Macrinus AD 217-218. Rome
Denarius AR

20 mm, 2,71 g

IMP C M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG, laureate and draped bust right / SECVRITAS TEMPORVM, Securitas standing facing, head left, holding sceptre and leaning upon column to right.

Good Very Fine

RIC 92.

Macrinus, whose full name was Marcus Opellius Macrinus, was a Roman emperor who ruled from AD 217 to 218. He came from a humble background and rose through the ranks of the Roman military to become an important figure in the empire. Before becoming emperor, Macrinus served as a praetorian prefect under Emperor Caracalla. In AD 217, after the assassination of Caracalla, Macrinus was proclaimed emperor by the Roman army. His rise to power was supported by the influential general and jurist Ulpian. Macrinus' reign was short and marked by challenges. One of his major actions was to negotiate peace with the Parthian Empire, which involved paying a significant ransom for the return of the Roman prisoners captured during Caracalla's failed campaign against the Parthians. However, Macrinus' rule faced internal opposition. He was not popular with the Roman Senate and the upper echelons of Roman society due to his non-aristocratic background. Additionally, his policies, including attempts to cut military spending and reduce the soldiers' donative, made him unpopular with the Roman army. In AD 218, a rebellion erupted among the legions in Syria, who proclaimed the 14-year-old cousin of Caracalla, Elagabalus (Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus), as emperor. Macrinus faced defeat in battle against the rebel forces, and he was ultimately overthrown. He was captured, and his supporters were executed. Macrinus' reign as emperor lasted only about one year, and he is often considered one of the "barracks emperors" during the tumultuous period known as the Crisis of the Third Century.