Marcus Caelius

{{short description|Roman soldier}}

{{distinguish|Marcus Caelius Rufus}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}

{{Infobox military person

| name = Marcus Caelius

| image = Epitaph des Marcus Caelius.JPG

| image_upright = 1.3

| alt =

| caption = Marcus Caelius (center) as portrayed in his cenotaph

| birth_date = {{circa|March 45 BC|lk=no}}

| birth_place = Bononia (Bologna, Italy)

| death_date = {{circa|lk=no|September AD 9}} (aged 53)

| death_place = Kalkriese, Germania

| placeofburial =

| placeofburial_label = Home town

| allegiance = Roman Empire

| branch = Roman Army

| branch_label = Branch

| rank = Primus pilus

| unit = XVIII Roman Legion

| battles = Roman campaigns in Germania (12 BC – AD 16)

• Battle of the Teutoburg Forest{{KIA}}

| relations = Titus Caelius (father)
Publius Caelius (brother)
M. C. Thiaminus (freedman)
M. C. Privatus (freedman)

}}

Marcus Caelius ({{Circa|March 45 BC|lk=no}} – {{circa|lk=no|September AD 9}}) was the senior centurion (Primus pilus) in XVIII Roman Legion who was killed in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.{{cite book |last=Goldsworthy |first=Adrian |title=The Complete Roman Army |location=London |publisher=Thames & Hudson |year=2003 |isbn=0-500-05124-0 |page=49 }} He is known from his cenotaph, which was discovered in 1620 in Birten (now a part of Xanten), Germany. Caelius is depicted wearing his military uniform, with phalerae (a type of military decoration), armillae (a type of bracelet), and a corona civica (an award for saving a fellow citizen's life), while in his right hand, he holds a vitis (carried by all centurions). On either side of his image are his freedmen (non-combatant servants), Privatus and Thiaminus, both of whom perished in the battle.

The tombstone's lower left corner is damaged, but enough survives to determine that the text below the image once read:

{{blockquote|M[ARCO] CAELIO T[ITI] F[ILIO] LEM[ONIA TRIBV] BON[ONIA]

P[RIMVS] O[RDO] LEG[IONIS] XIIX ANN[ORVM] LIII S[EMISSIS]

[CE]CIDIT BELLO VARIANO OSSA

[HVC] INFERRE LICEBIT P[UBLIVS] CAELIVS T[ITI] F[ILIVS]

LEM[ONIA TRIBV] FRATER FECIT}}

English translation:

{{blockquote|To Marcus Caelius, son of Titus, of the Lemonian district, from Bologna,

first centurion of the eighteenth legion. {{frac|53|1|2}} years old.

He fell in the Varian War.

His freedman's bones may be interred here. Publius Caelius, son of Titus,

of the Lemonian district, his brother, erected (this monument)."{{cite web|url=https://www.livius.org/caa-can/caelius/marcus_caelius.html |date=September 2010 |title=Marcus Caelius |publisher=livius.org |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308225128/https://www.livius.org/caa-can/caelius/marcus_caelius.html |archivedate=2010-03-08 }}}}

The tombstone can today be found in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in Bonn.{{cite web|url=https://www.livius.org/te-tg/teutoburg/teutoburg04.html|title=The battle in the Teutoburg Forest|work=Livius.org|accessdate=2015-03-05}}