Marcellus (brother of Justin II)

For other people of the same name, see Marcellus.

Marcellus (Greek: Μάρκελλος) was a brother of Byzantine emperor Justin II (r. 565–578) and general under his uncle, Justinian I (r. 527–565).

Marcellus was the son of Vigilantia, the sister of Justinian, and Dulcidio (or Dulcissimus), and thus the brother of Justin II and Praejecta. He was married to Juliana, the daughter of Anastasius Paulus Probus Moschianus Probus Magnus, consul of 518 and a relative of the Emperor Anastasius I (r. 491–518).^[1] Juliana was a staunch Monophysite, and despite her family relation to Justin II, during his reign she was persecuted for her faith, being confined to a monastery in Chalcedon and made to perform the most menial tasks until she agreed to communicate, thereby (at least outwardly) renouncing her faith.^[2]

In 544, Marcellus was appointed a general, along with Constantinianus, in the ongoing Lazic War (541–562) against Sassanid Persia, replacing the killed generals Justus (a cousin of Justinian and thus Marcellus' uncle) and Peranius.^[3] According to Procopius (Wars, II.28), at this time Marcellus was still very young, "just arriving at the age of manhood". No activities of his are recorded there however, and the war soon ended by a truce.^[4][5]

Marcellus reappears in 562, when a large horde of Bulgars invaded the Balkans and raided Thrace as far as the neighbourhood of Constantinople, and Justinian appointed Marcellus to lead an army against them. He is mentioned again (as a patricius) in late 565, when he played an important role, alongside Baduarius, in the ceremonies marking the accession of Justin II.^[6]

The date of his death is unknown; in ca. 582/583, his property was divided by the new emperor Maurice (r. 582–602) among the latter's father Paul and his brother Peter.^[7]

References

1. ^ Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), pp. 728, 816
2. ^ Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), p. 728
3. ^ Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), pp. 758, 816
4. ^ Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), pp. 758, 816–817
5. ^ Greatrex & Lieu (2002), p. 113
6. ^ Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), p. 817
7. ^ Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), pp. 817, 980

Sources

• Greatrex, Geoffrey; Lieu, Samuel N. C. (2002), The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars (Part II, 363–630 AD), Routledge, ISBN 0-415-14687-9 
• Martindale, John R.; Jones, A.H.M.; Morris, John (1992), The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire - Volume III, AD 527–641, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521201608