Editing Decius (section)

==Fighting the Goths and death==
[[File:Battle of Abritus.jpg|thumb|The Gothic Invasions of 250–251 AD]]{{See also|Gothic War (248-253)}}

===The Goths enter the Balkans===
The [[barbarian]] incursions into the Empire were becoming more daring and frequent whereas the Empire was facing a serious economic crisis in Decius' time. During his brief reign, Decius engaged in important operations against the [[Goths]], who crossed the Danube to raid districts of Moesia and [[Thrace]].<ref name="EB1911"/> This is the first considerable occasion that the Goths{{snd}} who would later come to play such an important role{{snd}} appear in the historical record. The Goths under King [[Cniva]] were [[Battle of Nicopolis ad Istrum|surprised]] by the emperor while besieging [[Nikopol, Bulgaria|Nicopolis]] on the Danube; the Goths fled through the difficult terrain of the [[Balkans]], but then doubled back and surprised the Romans near [[Battle of Beroe|Beroë]] (modern [[Stara Zagora]]), sacking their camp and dispersing the Roman troops ([[Battle of Beroe]]). The Goths then moved to [[Battle of Philippopolis (250)|attack Philippopolis]] (modern [[Plovdiv]]), which fell into their hands.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} The governor of Thrace, [[Titus Julius Priscus]], declared himself emperor under Gothic protection in opposition to Decius but Priscus' challenge was rendered moot when he was killed soon afterwards.<ref name=Scarre169 /> Then the invaders began returning to their homeland, laden with booty and captives, among them many of senatorial rank.<ref name=Wolfram46>Wolfram 1988, p. 46</ref>

===Battle of Abritus===
{{Main article|Battle of Abritus}}

In the meantime, Decius had returned with his re-organized army, accompanied by his son Herennius Etruscus and the general [[Trebonianus Gallus]], intending to defeat the invaders and recover the booty. The final engagement, the [[battle of Abritus]], in which the Goths fought with the courage of despair, under the command of Cniva, took place during the second week of June 251 on swampy ground in the [[Ludogorie]]  (region in northeastern Bulgaria which merges with Dobruja plateau and the Danube Plain to the north) near the small settlement of Abritus<ref name="Anc.Rome" />  or ''Forum Terebronii'' (modern [[Razgrad]]).{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} [[Jordanes]] records that Decius' son [[Herennius Etruscus]] was killed by an arrow early in the battle, and to cheer his men Decius exclaimed, "Let no one mourn; the death of one soldier is not a great loss to the republic." Nevertheless, Decius' army was entangled in the swamp and annihilated in this battle, while he himself was killed on the field of battle.<ref name="Decius: 249 - 251 AD" /> As the historian [[Aurelius Victor]] relates:

{{blockquote|text=The Decii (i.e., ''Decius'' and his son), while pursuing the barbarians across the Danube, died through treachery at Abritus after reigning two years. ... Very many report that the son had fallen in battle while pressing an attack too boldly; that the father however, has strenuously asserted that the loss of one soldier seemed to him too little to matter. And so he resumed the war and died in a similar manner while fighting vigorously.<ref>Aurelius Victor, Book of the Caesars 29</ref>}}

One literary tradition claims that Decius was betrayed by his successor, Trebonianus Gallus, who was involved in a secret alliance with the Goths, but this cannot be substantiated and was most likely a later invention since Gallus felt compelled to adopt Decius' younger son, Gaius Valens Hostilianus, as joint emperor even though the latter was too young to rule in his own right.<ref>Scarre 1995, pp. 168–69</ref><ref>Southern 2001, p. 308</ref> It is also unlikely that the shattered Roman legions would proclaim as emperor a traitor who was responsible for the loss of so many soldiers from their ranks.<ref>Potter 2004, p. 247</ref> Decius was the first Roman emperor to die in battle against a foreign enemy.<ref name = Scarre170/>{{debatable|date=August 2024}}

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File:Herennius Etruscus Coin .jpg|Coin of [[Herennius Etruscus]]. Inscription: HER. ETR. MES. DECIVS NOB. C. / CONCORDIA AVG. F
File:INC-3020-a Ауреус. Траян Деций. Ок. 249—251 гг. (аверс).png|[[Aureus]] of Decius
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