Marcellinus (consul 275)

Vir Clarissimus Aurelius/Iulius Marcellinus
Citizenship	Roman
Occupation	Soldier, Imperial Official
Years active	Third Quarter of Third Century AD
Employer	Roman Emperors Gallienus and Aurelian, Zenobia of Palmyra?
Notable work	Fortifications of Verona
Title	Dux Exercitus (Verona)(?); Vice Praefecti Aegypti; Praefectus Mesopotamiae Rectorque Orientis; Consul Posterior (with Aurelian

Aurelius/Iulius Marcellinus (Consul 275 AD) (his nomen is uncertain) was a Roman soldier and Imperial functionary who had a brilliant equestrian career (see Roman equestrian order) and was elevated to the Senate when he was chosen by the Emperor Aurelian as his consular colleague. His appointment as Consul is thought to have been a reward for his loyalty and steadfastness in 273 when, as Aurelian's deputy in charge of the eastern provinces of the Empire where the authority of the Imperial Government had only recently been restored, he resisted attempts to suborn him by a rebellious faction in the city of Palmyra.

His promotion was unusual in that he had not achieved the rank of Praetorian Prefect, the level of seniority in the Imperial Service at which equestrian officials might hope to be elevated to the Senate. However, this practice, which was to become a regular feature during the reign of Diocletian, was still inchoate in 275 AD.

Obviously a man of considerable capabilities who had attracted the Imperial patronage of the Emperor Gallienus and whose services continued to be much valued by Aurelian, the paucity of the surviving records means that even the identity Marcellinus is uncertain while nothing else is known of his life beyond the bare outlines recounted here.

There is no record of Marcellinus's origins or early life.

Scholarly opinion is in agreement that the first reference to Marcellinus is from an inscription that places him in Verona (now Verona, Italy) around 265 AD. However, the matter of his identity is complicated by the fact that his consular reference does not include a nomen while the Verona inscription names two Marcellini either of whom may have been the Consul Posterior of 275 AD.

The first Marcellinus referred to in this inscription by order of seniority had the nomen Aurelius. He is described as a Vir Perfectissimus and a dux - in other words, a senior officer carrying out a specific commission for the ruling Emperor (Gallienus)). His task in Verona was to fortify the city.

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