Marcellinus (magister militum)

Last updated
The approximate area of Dalmatia ruled by Marcellinus. Marcellinus Dalmatia.jpg
The approximate area of Dalmatia ruled by Marcellinus.

Marcellinus (died August 468) was a Roman general and patrician who ruled over the region of Dalmatia in the Western Roman Empire and held sway with the army there from 454 until his death. Governing Dalmatia both independently from, and under, six Emperors during the twilight of the Western Empire, Marcellinus proved to be an able administrator and military personality with sources making reference that he ruled justly and well and kept Dalmatia independent of the emperor and of barbarian rulers. [1]

Contents

Life

Origins

Marcellinus was said to have been of good birth and character and to have had a good education, [2] he was also a devout pagan, [3] and is alleged to have been a skilled soothsayer. [4] Nothing is known of Marcellinus' early life; records first mention his name in 454 when he rebelled against Western Emperor Valentinian III following his murder and assassination of Flavius Aëtius who was Marcellinus' friend. [5] He was in Dalmatia at the time and is believed to have held the title of comes rei militaris. [6] He was powerful enough to seize control of Dalmatia for himself and was presumably able to do this because he was commander of the troops there. He appears to have remained ruler of Dalmatia down to 468 and to have preserved his independence except for briefly accepting the authority of the Emperors Majorian and Anthemius.

Military career

During the dying days of the western half of the empire there remained four main players which participated in the power games revolving around the throne; the Eastern Roman Empire as one continued to play a significant political role as did the western Roman military which made up the other three. The Gallic army was prominent, especially under Aegidius in the 460's, the Italian army was the main influence for Ricimer, and the forces of Dalmatia gave a solid base of power and support between 450 and 480 for Marcellinus and later his nephew Western Emperor Julius Nepos. [7]

The territorial extent of both halves of the Roman Empire at the time of Marcellinus' rule in Dalmatia. Note that the territories in the West fluctuated in Roman control over Marcellinus' life, especially in Gaul and Hispania. Roman Empire 460 AD.png
The territorial extent of both halves of the Roman Empire at the time of Marcellinus' rule in Dalmatia. Note that the territories in the West fluctuated in Roman control over Marcellinus' life, especially in Gaul and Hispania.

When Majorian took the throne in December 457 Marcellinus pledged his allegiance to the new emperor and was soon sent to guard Sicily against the Vandals; perhaps at this time he held the title of magister militum . Marcellinus was to take part in a joint attack of Vandal Africa, with him coming from Sicily and Majorian invading from Hispania, but before Majorian could begin his campaign the Vandals inflicted a severe defeat on the attack fleet and a year later in 461 the emperor was murdered by Ricimer, who soon after tried to bribe Marcellinus' troops who were mostly Huns, attempting to reduce the generals power. [8] This forced Marcellinus to leave Sicily and return to Dalmatia where he would work closely with the Eastern Emperor Leo I. [9] In 464 or 465 Marcellinus returned to Sicily to defend the island against the Vandals, [10] this action posed a direct threat to the personal power and prestige of Ricimer who had already appealed to Leo to prevent Marcellinus from acting against him militarily. Leo recognized Marcellinus as magister militum but not by Ricimer and his new puppet emperor Libius Severus in the West. His title seems to have changed around this time to that of magister militum Dalmatiae though it is not for certain, only that his nephew who took over for him after held this title. During this time his power seems to have grown and it was possible he could attack Italy, but at the request of the Italians, the eastern court sent an envoy to him and he agreed not to attack.

In the spring of 467 he was one of the comites who accompanied the new emperor of the West, Anthemius, to Italy with a large army. [11] In 468 we see him with the title of patrician which was given to him by Anthemius. Some explaining needs to be said here, since at this time Ricimer still held the titles magister utriusque militum and patrician, [12] and it appears Atheminus wished for Marcellinus to have the similar power held by Ricimer in order to be a counterbalance to him. In the East, it was established practice for both magistri militum praesentales to be equal but in the West it had become common for one magister, (usually the magister peditum ), to be superior over the other and so this may have been an attempt by Anthemius to introduce the eastern structure and rule like an eastern emperor using the successful and trustworthy Marcellinus as his second commander. [13]

