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Roman Emperor Philip I was so overwhelmed with hardships in the midst of Rome's great “Crisis of the Third Century” that he offered to resign. Even so, he was encouraged to persevere by a support Senate, particular by Senator Gaius Messius Quintus Decius (c. 201–251 AD). Having earned the Emperor's trust and admiration, Decius was tasked with a particularly troublesome assignment: leadership over the rebellious combined Pannonian and Moesian provinces. Apparently, the skilled Decius exceeded Philip's expectations. After successfully quelling the rebellion, Decius' troops leveraged the situation to declare their leader as Rome's new Emperor. Sensing his peril, Philip gathered the dwindling number of troops still loyal to him and advanced on Decius, perhaps to reinstate his resignation. In any case, Decius' seasoned troops met the imperial advance and Philip met his demise, either killed in the fighting or murdered by his own troops.
Willing or not, Decius accepted the responsibility to sit stop Rome's throne. Presumably, that seat was uncomfortable considering that the last dozen or so Roman Emperors had been murdered, primarily by their own troops. Striving to break that cycle, Decius tried to gain favor by following a conservative agenda and distributing propaganda. He took on the name of Trajan, inviting comparisons with himself to Emperor Trajan, who ruled during the zenith of Rome's power. From very early in his reign, Decius’ coinage would employ the Trajan moniker. Interestingly, this particular tetradrachm, from the Antioch mint in Syria, employs DEKKIOC (Decius), without also adding TRAIANON (Trajan). Maybe this coin was produced in error, or perhaps it took some time for the provincial mint to receive word of the Emperor’s new identify. In any case, it appears that such Decius
sine Trajan coins are very rare.
Alas, Decius' propaganda campaign did not suffice to restore Rome's glory days under Trajan. In addition to the threats from the Persians and Germanic barbarians, there was yet another foe on the rise: the Goths. With coffers and silver mines rapidly depleting, Decius dramatically reduced the silver content of the denarius. As if things couldn’t get any worse, a horrible plague spread through Rome.
It was as if the gods themselves were punishing the Empire. The unprecedented succession of military setbacks and natural calamities plaguing Rome called for rectifying measures of corresponding magnitude, seeing as they augured nothing less than a rending of the
pax deorum that had sustained the Empire's dominance since its founding. To improve Roman piety and foster the return to traditional values, he launched the remarkable Edict of Decius in 250 AD, ordering all Romans to sacrifice before the magistrates of their community for the safety of the empire and receive a certificate recording their loyalty to the ancestral gods. Those who refused, as did many Christians including the Pope, were subject to torture and execution. Historians debate whether Decius' goal was not so much to enforce the superiority of the Roman pantheon over other religions (e.g., Christianity) but rather to legitimize his position and provide some comfort against the general unease provoked by the recent passing of the Roman millennium. In any case, the backlash across the Empire, for example in Carthage, was so severe as to be referred to as the "Decian persecution".
Despite the oblations, Rome’s problems persisted. The Goths became bolder, leading successful raids in Moesia and Thrace. Decius and his troops returned to retaliate. However, the Goths, armed with inferior weapons but superior knowledge of the terrain, successfully ambushed and killed many Romans, including the Augustus himself. Decius, so adamant about leading a traditional life, ended it in atypical fashion – he became the first Roman Emperor to die in battle against a foreign enemy.
Additional Reading: J M Bryant, "Novatian & Cyprian: Persecution and Schism in the Making of a Catholic Christianity - Part I,"
Athens J History, 2003,
9:1-34.
Coin details: SYRIA, ANTIOCH, Trajan Decius (249-251 AD), BI Tetradrachm (12.36 g), NGC Grade: MS, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 4/5, Obverse: Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, AYTOK K ΓAI ME KYIN ΔEKKIOC CEB, Reverse: Eagle standing left on palm branch, holding wreath in its beak, ΔHMAΡX EΞOYCIAC, S C in exergue, Reference: Prieur 500.
Image: Sony ɑ 7R Ⅴ camera / Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS lens.