Famous Romans - History, Facts and information about the Roman Emperor Decius *** The Life, History and short Biography of Decius *** Fast facts, short biography and interesting information *** Decius *** History, facts, short biography and information about the good, bad and downright evil rulers of Ancient Rome *** Facts and information about the life and great power of this Emperor of Rome.

Andreas Avellino, Bekenner

 

Der Hl. Andreas Avvellino (in Deutschland auch oft Avellinus) starb 1608 als Theatinerchorherr in Neapel. Er wurde 1712 von Papst Clemens XI. heiliggesprochen. Seine Feiertag ist der 10. November.

Lesungen:

Andreas Avellino hieß erst Lanzelot. Er wurde zu Castro Nuovo, einem Dorfe in Lukanien, geboren. Schon in seiner frühesten Kindheit konnte man an ihm ganz deutliche Anzeichen seiner späteren Heiligkeit sehen. Zur besseren Ausbildung mußte der Jüngling sein Vaterhaus verlassen. Unter dem Studium der schönen Wissenschaften verbrachte er glücklich diese gefahrvolle Zeit; vor allem verlor er den Anfang der Weisheit, die Gottesfurcht, nie aus den Augen. Mit körperlicher Schönheit verband er eine ganz besondere Liebe zur Keuschheit; des öfteren entwand er sich den Fallstricken schamloser Weiber, mehr als einmal wies er ihre offene Zudringlichkeit zurück. Schon vorher war er in den geistlichen Stand getreten. Er ging dann nach Neapel, um Rechtswissenschaft zu studieren; er erwarb sich dort auch den Doktorgrad der Rechte; in der Zwischenzeit wurde er zudem zum Priester geweiht. Nun wurde er Rechtsanwalt, jedoch nur vor dem geistlichen Gericht und nur für einige Privatpersonen, entsprechend den Bestimmungen der kirchlichen Canones. Eines Tages entschlüpfte ihm bei einer Verhandlung eine kleine Lüge. Bald darauf stieß er, als er aufs Geratewohl in der Schrift las, auf die Worte: Ein lügenhafter Mund tötet die Seele. Da packte ihn bittere Reue über seinen Fehler und er entschloß sich, sofort diesen Beruf aufzugeben. Er entsagte also der Tätigkeit vor Gericht und widmete sich nun ganz dem Dienste Gottes und seinem geistlichen Amte. Da er durch vorbildliche priesterliche Tugend sich auszeichnete, wurde er vom damaligen Erzbischof von Neapel mit der Leitung von Klosterfrauen betraut. In diesem Amte zog er sich den Haß schlechter Menschen zu. Das erstemal entkam er glücklich einem geplanten Mordanschlag, doch bald darauf erhielt er von einem Mordgesellen drei Stiche ins Gesicht. Ruhig nahm er diese furchtbare Untat hin. Aus Sehnsucht nach einem vollkommenen Leben bat er dann demütig um Aufnahme bei den Regularkanonikern. Sein Wunsch wurde ihm erfüllt. Wegen seiner glühenden Liebe zum Kreuze bat er auch, ihm den Namen Andreas zu geben; auch das wurde ihm gewährt. (4. Lesung)

