To ask "Who was the first to serve as head of state in a Western power?" "I'm afraid a lot of people's first reaction is — U.S. President Barack Obama. Unfortunately, Obama did not enjoy the honor. Going back a thousand years, this glory finally fell to Macrinus, the only black emperor of the Roman Empire. This man came from a humble background, was once a black slave, but with his own efforts, he gradually reached the peak and eventually became the emperor of the Roman Empire.
This person was born into a black slave, but because of a specialty, he became an emperor, sitting on 500 concubines, and his wealth was boundless
Macrinus's father, from Mauritania, Africa, was captured in battle by Roman legions and became a slave in the city of Rome. After his birth, Maliknus inherited his father's status as a slave and did various menial jobs in his master's house. Later, the master saw that he was strong and strong, so he deliberately trained him as a gladiator.
It has to be said that Macrinus is indeed a talented young man, he is agile, and he quickly made a world in the arena. Unlike spartacus's time, the gladiators of Maliknus's era were well paid. And according to Roman law, even the owner could not infringe on the property of the gladiator. In this way, Maliknus accumulated a large amount of money and quickly redeemed himself.
At that time, Macrinus's reputation was very high, with a large number of fans, just like Curry and James today, so it seems that black people's athletic talent has existed since ancient times. However, Macrinus did not like this life of licking blood with a knife head, and after redeeming himself, he immediately left the gladiator business and became a postman.
Today, the profession of postman is getting weaker, but during the Roman Empire, it was a promising job, with a high income, and to do this job, as long as you accumulate a certain amount of work, you can obtain Roman citizenship. In Rome, there was a great difference between citizens and slaves. As long as you have citizenship, you can enjoy various rights and benefits like the real Romans, one of which is to be emperor.
However, the emperor is not so good, and it is not possible to be naked and strong. So the ambitious Macrinus began to study law, eventually making "law", rather than strong muscles, his "specialty". The Roman Empire was an empire of law, a direct source of civil law and common law, and even our Chinese law was derived from Roman law. So in Rome, if you want to be an official, you have to understand the law, just as China has to understand Confucianism.
Eventually, Macrinus became self-taught, abandoned the military and became a well-known legal expert and a well-known lawyer in the local area. You know, a few years ago, Macrinus was just an illiterate. Even in today's West, lawyers are still the easiest profession to become presidents of the United States. Like Obama, he worked as a lawyer. In the legal profession, Maliknus rose to prominence, paving the way for his future career.
Macrinus's legal prowess was appreciated by the emperor Caracalla at the time, and he was promoted to the position of Emperor Guard Attendant. Due to Maliknus's all-rounder, Caracalla promoted him several times. Later, Caracalla took him on a campaign and made several achievements in the Persian region.
As a result, the emperor Caracalla was assassinated by an astrologer while going to the toilet near the military tent, and the Roman Empire suddenly lost the emperor. Hearing that the emperor had been killed, the Roman soldiers who were still on the front line decided to elect the emperor immediately, and the country could not be without a monarch for a day, and the army could not be without a master for a day.
Because Of Macrinus' bravery, knowledge of the law, and good relations with the Senate, the soldiers unanimously decided to elect him emperor. No one expected that a black slave would eventually become emperor in one of the strongest white countries, still in ancient times.
However, Macrinus was not a wise monarch, and when he became emperor, he could not wait to sign a contract with the Persians and lead his army back home. After returning to Rome, he sat in the Golden Palace and began to elect concubines. The Romans always admired monogamy (at least nominally), even the Roman emperors. But Macrinus, on the pretext of being African, should follow african polygamous customs. In this way, Macrinus collected 500 concubines in 2 months, and he indulged in wine every day, wantonly wasting the people's fat and people's ointment.
The tyranny of Macrinus displeased the soldiers and the people, and the Roman legions stationed in Syria took the lead in establishing the young Elagabalus of Severus' blood as emperor. After that, Macrinus personally led his troops to suppress the rebellion, who knew that his soldiers could not stand his stupidity and surrendered to Elagabalus. In the end, Macrinus was killed in exile and served only one year as emperor.