Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 2.djvu/955

Rh MARCIANUS. on the express condition that they were presents, but no tribute. Attila having declined to admit the ambassador into his presence, though not to accept the presents, Apollonius firmly refused to give up the latter previous to having obtained an audience ; and being at last admitted, behaved so nobly and fearlessly, that the king swore he would take bloody revenge. He thought it, however, more prudent to turn his wrath against Valen- tinian, who had likewise affronted him, by refusing to give up his sister Honoria, whom Attila claimed as his betrothed wife. Without disclosing his intention as to the countries he had chosen for an invasion, Attila sent messengers at once to Rome and Constantinople, who addressed each of the em- perors with the haughty and insulting words: " Attila, my lord and thy lord, commands thee to provide a palace for his immediate reception." Upon this he set out for the invasion of Gaul, A. D. 451. In the same year Marcian assembled the council of Chalcedon, where the doctrines of the Eutychians were condemned. In the following year, 452, the celebrated Ardabarius, then dux Orientis, defeated tlie Arabs near Damascus, and made them sue for peace ; and Maximin met with similar success against the Blemmyes, Avho had invaded the Thebais in Upper Egypt, A strong army was also sent towards the frontiers of the Western empire to assist Valentinian against Attila, who was then invading Italy, and to secure the Eastern empire against any unexpected diversion of the barbarians. In short Marcian neglected nothing to prepare peace and happiness for his subjects, who had so cruelly suffered under his predecessors. The death of Attila, in 453, relieved him not only from great and just anxietj^ but the subsequent, and almost immediate dissolution of the empire of the Huns, afforded him an opportunity of re- populating those provinces which had been laid waste by the Huns in their previous campaigns against Theodosius. Thus the Eastern Goths re- ceived extensive lands in Pannonia ; Sarmatian? (Slavonians) and Herules, in Illyricum ; and Scyri, Alans and Huns, under Attila's youngest son Ilernac, in Scythia and Lower Moesia. The death of the excellent empress Pulcheria, in 454, caused a general affliction ; but the popularity of Marcian only gained by it. In the following year, 455, Valentinian was murdered ; Maximin usurped the crown ; Italy and Gaul were covered with ruins and blood ; and the Vandal Genseric pillaged Ilorne. In the midst of these terrible commotions, Marcian secured the peace of his own dominions with his wonted wisdom and finnness ; and some disturbances having broken out in Lazica, in 456, which were kindled by the Armenians and Per- sians, he sent able officers against the latter, who soon compelled the enemy to desist from farther hostilities. But in the beginning of 457 Marcian fell ill, and after five months' suffering, died on the 26th of Jime following. His death would have been the signal of great calamities but for the power of Aspar, who caused Leo the Great to be chosen emperor. Marcian had, of course, no issue from Pulcheria. He had, however, a daughter, the offspring of a former marriage, who was called Euphemia, and was married to Anthemius, who became afterwards emperor of the West. Marcian was decidedly an excellent man, who deserves our admiration for the manner in which he governed MARCIANUS. 941 his wide dominions, and procured for them domestic and external peace during the terrible expeditions of the Huns and the Vandals. His laudable efforts to put down the venality and corruption of the public functionaries and advocates were crowned with success ; and the Codex Theodosianus con- tains many of his constitutions, from which we may draw a favourable conclusion as to his honesty and wisdom. His orthodoxy caused him to be praised in an exaggerated degree by the orthodox writers. (Evagr. ii. 12; Theophan. p. 89, &c. ; Theodor. Lect. i. 28 ; Nicephor. Call. xv. 1 — 4 ; Priscus, pp. 41, 43, 48, 72, &c. ; Zonar. vol. i. p. 45, &c. ; Cedren. p. 343, &c. ; Procop. Vand. 1,4; Malela, pp. 26, 27 ; Codin. pp. 35, 60, 61 ; Glycas, p. 262 ; Joel, p. 171.) [W. P.] COIN OF THE EMPEROR MARCIANUS. MARCIA'NUS, of Heracleia in Pontus, a Greek geographer, lived after Ptolemy, whom he frequently quotes, and before Stephanus of Byzan- tium, who refers to him, but his exact date is uncertain. If he is the same Marcianus as the one mentioned by Synesius {Ep. 103) and Socrates (H. E. iv. 9 ), he must have lived at the beginning of the fifth century of the Christian era. He wrote a work in prose, entitled, UepinXovs rrjs e^w ^aAaaaris ec^ov T6 Kal ecnrepiov Kal rwu 4u avrfj fieyiarcav vij- (Tcov, "A Periplus of the External Sea, both eastern and western, and of the largest islands in it." The External Sea he used in opposition to the Medi- terranean, which he says had been sufficiently described by Artemiodorus. This work was in two books ; of which the former, on the eastern and southern seas, has come down to us entire, but of the latter, which treated of the western and northern seas, we possess only the three last chap- ters on Africa, and a mutilated one on the distance from Rome to the principal cities in the world. In this work he chiefly follows Ptolemy, and in the calculation of the stadia he adopts the reckoning of Protagoras. He also made an epitome of the eleven books of the Periplous of Artemiodorus of Ephesua [Artemiodorus, No. 6], but of this epitome we have only the introduction, and the periplus of Pontus, Bithynia, and Paphlagonia. It was not, however, simply an abridgment of Artemiodorus ; for Marcianus tells us that he made use of the works of other distinguished geographers, who had written descriptions of coasts, among whom he mentions Timosthenes of Rhodes, Eratosthenes, Pytheas of Massilia, Isidorus of Charax, Sosander the pilot, Siinmias, Apellas of Cyrene, Euthymenes of Massilia, Phileas of Athens, Androsthenes of Thasus, Cleon of Sicily, Eudoxus of Rhodes, Hanno of Carthage, Scylax of Carj-anda and Botthaeus ; but he says that he followed more particularly Artemiodorus, Strabo, and Menippus of Pergamus. Marcianus also published an edition of Menippus with additions and corrections. [Me- nippus.] The extant works of Marcianus were first pub- lished by D. Hoeschelius in his " Geographicsa,"