Italy: Icon of Macrinus (165-218), joint 24th Roman emperor, from the book Icones imperatorvm romanorvm (Icons of Roman Emperors), Antwerp, c. 1645

Macrinus (165-218) was a skilled lawyer serving under Emperor Septimius Severus, before Severus' son and successor Caracalla appointed him to prefect of the Praetorian Guard. He enjoyed the trust and protection of Caracalla, until a prophecy claimed that Macrinus would depose and succeed the emperor. Fearing for his life, Macrinus plotted to have Caracalla murdered before he himself was condemned to death.

Manipulating a soldier into murdering Caracalla, Macrinus became emperor in 217, the first Roman emperor not to have hailed from the senatorial class, as well as being the first Mauretanian emperor. He ruled jointly with his young son Diadumenianus, and his first acts as emperor were to try and bring diplomatic and economic stability to an empire that had been dragged into war with several kingdoms by his predecessors. At a heavy cost to the Empire's coffers, Macrinus peacefully resolved many of the wars Rome was embroiled in, but the changes and monetary costs made him enemies in the Roman military.

Julia Maesa, sister in law to Septimius Severus and aunt to Caracalla, took advantage of the unrest to start a rebellion and had her fourteen-year-old grandson Elagabalus recognised as emperor. Macrinus was defeated and executed in 218, with his son also captured and executed later in the year. He and his son were declared enemies of Rome by the Senate, their names struck from the records and their images destroyed.

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