Decius (family)
Decius was the gentile name of a Roman plebeian family ( gens ).
It became known through three relatives (father, son and grandson) named Publius Decius Mus , who are said to have sacrificed themselves in order to save the Roman army; the first in the battle of Vesuvius (340 BC), the second in the 3rd Samnite War in the battle of Sentinum in the Marche (295 BC), the third in the war against Pyrrhos in the battle of Ausculum (Ascoli Satriano, 279 BC).
Known members of the family were:
- Marcus Decius , legendary figure in the early days of the republic, tribune 491 BC Chr.
- Publius Decius Mus (consul 340 BC) is said to have sacrificed himself in the battle of Vesuvius
- Publius Decius Mus (consul 312 BC) , four-time consul between 312 and 295 BC BC, sacrificial death in the battle of Sentinum
- Publius Decius Mus (consul 279 BC) is said to have sacrificed himself in the battle of Asculum
- Decius (Emperor) , fully Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius , Roman emperor from 249 to 251 AD
Individual evidence
- ↑ For a complete list of the members of the gens Decia who held offices during the Roman Republic, see T. Robert S. Broughton : The Magistrates Of The Roman Republic. Vol. 2: 99 BC - 31 BC . Cleveland, Ohio: Case Western Reserve University Press, 1952. Reprinted unchanged 1968. (Philological Monographs. Ed. By the American Philological Association. Vol. 15, Part 2), p. 559