Roma in decadere !

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“Let no one mourn – the death of one soldier is not a great loss to the republic.”

Decius would be one of the first of a long line of Roman emperors to come from Illyria (Serbia) and the Danube provinces. Being an experienced Senator and general, with a successful record in administration and warfare, the Senate hoped he could provide a stabilising hand to the unravelling empire. He initially focused on strengthening the state, reviving the role of Censor and leaving the choice to the Senate, which chose Valerian – who swiftly declined the role due to the difficulties in managing a Census at a time of multiple invasions. Decius instigated several building projects in Rome, including the Aventine “Baths of Decius”, which were completed in 252 AD and survived into the Sixteenth Century. He also repaired damage to the Colosseum.

Decius also gained a reputation for advocating persecution of Christians, albeit indirectly. Rome would not become a Christian empire for almost a century, and in that time would ping pong betwixt tolerance and persecution. The Senate, based in Rome, clung to the old pagan ways of venerating Jupiter and the pantheon, though had increasingly lost control of the empire in recent years to the legions. With many of them being based in the east, they would increasingly following eastern religions and cults such as Mithras, Sol Invictus, and Christianity. Thus when an emperor such as Decius wanted to ingratiate himself with the Senate, it made sense to honour the old gods at the expense of the new.

In January 250, a decree was issued ordering everyone in the empire to make a sacrifice to the emperor, as a test of their loyalty. Technically it was a sacrifice for the ‘emperor’s wellbeing’, as an emperor would not be deified until death, but it was still considered sacrilegious by Christians. The sacrifice had to be completed and a certificate (libellus) issued confirming it had – of which 46 were published, all dated to 250 – and failure to do so could result in torture and death. This edict was largely fine among other pagan religions, as Decius did not attempt to establish the Roman pantheon as superior to any other, and the various bishops and churches reacted differently. Pope Fabian himself was among those to refuse and be martyred, and the Christian opposition led to an uprising and anti-church sentiment across the empire, with attacks on them by the mob in Carthage and Alexandria. An outbreak of Antonine Plague the following year, which took the lives of up to 5,000 daily in Rome alone, ushered in an opportunity to scapegoat the Christians for this too. Decius’ edicts would be renewed by his successor, and not repealed for a decade. Although Christians bore the brunt of this persecution, much of the oppression had died down by 251, and the empire resumed to being fairly tolerant.

Meanwhile, barbarian incursions of the empire were becoming more frequent, and more daring. The Goths crossed the Danube with a large force to raid Moesia and Thrace – the first time this Germanic tribe appears on the historical record. Under King Cniva, the Goths were surprised while besieging Nicopolis on the Danube, and retreated through the difficult Balkan terrain. They then wheeled around and ambushed the Romans near Beroe (modern Stara Zagora), sacking the camp and routing the troops. The Goths then captured Philippopolis, and the Thracian governor Titus Priscus declared himself emperor, with Gothic backing, though he was killed soon thereafter. The Goths then began a retreat north, taking with them a great deal of plunder and Senatorial hostages.

Decius returned to the area with a reorganised army some 80,000 strong, accompanied by his son Herennius Etruscus and the general Gallus, looking to crush the Goths and recover the plunder. His force came across the returning Goths in the Summer of 251 at the Battle of Abritus. Cniva divided his force into three unites, with one of these concealed behind a swamp. Herennius was killed by an arrow early on in the battle, but upon hearing news of his son’s death, Decius declared: “Let no one mourn – the death of one soldier is not a great loss to the republic.”

The Romans initially pushed back the Gothic force, but then made the fatal mistake of pursuing them into the swamp. At that point they were ambushed by the hidden force, and were routed under a barrage of Gothic missiles. The slaughter was immense, and was one of the worst defeats in Rome’s history, with the number of dead likely to rival those of Cannae and Aruasio. Decius died amidst the chaos and slaughter, his body trampled into the mud and never recovered. The Goths captured the Roman treasury of tonnes of gold coins and weapons, many of which have been unearthed at various Gothic locations by archaeologists. The giant Roman relief army against the Goths was annihilated, and Decius was the first emperor to have been confirmed as killed by a foreign enemy in battle (though the Sassanids claim that honour belongs to the uncertain fate of Severus Alexander). Decius was 50-years-old, and had ruled the Roman Empire for little under two years.

Some reports of the defeat were that Decius was betrayed by his adjutant Gallus, who made a secret pact with the Goths. Following the disastrous battle, the remaining army units in the region declared Gallus as emperor. Back in Rome, Decius’ surviving son Hostilian was declared emperor by the Senate. Keen to avoid another civil war, Gallus announced that the duo would be co-emperors. His support by the army, and partnership with Hostilian, would oppose the idea of his betrayal of Decius and his troops. In the middle of the Third Century, Rome now faced a huge invading Gothic army, the destruction of a large number of their own legions, two emperors – which rarely works well – plus the hostility of a resurgent Sassanid Empire. Things were going to get far worse before they got better.