Mit freudigem Eifer trat er nun den strengeren Lebensweg an. Vor allem suchte er die Tugenden zu üben, zu denen er sich auch durch schwere Gelübde verpflichtet hatte; er hatte nämlich gelobt, erstens seinen eigenen Willen stets zu bekämpfen, und zweitens auf dem Weg der christlichen Vollkommenheit immer mehr voranzustreben. Treu beobachtete er die Ordenszucht, und auch als Oberer war er eifrigst bestrebt sie zu fördern. Was ihm neben den Verpflichtungen seines Amtes und seiner Regel an Zeit übrig blieb, das verwendete er zum Gebete und zur Arbeit am Heil der Seelen. Beim Beichthören zeigte er seine wunderbare Güte und Klugheit. Häufig zog er hinaus in die Dörfer und Städte in der Umgebung von Neapel und wirkte dort als Apostel zum größten Segen für die Seelen. Die glühende Nächstenliebe dieses Heiligen verherrlichte Gott auch durch Wunderzeichen. So ging er einmal mitten in der Nacht, nach dem er einen Kranken beichtgehört hatte, nach Hause. Der heftige regen und der Wind löschten die Fackel aus, die ihnen auf dem Weg geleuchtet hatte. Da wurde er mit seinen Begleitern trotz des strömenden Regens keinen Tropfen naß, ja sein Körper strahlte einen ganz ungewohnten Glanz aus und zeigte seinen Gefährten in der tiefsten Finsternis den Weg. Hervorragend war seine Enthaltsamkeit und seine Geduld, seine Selbstverachtung und Selbstverleugnung. Die Nachricht von der Ermordung seines Neffen nahm er ruhig hin und brachte auch seine Angehörigen von jedem Rachegedanken ab, ja er bat sogar für die Mörder bei den Richtern um Gnade und Erbarmen. (5. Lesung)

An vielen Orten führte er den Orden der Regularkanoniker neu ein, zu Mailand und Piacenza erbaute er Häuser für sie. Der heilige Karl Borromäus und Kardinal Paul von Arezzo, ein Regularkanoniker, schätzten ihn sehr und holten sich in ihren Hirtensorgen bei ihm Hilfe. Zur jungfräulichen Gottesmutter trug er eine ganz besondere Liebe und Verehrung. Auch durfte er mit den Engeln verkehren; und er selbst gestand, während er das Chorgebet verrichtete, habe er gehört, wie sie ihm auf der Gegenseite antworteten. Zudem war er mit der Gabe der Weissagung ausgestattet und konnte die Geheimnisse der Herzen, sowie entfernte und zukünftige Dinge schauen. Nach vielen Erweisen seiner Heldenhaften Tugend wurde er schließlich hochbetagt, von Mühen schon gebrochen, vom Schlag getroffen. Er wollte eben am Altar die heilige Messe feiern und hatte dreimal die Worte wiederholt: Ich will hintreten zum Altare Gottes. Er wurde sogleich mit den heiligen Sakramenten versehen und hauchte dann, umgeben von seinen Mitbrüdern, friedlich seine Seele aus. Sein Leib wird in Neapel in der Kirche des heiligen Paulus hochverehrt; der Volksandrang ist dort bis heute noch genau so groß wie damals, als er beigesetzt wurde. Zu Lebzeiten und nach dem Tode wurde er durch große Wunder verherrlicht; darum nahm in schließlich Papst Klemens XI. in feierlicher Weise in das Verzeichnis der Heiligen auf. (6. Lesung)

Oration:

Gott, Du hast Deinen heiligen Bekenner Andreas durch das schwere Gelübde, täglich in der Tugend voranzuschreiten, in wunderbarer Weise zu dir empor geführt; gib, daß auch wir durch seine Verdienste und seine Fürbitte dieser Gnade teilhaftig werden, daß wir stets das Vollkommenste tun und so glücklich zu deiner Höchsten Herrlichkeit gelangen; durch unsern Herrn.

Kommemoration hll. Thyphon, Respizius und Nympha:

Lesung:

Thryphan verkündete zur zeit des Kaiser Dezius die Lehre Jesu Christi und suchte alle zu bewegen, ihm Verehrung zu erweisen. Darum wurde er von den Soldaten des Kaisers ergriffen und zuerst auf der Folter gepeinigt und mit Eisenkrallen zerfleischt. Dann hängte man ihn mit den Füßen nach oben auf, durchbohrte ihm die Füße mit glühenden Nägeln, schlug ihn mit Knütteln und brannte ihn mit Fackeln. Als der Tribun Respizius sah, wie er das alles tapfer aushielt, bekehrte er sich zum christlichen Glauben und bekannte sich sogleich öffentlich als Christ. Darum wurde er auf mannigfache Weise gequält und zusammen mit Thryphon vor die Bildsäule des Jupiter geschleppt. Auf Thryphons Gebet hin stürzte diese zusammen. Da wurden sie beide mit Bleiruten grausam geschlagen und erlangten so eine ruhmvolle Marterkrone am 10. November. Am gleichen Tage errang auch die Jungfrau Nympha, da sie mit lauter Stimme Jesus Christus als den wahren Gott bekannte, zur Krone der Jungfräulichkeit die Palme des Martyriums. (9. Lesung)

