Warning – This article contains spoilers for Gladiator II
After assessing the truth and falsehood of Gladiator II regarding the emperors Geta and Caracalla, played on screen by Joseph Quine and Fred Hechinger, Jerome France, professor emeritus of Roman history at the University of Bordeaux Montaigne, returns to our microphone. Macrinus is played by Denzel Washington.
In Ridley Scott’s film, the American actor, winner of the best actor Oscar for Training Day in 2002, plays an ambitious, manipulative and deceitful man who is ready to do anything to gain power.
In Gladiator II, he is responsible for recruiting gladiators and presenting them to the emperors to provide the grandest spectacle in the Colosseum arena. Recruiting Lucius (Paul Mescal), Macrinus will hit hard…
Denzel Washington as Macrin: The Fake Showdown
During the casting of Denzel Washington, Criticism has arisen regarding the origins of Macrinus. Jerome France explains that, like many leaders of the Roman Empire, Macrinus was not of Italian descent.
Macrinus was born in Caesarea, Mauretania, which corresponds to Churchill today. Mauritania included two provinces that roughly correspond to present-day Morocco and Algeria. It is thought that he may have had a Moorish, or African, origin. However, there were also Roman families.
Septimius Severus himself was of African origin, but from the other part of Africa, which corresponds to present-day Tunisia and part of Libya, the region formerly called Africa, an ancient Roman province since the wars against Carthage.
Macrinus, on the other hand, was from a more western part of Africa, more recently integrated into the empire, and perhaps a little less Romanized.
Did Macrinus really kill Caracalla?
In the feature film, not content with manipulating Caracalla into killing his brother Geta, Macrinus kills the emperor, who now reigns alone. Actually, Caracalla was also killed by Macrinus, but not by his hand as in the movie.
Jerome France tells us: “Caracalla was killed in a coup d’état, which was allegedly organized by Macrinus. He held a very important position: Prefect of the Praetorium.
The prefect of the Praetorium was also the commander of the Imperial Guard, so he had an elite army and a senior administrative official. He was a key figure in whom the emperor had to have absolute confidence.
Why this plot? Perhaps because Macrinus believed that Caracalla had weaknesses that prevented him from ruling effectively, or because he did not defend his rule.
It is also possible that his actions were motivated by personal ambitions. Thus Caracalla was killed, but not directly by Macrinus. That said, assassination was a fairly common method of succession in the Roman Empire.“
Was Macrinus the emperor?
If a character in a movie Denzel Washington orchestrates his coup d’état to take the throne, but fails thanks to Lucius, was actually Macrinus the emperor?
Under his full name Marcus Opelius Severus Macrinus Augustus, Macrinus declared himself emperor in Antioch (Turkey) on April 11, 217, two days after the assassination of Caracalla.
Jérôme France emphasizes: The power of the Praetorian prefect had a limit: he was not a senator. He belonged to what is called the Equestrian Order, an honor of the second order in the state. In principle, the emperor had to come from the senate. , after the assassination of Caracalla, Macrinius became the first knight to receive the title of emperor.
Macrinus therefore sent a letter from Antioch to the senate to inform them of his accession, and to pledge himself to respect the dignity of a senator. Macrinus never ruled from Rome. He ruled the Roman Empire for about 15 months before his assassination on June 8, 218.
Who takes the place of Macrinus?
The eminent historian adds:Macrinus reigned for a little over a year before he was assassinated in turn. At this time the Severan dynasty returned to power under the emperor Elagabalus, who belonged to the Severan family and thus to the Caracalla family..
Interestingly, when Elagabalius came to power, women played a central role in this imperial household. Elagabalus relies on the memory of Caracalla among public opinion, which shows that the latter did not leave such a negative image as one might imagine.
Elagabalus, also called Heliogabalus and nicknamed the emperor of caprices, reigned for 4 years before he was killed by the people…
Contrary to what appears at the end of Gladiator II, no emperor named Lucius succeeded Macrinus or Caracalla.
Gladiator II Must see in cinema.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
