Markian

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Solidus of Markian, who celebrates his victories.

Markian ( Flavius ​​Marcianus , ancient Greek Μαρκιανός ; * around 390; † January 27, 457 ) was emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire from 450 to 457 .

Life

Ascent to empire

Flavius ​​Marcianus came from a very simple background; he was the son of a soldier and came Scholasticus Evagrius According to the case to Priscus calls from Thrace . Following the example of his father, he entered the military and soon made a career there. He served under the magister militum Aspar in several wars, including taking part in the failed operation against the Vandals in Sicily in 441. Finally, Markian rose to the position of tribunus in the imperial guard of the protectores ; a respected and well-paid position, but with little power, as the protectores at that time in Eastern Stream seem to have had little military value.

When Emperor Theodosius II was unexpectedly killed in a riding accident on July 28, 450, there was no male relative available. Although the decision about the new Augustus of the East was principally to the West Emperor, Theodosius' nephew Valentinian III. , would have admitted, the court, military and senators arranged the succession in Constantinople independently in their own way. For reasons that were ultimately unclear, her choice fell on Markian. Directly before his elevation to emperor on August 25, 450, which had been arranged by Aspar among others, Markian married the sister of his predecessor, Pulcheria , with whom he had a so-called Joseph marriage . Through this dynastic connection with the imperial house of the Theodosian dynasty , he was able to secure his claim to the (formally, however, not hereditary) empire. Valentinian III , who resided in Ravenna , was about to come to power . informed by an official embassy; however, the Western Emperor initially regarded Markian as a usurper .

Domestic politics

In the sources , three traditions regarding Markian's accession to the government can be recognized: an official one, a Christian-Miaphysite and a Christian-Orthodox . While the official and Orthodox tradition extol Markian's rule and described it as willed by God, the Miaphysite tradition polemicized against the emperor. This is related to Markian's religious policy, whereby the emperor represented the “orthodox line” of Chalcedon (see below). It also played a role that Markian's predecessor Theodosius II was often viewed negatively in the sources and also in modern research. The historian Priskos seems to have belittled Theodosius II in his work, which is an important source despite its fragmentary character today, while describing Markian as an exemplary emperor.

Immediately after assuming power, the new Augustus , who now called himself Emperor Caesar Flavius ​​Marcianus Augustus , waived all tax arrears up to 447 and lifted some special taxes that the senators had found oppressive. The compulsory holding of games was decreed for the annual ordinary consuls, but they were supposed to ensure the functioning of the water pipes to the capital. The tensions with Valentinian III. remained, however; only after two years, in 452, did the West Emperor reluctantly recognize Markian as his co-ruler.

Inside, the emperor was able to stabilize the Eastern Roman Empire as a whole. Since there were only very few armed events during Markian's reign, the financial situation eased, just as he carried out a very successful financial policy. He also ensured calm conditions in the capital, Constantinople . The most important event in the always problematic field of ecclesiastical politics was the historically highly relevant Council of Chalcedon , which was opened personally by the emperor on October 8, 451. The main result was the condemnation of Monophysitism , which was particularly widespread in the East and Egypt ; In addition, however, to the annoyance of the Bishop of Rome, the equal status of the Patriarch of Constantinople was adopted. The decisions of this Fourth Ecumenical Council are still binding on most Christian churches today. Together with the Roman Bishop Leo the Great , Markian once again achieved an extensive dogmatic unity of the Western and Eastern Churches on questions of faith, but the Monophysite Christians in Syria and Egypt did not recognize this. In 452 the emperor gave the council resolutions legal force and enforced them violently against uprisings in Jerusalem and Alexandria , albeit without lasting success.

The " Colossus of Barletta " represents an emperor of the 5th century, probably Markian or his successor Leo I.

Foreign policy

Although Markian was apparently under the influence of Aspar, he was not a weak emperor and pursued an overall successful foreign policy. For example, he denied the Huns under Attila the annual tributes as early as 450 (which Theodosius II had already done several times before), which relieved the finances of Eastern Europe and considerably increased the prestige of the empire and the emperor himself. The Huns then turned to the west, where they were defeated in the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields in 451 , but not decisively defeated. In 452, Markian ordered an offensive action against the Huns, which contributed to Attila's withdrawal from Italy. After Attila's death in 453 and the subsequent collapse of his empire, Markian came to an understanding with several peoples who had previously been under Hunnic rule, and settled parts of them on imperial territory south of the lower Danube.

In addition, Markian strove successfully for good relations with the powerful Persian Sassanid Empire . So he did not intervene when the Persians put down an uprising by the Christian Armenians in 451, but instead explicitly assured the Great King Yazdegerd II of neutrality through an embassy. However, he tried to set up the Caucasian kingdom of Lazika as an Eastern Roman client state. In Egypt , the imperial troops succeeded, at least temporarily, in securing the border against the Blemmyes and their allies. In Syria there was some fighting with looting Saracens .

