Battle of Verona (249)

Battle of Verona (249)
Part of the civil war between Decius and Phillip
Date249 AD
Location
Verona, Roman Italy
Result Decius victory, death of emperor Philip, Decius becomes Roman Emperor
Belligerents
Decius's army Philip's army
Commanders and leaders
Decius,
Herennius Etruscus		 Philip the Arab †
Strength
Unknown Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown

The Battle of Verona was fought between the Roman general and usurper Decius, and emperor Philip the Arab 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 on the frontier of the Danube River. Their advance was checked by the Roman general Pacatian,[1] whose army subsequently proclaimed him emperor. The legitimate emperor Philip the Arab ordered the supportive and outspoken senator Decius to put down the rebellion. Before the imperial delegation reached Moesia, Pacatian's troops mutinied and assassinated their commander. Decius arrived, accompanied by his son Herennius Etruscus, and attempted to restore order to the usurper's army. Opposed to being led by the geographically distant government of Philip, the troops proclaimed Decius emperor instead. Decius and his army then marched to Italy, where Philip, commanding only two reserve legions, met them in battle.[2]

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.[3]

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.[4]

Aftermath

Following his victory, Decius entered Rome and was received and hailed as emperor by the Senate, of which he had formerly been a prominent member.

References

  1. ^ Southern, Pat (2001). The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine. London New York: Routledge. pp. 73–74. ISBN 9780415239431. OCLC 46421874.
  2. ^ Bowman, Alan; Cameron, Averil; Garnsey, Peter, eds. (2005-09-08). The Cambridge Ancient History. Vol. 12, The crisis of Empire, AD 193–337. Cambridge University Press. p. 38. doi:10.1017/chol9780521301992. ISBN 9781139053921. OCLC 828737952.
  3. ^ Zosimus, Historia Nova 1.22
  4. ^ Whitworth, Patrick (2018-09-01). Suffering and Glory: The Church from the Apostles to Constantine. Sacristy Press. p. 213. ISBN 978-1-910519-92-9.