Marcellianus dux

Marcellianus (* 4th century AD in Pannonia ), was the son of the Praetorian prefect Flavius ​​Maximinus and a high staff officer of the late Roman army. As dux (military leader) he was entrusted under Emperor Valentinian I (364-375) with the post of military commander-in-chief over the units stationed in the Pannonian province of Valeria ( Dux Valeriae ripensis ) .

The heavily fortified late antique Limes in the greater area of ​​the Danube Bend with the Göd-Bócsaújtelep fort

Marcellianus, like the influential Maximinus (376 executed), who was born in Valeria's capital Sopianae ( Pécs ), who also held higher offices, was born in Pannonia and was given the opportunity as a young man as a result of an intrigue of his father, who was considered irascible and humanly crude to quickly make a career in military service. In Valeria , the presumptuous and contract-breaking border policy of Emperor Valentinians I (364-375) had led to the fact that the Quads, north and northeast of the Danube, rose up against the Romans. As a result, the experienced and cautious Valerian dux Frigeridus, in consultation with his superior, had the military construction work on the annexed Quadruple area, including the planned fortress Göd-Bócsaújtelep , suspended again in 373. A report on this measure had been sent to Emperor Valentinian and Maximinus. He took the opportunity to play his son in the foreground. He accused Equitius, Frigeridus' superior, as incapable of dealing with the dangerous situation and recommended that the ducat be transferred to his son instead, so that he could deal with the troublesome barbarian problem as quickly as possible. 373/374 Frigeridus was therefore deposed. His successor Marcellianus, described as arrogant, immediately resumed construction work in the Quaden area in the spring or early summer of 374. At the same time, Gabinius, king of the squares, was invited to sham negotiations and soon after his arrival was stabbed to death at the end of a banquet, grossly disregarding hospitality. Depending on the source ( Zosimos and Ammianus Marcellinus ), a Celestius or Marcellianus himself was responsible for this act.

After this insidious betrayal, the indignant Quads immediately called for a campaign of revenge. Apparently they succeeded without difficulty in winning over the Jazygens , who lived south of their territories, behind the Sarmatian Limes and allied with Rome, as well as the Sarmatian argaragants who had settled east in the Banat , as comrades. For the Romans unexpectedly crossed Germans and Sarmatians at harvest time the Danube and fell into the obviously weak or sloppy defending provinces Pannonia Secunda and Moesia prima one as there is - in contrast to Valeria - were no new and highly secure border installations. In particular on the dense Valerian fortress chain west of the disputed parts of the quadic tribal areas, at the height of the Danube Bend , the attackers would probably not have been able to get through.

The daughter of Emperor Constantius II, who was just passing through this area , only escaped the rapidly advancing invaders at the last minute and escaped with her entourage to the nearby Sirmium . The attackers, however, decided not to siege the city and instead turned to the Valeria . After the Quaden and Sarmatians had skilfully bypassed the military installations on the Danube border there, Marcellianus and his officers were obviously unable to drive the marauding enemy out of Pannonia. Instead, Augustus of the West, Valentinian I, had to intervene personally with a powerful army in Pannonia in June 374 and - after successfully building a bridge across the Danube to Sarmatian territory - overthrow the enemy with a punitive expedition that was carried out with extreme severity and force them to sign a federate treaty . During the peace negotiations in the legionary camp of Brigetio , the emperor died on November 17, 375 after a stroke that was apparently triggered by an outburst of anger.

The consequences of the quadratic-Sarmatian attack were that the resumed work on the Göd-Bócsaújtelep fort had to be finally stopped and the Roman expansion east and north of the Danube came to a standstill. With the Second Gothic War of the Eastern Emperor Valens (364–378) raging in the Balkans and the resulting devastating defeat for Rome at the Battle of Adrianople (378) , all Roman control stations east and north of the Pannonian Danube - and also the Limes Sarmatiae - to be abandoned for good .

Well-known high commanders of the Valeria province

Surname	Official title	Time position	comment
Augustianus	viro clarissimo comite ordinis primi et duce Valeriae limitis	364 / 365-367	Mentioned in a building inscription from Esztergom . According to Sándor Soproni , it could have belonged to the Esztergom-Hideglelőskereszt castle .
Terentius	dux Valeriae	367/368 by 371 at the latest	The expansion of internal fortresses and Limes facilities can be determined archaeologically.
Frigeridus	vir perfectissimus, dux Valeriae	from 371 to 373/374 at the latest	Frigeridus is likely of Germanic descent. The expansion of inland fortresses and Limes facilities is being advanced to a previously unknown extent.
Marcellianus	dux Valeriae	from 373/374	Marcellianus is a native of Pannonia. Due to the turmoil of war 374–375 and the subsequent events against Germanic and Sarmatic enemies (including the collapse of the Limes Sarmatiae ), work on the Limes stalled and in some cases was completely abandoned.

Remarks

1. ↑ Notitia Dignitatum, IN PARTIBUS OCCIDENTIS, XXXIII.
2. ^ Karlheinz Deschner : Kriminalgeschichte des Christianentums . Volume 2. Rowohlt Verlag, 1986, ISBN 3498012770 , p. 118.
3. ↑ Zsolt Mráv : Archaeological research 2000–2001 in the area of ​​the late Roman fortress of Göd-Bócsaújtelep (preliminary report) 2002. In: Communicationes archeologicae Hungariae 2003. Népművelési Propaganda Iroda, Budapest 2003, p. 99.
4. ^ Konrad Bund: overthrow and deposition of rulers in the early Middle Ages. Bonn Historical Research 44.Bonn 1979, ISBN 3792804174 , p. 127.
5. ^ Maria R.-Alföldi: Gloria Romanorum. Writings on late antiquity. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-515-07918-1 ( Historia. Einzelschriften , 153), p. 320.
6. ^ Maria R.-Alföldi: Gloria Romanorum. Writings on late antiquity. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-515-07918-1 ( Historia. Einzelschriften , 153), p. 319.
7. ^ Maria R.-Alföldi: Gloria Romanorum. Writings on late antiquity. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-515-07918-1 ( Historia. Einzelschriften , 153), p. 321.
8. ^ ^{A b} Zsolt Mráv : Archaeological research 2000-2001 in the area of ​​the late Roman fortress of Göd-Bócsaújtelep (preliminary report) 2002. In: Communicationes archeologicae Hungariae 2003. Népművelési Propaganda Iroda, Budapest 2003, p. 101.
9. ^ Klaus Wachtel: Frigeridus dux . In: Chiron , Vol. 30 (2000), pp. 905-914, here: p. 913.
10. ↑ CIL 3, 10596 .