Macrian or Makrian (Latin: Macrianus) was the king of the Bucinobantes, an Alemannic 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.
Due to continuing unrest, however, the emperor Valentinian I, 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 of Rome and loyal allies in the war with the Franks.
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. ISBN0-299-08700-X.
The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of 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, the Alemanni captured the Agri Decumates in 260, and later expanded into present-day Alsace and northern Switzerland, leading to the establishment of the Old High German language in those regions, which by the eighth century were collectively referred to as Alamannia.
Year 368 (CCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Valens. The denomination 368 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Valentinian III was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Made emperor in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by powerful generals vying for power amid civil wars and the invasions of Late antiquity's Migration Period, including the campaigns of Attila the Hun.
The term Western Roman Empire is used in modern historiography to refer to the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent Imperial court—and particularly during the period from 395 to 476, in which there were separate, coequal courts dividing the governance of the empire in the Western provinces from that of the Eastern provinces, with a distinct imperial succession in the separate courts. The terms Western Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire were coined in modern times to describe political entities that were de facto independent; contemporary Romans did not consider the Empire to have been split into two empires but viewed it as a single polity governed by two imperial courts as an administrative expediency. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476, and the Western imperial court in Ravenna was formally dissolved by Justinian in 554. The Eastern imperial court lasted until 1453.
Alamannia, or Alemannia, was the kingdom established and inhabited by the Alemanni, a Germanic tribal confederation that had broken through the Roman limes in 213.
This is a chronology of warfare between the Romans and various Germanic peoples between 113 BC and 476. The nature of these wars varied through time between Roman conquest, Germanic uprisings and later Germanic invasions of the Western Roman Empire that started in the late second century BC. The series of conflicts was one factor which led to the ultimate downfall of the Western Roman Empire in particular and ancient Rome in general in 476.
The Bucinobantes were an Alemannic tribe in the region of the modern city of Mainz on the river Main.
Valens Thessalonicus was a Roman usurper during the reign of Emperor Gallienus.
Fraomar was briefly the king of the Bucinobantes, an Alamannic tribe, from c.372 to 373.
Mallobaudes or Mellobaudes was a 4th-century Frankish king who also held the Roman title of comes domesticorum. In 354 he was a tribunus armaturarum in the Roman army in Gaul, where he served under Silvanus, who usurped power in 355. Mallobaudes tried unsuccessfully to intervene on his behalf. Appointed comes domesticorum by Gratian, he was second-in-command of the army in Gaul in 378 when he defeated the Alemannic tribes under King Priarius at Battle of Argentovaria according to Ammianus Marcellinus. In 380 he killed Macrian, king of the Bucinobantes and Roman ally, who had invaded Frankish territory. During the usurpation of Maximus, Mallobaudes was killed shortly after the assassination of the emperor Gratian.
Vestralpus was an Alemannic petty king of the Bucinobantes in the 4th century AD. The Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus reports that Julian crossed the Rhine at Mainz in 359 and concluded peace treaties with the Alemannic kings Vestralpus, Macrian, Hariobaudes, Urius, Ursicinus and Vadomarius after they had returned all Roman prisoners.
Hariobaudes was an Alemannic petty king in the 4th century AD. The Roman writer Ammianus Marcellinus reports that Julian crossed the Rhine at Mainz in 359 and concluded a peace treaty with the Alemannic kings Hariobaud, Macrian, Urius, Ursicinus, Vadomarius and Vestralpus after they agreed to return all prisoners.
Urius was an Alemannic petty king in the 4th century AD. The Roman writer Ammianus Marcellinus reports that Julian crossed the Rhine at Mainz in 359 and concluded a peace treaty with the Alemannic kings Urius, Hariobaudes, Macrian, Vadomarius, Ursicinus and Vestralpus.
Bitheridus was a chieftain of the Bucinobantes, an Alemannic tribe. In 372, along with his kinsman Hortarius, Bitheridus served as a troop leader in the Roman army under Valentinian I.
Hortarius was an Alemannic king in the 4th century.
Rando was an Alemannic petty king in the 4th century. In 368, Rando invaded the city Mogontiacum, where the Christian festival was being celebrated. Since Roman emperor Valentinian I was stationed at Trier with his troops, Rando was free to raid with impunity. After campaigning against the Brisgavi, who had been rendered leaderless after the murder of their king Vithicabius, Valentinian conducted a revenge campaign against Rando. Rando entrenched himself at a high-altitude fortress and continued his campaign against the Romans. In an ambush at the Battle of Solicinium, Rando almost succeeded in killing Valentinian. Rando's army, which had encamped on a towering mountain, was surrounded by Valentinian's forces. After the Romans scaled the northern slope the Alemanni fled taking heavy casualties.
Suomarius was an Alemannic petty king in the 4th century.
Vadomarius was an Alemannic king and Roman general, who shared power with his brother Gundomadus. After instigating an indecisive campaign in Gaul against the Romans, Vadomarius and his brother signed a treaty with the Roman emperor Constantius II in AD 356. Encouraged by Constantius II, Vadomarius employed his Alemanni forces in an attack against Julian. Vadomarius then concluded a treaty with Julian, after which, he unsuccessfully attempted to play the two Roman figures against one another. When Julian was made aware of this, he arrested Vadomarius and banished him to Hispania. His son Vithicabius succeeded him as king. Later, Vadomarius allied himself with Rome under emperors Jovian and Valens, leading his forces against the usurper Procopius and fighting the Persians on Rome's behalf.
Ursicinus was an Alemannic petty king in the 4th century AD. The Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus notes that Julian defeated the Alemannic kings Ursicinus, Macrian, Hariobaudes, Urius, Vadomarius and Vestralpus at the Battle of Strasbourg in 357. Apparently, no general Alemannic kingship existed. The groups only acted together in larger military campaigns. According to recent research it is possible that Ursicinus and the other Alemannic commanders only sent troops, rather than participating in the battle themselves. In 359 Julian crossed the Rhine at Mainz. After the Romans had devastated Alemannic territory, the Alemanni agreed to return all prisoners and to conduct a peace treaty. Ursicinus is not mentioned in the sources again.
Vithicabius was an Alemannic petty king from 360 to 368. He was a son of Vadomarius, and succeeded his father as king after the latter had been banished to Hispania by emperor Julian. He had grown up in Roman custody. Ammianus Marcellinus describes Vithicabius as a physically weak, but a brave and aggressive leader. Although having promised Julian to maintain peace, Vithicabius continued raiding Roman territory. He was assassinated in 368 under Valentinian I by a bribed servant, but the Alemannic raids on Roman territory continued nevertheless.
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