Marcellinus (magister officiorum)

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Marcellinus (died 31 September 351) was a Roman Empire officer under Roman Emperor Constans and usurper Magnentius.

Roman Empire Period of Imperial Rome following the Roman Republic (27 BC–476 AD)

The Roman Empire was the post-Roman Republic period of the ancient Roman civilization. Ruled by emperors, it had large territorial holdings around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Caucasus. From the constitutional reforms of Augustus to the military anarchy of the third century, the Empire was a principate ruled from the city of Rome. The Roman Empire was then ruled by multiple emperors and divided in a Western Roman Empire, based in Milan and later Ravenna, and an Eastern Roman Empire, based in Nicomedia and later Constantinople. Rome remained the nominal capital of both parts until 476 AD, when Odoacer deposed Romulus Augustus after capturing Ravenna and the Roman Senate sent the imperial regalia to Constantinople. The fall of the Western Roman Empire to barbarian kings, along with the hellenization of the Eastern Roman Empire into the Byzantine Empire, is conventionally used to mark the end of Ancient Rome and the beginning of the Middle Ages.

Constans Roman emperor

Constans or Constans I was Roman Emperor from 337 to 350. He defeated his brother Constantine II in 340, but anger in the army over his personal life (homosexuality) and favouritism towards his barbarian bodyguards led the general Magnentius to rebel, resulting in the assassination of Constans in 350.

Roman usurpers were individuals or groups of individuals who obtained or tried to obtain power by force and without legitimate legal authority. Usurpation was endemic during Roman imperial era, especially from the crisis of the third century onwards, when political instability became the rule.

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Coin of Magnentius. Marcellinus was comes rerum privatarum of this usurper. Double Centenionalis Magnentius-XR-s4017.jpg
Coin of Magnentius. Marcellinus was comes rerum privatarum of this usurper.

Marcellinus was comes rerum privatarum of Emperor Constans. He played a major role in the election of Magnentius to the rank of Augustus at Augustodunum, on January 18, 350. Marcellinus organized a party for the birthday of his sons, and invited many of the superior officers: Magnentius, acting like interpreting a drama, vested the imperial robes, and was hailed Augustus by the officers; when the troops heard the cries, they supported Magnentius' election. [1]

"Comes", plural "comites", is the Latin word for "companion", either individually or as a member of a collective denominated a "comitatus", especially the suite of a magnate, being in some instances sufficiently large and/or formal to justify specific denomination, e. g. a "cohors amicorum". "Comes" derives from "com-" ("with") and "ire" ("go").

In the late Roman Empire, the comes rerum privatarum, literally "count of the private fortune", was the official charged with administering the estates of the emperor. He did not administer public lands, although the distinction between the emperor's private property and state property was not always clear or consistently applied. The comes collected rents, handled sales of movable and immovable property, protected the estates from usurpation and accepted lands that came to the emperor by way of grant, bequest, confiscation or forfeiture. Vacant lands and heirless property both escheated to the emperor.

Coin of Nepotianus. Nepotianus, a member of the Constantinian dynasty, rebelled against Magnentius, conquering Rome, but his rule was quickly ended by Marcellinus, who killed both Nepotianus and his mother Eutropia. Centenionalis-Nepotianus-rome RIC 200.2.jpg
Coin of Nepotianus. Nepotianus, a member of the Constantinian dynasty, rebelled against Magnentius, conquering Rome, but his rule was quickly ended by Marcellinus, who killed both Nepotianus and his mother Eutropia.

Magnentius raised Marcellinus to the rank of magister officiorum ; after the usurpation of Nepotianus (3 June 350), Marcellinus was sent to Rome to deal with the matter, and he succeeded in suppressing the revolt (30 June), killing Nepotianus and his mother Eutropia, half-sister of Emperor Constantine I. [2]

The magister officiorum was one of the most senior administrative officials in the late Roman Empire and the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire. In Byzantium, the office was eventually transformed into a senior honorary rank, simply called magistros (μάγιστρος), until it disappeared in the 12th century.

Nepotianus Roman usurper

Julius Nepotianus, sometimes known in English as Nepotian, was a member of the Constantinian dynasty who reigned as a short-lived usurper of the Roman Empire. He ruled the city of Rome for twenty-eight days, before being killed by his rival usurper Magnentius' general Marcellinus.

Rome Capital city and comune in Italy

Rome is the capital city and a special comune of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region. With 2,872,800 residents in 1,285 km2 (496.1 sq mi), it is also the country's most populated comune. It is the fourth most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the centre of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4,355,725 residents, thus making it the most populous metropolitan city in Italy. Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber. The Vatican City is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city: for this reason Rome has been often defined as capital of two states.

Marcellinus also met Emperor Constantius II's messenger, Flavius Philippus, and escorted him to Magnentius, in a failed embassy to avoid a battle between Constantius and Magnentius. [3] Marcellinus disappeared in the following Battle of Mursa Major (28 September 351), in which Magnentius was defeated. Most likely, he was killed, and his body lost.

Constantius II Roman emperor

Constantius II was Roman Emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic peoples, while internally the Roman Empire went through repeated civil wars and usurpations, culminating in Constantius' overthrow as emperor by his cousin Julian. His religious policies inflamed domestic conflicts that would continue after his death.

Flavius Philippus was an official under the Roman Emperor Constantius II.

The Battle of Mursa Major was fought in AD 351 between the eastern Roman armies led by Constantius II and the western forces supporting the usurper Magnentius.

Notes

  1. Zosimus, II.42.2-5; Aurelius Victor, 41.22.
  2. Morris.
  3. Zosimus, II.46.3.

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References

Primary sources

Sextus Aurelius Victor was a historian and politician of the Roman Empire.

Zosimus was a Greek historian who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Eastern Roman Emperor Anastasius I (491–518). According to Photius, he was a comes, and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury. Zosimus was also known for condemning Constantine’s rejection of the pagan gods.

Secondary sources

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.