Death opened (or should we say closed?) many doors to make Lucius Verus emperor. His father and an emperor (Antoninus Pius) had to perish before young Lucius ascended to the throne at the age of 30. He had been tutored by Cornelius Fronto, an orator considered inferior only to Cicero. Lucius succeeded to the throne along with Marcus Aurelius and soon set out for the East to fight the Persians. In Syria, he lived an unbridled life full of adulteries, love-affairs with young men, gambling, and visits to brothels and disreputable taverns. His commanders defeated the Persians in 166 CE, but Lucius only enjoyed his glory for a few years. In 169 CE he had a stroke and died at the age of 39.