Marcus Aurelius Nigrinianus, known in English as Nigrinian (d. 284/285) was a grandson of Roman emperor

Carus Marcus Aurelius Carus (c. 222 – July or August 283) was Roman emperor from 282 to 283. During his short reign, Carus fought the Germanic tribes and Sarmatians along the Danube frontier with success. He died while campaigning against th ...

who died young and was deified by Carus' eldest son

Carinus Marcus Aurelius Carinus (died 285) was Roman emperor from 283 to 285. The elder son of emperor Carus, he was first appointed ''Caesar'' and in the beginning of 283 co-emperor of the western portion of the empire by his father. Official accoun ...

. He was the last family member of an emperor to be deified posthumously.

Biography

Nigrinian is generally assumed to be a child of Carus eldest son emperor

since the coins commemorating him were issued by Carinus, but he could have been the child of Carus younger son emperor

Numerian Numerian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Numerius Numerianus; died November 284) was Roman emperor from 283 to 284 with his older brother Carinus. They were sons of Carus, a general raised to the office of praetorian prefect under Emperor Probus in 282 ...

or their sister Paulina. A now lost inscription from the ''

Forum Romanum The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient ...

'' set up for him by Carinus's ''perfectissimus rationalis'' Gemimius Festus only stated ''Divo Nigriniano nepoti Cari'' (divine Nigrinianus grandson of Carus) and not who he was the son of. Because of his historian John Kent believes that it is unlikely that he was the son of either of Carinus or Numerian. It has been speculated that he was born around mid-October 284. He is presumed to have died in childhood in late 284 or early 285. After his death he was given divine status.

Research

Before the discovery of the dedicatory epigraph for a statue set up for him by Festus to it was sometimes conjectured that Nigrinianus was the son of the usurper Lucius Domitius Alexander who revolted in 311 AD.Smith, William, "Nigrinianus", ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', 1870, v. 2, p
1202
/ref>

References

Sources

Prosopographia Imperii Romani The ', abbreviated ''PIR'', is a collective historical work to establish the prosopography of high-profile people from the Roman empire. The time period covered extends from the Battle of Actium in 31 BC to the reign of Diocletian. The final volum ...

p. 360.

External links

{{Commons category, Nigrinianus
Overview of coins of Nigrinianus

280s deaths 3rd-century Romans Deified Roman people Aurelii Sons of Roman emperors Caran dynasty Royalty and nobility who died as children 284 births