Marcus Granius Marcellus

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Marcus Granius Marcellus was a member of the Roman family of Granii and 14/15 AD proconsul of Bithynia . In AD 15 he faced charges of alleged invasion of majesty and extortion.

Life

The full name of Marcus Granius Marcellus is only recorded on a coin and a brick stamp. All that is known of his career is that, according to the testimony of a coin and the somewhat imprecise title of Tacitus , he was proconsul of the Roman province of Bithynia in AD 14/15. He owned brickworks in the district of the Umbrian town of Tifernum Tiberinum (today Città di Castello ).

More precise information from the life of Granius Marcellus is only available from Tacitus' report on the indictment that was brought against Granius in AD 15 - i.e. in the early days of the Principate of Tiberius - and which was only one of numerous others during the reign this emperor was. The chief prosecutor was Granius' quaestor Aulus Caepio Crispinus . Crispinus is characterized by Tacitus in an extremely negative way as an originally poor and insignificant man who, through flattery and secret information, managed to sneak into Tiberius's favor, achieved wealth and worked towards the overthrow of the most excellent people. He accused his former superior Granius of having made disrespectful remarks about the emperor and of criticizing his most negative character traits. Since these criticisms were all true, it would have been generally believed that Granius had actually voiced them. Romanus Hispo , who supported Crispinus' complaint, expanded the allegations to the effect that Granius had placed his portrait higher than the images of the Caesars and placed the bust of Tiberius on a statue after he had cut off the head of Augustus . The latter charges, according to which Granius had also injured the holy person of Augustus, made Tiberius, who had been calm until then, so angry that he now wanted to vote publicly on oath in order to force the other voters to vote. According to an objection from Gnaeus Piso, the emperor is said to have been so ashamed of his outbreak that he allowed the accused to be acquitted of the offense of lese majesty. However, Granius was also charged with allegedly extorting extortion in his former province; this process was now led by the responsible judges ( recuperatores ).

A son of Marcus Granius Marcellus was probably Granius Marcianus , who was also accused of maiestas under Tiberius in AD 35 and who committed suicide.

literature

Remarks

  1. ^ Tacitus , Annalen 1, 74, 1.
  2. ↑ CIL 11, 8107 .
  3. ↑ Tacitus, Annalen 1, 74; see. Suetonius , Tiberius 58.
  4. ↑ Tacitus, Annals 6, 38, 4.
personal data
SURNAME Granius Marcellus, Marcus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Proconsul of Bithynia (14/15 AD)
DATE OF BIRTH 1st century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 1st century