Marcellinus (consul 275)

Marcellinus (possibly Aurelius Marcellinus)^[1] was a Roman military commander who was consul of the Roman Empire in 275 AD.

Career

A man of equestrian origin who was adlected into the Senate,^[2] Marcellinus was probably appointed the dux ducenarius by the emperor Gallienus and put in charge of fortifying Verona in 265 AD.^[3]

Marcellinus was possibly sent by the emperor Aurelian to retake Egypt in late 271^[4] and was subsequently given the title of praefectus Mesopotamiae rectorque Orientis and made responsible for reintegrating the region into the empire and restructuring the Euphrates frontier defences after Aurelian’s first campaign at Palmyra in 272 AD.^[5] While here, during 273 he was approached by a representative of Palmyra, Septimius Apsaeus, who offered him his support if Marcellinus rebelled against Aurelian and became emperor.^[6] Marcellinus pretended to consider the offer, but immediately sent word to Aurelian notifying him of the dangerous situation.^[7] In the meantime, the Palmyrenes raised another pretender to the throne, Septimius Antiochus, against whom Marcellinus made no move, either in support of or against, preferring to wait for Aurelian.^[8]

After Aurelian returned and crushed the rebels, Marcellinus kept his command in the east.^[9] In return for his loyalty, Marcellinus was appointed consul alongside Aurelian in 275.^[10] He was with Aurelian when the emperor was killed, and persuaded the soldiers to refer the decision about who should be the next emperor to the Senate.^[11]

Sources

• Jones, A. H. M., Martindale, J. R., Morris, J., The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Vol. I (1971).
• Watson, Alaric, Aurelian and the Third Century (1999).
• Southern, Pat, The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine (2001).
• Southern, Pat, Empress Zenobia: Palmyra's Rebel Queen (2008).
• Bowman, Alan K. The Cambridge Ancient History: The Crisis of Empire, A.D. 193-337 (2005).

Notes

1. ^ Jones & Martindale, pgs. 544-545
2. ^ Southern, Severus, pg. 322; Bowman, pg. 120
3. ^ Martindale & Jones, pg. 549; Bowman, pg. 120
4. ^ Southern, Severus, pg. 116
5. ^ Watson, pg. 79; Bowman, pg. 120
6. ^ Southern, Zenobia, pg. 152; Jones & Martindale, pg. 544
7. ^ Watson, pg. 80; Southern, Severus, pg. 117
8. ^ Southern, Zenobia, pgs. 152-153; Southern, Severus, pgs. 117-118
9. ^ Watson, pg. 167
10. ^ Jones & Martindale, pg. 545; Watson, pg. 167
11. ^ Southern, Severus, pg. 322

Preceded by Aurelian and Capitolinus

Consul of the Roman Empire with Aurelian 275

Succeeded by Marcus Claudius Tacitus and Aemilianus