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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;John Anthony, post: 2671926, member: 42773&quot;]<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decius" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decius" rel="nofollow">Caesar Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius Augustus</a> was so evidently so difficult to distinguish from other Romans that he needed no less than seven names to clarify the matter. In all seriousness, he was a distinguished senator before Philip I sent him to quell the revolt of Pacatianus, which he accomplished with evidently so much aplomb that his troops elevated him to the office of emperor. As you can imagine, that did not sit well with Philip, so they marched against each other with the outcome that Philip and his armies were defeated in Verona.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Senate gave the new emperor the additional name Traianus (because six names wasn’t enough), referring to the glory days of a previous good emperor. The new Trajan set out with the good intentions of restoring Roman military strength and public piety. He issued a remarkable imperial decree stating that all the inhabitants of the empire had to sacrifice to the traditional Roman gods before magistrates, to prove their loyalty to the ancient deities. This of course was anathema to the fledgling Christian church, but the history and analysis of this episode is lengthy and complicated. If you’re interested in this genre of history, I will suggest an excellent wiki article entitled <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Christian_policies_in_the_Roman_Empire#Under_Decius" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Christian_policies_in_the_Roman_Empire#Under_Decius" rel="nofollow">Anti-Christian policies in the Roman Empire</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>Trajan Decius met his end in the Battle of Abritus at the hands of the Goths, who he marched against with his son Herennius Etruscus and the general Trebonianus Gallus. In order to cheer on his soldiers, Decius said, “Let no one mourn; the death of one soldier is not a great loss to the republic.&quot; He promptly proved the point by marching against the enemy in the midst of his troops and quickly meeting his demise. Was it an act of sheer bravery, or sheer fatuousness? I think perhaps some delegation of authority might have served his purpose better.</p><p><br /></p><p>He ruled for only 2 years, but his output of coinage was immense, and most of his issues can’t be considered even scarce - he comes in at number 40 on the ERIC rarity index. Here is an ant with Abundantia. It would seem that his ants are generally as nice as Philip I’s - well-crafted on neatly-trimmed flans of good metal. <font size="4">(He rather reminds of my uncle, who at the age of 90 told us that he was going to quit smoking because he wanted to live longer. The family all had a good chuckle at the time, but it worked - he’s 100 now.)</font></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]595140[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><font size="3">Trajan Decius, AD 249- 251</font></p><p><font size="3">AR Antoninianus, 21mm, 4.5g, 2h; Rome mint.</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv.: IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG; radiate, draped, cuirassed bust right.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev.: ABVNDANTIA AVG; Abundantia standing right, emptying cornucopia held in both hands.</font></p><p><font size="3">Reference: RIC IVc 10(b), p. 129</font></p><p><br /></p><p>Post your coins of Trajan Decius and any relevant or irrelevant reflections...[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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