Oration:

Herr, wir bitten Dich, gib, daß wir stets gerne das Fest Deiner heiligen Martyrer Thryphon, Respizius und Nympha begehen und, daß wir auf ihre Fürsprache hin Deinen gütigen Schutz erfahren; durch unsern Herrn.

Decius

Decius
Augustus
Bust of Trajan Decius
Emperor of the Roman Empire
Reign	September 249 – June 251
Predecessor	Philip the Arab
Successor	Trebonianus Gallus and Hostilian
Co-emperor	Herennius Etruscus (251)
Born	c. 201 Budalia (Martinci, Serbia)
Died	June 251 (aged 50) Abrittus (Razgrad, Bulgaria)
Wife	Herenia Etruscilla
Issue	Herennius Etruscus and Hostilian
Full name Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius Regnal name Imperator Caesar Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius Augustus

Decius (/ˈdiːʃəs, ˈdɛʃəs/; Latin: Caesar Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius Augustusc. 201 – June 251), also known as Trajan Decius, was Roman Emperor from 249 to 251.

A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was proclaimed emperor by his troops after successfully putting down a rebellion in Moesia. In 249, he defeated and killed Philip near Verona and was recognized as emperor by the Senate afterwards. During his reign, he attempted to strengthen the Roman state and its religion, leading to the Decian persecution, where a number of prominent Christians (including Pope Fabian) were put to death.

In the last year of his reign, Decius co-ruled with his son Herennius Etruscus, until they were both killed by the Goths in the Battle of Abritus.

Early life and rise to power

Decius, who was born at Budalia, near Sirmium in Pannonia Inferior (now Martinci and Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia), was one of the first among a long succession of future Roman Emperors to originate from the Danube provinces, often simply called Illyricum. Unlike some of his immediate imperial predecessors such as Philip the Arab or Maximinus who did not have extensive administrative experience before assuming the throne, Decius was a distinguished senator who had served as suffect 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 Phillippus).

Around 245, 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; 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, Italy, in September 249.The Senate then recognized Decius as Emperor, giving him the attribute Traianus in reference to the emperor Trajan. According to the Byzantine historian Zosimus, Decius was 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 militarily opposing the external threats, and restoring the public piety 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. The choice was left to the Senate, who unanimously selected Valerian (the future emperor). But Valerian, well aware of the dangers and difficulties attached 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.

The Baths of Decius

During his reign, he proceeded with several building projects in Rome, "including the Thermae Decianae or Baths of Decius on the Aventine", which was completed in 252 and survived through to the 16th century; Decius also repaired the Colosseum, which had been damaged by lightning strikes.

Persecution of Christians

In January 250, Decius is said to have 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:

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.That is, the certificate would testify the sacrificant's loyalty to the ancestral gods and to the consumption of sacrificial food and drink as well as the names of the officials who were overseeing the sacrifice.

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. 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. The sacrifice was "on behalf of" (Latin pro) the Emperor, not to the Emperor, since a living Emperor was not considered divine. 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.^] 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.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 killings 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."Despite no indication in the surviving texts that the edict targeted any particular group, Christians bore the brunt of the persecution and never forgot the reign of Decius; whom they remembered as "that fierce tyrant".

At this time, there was a second outbreak of the Antonine Plague, 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" (Cyprian was 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 Valerian in 253 and repealed under his son, Gallienus, in 260–261.

Fighting the Goths and death

The Goths enter the Balkans

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 that 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. The Goths then moved to attack Philippopolis (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. Then the invaders began returning to their homeland, laden with booty and captives, among them many of senatorial rank.

