| Macrianus Minor | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usurper of theRoman Empire | |||||||||
 Macrianus on a coin celebratingEternal Rome.[1] | |||||||||
| Reign | 260-261 (withQuietus) | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Gallienus | ||||||||
| Successor | Gallienus | ||||||||
| Died | 261 Illyricum | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Father | Macrianus Major | ||||||||
| Mother | Junia (possibly) | ||||||||
Titus Fulvius Junius Macrianus (died 261), also known asMacrianus Minor, was aRoman usurper. He was the son ofFulvius Macrianus, also known as Macrianus Major.[2]
Although his father was from anequestrian family,[citation needed] Macrianus Minor's mother was of noble birth and of senatorial descent and her name, possibly, was Junia. According to the often unreliableHistoria Augusta, he had served as militarytribune underValerian.[2]
Macrianus, his father and his brotherQuietus, were inMesopotamia in 260, for theSassanid campaign of Emperor Valerian, when the Roman army was defeated, and the emperor was captured.[3] With help from his father, who kept the imperial treasure, and by the influence ofBalista, Valerian'spraefect, Macrianus gained the imperial office together with his brotherQuietus,[3] through the election by the army, in contrast with the lawful EmperorGallienus, 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 inEgypt, the grain supplying province for the city ofRome.
After having temporarily secured the Persian frontier, Macrianus Major and Macrianus Minor moved to the West to attack and eliminate their rival Gallienus.[citation needed] They were however defeated in autumn 261 byAureolus,[2] and later killed by their own soldiers at the father's request.[citation needed]
Macrianus appears inHarry Sidebottom's historical fiction novel series as one of the series' antagonists.[citation needed].
Media related toMacrianus Minor at Wikimedia Commons
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Consul of theRoman Empire 261 withQuietus , Postumus, Gallienus, Lucius Petronius Taurus Volusianus | Succeeded by |
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