Marcellinus (consul 275)
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Aurelius/Iulius Marcellinus (his '' nomen'' is uncertain) was a Roman soldier and Imperial functionary who had a brilliant
equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...
career and was elevated to the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
when he was chosen by the Emperor
Aurelian Aurelian (; ; 9 September ) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 270 to 275 AD during the Crisis of the Third Century. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited the Roman Empire after it had nearly disinte ...
as his
consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...
ar colleague. His appointment as ''Consul'' is thought to have been a reward for his loyalty and steadfastness in 273 when, as Aurelian's deputy in charge of the eastern provinces of the Empire where the authority of the Imperial Government had only recently been restored, he resisted attempts to suborn him by a rebellious faction in the city of
Palmyra Palmyra ( ; Palmyrene dialect, Palmyrene: (), romanized: ''Tadmor''; ) is an ancient city in central Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the Levant, and archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first menti ...
. His promotion was unusual in that he had not achieved the rank of
Praetorian Prefect The praetorian prefect (; ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming the Emperor's chief ai ...
, the level of seniority in the Imperial Service at which equestrian officials might hope to be elevated to the Senate. However, this practice, which was to become a regular feature during the reign of
Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...
, was still inchoate in 275 AD. Obviously a man of considerable capabilities who had attracted the Imperial patronage of 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 ...
and whose services continued to be much valued by Aurelian, the paucity of the surviving records means that even the identity of Marcellinus is uncertain while nothing else is known of his life beyond the bare outlines recounted here.


Early life

There is no record of Marcellinus's origins or early life.


Career


Service in ''Verona''

Scholarly opinion is in agreement that the first reference to Marcellinus is from an inscription that places him in
Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...
around 265 AD. However, the matter of his identity is complicated by the fact that his consular reference does not include a '' nomen'' while the Verona inscription names two Marcellini either of whom may have been the ''Consul Posterior'' of 275 AD. The first Marcellinus referred to in this inscription by order of seniority had the ''nomen'' Aurelius. He is described as a ''Vir Perfectissimus'' and a ''
dux ''Dux'' (, : ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, ''dux'' coul ...
'' - in other words, a senior officer carrying out a specific commission for the ruling 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 ...
). His task in Verona was to fortify the city. The second Marcellinus referred to in the Verona inscription had the ''nomen'' Iulius, and his status was ''Vir Egregius''. He was probably a serving soldier. His rank is not indicated, but he may have been either a '' tribunus'' or a '' praefectus legionis''. He was associated with the fortification of Verona and he may have served under Aurelius Marcellinus. The fortification of Verona formed part of an extensive series of defensive works around and within Italy undertaken by Gallienus in the wake of the barbarian assaults of the later-250s. They were begun in April of the year in which Valerian, the brother of the
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 ...
, was consul for the second time with
Lucilius The gens Lucilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. The most famous member of this gens was the poet Gaius Lucilius, who flourished during the latter part of the second century BC.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vo ...
as his ''posterior'' - i.e. 265 AD - and were finished in September.


Service in ''Alpes Cottiae''

Iulius Marcellinus is identified with a man of the same name recorded in an epigraphic inscription from
Segusio Susa (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont, Italy. In the middle of Susa Valley, it is situated on at the confluence of the Cenischia with the Dora Riparia, a tributary of the Po River, at t ...
in
Alpes Cottiae The Alpes Cottiae (; English: 'Cottian Alps') was a small province of the Roman Empire founded in 63 AD by Emperor Nero. It was one of the three provinces straddling the Alps between modern France and Italy, along with the Alpes Graiae et Poenina ...
. He is described as a ''Vir Perfectissimus'' indicating that, since his tour of duty in Verona, he had been promoted and given an office in which he was directly responsible to the Emperor. The surviving inscription does not specify the ruling Emperor or whether his office was military or civilian in its nature.