Death

In 468, Leo organized a grand campaign against the Vandals in Africa in which the East and West would commit substantial forces. Marcellinus was given command of the forces from the western empire and the campaign was to be a three-pronged assault. Marcellinus by this time had expelled the Vandals from Sicily and had also retaken Sardinia and was to be taken by fleet to Africa. Basiliscus, Leo's brother-in-law, with the main army in an armada of over 1,000 ships would land at a distance from Carthage and link up with the comes rei militis Heraclius advancing from Egypt and Tripolitania. Marcellinus was supposed to have a command of some 10,000 to 20,000 troops. [14] Marcellinus never sailed for Africa, perhaps due to Ricimer's veto; either he would not spare so many troops to become bogged in a campaign in Africa hoping the East would do the job for him, or he resented the military capabilities of Marcellinus who was obviously the favorite of Anthemius. Regardless of the reason, Marcellinus, not able to participate in the campaign and Basiliscus blundering in the Battle of Cape Bon, assured that the operation would result in failure and the West lost its only chance to regain Africa from the Vandals and possibly stave off its demise. [14]

Marcellinus was murdered in Sicily that same year, possibly by Ricimer's order. After his death, his nephew Julius Nepos inherited his uncle's control over Dalmatia and was recorded as having the title magister militum Dalmatiae. [15] Dalmatia would serve Julius Nepos in the same fashion as it had Marcellinus and due to the prestige and ability of Julius Nepos, the Eastern Emperor Leo I would push for him to be the new Western Emperor in 474.

Source of power

A historical reenactor depicting a junior officer of the Roman Army during the fourth century. Such equipment worn would be similar to that of soldiers during Marcellinus' time. Late Roman soldier re-enactor depicting an infantry officer.jpg
A historical reenactor depicting a junior officer of the Roman Army during the fourth century. Such equipment worn would be similar to that of soldiers during Marcellinus' time.

A topic of much debate concerns Marcellinus' source of power, mainly the forces under his command. This aspect becomes important in understanding his role as a player in the political and military theater of the Western Empire. A noteworthy comment on his army is that his troops were said to have always been well-equipped; [16] to say that in an age when the armies in the west were declining this becomes especially important.

As the comes rei militaris Dalmatiae Marcellinus had a substantial fleet at his disposal which was based at Salona, and which would become of great importance in his career. From giving him the necessary means to threaten Italy with invasion, his ability to invade and secure Sicily on two occasions and from whence he accompanied Anthemius with an army from the East as well as forces of his own to install Anthemius as Emperor.

As for his land forces, we know for certain he had Hunnic troops. [17] [8] [18] But it is not clear if these were federate forces or mercenaries. Regardless of which one they were, it is not surprising he had Huns in his army since the break up of the Hunnic Empire came in 454.

He also had manpower to draw on from north of the Sava River and from traditional recruiting grounds in the Dalmatian interior. Perhaps most important of all, and the source of the "well-equipped" phrase, is that Marcellinus had within his region the imperial arms factory of Dalmatia, a naval arsenal at Salona (near present-day Split) and access to mining resources of lead in Domavia (near present-day Srebrenica) and iron in the Sava Valley. [17] Due to the geography of Dalmatia which deterred approach from land (for the coastal cities), and his control of the Adriatic Sea, Marcellinus was quite unassailable which allowed him to become very active in major areas of the West.

Coniuratio Marcellana

Marcellinus may have been the individual of topic in the so-called coniuratio Marcellana in 457; [19] this may have been a movement in Gaul after the death of Avitus in late 456/early 457 to put Marcellinus on the throne. Nothing, however, suggests that he himself favored the idea.

