Macrian or Makrian () was the king of the Bucinobantes, an

Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...

c tribe, in the late fourth century and the brother of Hariobaudes. Macrian tried to confederate all the north Germanic and Alemannic tribes together against Rome. According to

Ammianus Marcellinus Ammianus Marcellinus, occasionally anglicized as Ammian ( Greek: Αμμιανός Μαρκελλίνος; born , died 400), was a Greek and Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquit ...

, In 359

Julian the Apostate Julian (; ; 331 – 26 June 363) was the Caesar of the West from 355 to 360 and Roman emperor from 361 to 363, as well as a notable philosopher and author in Greek. His rejection of Christianity, and his promotion of Neoplatonic Hellenism ...

took Mogontiacum (Mainz on the Rhine) and, after the exchange of prisoners, made treaties of peace with the various Alemanni kings, Macrian, Hariobaudes, Urius, Ursicinus, Vadomarius, and Vestralpus. Due to continuing unrest, however, the emperor

Valentinian I Valentinian I (; 32117 November 375), also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. He ruled the Western Roman Empire, Western half of the empire, while his brother Valens ruled the Byzantine Empire, East. During his re ...

, in the year 370, invaded Alemannia and deposed Macrian, whom he labelled ''turbarum rex artifex'' ("king and crafter of unrest"). With the help of deserters, Macrian was captured and imprisoned. In his place was set up Fraomar, but the Bucinobantes would not accept him and he was expelled and Macrian restored. In 371 Valentinian was forced to grant Macrian an alliance; the Bucinobantes became ''

foederati ''Foederati'' ( ; singular: ''foederatus'' ) were peoples and cities bound by a treaty, known as ''foedus'', with Rome. During the Roman Republic, the term identified the '' socii'', but during the Roman Empire, it was used to describe foreign ...

'' of Rome and loyal allies in the war with the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

. Macrian was killed on campaign against the Franks, in an ambush laid by their king Mallobaudes.

Sources

*Thompson, E. A. ''Romans and Barbarians: The Decline of the Western Empire''. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1982. . *Geuenich, Dieter. ''Geschichte der Alemannen''.

Kohlhammer Verlag W. Kohlhammer Verlag GmbH, or Kohlhammer Verlag, is a German publishing house headquartered in Stuttgart. History Kohlhammer Verlag was founded in Stuttgart on 30 April 1866 by . Kohlhammer had taken over the businesses of his late father-in-la ...

: Stuttgart, 2004. . *Castritius, H
"Macrianus."
in ''

Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde ''Germanische Altertumskunde Online'', formerly called ''Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde'', is a German encyclopedia of the study of Germanic history and cultures, as well as the cultures that were in close contact with them. The first ...

''. Vol. 19, pp. 90–92. 4th-century Germanic people Alemannic monarchs Alemannic warriors 4th-century deaths Year of birth unknown {{AncientRome-bio-stub