Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Μ. Ασία

1. Biography

The origin of Titus Fulvius Macrianus (or Macrianus I)¹ is unknown. His wife was of humble origin and was probably called Junia. She gave birth to Titus Fulvius Junius Macrianus (or Macrianus II) and Titus Fulvius Junius Quietus, who were born in ca. 225 AD.

2. Activity

2.1. Activity of Macrianus I until 260 AD

Under the reign of Valerian he was responsible for the collection of taxes in Egypt, where he organized a persecution against the Christians in 257 or 258 AD.² Later he followed the emperor to the campaign against the Persians where he was the sole responsible for the logistics of the campaign.³ Macrianus I, in the view of Dionysius of Alexandria, was the one who helped the king of Persia Shapur I arrest Valerian in 260 AD. This information is however probably a result of the dislike of Dionysius for Macrianus I because of his persecutions against the Christians of Alexandria.⁴ Another claim, however, that he denied to negotiate the emperor's release,⁵ might be valid, as one can infer from his the evolution of his career.

2.2. The mutiny of 260-261 AD

After the arrest of Valerian in 260 AD, the troops of the East were left without a commander, since the co-emperor Gallienus was busy with trouble of the western part of the empire. Ballista, the commander of the imperial guard, who enjoyed high prestige in the ranks of the army of the East, proposed Macrianus I as emperor, who appears to have been engaged in some battles with the Persian troops in the area of Commagene-Cappadocia-Eastern Cilicia shortly after the arrest of Valerian.⁶ Macrianus I denied the crown due to his old age and his fragile health, but he suggested that his sons take his place,⁷ who probably had assumed military positions under Valerian.⁸ Thus, his sons were proclaimed emperors of Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt in September of 260 AD.⁹ With Valerian’s treasure in their hands, they minted gold and silver coins to maintain the great army and as a means of propagating their rule.¹⁰ On the coins, they inscribed phrases connected to the army and to their optimism for victory or the beginning of a new, better era for the empire.¹¹ Antioch in Pisidia, Heraclea of Pontus, Nicaea of Bithynia and Byzantium accepted their authority and minted coins bearing their names and portraits.¹² Indicative of the acceptance they enjoyed are the inscriptions from Nakoleia of Phrygia and Apamea of Bithynia, where Quietus and Macrianus II are characterized as despots "of land and sea and of all humankind".¹³

Gallienus reacted fast by sending his generals and the commander of his cavalry Auriolus, who defeated the army dispatched by Macrianus I and Macrianus II in Illyricum in the autumn of 261 AD, which consisted of 45,000 men. The two revolters were murdered by their soldiersafter the defeat. Quietus died in the same year at Emesa of Syria, after being defeated along with Ballista by Odaenathus of Palmyra.¹⁴ Probably because of Byzantium's support of to the usurpers, Gallienus destroyed it.¹⁵

3. Evaluation

The attitude of the ancient authors is clearly negative towards Macrianus I. After all they were authors either of Roman and possibly senatorial origin who were against the abolition of law and order or Christians who charge him with the persecutions of Valerian. Macrianus I and his sons’ tactic can be characterized as speculative and reflects the uneasiness they felt and the critical hours the troops passed near the eastern borders after the arrest of Valerian. It should not, however, be overlooked that Macrianus I and Ballista reformed the army of the Orient and along with Odenathus stopped the Persian raids.

1. In ancient Greek texts he is mentioned as Makrinos. Here the exact form of the Latin name, as documented by the Latin authors and attested on coins, is preferred.

2. Eustathius, Ecclesiastic History 7.10.4-7 (Dionysius of Alexandria). There is of course the view that the decree was published by Macrianus during the Persian campaign, Potter D.S., Prophesy and History in the Crisis of the Roman Empire. A Historical Commentary on the Thirteenth Sibylline Oracle (Oxford 1990), p. 331, n. 337.

