Next, the legion was again sent to Parthia and their commander Macrinus was responsible for Caracalla's murder in that region in 217.

Macrinus sent a cavalry force led by Ulpinus Julianus, but the cavalry killed Ulpinus and joined Elagabalus.

Letters of reconciliation were dispatched to Rome extending amnesty to the Senate and recognizing the laws, while also condemning the administration of Macrinus and his son.

Caracalla and Julia Domna were both deified by the Senate, both Julia Maesa and Julia Soaemias were elevated to the rank of Augustae, and the memory of both Macrinus and Diadumenianus was condemned by the Senate.

In 217, Macrinus appointed Marcus Oclatinus Adventus, the former head of the frumentarii and the prefect of the Praetorian Guard, to the Senate.

When the emperor Macrinus came to power, he suppressed the threat against his reign by the family of his assassinated predecessor, Caracalla, by exiling them — Julia Maesa, her two daughters, and her eldest grandson Elagabalus — to their estate at Emesa in Syria.

Almost upon arrival in Syria she began a plot, with her advisor and Elagabalus ' tutor Gannys, to overthrow Macrinus and elevate the fourteen-year-old Elagabalus to the imperial throne.

* 218 – Battle of Antioch: Elagabalus defeats with support of the Syrian legions the forces of emperor Macrinus.

* 218 – Julia Maesa, aunt of the assassinated Caracalla, is banished to her home in Syria by the self-proclaimed emperor Macrinus and declares her 14-year old grandson Elagabalus, emperor of Rome.

After months of mild rebellion by the bulk of the army in Syria, Macrinus took his loyal troops to meet the army of Elagabalus near Antioch.

* May 16 – Julia Maesa, an aunt of the assassinated Caracalla, is banished to her home in Syria by the self-proclaimed emperor Macrinus and declares her grandson Elagabalus, age 14, emperor of Rome.

* June 8 – Battle of Antioch: Elagabalus defeats with support of the Syrian legions the forces of Macrinus.

Mauretania gave to the empire one emperor, the equestrian Macrinus, who seized power after the assassination of Caracalla in 217 but was himself defeated and executed by Elagabalus the next year.

* 218 – Macrinus deposed and executed, Elagabalus is installed on the throne

On June 8, 218 near Antioch, Gannys, Elagabalus ' tutor, defeated Macrinus and his son, with the help of the III Gallica and the other legions of the East.

In the following year, however, the II Parthica, stationed in Apamea ( Syria ), abandoned Macrinus and sided with Elagabalus ; the Second supported Elagabalus ' rise to purple, defeating Macrinus in the Battle of Antioch.

Once back in Syria and possessed of ample funds, Maesa engaged in a plot to overthrow Macrinus and place one of her grandsons, Elagabalus son of Julia Soaemias, in his place.

The two Julias were successful, mainly because Macrinus was of an obscure origin without the proper political connections, and Elagabalus became emperor.

In 218 Macrinus was killed and Bassianus became emperor with the name of Elagabalus.

The biography of Macrinus is notoriously unreliable, and after a partial reversion to reliability in the Elagabalus, the life of Alexander Severus, one of the longest biographies in the entire work, develops into a kind of exemplary and rhetorical fable on the theme of the wise philosopher king.

* In the Battle of Antioch ( 218 ), Elagabalus defeated Macrinus and become Roman emperor.

# The Death of Severus – Tyranny of Caracalla – Usurpation of Macrinus – Follies of Elagabalus – Virtues of Alexander Severus – Licentiousness of the Army – General State of the Roman Finances – Tax & Tribute

The Battle of Antioch ( June 8, 218 ) took place between two Roman armies of the Roman Emperor Macrinus and his contender Elagabalus, whose troops were commanded by general Gannys.

Elagabalus became emperor while Macrinus fled, having shaved off his beard and hair to disguise himself as a member of the military police.

Scriptores Historiae Augustae, Julius Capitolinus, Opellius Macrinus ix ; Aelius Lampridius, Antoninus Heliogabalus i-ii, iv, xvii-xviii.

In 217, the emperor Caracalla was assassinated and replaced by his Praetorian prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.

Macrinus was defeated on 8 June 218, at the Battle of Antioch.

Macrinus fled toward Italy, disguised as a courier, but was later intercepted near Chalcedon and executed in Cappadocia.

The book is dedicated to a Macrinus, who may have been the emperor who reigned 217-218, but that name was not uncommon, and it seems more likely he was simply a young man with a thirst for universal knowledge, which the book was compiled to satisfy.

Opelius Macrinus was born in 164 at Caesarea.

Three days later, Macrinus was declared Augustus.

Macrinus managed to escape ito Chalcedon but his authority was lost: he was betrayed and executed after a short reign of just 14 months.

M. Opelius Diadumenianus was the son of Macrinus, born in 208.

This revolt spread to the entire Syrian army ( which, at the time, was swollen with troops raised by the Emperor Caracalla, and not fully loyal to Macrinus ), and eventually they were to win the short struggle that followed by defeating Macrinus at a battle just outside Antioch.

At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Macrinus and Celsus ( or, less frequently, year 917 Ab urbe condita ).

Caracalla was succeeded by his Praetorian Guard Prefect, Macrinus, who ( according to Herodian ) was most probably responsible for having the emperor assassinated.

Centuries later, the emperor Caracalla was murdered here at the instigation of Macrinus ( 217 ).

According to sources, the downfall of Plautianus was largely due to suspicion of Severus ' son Caracalla, who was himself later murdered and replaced by his Praetorian prefect Marcus Opellius Macrinus.

* Marcius Agrippa, a slave of the 3rd century who was eventually elevated to senatorial rank by Macrinus

This initially unexpected and humiliating defeat for Rome was followed by numerous campaigns over the next two centuries entailing many notable engagements such as: the Battle of Cilician Gates, Mount Gindarus, Mark Antony's Parthian Campaign and finally culminating in the bloody Battle of Nisibis in 217 AD, which resulted in a slight Parthian victory and Emperor Macrinus being forced to concede peace with Parthia.

In 218, during Macrinus reign, Julia Maesa went to Raphana, Syria, where the legion was based under the command of P. Valerius Comazon Eutychianus.