Battle of Abritus

In the meantime, Decius had returned with his re-organized army, accompanied by his son Herennius Etruscus and the general Trebonianus Gallus, intending to defeat the invaders and recover the booty. The final engagement, the battle of Abritus, 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 Abritus or Forum Terebronii (modern Razgrad).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 (i.e., Decius and his son), while pursuing the barbarians across the Danube, died through treachery at Abritus 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 enem

Family tree

previous Philip the Arab Roman Emperor 244–249 ∞ Marcia Otacilia Severa

Decius Roman Emperor 249–251 ∞ Herennia Etruscilla

next Trebonianus Gallus Roman emperor 251–253 ∞ Afinia Gemina Baebiana

Philip II co-emperor

Herennius Etruscus co-emperor 251

Hostilian Roman Emperor co-emperor 251

Volusianus co-emperor

Decius (249 - 251 AD)

Family and Background

The emperor Decius, who appears to have been born at Budelia, a village near Sirmium, somewhere between 190 and 200 AD. His full name was Gaius Messius Quintus Decius Valerianus and he was consul by 232. He governed Moesia and Lower Germany between 232 and 235, and was governor of Nearer Spain under Maximinus. It is asserted by some sources that he was prefect of the city of Rome in 249, when he was dispatched to suppress the revolt of Pacatianus in the Balkans. He succeeded in this, but was then proclaimed emperor himself. He marched on Rome and became emperor upon the death of Philip. He was married to a woman of the Etruscan aristocracy named Herennia Etruscilla, and had two surviving sons by her when he assumed the throne. The elder of the pair, Herennius Decius may have been born in the 220s, the other, Hostilianus seems to have been considerably younger.

Principal Events (Foriegn)

• 250: Gothic invasion of the Balkans
• 250/51: defeated by Goths
• 251: capture of Philipoppolis by the Goths
• 251 (June): defeated and killed by the Goths at the battle of the Abrittus.

Principal Events (Domestic)

• 249 (September/October): takes the names Quintus Trajan Decius
• 249 (November/December): edict ordering all inhabitants of the empire to perform sacrifice before witnesses and obtain a certificate proving that they had done so.
• 250 (probably): depredations of Mariades in the eastern provinces.
• 250 (late) revolt of Valens at Rome.

Outlines of Policy

The emperor Decius was a curious figure. The evidence of his actions suggests that he was deeply conservative, that he was deeply pious, that he possessed a ferocious temper, and that he was quite stupid. He seems to have yearned for the days when the empire appeared to be invincible, and he appears to have cherished the memory of Trajan and the other emperors who had made Rome great. Thus one of his first acts after assuming the throne was to take the name Trajan for himself and to issue an edict ordering all the inhabitants of the empire to sacrifice to the ancestral gods for the safety of the state. His vision of the empire may also be reflected in the remarkable series of antoniniani which were issued from the mint at Milan commemorating the deified emperors.
Decius' edict on sacrifices is certainly the best known of his actions, this is because it had the coincidental effect of causing serious divisions within the Christian Church. The edict itself seems to have been straightforward. 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. Decius himself may have intended this act to reaffirm the pax deorum, and to reassure people throughout the empire that the empire was still secure after the passing of the millennium. For the Christian church it caused a terrible crisis of authority as various bishops and their flocks reacted to it in different ways (click here for more on this--take them to the discussion of the persecutions). Decius himself may not have been conscious of any of this. The edict reflects Decius' concern with tradition, it does not reflect a desire to eradicate Christianity, and, by the time the edict was taking effect, Decius had far more serious problems to worry about.
In the east, the unsettled situation that Decius inherited after the death of Philip remained unsettled, and there was considerable trouble associated with a figure named Mariades, who ultimately fled to Persia. While Mariades was ravaging the eastern provinces, the Goths once again invaded the empire. In the course of 250 the Carpi pierced the Dacian frontier and a large band of Goths, evidently under the command of a king named Cniva, attacked Moesia Decius moved first against the invaders of Dacia, and then against Cniva and his followers. But, when he caught up with them in the area of Beroea, he was heavily defeated.
News of Decius' defeat may have precipitated the short-lived revolt of Valens and the much more serious revolt of Priscus. This Priscus appears to have been the governor of Moesia, and he seized his chance to attack Decius by making an alliance with the Goths. He handed the city of Philoppopolis over to them to plunder in the spring of 251.
After sacking Philoppopolis, the Goths withdrew north through the Dobrudja (nothing is known about Priscus' fate) with Decius in pursuit. Decius caught up with them in late May or early June near Abrittus. The Goths appear to have taken up a position around a marsh in the area, and when the Romans attacked they became entangled in this swamp. The result was a total disaster and Decius died on the field. His body was never recovered.

