Titus Fulvius Iunius Macrianus (died 261), also known as Macrianus Minor, was a

Roman usurper Roman usurpers were individuals or groups of individuals who obtained or tried to obtain power by force and without legitimate legal authority. Usurpation was endemic during the Roman imperial era, especially from the crisis of the third centu ...

. He was the son of Fulvius Macrianus, also known as Macrianus Major.Jones, pg. 528

Career

Although his father was from an equestrian family, Macrianus Minor's mother was of noble birth and her name, possibly, was Iunia. According to the often unreliable

Historia Augusta The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, Caesar (title), designated heirs and Roman usurper, usurpers from 117 to 284. S ...

, he had served as military

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the Tribune of the Plebs, tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs ac ...

under Valerian. Macrianus, his father and his brother

Quietus Titus Fulvius Junius Quietus (died 261) was a Roman usurper against Roman Emperor Gallienus. History Quietus was the son of Fulvius Macrianus and a noblewoman, possibly named Junia. According to ''Historia Augusta'', he was a military trib ...

, were in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

in 260, for the

Sassanid The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

campaign of Emperor Valerian, when the Roman army was defeated, and the emperor was captured.Körner, http://www.roman-emperors.org/galusurp.htm#Note%202 With help from his father, who kept the imperial treasure, and by the influence of Balista, Valerian's praefect, Macrianus gained the imperial office together with his brother

, through the election by the army, in contrast with the lawful Emperor

Gallienus Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; – September 268) was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that nearly caused the collapse of the empire. He ...

, son and co-emperor with Valerian, who was far in the West. The two emperors and brothers were recognized in the eastern part of the Empire, having a stronghold in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, the grain supplying province for the city of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. After having temporarily secured the Persian frontier, Macrianus Major and Macrianus Minor moved to the West to attack and eliminate their rival Gallienus. They were however defeated in autumn 261 by

Aureolus Aureolus was a Roman military commander during the reign of Emperor Gallienus before he attempted to usurp the Roman Empire. After turning against Gallienus, Aureolus was killed during the political turmoil that surrounded the Emperor's assass ...

, and later killed by their own soldiers at the father's request.

Cultural depictions

Macrianus appears in Harry Sidebottom's historical fiction novel series as one of the series' antagonists..

References

Sources

Körner, Christian, "Usurpers in the east: The Macriani and Ballista", s.v. "Usurpers under Gallienus", ''De Imperatoribus Romanis''
* Jones, A.H.M., Martindale, J.R. ''The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Vol. I: AD260-395'', Cambridge University Press, 1971 {{DEFAULTSORT:Minor, Macrianus 261 deaths Thirty Tyrants (Roman) Gallienus usurpers 3rd-century Roman consuls Year of birth unknown Fulvii People of the Roman–Sasanian Wars Roman pharaohs 3rd-century Roman usurpers

Career

Cultural depictions

See also

References

Sources