After his capture he was forced to become a monk; he escaped and raised an army but was defeated and recaptured by Flavius Appalius Illus Trocundes.
Marcianus had three brothers - Anthemiolus, who died in Gaul in 471, Procopius Anthemius and Romulus - and a sister, Alypia, wife of the Western magister militum Ricimer.
The Emperor almost fell into the hands of the rebels, who, during the day, overwhelmed the imperial troops, who were attacked also by the citizens from the roofs of their houses.
During the night, however, Illus brought an Isaurian unit quartered in nearby Chalcedonia into the city and corrupted Marcianus's soldiers, who allowed Zeno to flee.
On the following morning Marcianus, understanding that his situation was desperate and that the reinforcements of the Gothic general Theodoric Strabo would not arrive in time, took refuge in the church of the Holy Apostles, but was arrested with his brothers.