Ulpius Marcellus was a Roman consular governor of Britannia who returned there as general of the later 2nd century.[1]
Ulpius Marcellus is recorded as governor of Roman Britain in an inscription of 176–80,[2] and apparently returned to Rome after a tenure without serious incident. He was sent out again by the Emperor Commodus[3] to suppress a serious revolt in 180, which earned him the reputation of a disciplinarian. Dio Cassius records that tribes from the north breached Hadrian's Wall which separated them from the empire and killed a general (possibly Marcellus' predecessor, Caerellius Priscus) with all his guards, presumably during an inspection of Hadrian's Wall. Little else is known of the revolt except that Dio called it the most serious war of Commodus' reign and reported that it was not quelled until about 184, when commemorative coins were issued and Commodus assumed the title of Britannicus. Further coins were issued in 185 however, and a hoard of silver coins with final issues from 186/7 suggest that unrest and fighting continued into later years.
Marcellus undertook punitive raids north of the border and may have attempted to reoccupy the Antonine Wall. However, he ultimately withdrew to Hadrian's Wall and probably concluded treaties with the relevant tribes. The forts north of the wall such as Newstead were abandoned. Two inscriptions at the fort at Cilurnum mention him in connection with the Ala II Asturum.
He was hampered by a lack of control over his troops. Marcellus was a martinet and the troops in Britain under Commodus were highly mutinous, going so far as to later put forward a pretender to the imperial throne. He was thought to have had a son, also called Ulpius Marcellus, serving as governor around thirty years later, although this is based on a misdated inscription and the existence of a second Marcellus is now discounted.
^M. Brassington, "Ulpius Marcellus" Britannia, 11 (1980), pp. 314–315
^The inscription mentions two emperors but cannot be placed in the earlier period of co-emperors, 161–69, according to Brassington 1980.
^An inscription records the construction of an aqueduct under his direction.
UlpiusMarcellus was a Roman consular governor of Britannia who returned there as general of the later 2nd century. UlpiusMarcellus is recorded as governor...
Caledonians breached the Hadrian Wall. Lucius UlpiusMarcellus (c. 180 – c. 184) the second tenure of Marcellus after the murder of the previous governor...
inscription from Pompeii. Marcus Ulpius Leurus, a native of Hypata, was consul suffectus during the later second century. Marcus Ulpius Primianus, prefect of Egypt...
committed suicide. UlpiusMarcellus was replaced as governor of Britain by Pertinax. Brought to Rome and tried for treason, Marcellus narrowly escaped death...
grammarian UlpiusMarcellus - Jurist, lawyer, and possibly an advisor to the emperors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius UlpiusMarcellus - Consul and...
Julianus Succeeded by T. Vitrasius Pollio M. Flavius Aper II Preceded by UlpiusMarcellus Governor of Britain c. 185 – 187 Succeeded by Unknown, then Clodius...
Haterius Saturninus c. 161-164 Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus c. 167 Lucius UlpiusMarcellus before 173 Gaius Vettius Sabinianus Julius Hospes c. 173-175 Sextus...
Lucius Fulvius Aburnius Valens, an author of legal treatises; Lucius UlpiusMarcellus, a prolific writer; and three others. Of these three, the most prominent...
several years, eventually signing peace treaties with the governor UlpiusMarcellus. This suggests that they were capable of making formal agreements in...
the various frontier tribes in the 180s AD under the governorship of UlpiusMarcellus. Virius Lupus is recorded as being obliged to buy peace from the Maeatae...
Cassius Dio described as the most serious war of the reign of Commodus. UlpiusMarcellus was sent as replacement governor and by 184 he had won a new peace...
Galley, p. 83 Age of the Galley, p. 84 Eck, Andreas Pangerl "Ein M. UlpiusMarcellus als praefectus classis Ravennatis in einem Diplom des Jahres 119 n...
disaster, the Praetorian prefect Tigidius Perennis immediately sent UlpiusMarcellus to replace him, who proceeded to ruthlessly crush the rebellion. If...
single entity. This means that consular governors like Geta Caesar and UlpiusMarcellus would have been the last two governors before the division. After that...
between 188 and 190 suff. c. 173 (L.?) (Ulpius?) Marcellus 189/190 suff. c. 174 perhaps the same as UlpiusMarcellus (Leunissen, pp. 221f) Sulpicius Crassus...
The emperor Commodus (r. 180–92) rushes reinforcements under Lucius UlpiusMarcellus to repel the invasion. In 184, Commodus assumes the title Britannicus...
166 Mennen, p. 131 Leunissen, p. 169 Leunissen, pp. 169f Father of M. Ulpius Eubiotus Leurus, suffect c. 230 (Leunissen, p. 172) Leunissen, p. 190 Leunissen...
Wall and ravage the countryside. Governor UlpiusMarcellus launches punitive campaigns to the north. 185 Marcellus forced to retreat to Hadrian's Wall. Roman...
had been invaded by barbarians who killed a Roman legatus. Although UlpiusMarcellus is given credit for suppressing this invasion and bringing order to...
an inscription from Rome. Tineius Longus, a cavalry prefect under UlpiusMarcellus, governor of Britain during the reign of Commodus. An inscription from...
soldiers loyal to Macrinus, but they were unsuccessful. Praetorian prefect Ulpius Julianus responded by attacking the Third Legion, most likely on Macrinus's...
The emperor Commodus (r. 180-92) rushes reinforcements under Lucius UlpiusMarcellus to repel the invasion. In 184, Commodus assumes the title Britannicus...
mother such as Ulpia Marciana who was the daughter of Marcia and Marcus Ulpius Traianus. There were also rare cases of combining two suffixes, such as...
mother of the empress Vibia Sabina. Salonia Palestrice, the wife of Marcus Ulpius Hermia, a freedman of Trajan, who was buried at Ampelum in Dacia, aged fifty-five...
command of Ulpius Julianus to try to regain control of the rebel soldiers. Rather than capturing the rebel forces, the cavalry instead killed Ulpius and defected...
Roman praenomen, such as Marcus, or diminutives of the name (Marcio, Marcellus). Salvius, for example, was a very common name for slaves that was also...
Tossianus Lucius Javolenus Priscus 89–92 Sextus Lusianus Proculus 93–96 Marcus Ulpius Traianus 96–97; better known as Trajan Lucius Julius Ursus Servianus 97/98...
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