Dezius Family History

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Caecina Mavortius Basilius Decius

Decius was the son of Caecina Decius Basilius, consul in 463, and brother of Decius Marius Venantius Basilius (consul in 484), and Basilius iunior (consul in 480, identified with Caecina Decius Maximus Basilius); thus he was member of the gens Caecina. He had a son, Vettius Agorius Basilius Mavortius, who was consul in 527.

Decius returned to favor under the rule of Theodoric the Great, by reclaiming a portion of the Pontine Marshes at his own expense. He was praised for this in a letter signed by Theodoric, and Decius set up an inscription at Terracina stating this was done by the command of king Theodoric.Around 510, Decius was one of five senators appointed to investigate charges that the vir inlustris Basilius and Praetextatus had practiced black magic.

Notes

1.  

Caecina Decius Aginatius Albinus (urban prefect 414)

His father was probably Caecina Decius Albinus, and his grandfather Aginatius; Albinus was therefore a member of the Roman aristocracy related to the families of the Ceionii and the Decii. Caecina Decius Basilius, consul in 463, might be his son.

Albinus was an associate of the poet Rutilius Claudius Namatianus, who described him as "a youth in the flower of life" (vitae flore puer), owning a villa near Namatianus at Volaterrae in modern Tuscany, having a son Rufius, and who was Namatianus' successor as praefectus urbi.During his tenure as praefectus urbi, Albinus requested the emperor Honorius to increment the food reserved for the population of Rome, as it was increasing after the sack of Alaric in 410.

Alan Cameron has argued that Albinus is identical to the "clarissimo Albino" the grammarian Servius dedicated his treatise on meter. If this is correct, it would strengthen Cameron's further identification of Albinus with the Decius who is mentioned near the beginning of the Saturnalia of Macrobius.

Ronald J. Weber points out that it is possible he was also the praefectus urbi Flavius Albinus attested in a 426 law preserved in the Codex Theodosianus, arguing that the 12-year gap is not a significant objection to this identification.If they are not the same person, then Albinus vanishes from the historical record after 414.

Anicius Faustus Albinus Basilius

Anicius Faustus Albinus Basilius was a high official of the Eastern Roman Empire and the last ordinary consul of Roman history, holding the office in 541.

Biography

His origins are unknown, although his name suggests he belonged to the aristocratic Roman families of Decii and of the Anicii: it is likely that Basilius was the grandson of the consul of 480, Caecina Decius Maximus Basilius, and perhaps he was the son of the consul of 493, Caecina Decius Faustus Albinus.

When the King of the Ostrogoths Totila overcame the Byzantine defences and entered the city in December 546, Basilius, along with Rufius Petronius Nicomachus Cethegus, the president of the Senate (who had been consul in 504), and Decius (who had been consul in 529) fled Rome with general Bessas.According to the Liber Pontificalis, Basilius and Cethegus reached Constantinople where the Emperor Justinian consoled them "and enriched them as befitted Roman consuls."

On 1 January 541 he took the consulate in Constantinople without colleague. Based on the fact that Basilius entered into the consulship a few months after the Gothic surrender of Ravenna to Belisarius, it is likely his appointment by Emperor Justinian had especial significance: Alan Cameron and Diane Schauer comment "Basilius' consulship symbolized the restoration of Italy and her aristocracy to the empire." It is not recorded how much longer Basilius lived after becoming consul.

