Marcellinus (magister militum)

Marcellinus (died August 468) was a Roman general and patrician who ruled over the region of Dalmatia in the Western Roman Empire and held sway with the army there from 454 until his death.

Marcellinus was said to have been of good birth and character and who had a good education, he was also a devout pagan, and is alleged to have been a skilled soothsayer. He was also a patron of culture and a friend of the philosopher Sallustius.

Nothing is known of Marcellinus in his early life; records first mention his name in 454 when he rebelled against Western Emperor Valentinian III following his murder and assassination of Flavius Aëtius who was his friend. He was in Dalmatia at the time and it is believed to have held the title of Comes rei militaris according to the fasti. He was powerful enough to seize control of Dalmatia for himself and was presumably able to do this because he was commander of the troops there. He appears to have remained ruler of Dalmatia down to 468 and to have preserved his independence except for briefly accepting the authority of the Emperors Majorian and Anthemius. Sources claim he ruled justly and well and kept Dalmatia independent of the emperor and of barbarian rulers.

During the dying days of the western half of the empire there remained four main players which participated in the power games revolving around the throne; the Eastern Roman Empire as one continued to play a significant political role as did the western Roman military which made up the other three. The Gallic army was prominent, especially under Aegidius in the 460's, the Italian army was the main influence for Ricimer, and the forces of Dalmatia gave a solid base of power and support between 450 and 480 for Marcellinus and later his nephew Western Emperor Julius Nepos

When Majorian took the throne in December 457 Marcellinus pledged his allegiance to the new emperor and was soon sent to guard Sicily against the Vandals; perhaps at this time he held the title of magister militum. Marcellinus was to take part in a joint attack of Vandal Africa, with him coming from Sicily and Majorian invading from Spain, but before Majorian could begin his campaign the Vandals inflicted a severe defeat on the attack fleet and a year later in 461 the emperor was murdered by Ricimer, who soon after tried to bribe Marcellinus' troops who were mostly Huns, attempting to reduce the generals power. This forced Marcellinus to leave Sicily and return to Dalmatia where he would work closely with the Eastern Emperor Leo I. In 464 or 465 Marcellinus returned to Sicily to defend the island against the Vandals, this action posed a direct threat to the personal power and prestige of Ricimer who had already appealed to Leo to prevent Marcellinus from acting against him militarily. Leo recognized Marcellinus as magister militum but not by Ricimer and his new puppet emperor Libius Severus in the West. His title seems to have changed around this time to that of magister militum Dalmatiae though it is not for certain, only that his nephew who took over for him after held this title. During this time his power seems to have grown and it was possible he could attack Italy, but at the request of the Italians, the eastern court sent an envoy to him and he agreed not to attack.

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