Service in Egypt

A Iulius Marcellinus is recorded in a papyrological source as ''
Praefectus ''Praefectus'', often with a further qualification, was the formal title of many, fairly low to high-ranking, military or civil officials in the Roman Empire, whose authority was not embodied in their person (as it was with elected Magistrates) b ...
'' of Egypt in 271 AD. How he came to this office is uncertain. He may have been the deputy of
Tenagino Probus Tenagino Probus was a Roman soldier and procuratorial official whose career reached its peak at the end of the sixth decade of the third century AD (c. 255–260). A poverty of primary sources means that nothing is known for certain of his orig ...
who agreed to serve the Palmyrene regime after his chief's death, ''vice praefecti'', according to the Roman practice when an official died in office, until the appointment of Statilius Ammianus in the spring of 271. On the other hand, he may have tried to continue the fight against the Palmyrene takeover of Egypt after the defeat of Tenagino Probus, although this notion is now generally scouted in ''academe''. It was also conjectured that it was he, not
Probus Probus may refer to: People * Marcus Valerius Probus (c. 20/30–105 AD), Roman grammarian * Marcus Pomponius Maecius Probus, consul in 228 * Probus (emperor), Roman Emperor (276–282) * Probus of Byzantium (–306), Bishop of Byzantium from 293 t ...
, the future emperor, who undertook the recovery of Egypt when
Aurelian Aurelian (; ; 9 September ) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 270 to 275 AD during the Crisis of the Third Century. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited the Roman Empire after it had nearly disinte ...
launched his war on
Zenobia Septimia Zenobia (Greek: Ζηνοβία, Palmyrene Aramaic: , ; 240 – c. 274) was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was probably not a commoner, and she married the ruler of the ...
. It is generally assumed that he is to be identified with the Iulius Marcellinus of the ''Verona'' inscription although there is no specific evidence supporting this.


Imperial viceroy in the East

Following the restoration of the authority of the central government over the eastern provinces after his defeat of Zenobia in 272 AD Aurelian appointed a Marcellinus as his deputy in those regions possibly with the title ''
Praefectus ''Praefectus'', often with a further qualification, was the formal title of many, fairly low to high-ranking, military or civil officials in the Roman Empire, whose authority was not embodied in their person (as it was with elected Magistrates) b ...
Mesopotamiae rectorque Orientis''.Zos(60:1) Unfortunately the source of this information, Zosimus, does not indicate this Marcellinus's ''nomen''. Academic opinion seems agreed that he was one of the two men of that name mentioned on the ''Verona'' Inscription, but divided as to whether he was 'Aurelius' or 'Iulius'. Like the Emperors
Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...
and
Philip the Arab Philip I (; – September 249), commonly known as Philip the Arab, was Roman emperor from 244 to 249. After the death of Gordian III in February 244, Philip, who had been Praetorian prefect, rose to power. He quickly negotiated peace with the S ...
before him, Aurelian obviously considered that the government of the vast territories that comprised the Empire required the presence of a loyal subordinate in the East who could be trusted to exercise Imperial authority in that region on his behalf without attempting to usurp the principate. With such a subordinate he himself could turn his attention to the task of defending the Balkans and restoring his Imperial authority in the rebel Gallic provinces undistracted. The appointment of Marcellinus to this position suggests that, even if he had been in Egypt during the Palmyrene takeover, his apparent readiness to come to terms with Zenobia's regime there had not served to undermine the confidence that Aurelian must have had in him as the man he could trust to act as his viceroy in the East. The details of his mandate as ''Rector Orientis'' are unknown, but he must have been given the general responsibility for overseeing the re-integration of the Eastern provinces into the body of the Empire and for managing relations with the
Sassanid Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...
beyond the Euphrates frontier.Watson(1999:79) His loyalty to Aurelian was put to the test in the spring of 273 after Aurelian had returned to the Balkans. According to Zosimus he was approached by a representative of a ''revanchiste'' faction in Palmyra, Apsaeus, who offered him his support if Marcellinus rebelled against Aurelian and sought to usurp the Imperial authority. Marcellinus temporized, pretending to consider this offer, while secretly sending word to Aurelian notifying him of the dangers of the situation. Despairing of attracting Marcellinus to their cause, the Palmyrenes raised a pretender to the throne, one
Septimius Antiochus Septimius Antiochus (Greek: Άντίοχος; died after 273) was a Roman usurper in Syria during the 3rd century. In 272 AD, Emperor Aurelian had defeated the breakaway Kingdom of Palmyra; its king, Vaballathus, and his mother, Zenobia, were in ...
, and massacred the garrison that Aurelian had left in the city. Obviously deciding not to move against the rebels with his own forces, Marcellinus waited for Aurelian to return and crush them. It is thought that Marcellinus remained ''en poste'' after this episodeWatson (1999) which suggests that Aurelian considered that he had handled the crisis occasioned by the Palmyrene uprising correctly. However, it was Aurelian rather than his viceroy who then went on to Egypt to suppress the separatist rebellion that took place in that province under
Firmus According to the ''Historia Augusta'', Firmus (died 273) was a usurper of Syrian origin during the reign of Aurelian. The apparently contradictory accounts of his life and the man himself are considered by some historians to be a complete fabrica ...
: Marcellinus is not recorded as having had any part in that affair even though Egypt might have been expected to fall within his area of responsibility.