There is controversy in the academic world though as to who is really the topic of the machinations of the Gallo-Romano Aristocracy after the death of Avitus who was of Gallic origin and from amongst their own ranks. Many scholars old and new have either read the name of the event Marcellini, Marcelliniana instead of Marcellana. [20] This does not make much sense to place Marcellinus as the person in question for this action of the Gallic aristocracy since he is not Gallic and most likely comes from a wealthy Dalmatian family. The assumption to place Marcellinus as the person being spoken of has only led others to assume then that he is Gallic in origin when there is absolutely no evidence to support this. Mathisen has shown that Marcellinus cannot be the person in question and that Apollinaris Sidonius was speaking of a Marcellus, who was a Gallic aristocrat. He demonstrates why Marcellinus cannot logically be the person in question by comparing other names written by the same author and showing that Sidonius using the same style in writing the names thus giving the support it is Marcellus not Marcellinus he speaks of. [21]

Preceded by
Position established
 Military governor of Dalmatia Succeeded by

Notes

  1. ↑ Damascius, fragments 155, 158
  2. ↑ Damascius, fragments 158
  3. ↑ Damascius, Epitome Photiana, 91
  4. ↑ Damascius, fragments 158, 159.
  5. ↑ PLRE, II pp 708
  6. ↑ PLRE, II pp 1289
  7. ↑ The Cambridge Ancient History Vol. XIV pp 19
  8. 1 2 Priscus of Panium, fragment 29
  9. ↑ PLRE II, pp 709
  10. ↑ Hydatius Chronicon, 227
  11. ↑ Hydatius, 234
  12. ↑ PLRE II, pp 1288
  13. ↑ O'Flynn, Generalissimos of the Western Roman Empire, pp 116-117.
  14. 1 2 Stephin Williams and Gerard Friell, The Rome That Did Not Fall: Survival of the East in the fifth century, pp. 178
  15. ↑ PLRE II, pp. 777
  16. ↑ Damascius, Epitome Photiana, 91.
  17. 1 2 Wozniak,East Rome, Ravenna and Western Illyricum pp. 357.
  18. ↑ O'Flynn, Generalissmos pp. 116.
  19. ↑ Sidonius Apollinaris, Epistulae III.6
  20. ↑ Mathisen, R. W. 'Resistance and Reconciliation; Majorian and the Gallic Aristocracy after the Fall of Avitus', Francia, 7: 599
  21. ↑ Mathisen, 'Resistance and Reconciliation', 599-603

Related Research Articles

The 470s decade ran from January 1, 470, to December 31, 479.

The 450s decade ran from January 1, 450, to December 31, 459.

The 460s decade ran from January 1, 460, to December 31, 469.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">456</span> Calendar year

Year 456 (CDLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Avitus without colleague. The denomination 456 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glycerius</span> Western Roman emperor from 473 to 474

Glycerius was Roman emperor of the West from 473 to 474. He served as comes domesticorum during the reign of Olybrius, until Olybrius died in November 472. After a four-month interregnum, Glycerius was proclaimed as emperor in March 473 by Gundobad, the magister militum and power behind the throne. Very few of the events of his reign are known other than that an attempted invasion of Italy by the Visigoths was repelled by local commanders, diverting them to Gaul. Glycerius also prevented an invasion by the Ostrogoths through diplomacy, including a gift of 2,000 solidi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julius Nepos</span> Roman emperor from 474 to 475/480

Julius Nepos, or simply Nepos, ruled as Roman emperor of the West from 24 June 474 to 28 August 475. After losing power in Italy, Nepos retreated to his home province of Dalmatia, from which he continued to claim the western imperial title, with recognition from the Eastern Roman Empire, until he was murdered in 480. Though Nepos' successor in Italy, Romulus Augustulus, is traditionally deemed the last western Roman emperor, Nepos is regarded by some historians as the true last emperor of the west, being the last widely recognised claimant to the position.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olybrius</span> Roman emperor in 472

Anicius Olybrius was Roman emperor from July 472 until his death later that same year; his rule as augustus in the western Roman Empire was not recognised as legitimate by the ruling augustus in the eastern Roman Empire, Leo I. He was in reality a puppet ruler raised to power by Ricimer, the magister militum of Germanic descent, and was mainly interested in religion, while the actual power was held by Ricimer and his nephew Gundobad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricimer</span> General and ruler of the Western Roman Empire (c. 418–472)

Ricimer was a Romanized Germanic general who effectively ruled the remaining territory of the Western Roman Empire from 456 after defeating Avitus, until his death in 472, with a brief interlude in which he contested power with Anthemius. Deriving his power from his position as magister militum of the Western Empire, Ricimer exercised political control through a series of puppet emperors. Ricimer's death led to unrest across Italy and the establishment of a Germanic kingdom on the Italian Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Majorian</span> Western Roman emperor from 457 to 461

