Gaius Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius ( 201June 251), known as Trajan Decius or simply Decius (), was Roman emperor from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of

Philip the Arab Philip I (; – September 249), commonly known as Philip the Arab, was Roman emperor from 244 to 249. After the death of Gordian III in February 244, Philip, who had been Praetorian prefect, rose to power. He quickly negotiated peace with the S ...

, Decius was proclaimed emperor by his troops after putting down a rebellion in

Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; ) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River. As a Roman domain Moesia was administered at first by the governor of Noricum as 'Civitates of Moesia and Triballi ...

. In 249, he defeated and killed Philip near Verona and was recognized as emperor by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

afterwards. During his reign, he attempted to strengthen the Roman state and its religion, leading to the

Decian persecution Christians were persecuted in 250 AD under the Decius, Roman emperor Decius. He had issued an edict ordering everyone in the empire to perform a sacrifice to the Roman gods and the well-being of the emperor. The sacrifices had to be performed ...

, where a number of prominent Christians (including

Pope Fabian Pope Fabian () was the bishop of Rome from 10 January 236 until his death on 20 January 250, succeeding Pope Anterus, Anterus. A Doves as symbols, dove is said to have descended on his head to mark him as the Holy Spirit in Christianity, Holy Sp ...

) were put to death. In the last year of his reign, Decius co-ruled with his son

Herennius Etruscus Quintus Herennius Etruscus Messius Decius (died c. June 251), known simply as Herennius Etruscus, was briefly Roman emperor in 251, ruling jointly under his father Decius. His father was proclaimed emperor by his troops in September 249 while ...

, until they were both killed by the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

in the

Battle of Abritus The Battle of Abritus also known as the Battle of Forum Terebronii occurred near Abritus (modern Razgrad) in the Roman province of Moesia Inferior in the summer of 251. It was fought between the Romans and a federation of Gothic and Scythian t ...

Early life and rise to power

Trajanus Decius was born Gaius Messius Quintus Decius Valerinus at Budalia, Illyricum, near

Sirmium Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous province of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyrians ...

Pannonia Inferior Pannonia Inferior, lit. Lower Pannonia, was a province of the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sirmium. It was one of the border provinces on the Danube. It was formed in the year 103 AD by Emperor Trajan who divided the former province of Pannonia ...

.Lesley Adkins, Rot A. Adkins (2004).
Handbook to life in ancient Rome
'' Infobase. p. 28 Decius was one of the first among a long succession of Roman emperors (

Illyrian emperors The Illyrian emperors () were a group of Roman emperors during the Crisis of the Third Century who were of Illyrian origin and hailed from the region of Illyria (, in the Western Balkans), and were raised chiefly from the ranks of the Roman a ...

) to originate from the Danube provinces, often referred to as Illyricum. Unlike some of his immediate imperial predecessors such as

Maximinus Thrax Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus "Thrax" () was a Roman emperor from 235 to 238. Born of Thracian origin – given the nickname ''Thrax'' ("the Thracian") – he rose up through the military ranks, ultimately holding high command in the army of th ...

who did not have extensive administrative experience before assuming the throne, Decius was a distinguished

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

who had served as suffect

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

in 232, had been governor of

and

Germania Inferior ''Germania Inferior'' ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed ''Germania Secunda'' in the 4th century AD, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Cl ...

soon afterwards, served as governor of

Hispania Tarraconensis Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the northern, eastern and central territories of modern Spain along with modern North Region, Portugal, northern Portugal. Southern Spain, the region now ...

between 235 and 238, and was

urban prefect The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, an ...

of Rome during the early reign of Emperor Philip the Arab.Scarre 1995, p. 169 Around 245,

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

entrusted Decius with an important command on the Danube. By the end of 248 or 249, Decius was sent to quell the revolt of Pacatian and his troops in Moesia and Pannonia; some modern historians see this rebellion as a reflection of emerging Balkan separatism. After the collapse of the revolt, Decius let the troops proclaim him emperor. Philip advanced against him and was killed at

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, in September 249. The

then recognized Decius as emperor, giving him the attribute ''Traianus'' in reference to Emperor

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

. According to the Byzantine historian

Zosimus Zosimus, Zosimos, Zosima or Zosimas may refer to: People * * Rufus and Zosimus (died 107), Christian saints * Zosimus (martyr) (died 110), Christian martyr who was executed in Umbria, Italy * Zosimos of Panopolis, also known as ''Zosimus Alch ...

, Decius was clothed in purple and forced to undertake the urdens ofgovernment, despite his reluctance and unwillingness.

Political and monumental initiatives

Decius' political program was focused on the restoration of the strength of the State, both militarily opposing the external threats, and restoring the public

piety Piety is a virtue which may include religious devotion or spirituality. A common element in most conceptions of piety is a duty of respect. In a religious context, piety may be expressed through pious activities or devotions, which may vary amon ...

with a program of renovation of the state religion.

Reviving the censorship

Either as a concession to the Senate, or perhaps with the idea of improving public morality, Decius endeavoured to revive the separate office and authority of the censor. He left the choice of candidate to the Senate, who unanimously selected Valerian (the future emperor). Seeing the office as difficult and potentially dangerous, Valerian declined it. The invasion of the

and Decius's death put an end to the abortive attempt.

Baths of Decius

Decius sponsored several building projects in Rome, including the Baths of Decius (''Thermae Decianae'') on the

Aventine Hill The Aventine Hill (; ; ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth ''rione'', or ward, of Rome. Location and boundaries The Aventine Hill is the southernmost of Rome's seven hills. I ...

. Completed in 252, the building survived through to the 16th century. He also repaired the Colosseum, which had been damaged by lightning strikes.

Persecution of Christians

In late 249, Decius had issued one of the most remarkable Roman imperial edicts. From the numerous surviving texts from Egypt, recording the act of sacrifice, it appears that the edict itself was fairly clear:Potter 2004, p. 241 According to D. S. Potter, Decius did not try to impose the superiority of the Roman pantheon over any other gods. It is very probable that the edict was an attempt to legitimize his position and to respond to a general unease provoked by the passing of the Roman millennium.Potter 2004, p. 243 While Decius himself may have intended the edict as a way to reaffirm his conservative vision of the Pax Romana and to reassure Rome's citizens that the empire was still secure, it nevertheless sparked a "terrible crisis of authority as various Christian bishops and their flocks reacted to it in different ways."Decius: 249–251 AD
University of Michigan. Retrieved 30 March 2011 Measures were first taken demanding that the

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s and officers of the church make a sacrifice for the emperor. The sacrifice was "on behalf of" (Latin ''pro'') the emperor, not ''to'' the emperor, since a living emperor was not considered

divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

. Certificates were issued to those who satisfied the commissioners during the persecution of Christians under Decius. Forty-six such certificates have been published, all dating from 250, four of them from

Oxyrhynchus Oxyrhynchus ( ; , ; ; ), also known by its modern name Al-Bahnasa (), is a city in Middle Egypt located about 160 km south-southwest of Cairo in Minya Governorate. It is also an important archaeological site. Since the late 19th century, t ...

. Anyone, including Christian followers, who refused to offer a sacrifice for the emperor and the Empire's well-being by a specified date risked torture and execution.Scarre 1995, p. 170 A number of prominent Christians did, in fact, refuse to make a sacrifice and were killed in the process, including

himself in 250, and "anti-Christian feeling led to killings at Carthage and Alexandria." However, towards the end of the second year of Decius' reign, "the ferocity of the nti-Christianpersecution had eased off, and the earlier tradition of tolerance had begun to reassert itself." Christians bore the brunt of the persecution and never forgot the reign of Decius, whom they remembered as "that fierce tyrant". In June 251 Decius died alongside his co-emperor

in the Battle Abrittus against the Goths; their successors

Trebonianus Gallus Gaius Vibius Trebonianus Gallus ( 206 – August 253) was Roman emperor from June 251 to August 253, in a joint rule with his son Volusianus. Early life Gallus was born in Italy, in a respected senatorial family with Etruscan ancestry, cer ...

and

Hostilian Hostilian (; died July 251) was briefly Roman emperor in 251. Hostilian was born to Decius and Herennia Etruscilla at an unknown date and elevated to ''caesar'' in 250 by Decius. After Decius and Herennius Etruscus, Hostilian's brother, we ...

rescinded Decius' decree, ending the persecution after approximately eighteen months. At this time, there was a second outbreak of the

Antonine Plague The Antonine Plague of AD 165 to 180, also known as the Plague of Galen (after Galen, the Greek physician who described it), was a prolonged and destructive epidemic, which affected the Roman Empire. It was possibly contracted and spread by so ...

, which at its height from 251 to 266, took the lives of 5,000 daily in Rome. This outbreak is referred to as the "

Plague of Cyprian The Plague of Cyprian was a pandemic which afflicted the Roman Empire from about AD 249 to 262, or 251/2 to 270. The plague is thought to have caused widespread manpower shortages for food production and the Roman army, severely weakening the em ...

" (

Cyprian Cyprian (; ; to 14 September 258 AD''The Liturgy of the Hours according to the Roman Rite: Vol. IV.'' New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1975. p. 1406.) was a bishop of Carthage and an early Christian writer of Berbers, Berber descent, ...

was the bishop of

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

, where both the plague and the persecution of Christians were especially severe). Cyprian's biographer Pontius gave a vivid picture of the demoralizing effects of the plague and Cyprian moralized the event in his essay ''De mortalitate''. In Carthage, the "Decian persecution", unleashed at the onset of the plague, sought out Christian scapegoats. Decius' edicts were renewed under Valerian in 253 and repealed under his son,

Gallienus Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; – September 268) was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that nearly caused the collapse of the empire. He ...

, in 260–261.

Fighting the Goths and death

The Goths enter the Balkans

The

barbarian A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

incursions into the Empire were becoming more daring and frequent whereas the Empire was facing a serious economic crisis in Decius' time. During his brief reign, Decius engaged in important operations against the

, who crossed the Danube to raid districts of Moesia and

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

. This is the first considerable occasion that the Goths who would later come to play such an important role appear in the historical record. The Goths under King

Cniva Cniva ( mid-3rd century AD) was a Gothic king who invaded the Roman Empire. He successfully captured the city of Philippopolis (Plovdiv in Bulgaria) in 250 and killed Emperor Decius and his son Herennius Etruscus at the Battle of Abritus as he ...

were surprised by the emperor while besieging

Nicopolis Nicopolis () or Actia Nicopolis was the capital city of the Roman province of Epirus (Roman province), Epirus. Its site, near Preveza, Greece, still contains impressive ruins. The city was founded in 29 BC by Octavian in commemoration of his ...

on the Danube; the Goths fled through the difficult terrain of the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

, but then doubled back and surprised the Romans near Beroë (modern

Stara Zagora Stara Zagora (, ) is a city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of Stara Zagora Province. It is located in the Upper Thracian Plain, near the cities of Kazanlak, Plovdiv, and Sliven. Its population is 121,582 making it the sixth largest c ...

), sacking their camp and dispersing the Roman troops (

Battle of Beroe The Battle of Beroe was a conflict near Stara Zagora, ancient ''Ulpia Augusta Traiana'', between the Romans and Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medi ...

). The Goths then moved to attack Philippopolis (modern

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

), which fell into their hands. The governor of Thrace, Titus Julius Priscus, declared himself emperor under Gothic protection in opposition to Decius but Priscus' challenge was rendered moot when he was killed soon afterwards. Then the invaders began returning to their homeland, laden with booty and captives, among them many of senatorial rank.Wolfram 1988, p. 46

Battle of Abritus

In the meantime, Decius had returned with his re-organized army, accompanied by his son Herennius Etruscus and the general

, intending to defeat the invaders and recover the booty. The final engagement, the

battle of Abritus The Battle of Abritus also known as the Battle of Forum Terebronii occurred near Abritus (modern Razgrad) in the Roman province of Moesia Inferior in the summer of 251. It was fought between the Romans and a federation of Gothic and Scythian t ...

, in which the Goths fought with the courage of despair, under the command of Cniva, took place during the second week of June 251 on swampy ground in the

Ludogorie The Ludogorie () or Deliorman (; and Bulgarian: lud - "mad", "crazy" and gora - "forest"), is a region in northeastern Bulgaria stretching over the plateau of the same name. Major cities in the region are Targovishte, Razgrad, Dulovo, Novi P ...

(region in northeastern Bulgaria which merges with Dobruja plateau and the Danube Plain to the north) near the small settlement of Abritus or ''Forum Terebronii'' (modern Razgrad).

Jordanes Jordanes (; Greek language, Greek: Ιορδάνης), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat, claimed to be of Goths, Gothic descent, who became a historian later in life. He wrote two works, one on R ...

records that Decius' son

was killed by an arrow early in the battle, and to cheer his men Decius exclaimed, "Let no one mourn; the death of one soldier is not a great loss to the republic." Nevertheless, Decius' army was entangled in the swamp and annihilated in this battle, while he himself was killed on the field of battle. As the historian

Aurelius Victor Sextus Aurelius Victor ( 320 – 390) was a historian and politician of the Roman Empire. Victor was the author of a now-lost monumental history of imperial Rome covering the period from Augustus to Constantius II. Under the emperor Julian (361 ...

relates: One literary tradition claims that Decius was betrayed by his successor, Trebonianus Gallus, who was involved in a secret alliance with the Goths, but this cannot be substantiated and was most likely a later invention since Gallus felt compelled to adopt Decius' younger son, Gaius Valens Hostilianus, as joint emperor even though the latter was too young to rule in his own right. It is also unlikely that the shattered Roman legions would proclaim as emperor a traitor who was responsible for the loss of so many soldiers from their ranks. Decius was the first Roman emperor to die in battle against a foreign enemy. File:Herennius Etruscus Coin .jpg, Coin of

. Inscription: HER. ETR. MES. DECIVS NOB. C. / CONCORDIA AVG. F File:INC-3020-a Ауреус. Траян Деций. Ок. 249—251 гг. (аверс).png,

Aureus The ''aureus'' ( ''aurei'', 'golden') was the main gold coin of ancient Rome from the 1st century BC to the early 4th century AD, when it was replaced by the ''solidus (coin), solidus''. This type of coin was sporadically issued during the Roman ...

of Decius

Legacy

The Decian persecution was the first organized persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire and served as the basis for the Diocletianic Persecution, the last major persecution of Christians in the Empire. The later telling of the

Seven Sleepers The Seven Sleepers (; ), also known in Christendom as Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, and in Islam as Aṣḥāb al-Kahf (اصحاب الکهف, ''aṣḥāb al-kahf'', lit. Companions of the Cave), is a Late antiquity, late antique Christianity, ...

, about seven Christian youths from

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

who fled the Decian persecution by hiding in a cave (walled up by Decius) and sleeping for almost 300 years, emerged. The Quranic account, captured in

Al-Kahf Al-Kahf () is the 18th chapter (sūrah) of the Qur'an with 110 verses ( āyāt). Regarding the timing and contextual background of the revelation ('' asbāb al-nuzūl''), it is an earlier Meccan surah, which means it was revealed before Muh ...

("The Cave")

surah A ''surah'' (; ; ) is an Arabic word meaning 'chapter' in the Quran. There are 114 ''suwar'' in the Quran, each divided into ayah, verses (). The ''suwar'' are of unequal length; the shortest ''surah'' (al-Kawthar) has only three verses, while ...

(chapter), has led to the Persian saying of ''ahd-e daqyānus'' ("age of Decius") or ''daqyānus'' referring to ancient times or a person with outdated views. When something is old and outdated, people say, "this belongs to the age of Decius."

References

Sources

* *Potter, David S. ''The Roman Empire at Bay AD 180–395'', Routledge, 2004. *Scarre, Chris, ''Chronicle of the Roman Emperors: the reign-by-reign record of the rulers of Imperial Rome'', Thames & Hudson, 1995. *Southern, Pat. ''The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine'', Routledge, 2001. *Wolfram, Herwig
''History of the Goths''
(transl. by Thomas J. Dunlap), University of California Press, 1988,

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Decius 200s births 251 deaths 3rd-century Roman emperors Decian dynasty Decii Deified Roman emperors 3rd-century Roman consuls Messii Roman emperors killed in battle Romans from Moesia Romans from Pannonia Roman governors of Germania Inferior Roman pharaohs Illyrian emperors Damnatio memoriae