Macrianus Minor
Encyclopedia
Titus Fulvius Iunius Macrianus (died 261), also known as Macrianus Minor, was a Roman usurper
. He was the son of Fulvius Macrianus
, also known as Macrianus Major.
family, Macrianus Minor's mother was of noble birth and her name, possibly, was Iunia. According to the often unreliable Historia Augusta, he had served as military tribune
under Valerian
.
Macrianus, his father and his son Quietus
, were in Mesopotamia
in 260, for the Sassanid campaign of Emperor Valerian, when the Roman army was defeated, and the emperor was captured. With help from his father, who kept the imperial treasure, and by the influence of Balista
, Valerian's praefect, Macrianus gained the imperial office together with his brother Quietus
, through the election by the army, in contrast with the lawful Emperor Gallienus
, son and co-emperor with Valerian, who was far in the West. The two emperors and brothers were recognized in the eastern part of the Empire, having a stronghold in Egypt, the grain supplying province for the city of Rome
.
After having temporarily secured the Persian frontier, Macrianus Major and Macrianus Minor moved to the West to attack and eliminate their rival Gallienus. They were however defeated in autumn 261 by Aureolus
, and later killed by their own soldiers at the father's request.
Roman usurper
Usurpers are individuals or groups of individuals who obtain and maintain the power or rights of another by force and without legal authority. Usurpation was endemic during roman imperial era, especially from the crisis of the third century onwards, when political instability became the rule.The...
. He was the son of Fulvius Macrianus
Macrianus Major
Fulvius Macrianus , also called Macrianus Major, was a Roman usurper. He was one of Valerian's fiscal officers. More precisely, sources refer to him as being in charge of the whole state accounts or, in the language of a later age, as Count of the Treasury and the person in charge of markets and...
, also known as Macrianus Major.
Career
Although his father was from an equestrianEquestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
family, Macrianus Minor's mother was of noble birth and her name, possibly, was Iunia. According to the often unreliable Historia Augusta, he had served as military tribune
Tribune
Tribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct, in the sense that any assault on their person was...
under Valerian
Valerian (emperor)
Valerian , also known as Valerian the Elder, was Roman Emperor from 253 to 260. He was taken captive by Persian king Shapur I after the Battle of Edessa, becoming the only Roman Emperor who was captured as a prisoner of war, resulting in wide-ranging instability across the Empire.-Origins and rise...
.
Macrianus, his father and his son Quietus
Quietus
Titus Fulvius Iunius Quietus was a Roman usurper against Roman Emperor Gallienus.Quietus was the son of Fulvius Macrianus and a noblewoman, possibly named Iunia...
, were in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia (Roman province)
Mesopotamia was the name of two distinct Roman provinces, the one a short-lived creation of the Roman Emperor Trajan in 116–117 and the other established by Emperor Septimius Severus in ca. 198, which lasted until the Muslim conquests of the 7th century....
in 260, for the Sassanid campaign of Emperor Valerian, when the Roman army was defeated, and the emperor was captured. With help from his father, who kept the imperial treasure, and by the influence of Balista
Balista
Balista or Ballista , also known in the sources with the probably wrong name of "Callistus", was one of the Thirty Tyrants of the Historia Augusta, and supported the rebellion of the Macriani against Emperor Gallienus....
, Valerian's praefect, Macrianus gained the imperial office together with his brother Quietus
Quietus
Titus Fulvius Iunius Quietus was a Roman usurper against Roman Emperor Gallienus.Quietus was the son of Fulvius Macrianus and a noblewoman, possibly named Iunia...
, through the election by the army, in contrast with the lawful Emperor Gallienus
Gallienus
Gallienus was Roman Emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260, and alone from 260 to 268. He took control of the Empire at a time when it was undergoing great crisis...
, son and co-emperor with Valerian, who was far in the West. The two emperors and brothers were recognized in the eastern part of the Empire, having a stronghold in Egypt, the grain supplying province for the city of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
After having temporarily secured the Persian frontier, Macrianus Major and Macrianus Minor moved to the West to attack and eliminate their rival Gallienus. They were however defeated in autumn 261 by Aureolus
Aureolus
For the Frankish ruler of Aragon, see Aureolus of Aragon.Manius Acilius Aureolus was a Roman military commander and would-be usurper. He was one of the so-called Thirty Tyrants who populated the reign of the Emperor Gallienus...
, and later killed by their own soldiers at the father's request.
Sources
- Körner, Christian, "Usurpers in the east: The Macriani and Ballista", s.v. "Usurpers under Gallienus", De Imperatoribus Romanis
- Jones, A.H.M., Martindale, J.R. The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Vol. I: AD260-395, Cambridge University Press, 1971