The Battle of Verona was fought between the Roman general and usurper

Decius Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius ( 201 ADJune 251 AD), sometimes translated as Trajan Decius or Decius, was the emperor of the Roman Empire from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was procl ...

, and emperor

Philip the Arab Philip the Arab ( la, Marcus Julius Philippus "Arabs"; 204 – September 249) was Roman emperor from 244 to 249. He was born in Aurantis, Arabia, in a city situated in modern-day Syria. After the death of Gordian III in February 244, Philip, ...

in 249. Decius was victorious and Philip and his son Philip II were both killed. Decius was subsequently declared Roman emperor.

Prelude

In late 248, Gothic tribes had attacked the Roman province of

Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...

on the frontier of the Danube River. The Roman troops there, led by Roman general

Pacatian Pacatian (; la, Tiberius Claudius Marinus Pacatianus; died ''c.'' 248) was a usurper in the Danube area of the Roman Empire during the time of Philip the Arab. He is known from coins, and from mentions in Zosimus and Zonaras, who say that he ...

, held the Goths back and temporarily secured the Roman defense of Moesia. That same year, Pacatian's troops proclaimed him emperor. Roman emperor

dispatched the supportive and outspoken senator

to Moesia to put down the rebellion. Decius brought his son

Herennius Etruscus Quintus Herennius Etruscus Messius Decius (died June 251) was briefly Roman emperor in 251, ruling jointly under his father Decius. His father was proclaimed emperor by his troops in September 249 while in Pannonia and Moesia, in opposition to ...

with him. However, before Decius arrived, Pacatian's troops mutinied and assassinated their commander. When Decius arrived, he and Herennius attempted to restore order to the usurper's army. The troops opposed the idea of being led by a distant emperor. Thus, they proclaimed Decius emperor. Decius and his army then marched to Italy. Phillip, with only two reserve legions, marched to meet Decius in battle.

Battle

The two armies met in battle near Verona, Italy, in a bloody and brutal battle. Decius was heavily outnumbered by Philip. 6th century Byzantine writer Zosimus recorded the day:

The supporters of Decius, though they knew that the enemy had greatly the advantage in numbers, still retained their confidence, trusting to the general skill and prudence of Decius in affairs.

Not many details of the battle are known, but Decius is known to have had a better quality of troops than Philip, and Philip's chances of victory were deemed improbable. Philip was slain by Decius, and his army was defeated.

Aftermath

Following his victory, Decius entered Rome and was received and hailed 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 ...

, of which he had formerly been a prominent member.

References

{{Reflist Verona 249 Verona 249

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

Verona 249 Verona 249 Verona 249

Decian dynasty