A consular diptych bearing the name "Anicius Faustus Albinus Basilius" was first proposed to refer to him by Filippo Buonarroti in 1716. The consular diptych of Albinus Basilius lists his titles at the time of the consulate: vir inlustris, comes domesticorum, patricius and ordinary consul. This identification was generally accepted until 1896 when H. Graeven argued it belonged to Basilius' grandfather, Caecina Decius Maximus Basilius, the western consul of 480, based on stylistic arguments. More recently Cameron and Schauer have defended Buonarotti's identification.

Caecina Decius Basilius

Basilius belonged to the Italian nobility, and was member of the influential gens Caecina.

He was Praetorian prefect of Italy in 458, under Emperor Majorian Emperor Libius Severus (461-465) honoured Basilius with the consulate of the year 463 (during which he was already Patricius), also naming him Praetorian prefect of Italy, a position Basilius held until 465.

The Gallo-Roman poet Sidonius Apollinaris, arrived in Rome in 467, tells that Basilius was one of the two most influential civil officers in Rome in the 460s, together with Gennadius Avienus. Sidonius asked Basilius' help, as he needed to petition Emperor Anthemius on behalf of his people; Basilius suggested that he compose a panegyric in honour of the Emperor, in occasion of the beginning of Anthemius' consulate (January 1, 468). After the declamation, Basilius

Basilius had three sons, all of them Consuls: Caecina Mavortius Basilius Decius (Consul in 486), Decius Marius Venantius Basilius (consul in 484), and Basilius iunior (consul in 480), identified with Caecina Decius Maximus Basilius.

Decius Marius Venantius Basilius

Decius Marius Venantius Basilius (floruit 484) was a Roman official under Odoacer's rule.

Biography

He was the son of Caecina Decius Basilius and the brother of Caecina Mavortius Basilius Decius and Caecina Decius Maximus Basilius, all Roman Consuls. Basilius Venantius iunior, Consul in 508, was probably his son.

Basilius was Praefectus urbi and Consul in 484, with Theoderic the Great as colleague.

He financed the restoration of the damages made by an earthquake to the Colosseum of Rome; two inscriptions are still extant, reading (CILVI, 1716 b and c):

Decius Marius Venantius Basilius, vir clarissimus and inlustris, Praefectus urbi, Patricius, Consul ordinarius restored at his own expenses the arena and the podium, destroyed by a terrible earthquake

DECIVS MARIVS VENANTIVS BASILIVS V[IR] C[LARISSIMVS] ET INL[VSTRIS] PRAEF[ECTVS] VRB[I] PATRICIVS CONSVL ORDINARIVS ARENAM ET PODIVM QVAE ABOMI NANDI TERRAEMO TVS RVINA PROS TRAVIT SVM[P]TV PRO PRIO RESTITVIT

Caecina Decius Maximus Basilius

A member of the gens Decia, Basilius was the son of Caecina Decius Basilius, one of the two consuls of 463. He had four sons, all of whom attained consular rank: Albinus in 493 (presumably the first consul nominated by Theodoric the Great), Avienus in 501, Theodorus in 505, and Inportunus in 509.^[ He was the first consul appointed from Rome since Rufius Postumius Festus eight years before.

As leader of the Roman Senate and chief minister to king Odoacer, and patron to the Greens, Basilius was one of the most powerful men in post-Imperial Rome.As a result, Basilius played a major role in the papal election of 483, being the beneficiary of an admonitio issued by Pope Simplicius that gave him veto power over the election of Simplicius' successor. When it was clear Simplicius was on his deathbed, Basilius convened a meeting of the Roman Senate, the local clergy and leading local bishops at the Imperial Mausoleum to elect the next Pope, Felix. At the same council, an ecclesiastical law was promulgated which forbade the alienation of ecclesiastical property by future popes.

