Marcellus ( el, Μάρκελλος) was an East Roman (Byzantine) judicial official, one of the closest aides of the

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

(r. 527–565) and commander of the imperial bodyguard of the '' excubitores'' in circa 541–552.

Biography

Nothing is known of his early life and career, but he was evidently an experienced

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

, for on April 8, 539 Emperor Justinian appointed him as one of the four senior judges (). It is possible that he was one of the '' comites consistoriani'', since he is referred to as ''comes'' in 540. In the

Novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

concerning his appointment, he is recorded by Emperor Justinian as being a close associate and "famous for his concern for justice", while the historian

Procopius of Caesarea Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gener ...

describes him as very austere, incorruptible, and a forbidding personality, with a profound concern for justice and truth.. By early 541, Marcellus had been appointed to the very influential post of ''

comes excubitorum The Excubitors ( la, excubitores or , , i.e. 'sentinels'; transcribed into Greek as , ) were founded in as an imperial guard unit by the Byzantine emperor Leo I the Thracian. The 300-strong force, originally recruited from among the warlike moun ...

'', head of the imperial and palace guard.

Downfall of John the Cappadocian

In May 541, he was involved in a plot by the Empress

Theodora Theodora is a given name of Greek origin, meaning "God's gift". Theodora may also refer to: Historical figures known as Theodora Byzantine empresses * Theodora (wife of Justinian I) ( 500 – 548), saint by the Orthodox Church * Theodora o ...

and her close friend Antonina, directed against Emperor Justinian's powerful but widely disliked

praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) 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 be ...

John the Cappadocian John the Cappadocian ( el, Ἰωάννης ὁ Καππαδόκης) ('' fl.'' 530s, living 548) was a praetorian prefect of the East (532–541) in the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565). He was also a patrician and the ''c ...

. John had grown exceedingly powerful, surrounding himself with thousands of armed retainers. Theodora resented his influence over Emperor Justinian, while John hated the popular general

Belisarius Belisarius (; el, Βελισάριος; The exact date of his birth is unknown. – 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under the emperor Justinian I. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean terri ...

, Antonina's husband. Between them, Theodora and Antonina contrived a plan to make the prefect confess to treasonous intentions: using his daughter as an intermediary, Antonina confided that Belisarius was considering a coup, and asked for John's assistance. A meeting was arranged at the palace of Rufinianae near

Chalcedon Chalcedon ( or ; , sometimes transliterated as ''Chalkedon'') was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the cit ...

, where Marcellus, along with the

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

praepositus sacri cubiculi The ''praepositus sacri cubiculi'' (Latin: "provost of the sacred bedchamber", in gr, πραιπόσιτος τοῦ εὐσεβεστάτου κοιτῶνος, praipositos tou eusebestatou koitōnos) was one of the senior palace offices in the La ...

Narses , image=Narses.jpg , image_size=250 , caption=Man traditionally identified as Narses, from the mosaic depicting Justinian and his entourage in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna , birth_date=478 or 480 , death_date=566 or 573 (aged 86/95) , allegi ...

and many soldiers were in attendance to witness the events. Marcellus and Narses were ordered by Theodora to kill John if he spoke out in favor of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. In the ensuing scuffle, however, John escaped and fled to a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

, while Marcellus was wounded by one of John's guards. John was removed from office immediately after and was banished to

Cyzicus Cyzicus (; grc, Κύζικος ''Kúzikos''; ota, آیدینجق, ''Aydıncıḳ'') was an ancient Greek town in Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peni ...

Conspiracy of Artabanes

Marcellus resurfaces in late 548 or early 549, when he became involved in the conspiracy of the

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

magister militum praesentalis (Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...

Artabanes Artabanes ( el, , Armenian: ''Artawan'', from Parthian ''Artawân'', '' fl.'' 538–554) was an East Roman (Byzantine) general of Armenian origin who served under Justinian I (r. 527–565). Initially a rebel against Byzantine authority, he fle ...

. Artabanes had felt slighted when the Empress Theodora had blocked his

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

with Emperor Justinian's niece

Praejecta Praejecta or Praiecta was a niece to Byzantine emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565) by blood and of his empress Theodora by marriage. Biography Praejecta was a daughter of Vigilantia and Dulcidio (or Dulcissimus), respectively the sister and brothe ...

in 546 on the grounds of an existing marriage. Together with a few of his kinsmen, he plotted to murder Emperor Justinian and Belisarius and install his cousin Germanus as Byzantine emperor. To this end, they contacted Germanus's eldest son,

Justin Justin may refer to: People * Justin (name), including a list of persons with the given name Justin * Justin (historian), a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527), or ''Flavius Iustinius Augustus'', Eastern Rom ...

. Justin pretended to be sympathetic to the plot, but reported it back to is father, who in turn notified Marcellus. Marcellus was initially reluctant to accuse Artabanes without more proof, and arranged for another discussion between the plotters and Justin to be held, overheard by his concealed associate Leontius. Even then, however, out of sympathy for Artabanes, he hesitated to inform Emperor Justinian, but also dissuaded Germanus from contacting the Byzantine emperor directly, as this might alert the conspirators. In the end, however, as Belisarius was returning to the city and the time for the plot to be implemented came near, he revealed it to the Byzantine emperor. Emperor Justinian was enraged that the matter had been concealed from him for so long, but Marcellus took all the blame upon himself. Artabanes and his co-conspirators were only lightly punished; Artabanes himself was only confined to house arrest, but pardoned soon after and sent as general in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. When the matter was examined by the ''

consistorium The ''sacrum consistorium'' or ''sacrum auditorium'' (from la, consistere, "discuss a topic"; gr, θεῖον συνέδριον, theion synedrion, "sacred assembly") was the highest political council of the Roman Empire from the time of Constant ...

'', suspicions also fell on Germanus and his sons, but Marcellus's testimony cleared them. In January 552, Marcellus is recorded as having been awarded the title of honorary consul, and under the title of "judge" () in an

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

Pope Vigilius Pope Vigilius (died 7 June 555) was the bishop of Rome from 29 March 537 to his death. He is considered the first pope of the Byzantine papacy. Born into Roman aristocracy, Vigilius served as a deacon and papal ''apocrisiarius'' in Constantino ...

, indicating his possible dismissal from the post of ''comes excubitorum''. Nothing further is known of him..

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marcellus (Comes Excubitorum) 6th-century deaths 6th-century Byzantine people Ministers of Justinian I Comites excubitorum Year of birth unknown