Ulpius Marcellus

Ulpius Marcellus was a Roman consular governor of Britannia who returned there as general of the later 2nd century.

Ulpius Marcellus is recorded as governor of Roman Britain in an inscription of 176-80, and apparently returned to Rome after a tenure without serious incident. He was sent out again by the Emperor Commodus to suppress a serious revolt in 180, which earned him the reputation of a disciplinariian. 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.

Ulpius Marcellus (son)

Ulpius Marcellus (fl. 211-212) was formerly thought to be the latest-recorded governor of Britannia, before it was divided into separate provinces. He was supposed to be the son of Ulpius Marcellus, governor of Britannia during the reign of Commodus. Older sources, such as Roman Britain, by Peter Salway, still list him as a separate person, whilst later authorities now list Lucius Alfenus Senecio as the last known governor.

The theory that there was a second Ulpius Marcellus was based on two inscriptions at the fort at Chesters, which mention this name in connection with the second ala of Asturians. The arrival of the Asturians was previously thought to date to the early 3rd century Their arrival is now placed in the later 2nd century, and the inscription is therefore believed to refer to the earlier governor.

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