Relations with the western half of the empire were formally not part of foreign policy. The emperor Valentinian III residing in Italy . had actually claimed to arrange the succession of his cousin Theodosius II and felt snubbed when Markian ascended the throne without his cooperation (see above). Apparently Valentinian even planned a military action against the East for a time. It therefore took two years before Markian was recognized as emperor in the West, probably in connection with the common struggle against Attila. After Valentinian's assassination on March 16, 455, Markian failed to enforce the imperial rights of rule in the west and did not install a new Augustus for the noticeably fluctuating western empire , as his predecessor Theodosius II had done in 425. In general, he did little to stand by the West, which was shaken by civil wars, since his main focus was on other fronts. Within the scope of his possibilities, Markian seems to the West, as its ruler he saw himself since 455, since he was the after Valentinian III. He did not recognize the ruling emperor, but he did give support: the contemporary chronicler Hydatius von Aquae Flaviae reports not only of Markian's help for Italy in the Hunnic attack of 452, but also of the fact that Eastern Roman troops had a great victory over the Vandals in 456, which Mortal enemies of the Western Roman government, won (possibly in Corsica).

Map showing the domains and areas of influence in AD 451. The Hunnic Confederation under the name of Attilas and the Roman Empire.

Death and succession

Markian died surprisingly on January 27, 457 after suffering a stroke the day before; his wife Pulcheria had died in 453. The emperor was probably 65 years old and, despite the short period of his reign, was always considered one of the most successful and best rulers of late antiquity . He seems to have left a surplus of 100,000 gold pounds to his successor. In the following decades, the emperors in Constantinople were called to “rule like Markian” when they came to power. In retrospect, his government appeared to the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes (early 9th century), who relied on contemporary sources, as a golden age. This was also due to the fact that the “orthodox”, non-Miaphysite church viewed him very positively because of his partisanship in Chalcedon .

After the death of the emperor, there was a brief power struggle between the two powerful army masters Aspar and Anthemius . The latter had married Markian's only daughter Aelia Marciana Euphemia and said he had good prospects as a son-in-law after Aspar himself had refused. Ultimately, however, Anthemius was overtaken by Aspar's candidate Leo , the new Augustus and the first emperor to be crowned by the Bishop of Constantinople. Anthemius was only compensated with the Western Roman Empire in 467. His son Markian the Younger , Markian's grandson, tried in vain in 479 to become Eastern Roman emperor himself against Zeno .

Afterlife

Istanbul, pillar of the emperor Markian

In today's Istanbul, near the Valens aqueduct, there is a 12 m high marble column that bears the name Marcianus column. The foundation inscription, which once consisted of gilded bronze letters (today only the engravings for these and the dowel holes can be seen) names the emperor as the recipient of this honor. On the column base below the inscription, two Victorias hold a shield on the main side , while the other three sides are decorated with wreaths; a christogram is inscribed on the back of them . The statue of the emperor made of gilded bronze once stood on the capital, supported by protruding eagles.

It is not certain whether the monumental bronze statue of an Eastern Roman emperor, the Colossus of Barletta , which stands today in the southern Italian city of Barletta , represents Markian, because his successor Leo is also considered a possibility.

Markian was played by the American actor Jeff Chandler in the 1954 film "Attila the Hun King" ( Sign of the Pagan ).

literature

Overview representations

Investigations

  • Dariusz Brodka: Priscus of Panion and Emperor Marcian. In: Millennium 9, 2012, pp. 145–162.
  • Richard W. Burgess: The accession of Marcian in the light of Chalcedonian apologetic and monophysite polemic . In: Byzantinische Zeitschrift 86/87, 1993/1994, pp. 47-68.
  • Brian Croke: The Date and Circumstances of Marcian's Decease, AD 457 . In: Byzantion 48, 1978, pp. 5-9.
  • Robert L. Hohlfelder: Marcian's Gamble: A Reassessment of Eastern Imperial Policy Toward Attila AD 450-453 . In: American Journal for Ancient History 9, 1984, pp. 54-69.
  • Konstantin M. Klein: Emperor Marcian and the Monophysites. In: Gymnasium 125, 2018, pp. 251–274.
  • Edward A. Thompson : The Foreign Policies of Theodosius II and Marcian . In: Hermathena 76, 1950, pp. 58-75.

Web links

Commons : Markian  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ Euagrios Scholasticos 2.1
  2. ↑ See Richard W. Burgess : The accession of Marcian in the light of Chalcedonian apologetic and monophysite polemic . In: Byzantinische Zeitschrift 86/87, 1993/1994, here p. 58ff.
  3. ↑ On the other hand, see the balanced consideration in Edward A. Thompson: The Foreign Policies of Theodosius II and Marcian . In: Hermathena 76, 1950, pp. 58-75.
  4. ↑ Cf. Dariusz Brodka: Priskos von Panion and Emperor Marcian. In: Millennium 9, 2012, here p. 160f.
  5. ^ Edward A. Thompson: The Foreign Policies of Theodosius II and Marcian . In: Hermathena 76, 1950, p. 63.
  6. ^ Theophanes, AM 5946.
predecessor Office successor
Theodosius II Eastern Roman Emperor
450–457 		Leo I.
personal data
SURNAME Markian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Markianos
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire
DATE OF BIRTH at 390
DATE OF DEATH January 27, 457