Majorian, was the Western Roman emperor from 457 to 461. A prominent commander in the Western military, Majorian deposed Avitus in 457 with the aid of his ally Ricimer. Possessing little more than Italy, Dalmatia, as well as some territory in Hispania and northern Gaul, Majorian campaigned rigorously for three years against the Empire's enemies. In 461, he was murdered at Dertona in a conspiracy, and his successors until the Fall of the Empire in 476 were puppets either of barbarian generals or the Eastern Roman court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthemius</span> Roman emperor from 467 to 472

Procopius Anthemius was the Western Roman emperor from 467 to 472. Born in the Eastern Roman Empire, Anthemius quickly worked his way up the ranks. He married into the Theodosian dynasty through Marcia Euphemia, daughter of Eastern emperor Marcian. He soon received a significant number of promotions to various posts, and was presumed to be Marcian's planned successor. However, Marcian's sudden death in 457, together with that of Western emperor Avitus, left the imperial succession in the hands of Aspar, who instead appointed Leo, a low-ranking officer, to the Eastern throne, probably out of fear that Anthemius would be too independent. Eventually, this same Leo designated Anthemius as Western emperor in 467, following a two-year interregnum that started in November 465.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avitus</span> Roman emperor from 455 to 456

Eparchius Avitus was Roman emperor of the Western Empire from July 455 to October 456. He was a senator of Gallic extraction and a high-ranking officer both in the civil and military administration, as well as Bishop of Piacenza.

Aegidius was the ruler of the short-lived Kingdom of Soissons from 461 to 464/465. Before his ascension he was an ardent supporter of the Western Roman emperor Majorian, who appointed him magister militum per Gallias in 458. After the general Ricimer assassinated Majorian and replaced him with Emperor Libius Severus, Aegidius rebelled and began governing his Gallic territory as an independent kingdom. He may have pledged his allegiance to the Eastern Roman emperor Leo I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Roman Empire</span> Independently administered western provinces of the Roman Empire

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. Particularly during the period from AD 395 to 476, there were separate, coequal courts dividing the governance of the empire into the Western provinces and 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 for administrative expediency. The Western Empire collapsed in 476, and the Western imperial court in Ravenna disappeared by AD 554, at the end of Justinian's Gothic War.

Placidia was a daughter of Valentinian III, Roman emperor of the West from 425 to 455, and from 454/455 the wife of Olybrius, who became western Roman emperor in 472. She was one of the last imperial spouses in the Roman west, during the Fall of the Western Roman Empire during Late Antiquity.

Ecdicius Avitus was an Arverni aristocrat, senator, and magister militum praesentalis from 474 until 475.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libius Severus</span> Western Roman emperor from 461 to 465

Libius Severus, sometimes enumerated as Severus III, was Western Roman emperor from 461 to his death in 465. A native of Lucania, Severus was the fourth of the so-called "Shadow Emperors" who followed the deposition of the Valentinianic dynasty in 455. He ruled for just under four years, attaining the throne after his predecessor, Majorian, was overthrown by his magister militum, Ricimer. Severus was the first of a series of emperors who were highly dependent on the general, and it is often presumed that Ricimer held most of the de facto power during Severus' reign

Agrippinus was a general of the Western Roman Empire, Magister militum per Gallias under emperors Valentinian III, Petronius Maximus, Avitus and Libius Severus.

Nepotianus was a general of the Western Roman Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gothic War (457–458)</span>

The Gothic War of 457-458 was a military conflict between the Visigoths of Theoderic II against the Western Roman Empire of Emperor Majorian. The war began in 457 with a revolt of the Goths in Aquitania that pushed aside Roman authority, followed by an aggressive conquest in the adjacent Septimania aimed at area expansion. The war ended with a Roman victory over the Goths in the Battle of Arles in 458.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman civil war of 456</span>

The Roman Civil War of 456 was a military conflict in the 2nd half of 456 in which the generals Majorianus and Ricimer revolted against the West Roman Emperor Avitus. The war ended with a victory by the insurgents. Avitus was deposed as emperor and died shortly thereafter in mysterious circumstances.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.