Macrinus was the first Roman Emperor to come from a
non-Senatorial background, but his occupation of the highest office in the
Empire was neither long nor distinguished.
Macrinus becomes Emperor thanks to a murder
Marcus Opellius Macrinus was what might be termed an
“accidental Emperor” in that he had neither background nor training for the
job, and there is some evidence that he did not actually want it.
He was probably born in around the year 165 in Mauretania,
North Africa, but nothing is known about his parentage. He rose through the
ranks of the Army to become a prefect in the Praetorian Guard, the task of
which was to protect the person of the Emperor, who – from the year 211 – was
Caracalla, a brutal and obnoxious man who became the target of plots against
his life.
One such plot had Macrinus’s fingerprints all over it,
although it is possible that he was actually framed as a plotter by Flavius
Maternianus, a friend of Caracalla.
Whatever the truth of the matter, Maternianus wrote a letter
to Caracalla with evidence that implicated Macrinus, and recommended that the
latter be eliminated. However, the letter fell into Macrinus’s hands and he
decided to get his retaliation in first.
On 8th April 217 Caracalla – who was on campaign
against the Parthians – made a detour to visit a shrine devoted to the moon-god
Lunus. He stopped en route for a toilet break, but Macrinus’s assassin seized
the opportunity to plunge his sword between the Emperor’s ribs.
At least, that is the story. The murderer was himself killed
immediately afterwards and so could not reveal who had paid him to do the job,
but Macrinus was certainly very high on the list of suspects.
A reluctant Emperor?
Macrinus was acclaimed Emperor by the Army, but there is
some evidence that he was reluctant to accept the honour. It is possible that
he did not want to throw the suspicion for Caracalla’s murder on to himself by
appearing to be too eager to seize the crown, and it is also possible that he
knew exactly how difficult it was going to be to take over the Empire, given
the fact that a strong Parthian army was heading his way.
Whatever the reason, there was an interregnum of several
days before Macrinus took the job, which was never going to be an easy one.
Emperor Macrinus
Macrinus’s first problem was the Parthians, led by their
king Artabanus V. In the end he had to buy them off at great expense, and he
also had to reach accommodations with the Dacians and Armenians who had seen
the change of Emperor as an opportunity to make nuisances of themselves.
He decided against returning immediately to Rome, which was
a mistake given that the Imperial city was suffering from a major fire followed
by flooding and the people looked to their new Emperor for support which they
were not getting.
He also managed to cause disquiet in the Army by not
treating them with the same generosity, in terms of pay, that Caracalla had
done.
A new Emperor, especially one with highly dubious claims to
office, needs powerful friends if he is going to enjoy a long reign, and
Macrinus was clearly lacking in that department.
Powerful female foes
However, it was the women of the Severan clan who would
prove to be Macrinus’s undoing.
Caracalla had been the son of Septimius Severus, a
well-respected and long-serving Emperor. Septimius’s widow Julia Domna was
still alive at the time of Caracalla’s death, as was Julia’s sister Julia Maesa.
The sisters did not want the upstart Macrinus as Emperor as long as there were
suitable Severan candidates.
Julia Domna died within a few months of Macrinus’s accession
– she was suffering from breast cancer but there is a suggestion that she was
forced into suicide by Macrinus.
That left “aunt Julia Maesa” to take up the cause, aided by
her own daughters (two more Julias!), who each had a son of their own who were
therefore suitable Severan candidates to be Emperor.
One of Julia Maesa’s grandsons was Varius Avitus Bassianus,
then aged 14. He bore a passing resemblance to Caracalla, and the Julias
invented the idea that he was actually Caracalla’s illegitimate son. This was a
clever move, given that the soldiers recalled the former Emperor’s reign with fond
nostalgia and were willing to believe anything that might promise a return to
the good old days.
Avitus, despite his youth, was therefore declared Emperor by
the local legion (Legio III Gallica stationed at Emesa in Syria), and Macrinus
clearly had a problem on his hands.
The end of Macrinus
Macrinus had no choice but to declare war on the Severan
family and the legion that supported them. The battle looked to be going in
Macrinus’s favour until Julia Maesa and her daughter Julia Soaemias leapt from
their chariots and persuaded the soldiers to fight on.
Macrinus then lost heart and fled the scene, possibly hoping
to end his days in exile. However, he was eventually captured, along with his
own young son whom he had lined up to succeed him. They were duly executed and
their heads stuck on pikes.
Rome was now back under Severan control, but a period of even
worse government lay ahead.
© John Welford
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