Upon this he resolved to
anticipate the emperor in the work of murder. The head-quarters were then
at Edessa; and upon his instigation, a disappointed centurion, named
Martialis, animated also by revenge for the death of his brother,
undertook to assassinate Caracalla. An opportunity soon offered, on a
visit which the prince made to the celebrated temple of the moon at
Carrhae. The attempt was successful: the emperor perished; but Martialis
paid the penalty of his crime in the same hour, being shot by a Scythian
archer of the body-guard.
Macrinus, after three days' interregnum, being elected emperor, began his
reign by purchasing a peace from the Parthians. What the empire chiefly
needed at this moment, is evident from the next step taken by this
emperor. He labored to restore the ancient discipline of the armies in all
its rigor. He was aware of the risk he ran in this attempt; and that he
_was_ so, is the best evidence of the strong necessity which existed
for reform. Perhaps, however, he might have surmounted his difficulties
and dangers, had he met with no competitor round whose person the military
malcontents could rally.
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