Marcellinus Comes

Marcellinus Comes ( † after 534 ) was a late antique East Roman historian.

Life

Marcellinus came as the emperor Justin I and Justinian I from Illyricum and thus from a region of the Eastern Roman Empire, in the not Greek, but Latin was the lingua franca. He served these two rulers after a military career, most recently as a high court official ( hence the title comes ) and wrote around 520 ( according to the view of some researchers only after 523 ) in Constantinople Opel a first version of his chronicle of the works of Eusebius and Jerome anknüpfte and the events of the years described in Latin 379 ( accession of Theodosius I ) to 518 ( the beginning of the reign of Justin ). The work is in full effect and is mainly for the history of the Eastern Empire an important and abundant source dar. addition to the political history is on the edge of the church history mentioned. In addition, the chronicle, which was clearly intended for an Eastern Roman audience, as are an example of that Latin is still played an important role in Ostrom under Justinian - Marcellinus may have counted for major Latin -speaking minority in Constantinople Opel.

It is worth noting, moreover, that can engage in his chronicle for the first time the view that the year 476, had been in the Romulus Augustulus, the last emperor, deposed in Italy, which have means the end of the Western Roman Empire:

" Orestem Odoacer illico trucidavit; Augustulum filium Orestis Odoacer in Lucullano Campaniae castello exsilii poena damnavit. Hesperian Romanae gentis imperium quod septingentesimo nono Urbis conditae anno primus Augustorum Octavianus Augustus tenere coepit, cum hoc Augustulo periit, anno regni decessorum imperatorum DXXII, Gothorum dehinc Regibus Romam tenentibus. "

" Odoacer Orestes slaughtered down immediately; the son of Orestes, Augustulus, he condemned and exiled him to the punishment of the estate Lucullanum in Campania. The western empire of the Roman people, the [ probably meant 44 BC ] in the 709th year since the founding of Rome Octavianus Augustus began to bring to the first, went with this Augustulus under - in 522 years each subsequent rulers -, where from then on the kings of the Goths Rome made ​​their own. "

This interpretation of events should prevail in the subsequent period and then remain recognized until the 20th century as a date, not only for the "end " of Western Rome, but generally for the " end of antiquity ." Only recent research has been able to break away from the supposed era year 476. In the earlier research has long been also assumed that this passage is based on a source that constitutes the western senatorial position about the lost Historia Romana of Quintus Aurelius Symmachus Memmius. This view can be regarded as disproved by the researches Brian Crokes. Probably, however, the view of Marcellinus reflects the official position of the Eastern Roman period around 520: There was no more empire in the West, he was now directly under the ruler in Constantinople Opel. Justinian should these claims then try with some (but only short-term ) success to enforce a little later.

That Marcellinus represented the quasi- official position of the imperial court, Nika revolt of 532 is also evident in his entry for; here he deviates radically from the reading of most sources and adjusts the operations as usurpation dar. Marcellinus wrote itself nor a continuation of the Chronicle to the year 534 ( The occasion was the conquest of the Vandal kingdom by Justinian in the said year); a stranger ( auct. Chron. II) led the report then continued until at least 548. Marcellinus, who apparently still wrote at least one more, lost work and last well clergyman was, so probably sometime have died 534-548.

Output

• Brian Croke: The chronicle of Marcellinus. Australian Association for Byzantine Studies, Sydney 1995, ISBN 0-9593626-6-5 ( Byzantina Australiensia, Volume 7 Latin text, English translation and commentary).