The Empire. 
n o 
exploits, and before he set off from Rome, he went into 
Arabia, and laid the foundation of a city, to which he gave 
the name of Philippopolis. Leaving Mesopotamia a prey 
to the Persians, he returned to Rome, where he was received 
with respect and submission, though not with the usual 
acclamations of the people. He soon, however, rendered 
himself popular. As the thousandth year of Rome fell 
in the reign or Philip, he caused the secular games to be 
celebrated with a magnificence corresponding to the joy of 
this event. The people were entertained with games and 
shows. The theatre of Pompey was crowded for three days 
and three nights in succession, and two thousand gladiators 
bled at once in the circus to administer to the amusement of 
the people. 
The Goths having invaded the empire, Marinus, the lieu¬ 
tenant of Philip, was sent against them with a powerful 
army. ' This ambitious general, however, betrayed his trust, 
and was declared emperor by his troops ; but in a short time 
the very persons who conferred upon him this dignity, took 
ft from him and put him to death. Decius, whom Philip 
had appointed to succeed Marinus in Pannonia, was now 
offered the imperial dignity by his soldiers; but he appeared 
to assume the honour with reluctance, and wrote to Philip 
that he took the title merely to secure it to its rightful pos¬ 
sessor, to whom he waited only for a favourable opportunity 
of resigning it. Distrusting these professions, Philip marched 
with the forces he was able to collect; but when his army 
had arrived at Verona, a general revolt took place in favour 
of Decius. A sentinel attacked the emperor in person, and 
cleft his head in two by a cut of his sword. Philip, who 
had reached the forty-fifth year of his age, and had reigned 
about five years, was succeeded by Decius. 
Cneius Metius Decius was universally acknowledged 
-emperor by the senate and the people. The senate held 
him in such high estimation, that they gave him the title of 
Trajanus; and in the opinion of historians, he seems to have 
merited this exalted surname. He permitted the office of 
censor to be revived ; and Valerian, a man of the strictest 
morals, was elevated to that office. Decius endeavoured to 
watch over the interests of the inferior classes of the people, 
while he guarded the dignity of the patrician orders; but 
Rome had now arrived at such a state, that no individual 
talents, and no high example of virtue, could save her from 
destruction. The rapid spread of the Christian religion, and 
the constant disputes which were carried on between the 
Christian and the Pagan inhabitants, created divisions at 
home, while the growing insolence and audacity of the bar¬ 
barian hordes of the north, threatened the destruction of the 
empire from without. The persecution of the Christians, 
which arose from the first of these causes, was carried on 
with unrelenting hatred. Thousands were put to death; 
and every species of cruelty was resorted to in order to 
reduce their numbers and their influence. An irruption of 
the Goths into Thrace and Maesia, seemed to follow as a 
punishment for this persecution. Decius went at the head of 
a powerful army to oppose them; and, after an obstinate 
engagement, he succeeded in destroying 30,000 of the bar¬ 
barians. In following up his success, he was led into a defile 
by the treason of his own general, Gallus, where the king 
of the Goths had been instructed to assail him. In this posi¬ 
tion of danger,, the brave emperor, after seeing his son fall 
by an arrow, and the whole of his army routed, resolved to 
die on the field of battle which he had lost. Spurring on 
his horse, he plunged into a marsh, where he was instantly 
swallowed up, and his body never more seen. This event 
happened in the fiftieth year of his age and the third of his 
reign. 
The remnant of the Roman army which had survived this 
disgraceful battle, proclaimed Gailus Hostilius the suc¬ 
cessor of Decius. Though descended from an honourable 
family, he seems to have been as destitute of military courage 
as he was of private honour. Instead of arraying the strength 
of Rome against the invaders, he purchased peace by an 
ignominious tribute to the Goths, and returned to the capital 
Vol. XXII. No. 1501. 
M E. The Empire. 285 
to devote himself to indolence and licentiousness. The 
Goths, however, whose friendship he had bought, soon forgot 
their bargain, and rushed in upon the eastern provinces. The 
Persians and Scythians were encouraged by their example, 
and spread their desolating armies over Syria and Mesopota¬ 
mia. While the distant members of the empire were thus 
wasted and plundered, disorders equally fatal were raging at 
its heart. The Christians were persecuted with new malig¬ 
nity; a frightful pestilence, which seems to have been 
widely extended, scourged the empire for several years; and 
a civil war now added its horrors to these already existing 
evils. 
After conquering the Goths, iEmilianus, the Roman 
general, was proclaimed emperor by his troops. Gallus 
marched into the east to oppose him; and in a battle which 
took place in Maesia, Gallus, and along with him his son 
Volusian, was slain in the 47th year of his age, and the third 
of his reign. 
iEmilianus now expected to be acknowledged emperor by 
the senate; but they refused to confer upon him ffiis honour, 
and, when their refusal was made known, the army stationed 
in Rhaetia proclaimed their general, Valerian, emperor. The 
prospect of a civil war between these two competitors, in¬ 
duced the army of iEmilianus to put their own commander 
to death, and to concur in the general attachment to 
Valerian. 
Publius Licinius Valerian was raised to the empire at 
the age of 78, and united the suffrages of all classes of the 
Roman people. That moderation, however, and those 
virtues which had distinguished him in private life, did not 
display themselves to great advantage when he came to the 
supreme power. He wanted courage in his military opera¬ 
tions, and, though he affected to be the patron of science, 
yet he does not seem to have bestowed any essential favours 
on men of true genius or merit. Valerian, however, made 
many good attempts to reform the abuses of government; but 
he left a blot upon the character of his reign, by his ma¬ 
levolent persecution of the harmless Christians. The incur¬ 
sions of the northern hordes called Valerian into the field, and 
the invasion of Syria by Sapor, king of Persia, compelled him 
to undertake an expedition for its relief. His arms, however, 
were unsuccessful in Mesopotamia; and when he wished to 
have a private conference with Sapor, he was treacherously 
taken prisoner, and carried in triumph to the capital, A. D. 
260. Here he exposed him in public to the insults of the 
people. He loaded him with ridicule and indignities of 
every kind, and he used the captive monarch as a footstool 
whenever he mounted on horseback. After a captivity of 
seven years, Sapor at last put out his eyes, and ordered him 
to be flayed alive, and salt to be thrown over his mangled 
body, till he perished in the greatest torment. His skin is 
said to have been afterwards tanned and painted red, and 
nailed up in one of the temples of Persia as a warning to the 
future emperors of Rome. 
The success of the Persian arms inspired all the northern 
nations with the hopes of subjugating Rome. While the 
Goths and Scythians ravaged Pontus and Asia, the Franks 
and Alemanni carried fire and sword into llhsetia, and ad - 
vanced as far as Ravenna. The Sarmatians and the Quadi' 
about the same time entered Dacia and Pannonia, and other 
barbarous tribes invaded Spain, and took possession of many 
of their strong holds. 
In this crisis Gallienus, the son of Valerian, was chosen 
emperor by universal consent. Hastening from Gaul into 
Italy he drove out the barbarians, and delivered Rome from 
the terrors of an invasion. Regillianus, who commanded in 
Dacia and Pannonia, was equally successful, and even beat 
them in several engagements in one day. 
A general of the name of Ingenuus, who commanded in 
Pannonia, was proclaimed emperor by his troops; but 
Gallienus lost no time in marching against him, and having 
come up with him in lllyricum, he defeated his army, and 
Ingenuus v/as either slain by his troops after the battle, or 
took away his own life to avoid the enmity of Gallienus. 
4 D The 
