Marcus Aurelius Marius[1] was emperor of the Gallic Empire in 269 following the assassination of Postumus.
Reign
According to later tradition, he was a blacksmith by trade, which earned him the nickname Mamurius Veturius, a legendary metalworker in the time of Numa.[2] He rose through the ranks of the Roman army to become an officer.[3] He was part of the army that revolted at Moguntiacum (Mainz) after the Emperor Postumus refused to allow them to sack the city.[4] They murdered the emperor and in the confusion that followed, the army elected Marius as Postumus' successor.[5]
His first decision was to allow his troops to sack the city of Moguntiacum.[6] He then moved to Augusta Treverorum (Trier) to consolidate his power base.[7] His reign lasted no more than two or three months before Postumus' praetorian prefectVictorinus had Marius killed in mid-269, most likely at Augusta Treverorum.[8]
According to ancient written sources, Marius' reign lasted only two or three days before he was killed by a sword of his own manufacture.[9] This tradition is probably partly or wholly inaccurate. Based on the number of coins he issued, a more accurate length for his reign would be at least two or three months.[10]
^Historia Augusta, Tyranni Triginta, 8:1; Thomas Habinek, The World of Roman Song: From Ritualized Speech to Social Order (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005), p. 25.