Marcian

• Marcian (450-457 CE) was a Roman Emperor in the East.
• He convened the Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE, after which the Eastern Christian Church split from the Western Church.

1. BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS

• NAME:
  • Marcianus
  • Theodosian Dynasty
• MARCIAN’S DATES OF REIGN AS EMPEROR:
  • 25 August 450-27 January 457 CE.
  • Co-Emperor with Valentinian III (450-455 CE)
  • Co-Emperor with Petronius Maximus (455 CE)
  • Co-Emperor with Avitus (455-456 CE)
• MARCIAN’S DATE OF BIRTH AND DEATH:
  • Born in c.392 CE. Died 27 January 457. Aged 65.
• PLACE OF BIRTH AND DEATH:
  • Born in Thracia, possibly. Died in Constantinople.
• MARCIAN’S PREDECESSOR:
  • Theodosius II
• MARCIAN’S SUCCESSOR:
  • Leo I
• HEIR TO THE THRONE BECAUSE:
  • The Commander of the East, Aspar, proclaimed him Emperor.
• WIVES AND CHILDREN:
  • Pulcheria (45-453 CE)
    • Marcia Euphemia
• DIED PEACEFULLY OR ASSASSINATED:
  • Died of a foot inflammation after attending a long Procession.
• WHERE BURIED:
  • Church of the Holy Apostles, Istanbul.
• MARCIAN WAS FAMOUS BECAUSE:
  • He convened the Council of Chalcedon (451 CE) after which the Eastern Church split from the Western Church.
  • He ended the payments of gold Tribute to the Huns.
  • He did not insist on retribution against the Vandals after the Second Sack of Rome in 455 CE.
• EVENTS:
  • Council of Chalcedon (451 CE)
  • Second Sack of Rome (455 CE)
• MONUMENTS:

2. BRIEF SYNOPSIS

Rise to Power

• Marcian was proclaimed Emperor by the Commander of the Eastern Armies, Aspar.
• Marcian agreed to marry Pulcheria, the sister of Theodosius II, bringing him into the Theodosian Dynasty.

The Huns

• He stopped the payment of Tribute to the Huns, crossed the Danube and attacked and defeated them instead.
• Attila the Hun was forced to stop his invasion of the Western Empire and withdraw. When he died in 453 CE, Marcian invited the Huns to settle inside the Roman Empire in exchange for providing soldiers to the Roman Army.

Council of Chalcedon (451 CE)

• Marcian held the Council of Chalcedon (451 CE).
• The Council repudiated Nestorianism and Monophysitism and confirmed the Pentarchy of five Archbishops in the Roman Empire.
• The Eastern Church split from the Western Church after this Council.

The Economy

• Marcian ended the payments of Gold Tribute to the Huns and after an initial invasion of Hunnic territory, avoided further Wars. He avoided any large scale wars with the Sassanian Empire.
• He reformed the Bureaucracy and cut expenditures. By the end of his reign his Treasury held 100,000 lbs (45,000kgs) of gold.

Second Sack of Rome (455 CE)

• Marcian avoided retribution against the Vandals for their Second Sack of Rome in 455 CE.
• However, he did insist on the return of the Empress and her daughters by making a threat of war.
• Marcian ceased to recognise any further Emperors of the West.

3. BIBLIOGRAPHY

• CLASSICAL SOURCES:
  • Chronicon Paschale (7th century CE)