View source for Marcus Julius Gessius Marcianus

{{short description|2nd/3rd century Syrian-born Roman nobleman}}
'''Marcus Julius Gessius Marcianus''' also known as '''Gessius Marcianus'''<ref name=Birley-222>Birley, ''Septimius Severus: The African Emperor'', p. 222</ref> (flourished second half of the 2nd century and first half of the 3rd century, died 218)<ref name=Birley-222/> 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 [[Roman equestrian order|Equestrian officer]]<ref name="livius.org">{{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}}</ref> who became a [[Promagistrate]].<ref>[http://www.roman-emperors.org/alexsev.htm Alexander Severus (A.D. 222–235) - De Imperatoribus Romanis by H.W. Benario]</ref> No further details are known of the political career of Marcianus.<ref name=Birley-222/>
==Family==
[[Cassius Dio]] mentions a daughter that was married in 218 AD,<ref name=Birley-222/> thus probably a child from a previous marriage than the one to Mamaea.<ref>Robert Lee Cleve: ''Severus Alexander and the Severan Women'', Los Angeles 1982, pp. 90.</ref> Marcianus married the Roman Syrian noblewoman [[Julia Avita Mamaea]], as her second husband.<ref name=livius.org/> 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]].<ref name=livius.org/> The marriage of Marcianus and Mamaea may have strengthened Septimius Severus' power base in the Roman Eastern provinces.<ref name=livius.org/> He and Mamaea may have had a son named [[Marcus Julius Gessius Bassianus]].<ref>Birley, ''Septimius Severus: The African Emperor'', pp. 217, 222</ref> The ''[[Historia Augusta]]'' also mentions a sister of Severus Alexander named Theoclia who was of [[marriageable age]] during Alexanders reign.<ref>[[Augustan History]], The Two Maximini, 29</ref>
==Death==
He was murdered on the orders of Roman emperor [[Macrinus]] in 218<ref name=Birley-222/> in [[Homs|Emesa]], [[Syria (Roman province)|Syria]] alongside an unnamed daughter and son-in-law.
==Severan dynasty family tree==
{{Severan dynasty family tree}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==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:2nd-century Romans]]
[[Category:3rd-century Romans]]
[[Category:3rd-century people]]
[[Category:3rd-century executions]]
[[Category:Emesene dynasty]]
[[Category:Julii]]
[[Category:Gessii]]
[[Category:People from Roman Syria]]
[[Category:People executed by the Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:218 deaths]]