Marcus (died 406) 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 cent ...

who was proclaimed emperor in 406 in

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...

. He was killed later that same year in a subsequent mutiny.

Career

Marcus was a high ranking soldier in Roman Britain who was proclaimed

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

by the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

there some time in 406, possibly during the summer. Possibly one of the army commanders in Britain (''

Comes Britanniarum The (Latin for "Count of the Britains") was a military post in Roman Britain with command over the mobile field army from the mid-4th century onwards. It is listed in the List of Offices as being one of the three commands in Britain, along wit ...

'', '' Comes Litoris Saxonici'' or ''

Dux Britanniarum ''Dux Britanniarum'' was a military post in Roman Britain, probably created by Emperor Diocletian or Constantine I during the late third or early fourth century. The ''Dux'' (literally, "(military) leader" was a senior officer in the late Roman ...

''), he may have risen to power as a reaction to the increasing raids from abroad at a time when the Empire was withdrawing troops from its distant provinces such as Britain to protect its heartland. While the historian J. B. Bury conjectured that rebellion of the British legions in 406 was aimed principally at

Stilicho Flavius Stilicho (; c. 359 – 22 August 408) was a military commander in the Roman army who, for a time, became the most powerful man in the Western Roman Empire. He was of Vandal origins and married to Serena, the niece of emperor Theodosiu ...

, the emperor Honorius’s ''

magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...

'', the ancient sources (

Olympiodorus of Thebes Olympiodorus of Thebes ( grc-gre, Ὀλυμπιόδωρος ὁ Θηβαῖος; born c. 380, fl. c. 412–425 AD) was a Roman historian, poet, philosopher and diplomat of the early fifth century. He produced a ''History'' in twenty-two volumes, wr ...

, Zosimus and

Orosius Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in ''Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), t ...

) generally link the rebellion to the barbarian incursions into Gaul and Italy, and specifically the Vandal and Alanic tribes that crossed the Rhine frontier, which

Prosper of Aquitaine Prosper of Aquitaine ( la, Prosper Aquitanus; – AD), a Christian writer and disciple of Augustine of Hippo, was the first continuator of Jerome's Universal Chronicle. Life Prosper was a native of Aquitaine, and may have been educated at ...

dated to 31 December 406. The debate for modern historians has therefore centred on whether this event was the trigger for the rebellion. Historians such as N. H. Baynes and M. Kulikowski contend that the rebellion was triggered by the crossing of the Rhine, which should be therefore dated to 31 December 405. However, others such as F. Paschoud and

Anthony Birley Anthony Richard Birley (8 October 1937 – 19 December 2020) was a British ancient historian, archaeologist and academic. He was the son of Margaret Isabel (Goodlet) and historian and archaeologist Eric Birley. Early life and education Anthon ...

argue that Prosper’s date is accurate, and that the events in

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

that sparked the rebellion were related to the barbarians who entered Gaul from Italy, probably a part of the army of

Radagaisus Radagaisus (died 23 August 406) was a Gothic king who led an invasion of Roman Italy in late 405 and the first half of 406.Peter Heather, ''The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians'', 2nd ed. 2006:194; A committed ...

, who invaded Italy in 405/6. Whatever the trigger for the rebellion, all that is known of Marcus’ brief reign is that he did not please the army, so was soon killed by them and replaced with another short-lived usurper,

Gratian Gratian (; la, Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and w ...

. Marcus’ death occurred around October 406. Gratian was in turn killed by the troops in early 407, and replaced by

Constantine III Constantine III may refer to: * Constantine III (Western Roman Emperor), self-proclaimed western Roman Emperor 407–411 * Heraclius Constantine, Byzantine Emperor in 641 * Constans II, Byzantine emperor 641–668, sometimes referred to under this ...

. In his pseudohistorical work, the ''

Historia Regum Britanniae ''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. ...

'',

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography ...

tells of a Gracianus Municeps who takes the throne of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

away from King Dionotus;Monmouth, ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', 6:1 it is possible he based these characters on the historical Gratian and Marcus. He is one of three would-be Emperors described in Alfred Duggan's historic novel '' The Little Emperors''.

Sources

Primary sources

* Zosimus, ''"Historia Nova"'', Book
Historia Nova

Secondary sources

* Birley, Anthony R., ''The Roman Government of Britain'', Oxford University Press, 2005, * Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin, John Robert Martindale, John Morris, ''

The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire ''Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'' (abbreviated as ''PLRE'') is a work of Roman prosopography published in a set of three volumes collectively describing many of the people attested to have lived in the Roman Empire from AD 260, the date ...

'', volume 2, Cambridge University Press, 1992, * Bury, J. B., ''A History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene'', Vol. I (1889)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcus 406 deaths 5th-century Roman usurpers Ancient Romans in Britain Year of birth unknown