Ursicinus (Roman general)
Ursicinus was a senior military officer, holding the rank of "master of cavalry" (magister equitum) in the Roman Empire c. 349–359.[1]
In 351 or 352 he was entrusted with the suppression of the Jewish revolt against Caesar Constantius Gallus.[2] Tiberias and Diospolis, two of the cities conquered by the rebels, were almost completely destroyed, while Diocaesarea was razed to the ground.[3] Ursicinus also was ordered to kill several thousand rebels, even young ones.[4]
In 353, Ammianus Marcellinus was attached to the command of Ursicinus at his headquarters in Nisibis,[5] where he remained until recalled in 354 by Gallus to take part in an investigation of treason in Antioch.[6]
When, in 355, Claudius Silvanus revolted against Emperor Constantius II in Gaul, Ursicinus was sent to him with a letter of recall by Constantius. However, Ursicinus had Silvanus killed and took his place.
Ursicinus was dismissed after the destruction of Amida (modern Diyarbakır, Turkey) in 359,[7] for which he was officially blamed.[8]
The Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus revered Ursicinus, and his account is greatly biased in his favour.
Family [edit]
Apparently, Ursicinus was married at some point, as he had a son named Potentius. While serving as a tribune (regimental commander), he was killed at the Battle of Adrianople in 378.[9]
References [edit]
- ^ Wallace-Hadrill, A., Ammianus Marcellinus. The Later Roman Empire (AD 354-378), Harmondsworth, 1986, p. 486.
- ^ Thomas M. Banchich, "Gallus Caesar (15 March 351 - 354 A.D.)", De Imperatoribus Romanis, 1997.
- ^ Bernard Lazare and Robert Wistrich, Antisemitism: Its History and Causes, University of Nebraska Press, 1995, ISBN 0-8032-7954-X, p. 47.
- ^ Jerome, Chronica, 15-21; Theophanes, AM 5843.
- ^ Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, 14.9.1,2; Thompson, E.A., The Historical Work of Ammianus Marcellinus Groningen, 1969, p. 3.
- ^ Matthews, J., The Roman Empire of Ammianus, London, 1989, p. 34.
- ^ Trombley, F., "Ammianus Marcellinus and fourth-century warfare: a protector's approach to historical narrative", in J.W. Drijvers and D. Hunt, eds. The Late Roman World and its Historian, London, 1999 p. 20
- ^ Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae 20.2.2-5; Barnes, T. D., Ammianus Marcellinus and the Representation of Historical Reality, Ithaca and London, 1998, p. 63.
- ^ Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae 31.13.18
