Marcellus (died 366) was an officer of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
, supporter of usurper
Procopius
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 ...
and briefly an usurper himself.
There are two versions of the history of his usurpation, the first told by
Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus (occasionally Anglicisation, anglicised as Ammian) (born , died 400) was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from Ancient history, antiquity (preceding Procopius). His w ...
, a contemporary historian, the second exposed by
Zosimus Zosimus, Zosimos, Zosima or Zosimas may refer to:
People
*
* Rufus and Zosimus (died 107), Christian saints
* Zosimus (martyr) (died 110), Christian martyr who was executed in Umbria, Italy
* Zosimos of Panopolis, also known as ''Zosimus Alchem ...
, a historian of the beginning of the 6th century.
Ammianus Marcellinus' version
Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus (occasionally Anglicisation, anglicised as Ammian) (born , died 400) was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from Ancient history, antiquity (preceding Procopius). His w ...
underlines the fact that Marcellus was a relative of
Procopius
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 ...
(a member of the
Constantinian dynasty
The Constantinian dynasty is an informal name for the ruling family of the Roman Empire from Constantius Chlorus (died 306) to the death of Julian in 363. It is named after its most famous member, Constantine the Great, who became the sole rule ...
). In 365 Procopius rebelled against emperor
Valens
Valens ( grc-gre, Ουάλης, Ouálēs; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the eastern half of ...
, taking the purple; Marcellus became his ''protector'' and was entrusted with the defence of
Nicaea
Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...
. When, in 366, Procopius was killed, Marcellus killed
Serenianus
Serenianus (died in Lydia, 366) was an officer of the Roman Empire, involved in the death of Caesar Constantius Gallus and in the usurpation of Procopius.
Biography
Serenianus was born in Pannonia.Ammianus Marcellinus, xxvi.5.3. attended at ...
, a cruel general of Valens' who had been captured by Procopius at
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 ...
, and then conquered
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 ...
.
Procopius had based his usurpation on his bond with the
Constantinian dynasty
The Constantinian dynasty is an informal name for the ruling family of the Roman Empire from Constantius Chlorus (died 306) to the death of Julian in 363. It is named after its most famous member, Constantine the Great, who became the sole rule ...
and on the support of some barbaric peoples; Marcellus tried to exploit his own bond to Procopius and to consolidate an alliance with
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
tribes. He proclaimed himself emperor, but his rule was short. Valens' ''
magister militum
(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, ...
'',
Equitius
Saint Equitius ( it, Sant'Equizio) was an abbot of the 6th century. He was born between 480 and 490 in the region of Valeria Suburbicaria (present-day L'Aquila- Rieti- Tivoli). Gregory the Great refers to Equitius in his ''Dialogues'' (I,4 in P ...
, learned of Procopius' death and attacked Marcellus, capturing him. After a few days, Marcellus and some of his supporters were put to death.
Zosimus' version
According to
Zosimus Zosimus, Zosimos, Zosima or Zosimas may refer to:
People
*
* Rufus and Zosimus (died 107), Christian saints
* Zosimus (martyr) (died 110), Christian martyr who was executed in Umbria, Italy
* Zosimos of Panopolis, also known as ''Zosimus Alchem ...
, Marcellus was sent by
Procopius
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 ...
from
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
into
Bithynia
Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Pa ...
, to counter the cavalry unit under
Serenianus
Serenianus (died in Lydia, 366) was an officer of the Roman Empire, involved in the death of Caesar Constantius Gallus and in the usurpation of Procopius.
Biography
Serenianus was born in Pannonia.Ammianus Marcellinus, xxvi.5.3. attended at ...
' command and loyal to
Valens
Valens ( grc-gre, Ουάλης, Ouálēs; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the eastern half of ...
. Serenianus occupied
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 ...
, but Marcellus put the city under siege and took it, forcing Serenianus to flee; after a short pursuit in
Lydia
Lydia (Lydian language, Lydian: 𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the mod ...
, Marcellus killed him.
After Procopius' death, Valens captured Marcellus. According to Zosimus and
John of Antioch John of Antioch may refer to:
People from Antioch
* John Chrysostom (c. 347–407), born in Antioch, archbishop of Constantinople
* John Scholasticus (died 577), born in Antioch, patriarch of Constantinople from 565 to 577
* John Malalas (died 578 ...
, Marcellus was suspected of planning a usurpation, as he had been found with the
regalia
Regalia is a Latin plurale tantum word that has different definitions. In one rare definition, it refers to the exclusive privileges of a sovereign. The word originally referred to the elaborate formal dress and dress accessories of a sovereign ...
of Procopius; thus Valens ordered his death and that of his family and his supporters.
Bibliography
;Primary sources
*
Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus (occasionally Anglicisation, anglicised as Ammian) (born , died 400) was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from Ancient history, antiquity (preceding Procopius). His w ...
, ''Res Gestae'', xxvi.10.1—5.
*
John of Antioch John of Antioch may refer to:
People from Antioch
* John Chrysostom (c. 347–407), born in Antioch, archbishop of Constantinople
* John Scholasticus (died 577), born in Antioch, patriarch of Constantinople from 565 to 577
* John Malalas (died 578 ...
, fr. 184.2
*
Zosimus Zosimus, Zosimos, Zosima or Zosimas may refer to:
People
*
* Rufus and Zosimus (died 107), Christian saints
* Zosimus (martyr) (died 110), Christian martyr who was executed in Umbria, Italy
* Zosimos of Panopolis, also known as ''Zosimus Alchem ...
, ''New History'', iv.6.3—5, iv.8.3—4.
;Secondary sources
* Banchich, Thomas
"Marcellus (366 A.D.)" ''De Imperatoribus Romanis''
*
Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin,
John Robert Martindale
John Robert Martindale (born 1935) is a British academic historian, specializing in the later Roman and Byzantine empires.
Martindale's major publications are his magnum opus, the three volumes of ''Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'', begu ...
,
John Morris, ''
The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire
''Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'' (abbreviated as ''PLRE'') is a work of Roman prosopography published in a set of three volumes collectively describing many of the people attested to have lived in the Roman Empire from AD 260, the date ...
'', Cambridge University Press, 1992, , p. 551.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcellus
4th-century Roman usurpers
366 deaths
Ancient Roman generals
Year of birth unknown
People executed by the Roman Empire
Executed ancient Roman people