Marcus Cornelius Fronto
Fronto was born in the city of Constantine, in the year 100 AD, and died in the year 167 AD in Rome. He was a great rhetorician, orator, and grammarian from Numidia, where he later became the teacher and tutor of one of Rome's greatest and most famous kings, the Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius. This emperor mentioned him among his teachers in his book “Meditations,” as in the picture.
His early career is known from an inscription from the city of Valma (Calama), where he began with a humble position as a triumvir, then became a priest in the province of Sicily, before becoming a judge. His younger brother Quintus Cornelius Quadratus also served in the Senate.
He was chosen by Antoninus “the Pious” to be the tutor of Marcus Aurelius and Verus, a soul friend of Marcus Aurelius and Antoninus.
Fronton became consul, and found himself in the fray of senators, many of whom were African and who also included his brother-in-law Victorinus.
Marcus Cornelius Fronto, teacher of Emperor Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, and Lucius Verus, came from the country of Numidia, and as he said about himself, “I am a Libyan of Libyan origin.” Where the word Libyan means barbarian. When he reached Rome, he stated that it was difficult to establish any friendly relations with anyone in Rome, and that Latin did not take into account feelings between friends. (1)
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(1)McKeown J.C., A Cabinet of Roman Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the World’s Greatest Empire, 2010