Marcus Nonius Macrinus

Marcus Nonius Macrinus was a Roman senator and general during the reigns of the Emperors Antoninus Pius, Lucius Verus, and Marcus Aurelius. Macrinus was suffect consul in the nundinium of April-June 154 as the colleague of [Prifernius ?] Paetus.

According to the inscriptions on his tomb, he was originally from Brescia. During his lifetime, he was also an advisor to Marcus Aurelius.[1] Other offices Nonius Macrinus held included legate of Pannonia Inferior (c. 152-c. 154),[2] Pannonia Superior (c. 159-c. 162) and proconsul of the Roman province of Asia (170/171).[3]

In October 2008 his tomb was discovered by archaeologists on the banks of the river Tiber, near the Via Flaminia north of Rome.[4] [5] Four years after its discovery, in December 2012, the tomb is being reburied due to lack of funds for reconstruction. It is hoped that this is a temporary measure, to preserve the fragile marble.[6]

Macrinus' life was one of the inspirations for Russell Crowe's character Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 feature film Gladiator.[7] However, while both Marcus Nonius Macrinus and the fictitious Maximus Decimus Meridius are placed in the same time period and share similarities such as being liked and well known to Marcus Aurelius, Marcus Nonius Macrinus went on to enjoy a successful career and died a wealthy man. In the movie, Maximus Decimus Meridius is portrayed as having a much different later life, losing his family and being sold into slavery.

References

  1. "'Gladiator' tomb is found in Rome". BBC News. 2008-10-17. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  2. Werner Eck, "Die Fasti consulares der Regungszeit des Antoninus Pius, eine Bestandsaufnahme seit Géza Alföldys Konsulat und Senatorenstand" in Studia epigraphica in memoriam Géza Alföldy, hg. W. Eck, B. Feher, and P. Kovács (Bonn, 2013), p. 77
  3. Géza Alföldy, Konsulat und Senatorenstand unter der Antoninen (Bonn: Rudolf Habelt Verlag, 1977), p. 236
  4. "Tomb of Real 'Gladiator' Found in Rome". Fox News. 2008-10-17. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  5. "Tomb of 'Gladiator' Roman general unearthed". CBC News. 2008-10-19. Retrieved 2008-10-19.
  6. "Tomb of Roman general who inspired Gladiator reburied". PreHist.org - Preserving History. 2012-12-06. Archived from the original on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
  7. Owen, Richard (2008-10-17). "Tomb of the real 'Gladiator' discovered in Italy". The Times. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
Political offices
Preceded by
Lucius Verus,
and Titus Sextius Lateranus

as consules ordinarii
Suffect consul of the Roman Empire
154
with Prifernius Paetus
Succeeded by
Marcus Valerius Etruscus,
and Lucius Aemilius Juncus

as consules suffecti
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