Marius
Augustus  AD 269

Marcus Aurelius Marius.

Not much is known about Marius, a quite short-lived emperor acclaimed by the troops in the camps at Mainz in 269. He must have been of common origins and equally low military rank. He had the luck to emerge as the ring-leader of a mutiny in the camps following the orders of Laelianus, another fleeting favorite of the troops, to refrain from looting. The soldiers did not like it, fell on Laelanius, and proclaimed Marius emperor. It is unclear for how long Marius survived in that capacity, but there is a relatively large amount of coins minted in his name, which belies the claim of a later historian, Aurelius Victor, that Marius was murdered by his former comrades the day after his elevation to the throne. He must have been alive at least until the summer or even autumn of 269, when he picked up a quarrel with a man of his following over a private issue and his enraged opponent strangled him.

Mints: Colonia Agrippinensis.

List all Marius coins in the Catalog.

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