Macrinus AD 217-218 Silver Denarius Rome

Macrinus AD 217-218 Silver Denarius

Laureate bust right/Salus enthroned grasping snake

Rome

RCV7363; 20mm, 3.70g

 

Macrinus was born to a poor family in Caesarea around AD 164. As a young man he worked as a gladiator, huntsman and courier before moving to Rome. Here he gained a reputation as a jurist becoming a legal adviser to the praetorian prefect Plautianus who died in AD 205.

In AD 212 Caracalla appointed him to the praetorian prefecture. In AD 216 Macrinus, who had been made consul, accompanied Caracalla on his campaign to subdue the Parthians. Here he found out about a plot to discredit him as a security risk. Macrinus arranged to have Caracalla assassinated which was done whilst Caracalla was dismounted and relieving himself. Upon Caracalla’s death the army hailed Macrinus as the new emperor. Macrinus was the first Mauretanian and non senator to occupy the throne and foreshadowed a long line of soldier emperors. Macrinus’ popularity rested exclusively with the army as there had been no consultation with the senate. Nevertheless the senate initially accepted his elevation as Caracalla’s tax rises had made him unpopular.

Unfortunately the campaign in the east did not go well. In particular the granting of the crown of Armenia to Tiridates II, whose father Caracalla had imprisoned meant that this country effectively past out of Roman control. Macrinus finally lost the loyalty of the army when the Parthians invaded Mesopotamia refusing the emperors offer of peace.

The circumstances were appropriate for a coup which came when Julia Maesa, sister of Septimius Severus’s late wife Julia Domna enlisted the support of the eastern garrisons and proclaiming her 14 year old grandson Varius Avitus Bassianus, later known as Elagabalus, emperor. In the battle that followed Macrinus was deserted by a whole legion leaving him to flee to Antioch where he was later executed.