaigns in central Europe, c. AD 171-175. He died, most likely from the plague or cancer, on a military campaign in present day Austria.