The proceedings of a Roman synod of 501 indicate that he was dead by that date, and a passage of Cassiodorus shows that his death occurred before his sons reached adulthood, leaving their mother in charge of running the household

Publius Decius Mus (consul 279 BC)

Publius Decius Mus was a Roman politician and general of the plebeiangens Decia. He was the son of Publius Decius Mus, who was consul in 312 BC. As consul in 279 BC, he and his fellow consul, Publius Sulpicius Saverrio, combined their armies against Pyrrhus of Epirus at the Battle of Asculum.

Pyrrhus was victorious, but at such a high cost that the security of Asculum was guaranteed. This is the origin of the term "Pyrrhic victory". According to one tradition, Decius died in the field; according to another, he survived.

Both his father and grandfather had fallen in battle after performing the ritual of devotio before the troops, before rushing the enemy. According to one report, Mus was planning to do the same at Asculum.

Publius Decius Mus (consul 312 BC)

Publius Decius Mus, born the son of the consul of 340 BC Publius Decius Mus, was elected consul in 312 BC together with Marcus Valerius Maximus Corvinus. When war broke out with the Samnites, Mus had to stay in Rome due to an illness and it was his colleague who was sent to manage the war. When the Etruscans joined in the war on the side of Rome's enemies, Mus was ordered by the Senate to appoint a dictator.

In 309 BC he served as a legate under the dictatorLucius Papirius Cursor and the next year he was elected consul again, this time with Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus as his colleague. While his colleague handled the war against Samnium, Mus was entrusted with the war against the Etruscans in which he was so successful that the Etruscans sued for a truce.

In 306 BC Mus was appointed as the Master of the Horse to the dictator Publius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus. In 304 BC, Mus and Rullianus were elected censor. In 300 BC Mus successfully espoused the cause of opening the pontificate to the plebeians against Appius Claudius Caecus.

Third Samnite War

In 297 BC Mus and Rullianus were again elected consul. This time both consuls were to go to Samnium to make war. In this campaign Mus was able to defeat a Samnite army near Maleventum. The next year saw his command in Samnium prorogued as proconsul.

The Third Samnite War had thrown up a formidable coalition of Etruscans, Samnites, Umbrians and Gauls against Rome. When Rullianus was unanimously called to the consulship, he stipulated as a condition for accepting that Mus again be his colleague so in 295 BC Mus was elected to a fourth consulship. While Mus was first stationed in Samnium, events up north dictated that both Roman armies be united to face the enemy. When the armies clashed near Sentinum, Publius Decius Mus commanded the left wing of the Roman army. Faced by the Gauls, his troops started giving way under their attacks and Mus followed the example of his father performing a ritual called the Devotio, thereby dedicating himself and the enemy army to the gods of the underworld, then rushing the enemy where he fell in the battle.

Publius Decius Mus was the father of the consul of 279 BC, Publius Decius Mus.

Publius Decius Mus (consul 340 BC)

Publius Decius Mus, son of Quintus, of the plebeiangens Decia, was a Roman consul in 340 BC. He is noted particularly for sacrificing himself in battle through the ritual of devotio, as recorded by the AugustanhistorianLivy.

Career

Decius Mus first enters history in 352 BC as an appointed official, one of the quinqueviri mensarii, public bankers charged with relieving citizen debts to some extent.

He served with distinction in the First Samnite War under Marcus Valerius Corvus Arvina. In 343 BC, Corvus, leading his army through the mountain fastnesses of Samnium, became trapped in a valley by the Samnites. Decius, taking 1,600 men, seized a strong point through which the Samnites were obliged to pass, and held it against them until nightfall; breaking through their lines, he re-joined the main body of the army, which had gained the summit of the mountain and relative safety. The army then swept into the Samnites, gaining a complete victory and the spoils of the enemy camp For the rescue of the trapped army he was awarded the Grass Crown by both his own army and by the army he relieved.

In 340 he was raised to the consular rank as co-consul with Titus Manlius Torquatus, and the Romans allied themselves with their former enemies against the Latins in the Latin War. When during his consulate, an oracle announced that an army and the opposite army's general both would go to their deaths, Mus devoted himself and his foes to the Dii Manes and mother Earth to give his army the victory in the Battle of Vesuvius, in which he was slain and the enemy annihilated.

