Sextus Varius Marcellus

Sextus Varius Marcellus<ref>Hazel, Who's Who in the Roman World, p.153</ref> (c. 165 – c. 215<ref name=livius>Sextus Varius Marcellus’ article at Livius.org</ref>) was a Roman aristocrat and politician from the province of Syria.<ref name=livius/> He was father of the emperor Elagabalus.

Family and career

Little is known about the origins of Marcellus, other than he was born and raised in the city of Apamea in Syria.<ref>Levick, Julia Domna: Syrian Empress, p.147</ref> Marcellus was a Roman citizen from the Equestrian order.<ref name=Bunson-346>Bunson, Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire, p. 346</ref>

Marcellus had a long and distinguished political career.<ref name=Bunson-346/> He was present at the Secular Games in Rome in 204.<ref name=livius/> From 200 to 205, like Gaius Julius Avitus Alexianus,<ref name=livius/><ref name=Birley-223>Birley, Septimius Severus: The African Emperor, p. 223</ref> Marcellus did not serve in a significant Roman military or political position, probably due to Roman emperor Lucius Septimius Severus views about him being influenced by the Praetorian prefect Gaius Fulvius Plautianus.<ref name=Birley-223/><ref name=livius/> When Plautianus was killed in 205, Marcellus' career was able to move ahead.<ref name=livius/>

From 205 to about 207, Marcellus was a Procurator for the Roman aqueducts<ref name=livius/> in Rome, a position usually given to Romans of Senatorial rank, not from the Equestrian class. Marcellus was paid about 100,000 sesterces per year.<ref name=livius/>

Marcellus proved his worth and capabilities in his position to Emperor Severus and his family. In 208 the emperor promoted him to Procurator of Roman Britain and in this position he was responsible for gathering taxes for Rome. He earned 200,000 sesterces in this role.<ref name=livius/> Later he was promoted by the emperor to managing the finances of Roman Britain earning 300,000 sesterces.<ref name=livius/>

In 211 after the death of Lucius Septimius Severus, his sons Caracalla and Publius Septimius Geta succeeded their father on the Roman throne. Caracalla recalled Marcellus from Roman Britain to Rome and briefly placed him in the roles of Praefectus urbi and Praetorian prefect.<ref name=livius/> He was later admitted into the Senate and, soon after, became praefectus of the military treasury.<ref name=livius/> He later became governor of Numidia and held this post until his death.<ref name=livius/>

Marriage and children

Marcellus married the Syrian Roman noblewoman Julia Soaemias Bassiana who was the first daughter of the powerful Syrian nobles Julia Maesa and Gaius Julius Avitus Alexianus.<ref>Bunson, Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire, p. 153</ref> The maternal aunt of Soaemias was the Roman empress Julia Domna; her maternal uncle-in-marriage was the Roman emperor Lucius Septimius Severus; her maternal cousins were the Roman emperors Caracalla and Publius Septimius Geta and she was the maternal aunt of the Roman emperor Alexander Severus.<ref name=livius/> Through marriage, Marcellus was related both to the Severan dynasty of the Roman Empire and the royal family of Emesa, Syria.

Their marriage may have taken place in 192 or 194,<ref name=livius/> or even perhaps around 200.<ref>Millar, The Roman Near East: 31 BC-AD 337, p. 119</ref> Marcellus and Soaemias' marriage may have been arranged to strengthen Lucius Septimius Severus' position in the Roman East.<ref name=livius/>

Soaemias and Marcellus bore the following children who were born and raised in Rome:

• A child whose name is unknown,<ref>Birley, Septimius Severus: The African Emperor, pp. 217, 222–223</ref> who was their first son and child. The first son was named after the father of Marcellus, whose name is likewise unknown<ref name=livius/>
• Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus,<ref>Prado, The Emperor Elagabalus: Fact or Fiction?, p. 231</ref> who became the Severan Roman emperor Elagabalus<ref name=Bunson-346/> from 218 until 222.<ref>Birley, Septimius Severus: The African Emperor</ref>

Epigraphic evidence

Inscriptional evidence has survived on Marcellus. After his death in c. 215, his wife Julia Soaemias Bassiana and their two sons, dedicated to him a tombstone which was found in Velletri, not far from Rome.<ref name=livius/> The tombstone has two preserved bilingual inscriptions in Latin and Greek, which were first published at Rome in 1765.<ref name=livius/> The inscriptions reveal his political career, his various titles, designations and distinctions he received.<ref name=livius/> The tombstone of Marcellus is known to scholars as Template:CIL which can be found in the Octagonal Court in the Vatican Museums and reads:

To Sextus Varius Marcellus

procurator centenarius of the water supply, procurator ducenarius of Britain, procurator

trecenarius of the private purse, acting as praetorian prefect and praefectus urbi,

senator, prefect of the military treasury, commander of the Third legion Augusta,

governor of Numidia,

has Julia Soaemias Bassiana, daughter of Gaius, with her children,

[dedicated this] to her husband and dearest father.

Marcellus was known in dedicating an inscription to Bel in Vasio (Vaison) in Gaul.<ref name=Boiv-307>Boiy, Late Achaemenid and Hellenistic Babylon, p. 307</ref> The bilingual inscription which is in Greek and Latin on an altar, dedicated by him is honoring Bel in remembrance of the oracles given to him in Apamea.<ref name=Boiv-307/>

Posthumous honour

The Baths of Varius (Thermae Varianae) in Rome were named in honor of Marcellus and his second son by the Legio XIII Gemina.<ref>Template:Usurped</ref>

The Circus Varianus was also named after his family.

Sources

• F. Millar, The Roman Near East: 31 BC-AD 337, Harvard University Press, 1993
• J. Hazel, Who's Who in the Roman World, Psychology Press, 2002
• A.R. Birley, Septimius Severus: The African Emperor, Routledge, 2002
• T. Bioy, Late Achaemenid and Hellenistic Babylon, Peeters Publishers, 2004
• B. Levick, Julia Domna: Syrian Empress, Routledge, 2007
• M. Bunsen, Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire, Infobase Printing, 2009
• L. de Arrizabalaga y Prado, The Emperor Elagabalus: Fact or Fiction?, Cambridge University Press, 2010