Marcus Vinicius (1)

One of a new class of imperial favorites who owed their political careers to the new emperor, Marcus Vinicius repaid the faith placed in him with loyalty and competence. In 25 B.C.E. he was sent to the Alps to help quell the local tribes. Over the next few years he campaigned in Pannonia, serving with Marcus Agrippa in 13 B.C.E. and later with Tiberius.

He may also have been the legate of Illyricum mentioned in inscriptions as the conductor of operations over the Danube, sometime between 6 B.C.E. and 4 C.E. His actions hemmed in the chieftain Maroboduus and extended Roman influence north of the Danubian frontier. Vinicius then replaced Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (c. 1 C.E.) as legate in Germany.