Mark Antony Primus

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Terracotta bust by Marc Arcis

Marcus Antonius Primus (* 30/35 near Tolosa ; † after 81) was a Roman politician and military man in the 1st century AD.

Marcus Antonius Primus was possibly the grandson of Iullus Antonius and thus great-grandson of Marcus Antonius . He was first mentioned as a member of the Senate during the reign of Nero . However, due to intrigue in 61, he lost his senatorial rank and was banished from Rome . He was reassigned to the Senate by Emperor Galba in 68 and received supreme command of the Legio VII Galbiana in Pannonia .

After Galba's and Otho's deaths, Primus sided with Vespasian in the civil war and marched with his troops against Emperor Vitellius in Italy. At Bedriacum he defeated him in October 69 and stormed Cremona on the same day . Then he crossed the Apennines and marched against Rome, where he met unexpected resistance from the population. One day after Vitellius' death on December 20, he moved into Rome.

Antonius Primus was now de facto the ruler of Rome and received the badge of consulship from the Senate . When Gaius Licinius Mucianus arrived in Rome, however, he resigned his position and, when he was accused of his unauthorized actions and alleged atrocities, went east to Vespasian , who honored him for his decisive action, but left him Army service dismissed. So Primus withdrew to his hometown.

There are still testimonies of Antonius Primus from the time of Domitian , in which the emperor wrote to him in letters.

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