3. The exact Latin names of the titles of Macrianus were procurator summarum rationum in Egypt (Eustathius, Ecclesiastic History 7.10.4-7 [Dionysius of Alexandria]) and comes largitionum et praepositus annonae in the Persian campaign (FGH 4, 193, n. 3 [Petrus Patricius]); they are documented by later authors and are not attested during the age in question. The respective titles in the age of Valerian are a rationibus Augusti and procurator arcae et praepositus annonae.

4. Eustathius, Ecclesiastic History 7.23.1-2 (Dionysius of Alexandria); Hartmann, F., Herrscherwechsel und Reichskrise. Untersuchungen zu den Ursachen und Konsequenzen der Herrscherwechsel im Imperium Romanum der ldatenkaiserzeit, 3. Jahrhundert n.Chr. (Frankfurt a. Main 1982), p 76, n 3.

5. FGH 4, 193, n o. 3 (Petrus Patricius).

6. SHA, Val. 4.4; Syngellus 716; Zonaras 12.23; Enßlin, W., “Zu den Kriegen des Sassaniden Schapur I”, SBMünchen 5 (1947), p. 59-62; Olmstead, A.T., “The Mid-Third Century of the Christian Era”, CPh 37 (1942), p. 398-420.

7. SHA, Tyr. Trig. 12; Eustathius, Ecclesiastic History 7.10.8; Zonaras 12.24. The evidence that he became the co-emperor of his sons is not indisputable, SHA, Gall. 1.3. Tyr. Trig. 12.12. Macrianus I exerted a great influence upon his sons, but apparently he never became an emperor, see RE VIIA1 (1939), cols. 131-132, see Triginta Tyranni (E. Hohl); Barbieri, G., L’albo senatorio da Settimio Severo a Carino (Rome 1952), 404; Birley, E., "Ballista and 'Trebellius Pollio'”, in Straub, J. (ed.), Bonner Historia-Augusta-Colloquium 1984/1985 (Antiquitas 4.16, Bonn 1987), p. 58-59.

8. SHA, Tyr. Trig. 12.10. This information is not totally credible, Kienast, D., Römische Kaisertabelle. Grundzüge einer römischen Kaiserchronologie (Darmstadt 1990), p. 224-226.

9. For the dates see PΟxy. 1476, 2710; Bowman, A.K., “Papyri and Roman Imperial History”, JRS 66 (1976), p. 155.

10. They also controlled the imperial mint of Kyzicus, Carson, R.A.G., “The Hama Hoard and the Eastern Mints of Valerian and Gallienus”, Berytus 17 (1968), p. 133.

11. Fides Militum (Lawful Army), Fortuna Redux (Leading Fortune), Marti Propugnatori (Defender Mars), Sol Invicto (Invincible Sun), Victoria Augg. (Augustan Victory) and others, such as Romae Aeternae (Eternal Rome), Spes Publica (People’s Hope), Indulgendiae Aug. (Augustan Indulgence), Aequitas Aug. (Augustan Equality), Pietas Aug. (Augustan Piety). Jones, J.-M., A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins (London 1990).

12. Krzyzanowska, A., “Macrianus, usurpateur du temps des guerres perses, dans les émissions monétaires”, RNum 10 (1968), p. 293-296; SNG v.Aulock 733-734 ; SNG Cop. 543-544 ; Waddington, W.H. – Babelon, E. – Reinach, Th., Recueil général des monnaies grecques d'Asie Mineure 1 (Paris 1904), p. 511, no. 872-873, tab. 88.15-16 ; Schonert-Geiss, E., Die Münzprägung von Byzantion (Berlin 1972), nos. 1877-1884.

13. IK 32, 62· ΜΑΜΑ 5, p. 93-94, no. 199.

14. SHA, Gall. 2.6-7, 3.1-4· SHA, Tyr. Trig. 11.1-11.2, 12.12-12.14, 13.3, 14.1· Zonar. 12.24· FGH 4, 195, no. 8 (Petros Patrikios).

15. SHA, Gall. 6.8-6.9, 7.2-7.4.