The devotio

According to Livy, as the army marched near Capua, it was given to the two consuls in mutual dreams that the army whose general pledged himself and his foemen's host to the Dii Manes and Earth would be victorious. Upon confirmation from the haruspices, the two divulged a plan to their senior officers and their army that they may not lose heart, for they intended that whosoever's wing should falter first should so pledge his life to the gods of the underworld and the Earth.

Once the battle was engaged, the left wing began to falter and Decius Mus called upon the Pontifex Maximus, M. Valerius, to tell him the means by which to save the army. The pontifex prescribed the required ritual acts and a prayer (see devotio). After performing the ritual, the fully armored Decius Mus plunged his horse into the enemy with such supernatural vigor and violence that the awe-struck Latins soon refused to engage him, eventually bringing him down with darts. Even then, the Latins avoided his body, leaving a large space around it, and the left wing of the Romans, once faltering, now swept into this weakness in the enemy lines. Manlius, conducting the right wing, held fast, allowing the Latins to use up their reserves, before crushing the enemy host between the renewed left and Samnite foederati at their flank, leaving only a quarter of the enemy to flee.

He was the father of Publius Decius P.f. Mus, consul in 312 BC, 308 BC, 297 BC, and 295 BC and the grandfather of Publius Decius P.f. Mus, consul in 279 BC.

In popular culture

At the behest of Franco Cattaneo, a Genoese businessman, Peter Paul Rubens created a series of eight paintings, modelli for tapestry weavers to recreate, commemorating Decius Mus.

In the 2016 United States Presidential election, Michael Anton wrote under the pseudonym Publius Decius Mus to put forward a conservative intellectual defence of the positions of then candidate Donald Trump. His writings were aimed at Republicans that held Trump was not politically conservative enough to represent the party. He wrote that a risk of self-sacrifice was necessary to save the nation, maintaining that progressives had brought it to the brink of destruction. He used the actions of the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 as an analogy.

Decius Paulinus

Paulinus was a member of the Decia gens, the son of Basilius Venantius (consul in 508), and the brother of Decius (consul in 529). According to Alan Cameron and Diane Schauer, Paulinus had at least one other brother who was appointed to the consulate.

Consulate

In September 533, Paulinus became the last consul to be designated by a barbarian king, Athalaric.He served as Consul Ordinarius in 534 with the Emperor Justinian I (c. 482 – 14 November 565), whose full title as consul was Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus Augustus.

Theodorus (consul 505)

Theodorus (floruit 505–523) was an Italian politician during the reign of Theodoric the Great. He held the consulship with Flavius Sabinianus as his colleague in 505.

Theodorus was son of Caecina Decius Maximus Basilius (consul in 480), and brother of Albinus iunior (consul in 493), Avienus (consul in 501), and Inportunus (consul in 509).

While helping his brother Inportunus organize the games to celebrate Inportunus' consulate, the two of them were accused by the Greens of attacking them and killing one of their members. A surviving letter of Theodoric commands both of them to provide answers to these allegations before the tribunal of the inlustrius Caelianus and Agapitus.

John Moorhead identifies Theodorus as the recipient of a surviving letter from bishop Fulgentius of Ruspe, written in 520. While Fulgentius admits they do not know each other, he is writing Theodorus on account of a number of mutual friends, providing him a good deal of spiritual advice, and ends by asking Theodorus to pass his greetings to his mother and wife. "The letter," Moorhead notes, "providing as it does scarcely any concrete information about Theodorus, is doubtless chiefly of interest to the historian of spirituality, but it does enable us to locate Theodorus within another context, that of the circle of Fulgentius' correspondents."^[3]

In 523, he was part of the entourage of Pope John I, who had been ordered by king Theodoric to proceed to Constantinople and obtain a moderation of Emperor Justin's decree of 523 against the Arians. Theodoric threatened that if John should fail in his mission, there would be reprisals against the orthodox Catholics in the West. Other Senators accompanying Pope John included his brother Inportunus, Agapitus, and the patrician Agapitus.