''Consul Posterior''

In 275 AD a Marcellinus is named as ''Consul Posterior'' with Aurelian as ''Prior

It is usually assumed that this must have been the Marcellinus who had been Aurelian's viceroy of the ''Oriens'' in 273 and was a reward for his steadiness in the face of the Palmyrene rebels. It is possible that Marcellinus accompanied Aurelian on his last journey to the East and was present when the Emperor was murdered by his officers in ''
Thracia Thracia or Thrace () is the ancient name given to the southeastern Balkans, Balkan region, the land inhabited by the Thracians. Thrace was ruled by the Odrysian kingdom during the Classical Greece, Classical and Hellenistic period, Hellenis ...
''. it is also suggested that it was he who persuaded the grieving army to offer the choice of the next Emperor to the Senate. However, this proposition does not seem to be generally accepted by recent historians. The promotion of high equestrian officials to the senatorial aristocracy via appointment to the consulate was still a comparatively recent phenomenon in the 270s. After the fall of
Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...
's Praetorian Prefect,
Gaius Fulvius Plautianus Gaius or Lucius Fulvius Plautianus (c. 150 – 22 January 205) was a member of the Roman ''gens'' Fulvia. As head of the Praetorian Guard, he was very influential in the administration of state affairs, and clashed with Julia Domna, the wife of ...
(205 AD), the practice of honouring senior officials in this way had fallen out of favour until the elevation of Gallienus's Praetorian prefect,
Lucius Petronius Taurus Volusianus Lucius Petronius Taurus Volusianus (died c.286 AD) was a Roman citizen, apparently of equestrian origins, whose career in the Imperial Service in the mid-Third Century AD carried him from a relatively modest station in life to the highest public ...
, in 260 AD. After Volusianus the only other comparable honorand had been Aurelian's Praetorian Prefect, Iulius Placidianus, who shared the consulate with that prince in 273 AD while retaining his equestrian office. It is not known if Marcellinus continued to hold any of the great equestrian prefectures after his elevation to the Senate nor is he known to have held any of the great senatorial magistracies, in particular the office of ''
Praefectus Urbi The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, an ...
''. This was to become standard practice in the case of those who achieved the praetorian prefecture and some of the other great equestrian offices under
Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...
, but it was not until the sole reign of
Constantine the Great Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...
that the process of converging the highest equestrian offices with senatorial status was completed.Salway(2001


Notes


Citations


Works cited


Works of reference, Abbreviations

* PIR(2) - Prosopographia imperii Romani; E. Groag et al. (eds.); Berlin; 1933-; * PLRE - The prosopography of the later Roman Empire; Jones, A.H.M., Martindale, J.R. and Morris, J. (eds.); Cambridge University Press; 1971–1992.


Primary sources

* The Augustan History: Life of the Deified Aurelian ''Vita Divi Aureliani'' (''SHA DA''
Aureliani*.htm
* (Chronography 354 AD) * Zosimus: ''New History'' Book 1 (Zos).


Secondary sources

* Bray, J. (1995) "Gallienus". (Bray); * Christol, Michel (1978) "Un duc dans une inscription de Termessos (Pisidie)". ''
Chiron In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs". Biography Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology for ...
'' 8: 529–40 - (Christol (1978)); * Christol, Prof. M. (1986) ''Essai sur l'Ėvolution des Carrières Sénatoriales dans le 2e Moitié du 3e Siécle ap. J.C.'', Nouvelles Éditions Latines, Paris - (Christol (1986)); * Mennen, Inge (2011) "Power and Status in the Roman Empire, ad 193–284", Brill, Leiden & Boston - (Mennen (2011)); * Pflaum, H.-G. (1960–61) "Les carrières procuratoriennes sous le Haut Empire Romaine", Paris - (Pflaum (1960–61)); * Potter, D. (2004) "The Roman empire at Bay: AD 180-395", Routledge, London & New York - (Potter (2004)); * Salway, B. (2006) "Equestrian prefects and the award of senatorial honours from the Severans to Constantine", in: A. Kolb (ed.), "Herrschafsstrukturen und Herrschaftspraxis", Berlin, 115–135. (Salway (2006)); * Saunders, Randall Titus (1992). "A biography of the Emperor Aurelian". Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106-1346: UMI Dissertation Services - (Saunders (1992)); * Southern, Pat (2001) ''The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine'', Routledge, London & New York (Southern (2001)); * Southern, Pat (2008) ''Empress Zenobia: Palmyra's Rebel Queen'', Continuum, London & New York - (Southern (2008)); * Watson, Alaric. (1999) ''Aurelian and the Third Century'' - (Watson (1999)). {{DEFAULTSORT:Marcellinus Equestrian commanders of vexillationes 3rd-century Roman consuls