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Marcian Byzantine Emperor 450-457AD Biography Ancient Coins Numismatic
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Exanple of Authentic Ancient
Coin of:
Marcian - Roman Emperor: 450-457 A.D. -
Bronze AE4 Constantinople mint: 450-457 A.D.
Reference: RIC 543, LRBC 2249
DNMARCIANVSPFAVG - Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right.
Marcian's monogram .
Flavius Marcianus (392 27 January 457),
commonly known as Marcian, was
Eastern Roman Emperor from 450 to 457.
Marcian's rule marked a recovery of the Eastern Empire, which the
emperor protected from external menaces and reformed economically and
financially. On the other side, the isolationistic policies of Marcian
left the
Western Roman Empire without help
against barbarian attacks, which materialized in the Italian campaigns
of
Attila and in the
Vandal
sack of Rome (455).
Flavius Marcianus, known in English as Marcian, (396
January 457) was the emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 450 until
his death. Marcian's rule marked a recovery of the Eastern Empire, which
the emperor protected from external menaces and reformed economically
and financially. On the other side, the isolationistic politic of
Marcian left the Western Roman Empire without help against barbarian
attacks, which materialized in the Italian campaigns of Attila and in
the Vandal sack of Rome (455).
Marcian was born in Thrace or Illyria. He spent his early life as an
obscure soldier. He subsequently served for nineteen years under
Ardaburius and Aspar, and took part in the wars against the Persians and
Vandals. In 431, Marcian was taken prisoner by the Vandals in the
fighting near Hippo Regius; brought before the Vandal King Geiseric
(428477), he was released on his oath never to take up arms against the
Vandals.
Through the influence of these generals he became a
captain of the guards, and was later raised to the rank of tribune and
senator. On the death of Theodosius II (408450) he was chosen as
consort by the latter's sister and successor, Pulcheria, and called upon
to govern an empire greatly humbled and impoverished by the ravages of
the Huns.
Rise
to power
Marcian was born in 392 in
Illyricum or
Thracia. The son of a soldier, he spent
his early life as an obscure soldier, member of a military unit located
at
Philippopolis. Marcian was dispatched
with his unit for a war against the
Sassanids (probably the
Roman-Sassanid war of 421422), but
along the road East he fell ill in
Lycia; at this time he might have
already been tribunus and commander of his unit.
After recovering from his illness, he went to
Constantinople, where he served for
fifteen years as
domesticus under the generals
Ardaburius and
Aspar. In 431/434, while fighting in
Africa under Aspar, Marcian was taken prisoner by the
Vandals; according to a later legend,
he was brought before King
Geiseric (428477), who knew by an omen
that Marcian was to be emperor and was released on his oath never to
take up arms against the Vandals.
Through the influence of these generals he became a
captain of the guards, and was later raised to the rank of
senator. On the death of
Theodosius II (450) he was chosen as
consort by the latter's sister and successor,
Pulcheria, and called upon to govern an
empire greatly humbled and impoverished by the ravages of the
Huns.
Rule
Upon becoming emperor, Marcian repudiated the
embarrassing payments of tribute to
Attila the Hun (434453), which the
latter had been accustomed to receiving from Theodosius II in order to
refrain from attacks on the eastern empire. Aware that he could never
capture the eastern capital of
Constantinople, Attila turned to the
west and waged his famous campaigns in Gaul 451 and
Italy (452) while leaving Marcian's
dominions alone.
Marcian reformed the finances, checked extravagance,
and repopulated the devastated districts. He repelled attacks upon
Syria and
Egypt (452), and quelled disturbances
on the
Armenian frontier (456). The other
notable event of his reign is the
Council of Chalcedon (451), in which
Marcian endeavoured to mediate between the rival schools of
theology.
Marcian generally ignored the affairs of the
Western Roman Empire, leaving that
tottering half of the empire to its fate. He did nothing to aid the west
during Attila's campaigns, and, living up to his promise, ignored the
depredations of Geiseric even when the Vandals sacked Rome in 455. It
has recently been argued, however, that Marcian was more actively
involved in aiding the western Empire than historians had previously
believed and that Marcian's fingerprints can be discerned in the events
leading up to, and including, Attila's death.
Shortly before Attila's death in 453, conflict had
begun again between him and Marcian. However, the powerful Hun king died
before all-out war broke out. In a dream, Marcian claimed he saw
Attila's bow broken before him, and a few days later, he got word that
his great enemy was dead.
Marcian died on January 27, 457 of disease, possibly
gangrene contracted during a long religious journey. He was buried in
the
church of the Holy Apostles in
Constantinople, together with Pulcheria.
Despite his short reign and his writing off of the
west Marcian is considered one of the best of the early Eastern Roman
emperors. The
Eastern Orthodox Church recognizes him
and his wife Pulcheria as
saints, with their feast day on
February 17.
Marriages
Marcia Euphemia was the only known
daughter of Marcian, and she was married to
Anthemius, later Western Roman Emperor.
The identity of her mother is unknown.
Pulcheria was his second wife.
Pulcheria had taken a
religious vow of
chastity. The second marriage was a
mere political alliance, establishing Marcian as a member of the
Theodosian dynasty by marriage. The
marriage of Marcian to Pulcheria was never
consummated, consequently Euphemia
never had younger half-siblings.
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