C. Vibius° Marsus
MARSUS, C. VIBIUS°, successor to Petronius as Roman governor of Syria (42 C.E.). Marsus appears to have regarded the Judean king Agrippa I with more than the average Roman suspicion toward Jewish leaders and went so far as to inform the emperor *Claudius of these suspicions. When Agrippa began to fortify the walls of the northern side of Jerusalem, the act was immediately reported by Marsus to the emperor. Claudius ordered the immediate cessation of the fortification, suspecting that a revolution was at foot. Marsus again intervened in Judean affairs when he disbanded the meeting of vassal kings convened by Agrippa at Tiberias. From that time, according to Josephus, Agrippa was at odds with Marsus. Marsus was succeeded in Syria by Cassius Longinus in 45 C.E.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Jos., Ant., 19: 316, 326–7, 240–2, 363; 20:1; Pauly-Wissowa, 2nd series, vol. 16 (1958), 1973–75 (under the name C. Vibius Marsus).
Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.