Decius

Decius ruled the Roman Empire from 249 to 251 and ordered the first empire-wide persecution of Christians. Born around 201 near Sirmium in Pannonia, he came from a provincial family of some standing, held a consulship, and governed Moesia and Germania. The emperor Philip the Arab sent him to the Danube in 248 to restore discipline among troops who had proclaimed a rival. The soldiers proclaimed Decius instead — reportedly against his wishes — and he defeated and killed Philip at Verona in 249. His programme was the restoration of traditional Roman religion as the foundation of the state's fortunes, at a moment of invasion, plague and inflation. In 250 he issued an edict requiring every inhabitant of the empire to sacrifice to the gods, pour a libation and eat sacrificial meat before a commission, and to obtain a certificate confirming it. Dozens of these libelli survive on papyrus from Egypt. The edict was not framed as an attack on Christians specifically — it applied to everyone, with Jews exempted — but it made Christianity impossible to practise without apostasy. Refusers were imprisoned, tortured and executed; Pope Fabian was among the first to die. Many complied, and many bought certificates without sacrificing, which produced a bitter dispute afterwards about whether the lapsed could be readmitted, and eventually the Novatianist schism. He fought the Goths under Cniva, who had crossed the Danube and sacked Philippopolis. In June 251 at Abritus in the Dobrudja he pursued them into marshy ground and his army was destroyed. He was the first Roman emperor killed in battle against a foreign enemy, and his body was never recovered.

• Lived: 201 CE – 251 CE
• Nationality: Serbian
• Roles: ruler