Marcus Julius Gessius Marcianus
{{short description|2nd/3rd century Syrian-born Roman nobleman}}
Marcus Julius Gessius Marcianus also known as Gessius MarcianusBirley, Septimius Severus: The African Emperor, p. 222 (flourished second half of the 2nd century and first half of the 3rd century, died 218) was a Syrian Roman aristocrat. He was the second husband of Julia Avita Mamaea and step-father of the future emperor Severus Alexander.
Early life
Little is known about the origins of Marcianus. He was an Equestrian officer{{Cite web |title=Julia Avita Mamaea's article at Livius.org |url=https://www.livius.org/jo-jz/julia/julia_mamaea.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141123161203/http://www.livius.org/jo-jz/julia/julia_mamaea.html |archive-date=2014-11-23 |access-date=2020-03-26}} who became a Promagistrate.[http://www.roman-emperors.org/alexsev.htm Alexander Severus (A.D. 222–235) - De Imperatoribus Romanis by H.W. Benario] No further details are known of the political career of Marcianus.
Family
Cassius Dio mentions a daughter that was married in 218 AD, thus probably a child from a previous marriage than the one to Mamaea.Robert Lee Cleve: Severus Alexander and the Severan Women, Los Angeles 1982, pp. 90. Marcianus married the Roman Syrian noblewoman Julia Avita Mamaea, as her second husband. Mamaea was the second daughter of the powerful Roman Syrian nobles Julia Maesa and Julius Avitus. Her maternal aunt was the Roman empress Julia Domna (wife of emperor Septimius Severus), thus her maternal cousins were Roman emperors Caracalla and Publius Septimius Geta, she was also the maternal aunt to Roman emperor Elagabalus. The marriage of Marcianus and Mamaea may have strengthened Septimius Severus' power base in the Roman Eastern provinces. He and Mamaea may have had a son named Marcus Julius Gessius Bassianus.Birley, Septimius Severus: The African Emperor, pp. 217, 222 The Historia Augusta also mentions a sister of Severus Alexander named Theoclia who was of marriageable age during Alexanders reign.Augustan History, The Two Maximini, 29
Death
He was murdered on the orders of Roman emperor Macrinus in 218 in Emesa, Syria alongside an unnamed daughter and son-in-law.
Severan dynasty family tree
{{Severan dynasty family tree}}
References
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Sources
- Augustan History, The Two Maximini
- A.R. Birley, Septimius Severus: The African Emperor, Routledge, 2002
- [https://www.livius.org/jo-jz/julia/julia_mamaea.html Julia Avita Mamaea’s article at Livius.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141123161203/http://www.livius.org/jo-jz/julia/julia_mamaea.html |date=2014-11-23 }}
- [http://www.roman-emperors.org/alexsev.htm Alexander Severus (A.D. 222–235) - De Imperatoribus Romanis by H.W. Benario]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Julius Gessius Marcianus, Marcus}}
Category:Ancient Roman equites
Category:3rd-century executions
Category:People from Roman Syria
Category:People executed by the Roman Empire