Sextus Martinianus
Encyclopedia
Sextus Marcius Martinianus (usually rendered in English as Martinian; died 325) was Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...

 from July to September 18, 324. He had been appointed co-emperor by Licinius
Licinius
Licinius I , was Roman Emperor from 308 to 324. Co-author of the Edict of Milan that granted official toleration to Christians in the Roman Empire, for the majority of his reign he was the rival of Constantine I...

.

Elevation

In 324, as the second civil war between Licinius and Constantine I
Constantine I
Constantine the Great , also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all...

 was at its height, the situation for Licinius was not promising. Following his defeat at the Battle of Adrianople
Battle of Adrianople (324)
The Battle of Adrianople was fought on July 3, 324 during a Roman civil war, the second to be waged between the two emperors Constantine I and Licinius; Licinius suffered a heavy defeat.-Background:...

, he decided to replace Constantine (in name only) as western Augustus. As his replacement he named Martinian co-emperor, as he had previously appointed Valens
Valerius Valens
Aurelius Valerius Valens was Roman Emperor from late 316 to March 1, 317. Valens had previously been dux limitis in Dacia, but this is all we know of him....

 during his earlier war with Constantine. Prior to his elevation, which took place some time after the Battle of Adrianople
Battle of Adrianople (324)
The Battle of Adrianople was fought on July 3, 324 during a Roman civil war, the second to be waged between the two emperors Constantine I and Licinius; Licinius suffered a heavy defeat.-Background:...

 (July 3, 324), Martinian was serving as magister officiorum
Magister officiorum
The magister officiorum was one of the most senior administrative officials in the late Roman Empire and the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire...

at Licinius' court.

Military activities

In the wake of Licinius's defeat at Adrianople Licinius sent Martinian, with an army including Visigothic auxiliaries, to Lampsacus
Lampsacus
Lampsacus was an ancient Greek city strategically located on the eastern side of the Hellespont in the northern Troad. An inhabitant of Lampsacus was called a Lampsacene. The name has been transmitted in the nearby modern town of Lapseki.-Ancient history:...

 (on the Asiatic shore of the Hellespont or Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...

) to prevent Constantine from crossing from Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...

 into Mysia
Mysia
Mysia was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor or Anatolia . It was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on the east, Phrygia on the southeast, Lydia on the south, Aeolis on the southwest, Troad on the west and by the Propontis on the north...

 and Bithynia
Bithynia
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...

 in Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...

. A naval battle in the Hellespont
Battle of the Hellespont
The Battle of the Hellespont, consisting of two separate naval clashes, was fought in 324 between a Constantinian fleet, led by the eldest son of Constantine I, Crispus; and a larger fleet under Licinius' admiral, Abantus...

 resulted in the destruction of Licinius' navy by Constantine's eldest son Crispus
Crispus
Flavius Julius Crispus , also known as Flavius Claudius Crispus and Flavius Valerius Crispus, was a Caesar of the Roman Empire. He was the first-born son of Constantine I and Minervina.-Birth:...

. Following this defeat Licinius withdrew his forces from Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...

, which was being besieged by Constantine, to Chalcedon
Chalcedon
Chalcedon , sometimes transliterated as Chalkedon) was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari . It is now a district of the city of Istanbul named Kadıköy...

 on the Asiatic shore of the Bosphoros. Constantine then crossed over to Asia Minor, using a flotilla of light transports in order to evade the forces of Martinian. Licinius recalled Martinian from Lampsacus to reinforce his main army. On September 18 Licinius was defeated for the last time at the Battle of Chrysopolis
Battle of Chrysopolis
The Battle of Chrysopolis was fought on 18 September 324 at Chrysopolis , near Chalcedon , between the two Roman emperors Constantine I and Licinius. The battle was the final encounter between the two emperors. After his navy's defeat in the Battle of the Hellespont, Licinius withdrew his forces...

.

Fate

Due to the intervention of Flavia Julia Constantia
Flavia Julia Constantia
Flavia Julia Constantia was the daughter of the Roman Emperor Constantius Chlorus and his second wife, Flavia Maximiana Theodora....

, Constantine's sister and also Licinius' wife, both Licinius and Martinian were initially spared, Licinius being imprisoned in Thessalonica, Martinian in Cappadocia
Cappadocia (Roman province)
Cappadocia was a province of the Roman empire in Anatolia , with its capital at Caesarea. It was established in 17 AD by the emperor Tiberius , following the death of Cappadocia's last king, Archelaus. It was an imperial province, meaning that its governor was directly appointed by the emperor...

; however, Constantine seems to have soon regretted his leniency as Martinian was subsequently executed, probably in the spring of 325, in Cappadocia.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK