Trajan Decius – Roman Emperor: 249-251 A.D. –
Bronze As 25mm (10.36 grams) Struck circa 250-251 A.D.
Reference: RIC 124b; Cohen 88; Sear 9429.
IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, laureate, cuirassed bust right, seen from the
back
PANNONIAE, The two Pannonia standing, each holding a standard. S-C across
fields.
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Standards
Roman military standards. The standards with discs, or signa
(first three on left) belong to centuriae of the
legion (the image does not show the heads of the standards – whether
spear-head or wreathed-palm). Note (second from right) the
legion’s
aquila
. The standard on the
extreme right probably portrays the
She-wolf
(lupa) which fed
Romulus
, the legendary founder of
Rome. (This was the emblem of
Legio VI Ferrata
, a legion then
based in
Judaea
, a detachment of which is
known to have fought in Dacia). Detail from Trajan’s Column, Rome
Modern reenactors parade with replicas of various legionary
standards. From left to right: signum (spear-head type), with
four discs; signum (wreathed-palm type), with six discs;
imago of ruling emperor; legionary aquila; vexillum
of commander (legatus) of
Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix
, with
embroidered name and emblem (Capricorn) of legion
Each tactical unit in the imperial army, from centuria upwards, had
its own standard. This consisted of a pole with a variety of adornments that was
borne by dedicated standard-bearers who normally held the rank of duplicarius.
Military standards had the practical use of communicating to unit members where
the main body of the unit was situated, so that they would not be separated, in
the same way that modern tour-group guides use umbrellas or flags. But military
standards were also invested with a mystical quality, representing the divine
spirit (genius) of the unit and were revered as such (soldiers frequently
prayed before their standards). The loss of a unit’s standard to the enemy was
considered a terrible stain on the unit’s honour, which could only be fully
expunged by its recovery.
The standard of a centuria was known as a signum, which was
borne by the unit’s signifer. It consisted of a pole topped by either an
open palm of a human hand or by a spear-head. The open palm, it has been
suggested, originated as a symbol of the
maniple
(manipulus = “handful”), the
smallest tactical unit in the
Roman army of the mid-Republic
. The poles were
adorned with two to six silver discs (the significance of which is uncertain).
In addition, the pole would be adorned by a variety of cross-pieces (including,
at bottom, a crescent-moon symbol and a tassel). The standard would also
normally sport a cross-bar with tassels.
The standard of a Praetorian cohort or an auxiliary cohort or ala was
known as a vexillum
or banner. This was a square flag,
normally red in colour, hanging from a crossbar on the top of the pole. Stitched
on the flag would be the name of the unit and/or an image of a god. An exemplar
found in Egypt bears an image of the goddess Victory on a red background. The
vexillum was borne by a vexillarius. A legionary detachment (vexillatio)
would also have its own vexillum. Finally, a vexillum
traditionally marked the commander’s position on the battlefield.[194]
The exception to the red colour appears to have been the Praetorian Guard, whose
vexilla, similar to their clothing, favoured a blue background.
From the time of
Marius
(consul 107 BC), the standard of all
legions was the
aquila
(“eagle”). The pole was surmounted
by a sculpted eagle of solid gold, or at least gold-plated silver, carrying
thunderbolts in its claws (representing
Jupiter
, the highest Roman god. Otherwise the
pole was unadorned. No exemplar of a legionary eagle has ever been found
(doubtless because any found in later centuries were melted down for their gold
content). The eagle was borne by the aquilifer, the legion’s most senior
standard-bearer. So important were legionary eagles as symbols of Roman military
prestige and power, that the imperial government would go to extraordinary
lengths to recover those captured by the enemy. This would include launching
full-scale invasions of the enemy’s territory, sometimes decades after the
eagles had been lost e.g. the expedition in 28 BC by
Marcus Licinius Crassus
against
Genucla
(Isaccea, near modern
Tulcea
, Rom., in the Danube delta region), a
fortress of the Getae
, to recover standards lost 33 years
earlier by
Gaius Antonius
, an earlier
proconsul
of
Macedonia
. Or the campaigns of AD 14-17 to
recover the three eagles lost by
Varus
in AD 6 in the
Teutoburg Forest
.
Under Augustus, it became the practice for legions to carry portraits (imagines)
of the ruling emperor and his immediate family members. An imago was
usually a bronze bust carried on top of a pole like a standard by an
imaginifer.
From around the time of Hadrian (r. 117-38), some auxiliary alae
adopted the dragon-standard (draco) commonly carried by Sarmatian cavalry
squadrons. This was a long cloth wind-sock attached to an ornate sculpture of an
open dragon’s mouth. When the bearer (draconarius) was galloping, it
would make a strong hissing-sound.
Decorations
The Roman army awarded a variety of individual decorations (dona) for
valour to its legionaries. Hasta pura was a miniature spear; phalerae
were large medal-like bronze or silver discs worn on the cuirass; armillae
were bracelets worn on the wrist; and
torques were worn round the neck, or on the cuirass. The highest
awards were the coronae (“crowns”), of which the most prestigious was the
corona civica, a crown made oak-leaves awarded for saving the life of a
fellow Roman citizen in battle. The most valuable award was the corona
muralis, a crown made of gold awarded to the first man to scale an enemy
rampart. This was awarded rarely, as such a man hardly ever survived.
There is no evidence that auxiliary common soldiers received individual
decorations like legionaries, although auxiliary officers did. Instead, the
whole regiment was honoured by a title reflecting the type of award e.g.
torquata (“awarded a torque”) or armillata (“awarded bracelets”).
Some regiments would, in the course of time, accumulate a long list of titles
and decorations e.g. cohors I Brittonum Ulpia torquata pia fidelis c.R..
Pannonia was an ancient province of the
Roman Empire
bounded north and east by the
Danube
, coterminous westward with
Noricum
and upper
Italy
, and southward with
Dalmatia
and upper
Moesia
. Pannonia was located over the territory
of the present-day western
Hungary
, eastern
Austria
, northern
Croatia
, north-western
Serbia
,
Slovenia
, western
Slovakia
and northern
Bosnia and Herzegovina
.
Julius Pokorny
derived the name Pannonia
from
Illyrian
, from the
Proto-Indo-European
root *pen-, “swamp,
water, wet” (cf. English fen, “marsh”; Hindi pani, “water”).
History
Further information:
Prehistoric Hungary
, Prehistoric
Croatia, Prehistoric
Serbia, Prehistoric
Slovenia, Prehistoric
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Prehistoric
Austria, and Prehistoric
Slovakia
The first inhabitants of this area known to history were the Pannonii
(Pannonians),
a group of
Indo-European
tribes akin to
Illyrians
. From the 4th century BC it was
invaded by various Celtic
tribes. Little is heard of Pannonia
until 35 BC, when its inhabitants, allies of the
Dalmatians
, were attacked by
Augustus
, who conquered and occupied Siscia (Sisak).
The country was not, however, definitely subdued by the Romans until 9 BC, when
it was incorporated into
Illyricum
, the frontier of which was thus
extended as far as the Danube.
In AD 6, the Pannonians, with the Dalmatians and other Illyrian tribes,
engaged in the so-called
Great Illyrian Revolt
, and were overcome by
Tiberius
and
Germanicus
, after a hard-fought campaign which
lasted for three years. After the rebellion was crushed in AD 9, the province of
Illyricum was dissolved, and its lands were divided between the new provinces of
Pannonia in the north and
Dalmatia
in the south. The date of the division
is unknown, most certainly after AD 20 but before AD 50. The proximity of
dangerous barbarian tribes (Quadi,
Marcomanni
) necessitated the presence of a
large number of troops (seven legions in later times), and numerous fortresses
were built on the bank of the Danube.
Some time between the years 102 and 107, between the first and second Dacian
war, Trajan
divided the
province
into
Pannonia Superior
(western part with the
capital Carnuntum
), and
Pannonia Inferior
(eastern part with the
capitals in Aquincum
and
Sirmium
[8]).
According to Ptolemy
, these divisions were separated by a
line drawn from
Arrabona
in the north to
Servitium
in the south; later, the boundary was
placed further east. The whole country was sometimes called the Pannonias (Pannoniae).
Pannonia Superior was under the consular legate, who had formerly
administered the single province, and had three legions under his control;
Pannonia Inferior at first under a praetorian legate with a single legion as
garrison, after
Marcus Aurelius
under a consular legate, still
with only one legion. The frontier on the Danube was protected by the
establishment of the two colonies
Aelia Mursia
and
Aelia Aquincum
by
Hadrian
.
Under Diocletian
a fourfold division of the country
was made:
-
Pannonia Prima
in the northwest, with
capital in
Savaria / Sabaria
,
-
Pannonia Valeria
in the northeast, with
capital in
Sopianae
,
-
Pannonia Savia
in the southwest, with
capital in
Siscia
,
-
Pannonia Secunda
in the southeast, with
capital in Sirmium
Diocletian also moved parts of today’s
Slovenia
out of Pannonia and incorporated them
in Noricum
.
Constantine I
enlarged in 324 AD the borders of
Roman Pannonia to the east, annexing the plains of what is now eastern Hungary,
northern Serbia and western Romania up to the
limes
that he created: the
Devil’s Dykes
.
In the 4th-5th century, one of the dioceses of the Roman Empire was known as
the
Diocese of Pannonia
. It had capital in
Sirmium
and included all four provinces that
were formed from historical Pannonia, as well as provinces of
Dalmatia
,
Noricum Mediterraneum
and
Noricum Ripensis
.
In the middle of the 5th century, Pannonia was ceded to the
Huns by
Theodosius II
, and after the death of
Attila
successively passed (entirely or
partially) into the hands of the
Ostrogoths
(456–6th century),
Lombards
(530–68),
Gepids
(6th century),
Byzantine Empire
(6th century and 11th-12th
century),
Avars
(560s – c.800),
various Slavic states
(Slavs living there since
c. 480s; independent since 7th century),
Franks
(8th-9th century),
Magyars
(since 900/901),
Holy Roman Empire
(since 10th century),
Habsburgs
(since 14th century),
Ottomans
(since 1512; the Ottoman
administration ended in 1878) and
Serbia
(since 19th century). After the
First World War
, the region was divided between
Austria
,
Hungary
the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
(renamed
to Yugoslavia
in 1929) and
Czechoslovakia
.
During the first period of Byzantine administration in the 6th century,
province named
Pannonia
(with capital in
Sirmium
) was temporarily restored, but it
included only small south-eastern part of historical Pannonia. In the second
period of Byzantine administration (11th century) an province named
Theme of Sirmium
(also with capital in
Sirmium
) was established in this same area. An
Frankish frontier march named
March of Pannonia
was established in the end of
the 8th century, while terms
Lower
and
Upper Pannonia
were also used in the 9th
century as a designations for
an Slavic principality
and
an Frankish province
.
Furthermore, between the 5th and the 10th century the romanized population of
Pannonia developed the
Romance Pannonian Language
, mainly around the
lake Balaton
in present-day western Hungary,
where there was the
keszthely culture
. This language and the
related culture were extinct with the
arrival of the Magyars
.
Gaius Messius Quintus Decius (ca. 201- June 251) was
the
Emperor of Rome
from 249 to 251. In the last year of his reign, he co-ruled
with his son
Herennius Etruscus
until both of them were killed in the
Battle of Abrittus
.
//
Early
life and rise to power
Decius, who was born at
Budalia
, now
Martinci
,
Serbia
near
Sirmium
(Sremska
Mitrovica), in
Lower Pannonia
was one of the first among a long succession of future Roman
Emperors to originate from the provinces of
Illyria
in
the Danube.[1].
Unlike some of his immediate imperial predecessors such as Philip the Arab or
Maximinus
, Decius was a distinguished senator who had served as
consul
in 232,
had been governor of
Moesia
and
Germania Inferior
soon afterwards, served as governor of
Hispania Tarraconensis
between 235-238, and was
urban prefect
of Rome during the early reign of Emperor
Philip the Arab
(Marcus Iulius Phillipus).
Around 245, Emperor Philip entrusted Decius with an important
command on the Danube
. By the end of 248 or 249, Decius was sent to quell the revolt of
Pacatianus
and his troops in Moesia and Pannonia[3];
the soldiers were enraged because of the peace treaty signed between Philip and
the
Sassanids
. Once arrived, the troops forced Decius to assume the imperial
dignity himself instead. Decius still protested his loyalty to Philip, but the
latter advanced against him and was killed near
Verona
,
Italy
. The
Senate
then recognized Decius as Emperor, giving him the attribute Traianus as a
reference to the good emperor
Trajan
. As the
Byzantine historian
Zosimus
later
noted:
Decius was therefore clothed in purple and forced to
undertake the [burdens of] government, despite his reluctance and
unwillingness.
Political
and monumental initiatives
Decius’ political program was focused on the restoration of
the strength of the State, both military opposing the external threats, and
restoring the public piety
with a program of renovation of the
State religion
.
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
. The choice was left to the Senate, who unanimously selected
Valerian
(afterwards emperor). But Valerian, well aware of the dangers and
difficulties attaching to the office at such a time, declined the
responsibility. The invasion of the
Goths
and Decius’ death put an end to the abortive attempt.
During his reign, he proceeded to construct several building
projects in Rome “including the Thermae Deciane or Baths of Decius on the
Aventine” which was completed in 252 and still survived through to the
16th
century
; Decius also acted to repair the Colosseum, which had been damaged
by lightning strikes.
Persecution
of Christians
Main article:
Decian persecution
In January 250, Decius issued an edict for the suppression of
Christianity
. The edict itself was fairly clear:
All the inhabitants of the empire were required to
sacrifice before the magistrates of their community ‘for the safety of the
empire’ by a certain day (the date would vary from place to place and the
order may have been that the sacrifice had to be completed within a
specified period after a community received the edict). When they sacrificed
they would obtain a certificate (libellus) recording the fact that they had
complied with the order.
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.” Measures were first taken demanding that the bishops
and officers of the church make a sacrifice for the Emperor,
a matter of an oath of allegiance that Christians considered offensive.
Certificates were issued to those who satisfied the
pagan
commissioners during the persecution of Christians under Decius. Forty-six such
certificates have been published, all dating from 250, four of them from
Oxyrhynchus
.
Christian followers who refused to offer a pagan sacrifice for the Emperor and
the Empire’s well-being by a specified date risked torture and execution.
A number of prominent Christians did, in fact, refuse to make a sacrifice and
were killed in the process including
Pope
Fabian
himself in 250 and “anti-Christian feeling[s] led to pogroms at
Carthage and Alexandria.”
In reality, however, towards the end of the second year of Decius’ reign, “the
ferocity of the [anti-Christian] persecution had eased off, and the earlier
tradition of tolerance had begun to reassert itself.”
The Christian church though never forgot the reign of Decius whom they labelled
as that “fierce tyrant”.
At this time, there was a second outbreak of the
Antonine Plague
, which at its height in 251 to 266 took the lives of 5,000 a
day in Rome. This outbreak is referred to as the “Plague of
Cyprian
” (the
bishop of Carthage
), 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 Valerius in 253 and
repealed under his son,
Gallienus
,
in 260-1.
Military
actions and death
The
barbarian
incursions into the Empire were becoming more and 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
Goths
, who
crossed the Danube to raid districts of Moesia and
Thrace
. This is
the first considerable occasion the Goths — who would later come to play such an
important role — appear in the historical record. The Goths under King
Cniva
were
surprised by the emperor while besieging
Nicopolis
on the Danube; the Goths fled through the difficult terrain of the
Balkans
, but
then doubled back and surprised the Romans near Beroë (modern
Stara
Zagora
), sacking their camp and dispersing the Roman troops. It was the
first time a Roman emperor fled in the face of Barbarians. The Goths then moved
to
Philippopolis attack
(modern
Plovdiv
),
which fell into their hands. The governor of Thrace,
Titus Julius Priscus
, declared himself Emperor under Gothic protection in
opposition to Decius but Priscus’s challenge was rendered moot when he was
killed soon afterwards.
The siege of Philippopolis had so exhausted the numbers and
resources of the Goths that they offered to surrender their treasure and
prisoners, on condition of being allowed to retire.[
neededcitation] Decius, who had succeeded in surrounding them and hoped to
cut off their retreat, refused to entertain their proposals. The final
engagement, 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
(region in northeastern Bulgaria which merges with Dobruja plateau
and the Danube Plain to the north) near the small settlement of Abrittus or
Forum Terebronii (modern
Razgrad
): see
Battle of Abrittus
.
Jordanes
records that Decius’ son
Herennius Etruscus
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
relates:
The Decii (ie. Decius), while pursuing the
barbarians across the Danube, died through treachery at Abrittus after
reigning two years….Very many report that the son had fallen in battle
while pressing an attack too boldly; that the father however, has
strenuously asserted that the loss of one soldier seemed to him too little
to matter. And so he resumed the war and died in a similar manner while
fighting vigorously.
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.
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<span class="mw-headline" id="Conflict_in_the_Balkans_and_EgyptConflict
in the Balkans and Egypt
<span class="mw-headline" id="Invasion.2C_counterinvasionInvasion,
counterinvasion
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