Marcellinus (magister militum)

He appears to have remained ruler of Dalmatia down to 468 and to have preserved his independence except for briefly accepting the authority of the Emperors Majorian and Anthemius.

[7] When Majorian took the throne in December 457 Marcellinus pledged his allegiance to the new emperor and was soon sent to guard Sicily against the Vandals; perhaps at this time he held the title of magister militum.

Marcellinus was to take part in a joint attack of Vandal Africa, with him coming from Sicily and Majorian invading from Hispania, but before Majorian could begin his campaign the Vandals inflicted a severe defeat on the attack fleet and a year later in 461 the emperor was murdered by Ricimer, who soon after tried to bribe Marcellinus' troops who were mostly Huns, attempting to reduce the generals power.

[8] This forced Marcellinus to leave Sicily and return to Dalmatia where he would work closely with the Eastern Emperor Leo I.

Basiliscus, Leo's brother-in-law, with the main army in an armada of over 1,000 ships would land at a distance from Carthage and link up with the comes rei militis Heraclius advancing from Egypt and Tripolitania.

Regardless of the reason, Marcellinus, not able to participate in the campaign and Basiliscus blundering in the Battle of Cape Bon, assured that the operation would result in failure and the West lost its only chance to regain Africa from the Vandals and possibly stave off its demise.

As the comes rei militaris Dalmatiae Marcellinus had a substantial fleet at his disposal which was based at Salona, and which would become of great importance in his career.

[17] Due to the geography of Dalmatia which deterred approach from land (for the coastal cities), and his control of the Adriatic Sea, Marcellinus was quite unassailable which allowed him to become very active in major areas of the West.

There is controversy in the academic world though as to who is really the topic of the machinations of the Gallo-Romano Aristocracy after the death of Avitus who was of Gallic origin and from amongst their own ranks.

The assumption to place Marcellinus as the person being spoken of has only led others to assume then that he is Gallic in origin when there is absolutely no evidence to support this.

The approximate area of Dalmatia ruled by Marcellinus.
The territorial extent of both halves of the Roman Empire at the time of Marcellinus' rule in Dalmatia. Note that the territories in the West fluctuated in Roman control over Marcellinus' life, especially in Gaul and Hispania .
A historical reenactor depicting a junior officer of the Roman Army during the fourth century. Such equipment worn would be similar to that of soldiers during Marcellinus' time.