| Herennia Etruscilla | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augusta | |||||||||
 Bust of Herennia Etruscilla. | |||||||||
| Empress of the Roman Empire | |||||||||
| Tenure | 249–251 | ||||||||
| Born | Unknown | ||||||||
| Died | c. 253 | ||||||||
| Spouse | Decius | ||||||||
| Issue | |||||||||
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Herennia Cupressenia Etruscilla was Roman empress as the wife of Emperor Decius. She was the mother of Emperors Herennius Etruscus and Hostilian. [1]
As with most third-century Roman empresses, very little is known about her. [2] The date and place of her birth are not known for certain. She was probably from a senatorial family of Herennia gens. [3] [4] It is assumed that her ancestors settled in Etrurian lands. [5] Herennia married Decius probably before 230, [5] therefore, Herennia was born in early 3rd century AD. She gained the title Augusta when Decius became emperor in 249 AD. After the death of both Decius and Herennius Etruscus in the Battle of Abritus, Trebonianus Gallus, the governor of Moesia, was elected as emperor in June 251 AD. [6]
In order to gain popular support, Trebonianus Gallus retained Herennia Etruscilla as Augusta (empress-mother) and elevated Hostilian to Augustus, making him co-emperor alongside Trebonianus Gallus himself. [7] [8] [9] Hostilian died in July 251, either from a plague or murder, [7] [8] after which Trebonianus Gallus' son Volusianus, was raised to Augustus. In November 251 AD, Herennia survived the epidemic, in which her son Hostilian died, retained the role of Augusta, despite any familial ties to Gallus and lived until 253 AD, corresponding to the end of his reign. [10] [11]
While information about her is scarce, coins with her portrait are numerous and easy to obtain. Legends on coins struck at Rome only ever give her name as 'Herennia Etruscilla' but billon tetradrachms struck at Alexandria supply the Cupressenia element in abbreviation: ΕΡ ΚΟΥΠ ΑΙΤΡΟΥCΚΙΛΑ (Greek: Her. Koup. Aitrouskila), showing that her full name was Herennia Cup(ressenia) Etruscilla. [12] The Cupressenia element is expanded from the 'ΚΟΥΠ' in the Alexandria coin legends, from the Latin cupresseus "cypress tree" and symbol of Juno. [13]
The Battle of Abritus, also known as the Battle of Forum Terebronii, occurred near Abritus in the Roman province of Moesia Inferior in the summer of 251. It was fought between the Romans and a federation of Gothic and Scythian tribesmen under the Gothic king Cniva. The Roman army was soundly defeated, and Roman emperors Decius and Herennius Etruscus, his son, were both killed in battle. They became the first Roman emperors to be killed by a foreign enemy. It was one of the worst defeats suffered by the Roman Empire against the Germanic tribes, rated by the Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus as on par with the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD, the Marcomannic invasion of Roman Italy in 170, and the Battle of Adrianople in 378.
Year 251 (CCLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Traianus and Etruscus. The denomination 251 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
The 250s was a decade that ran from January 1, 250, to December 31, 259.
Gaius Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius, known as Trajan Decius or simply Decius, was Roman emperor from 249 to 251.
Gaius Vibius Trebonianus Gallus was Roman emperor from June 251 to August 253, in a joint rule with his son Volusianus.
Quintus Herennius Etruscus Messius Decius, known simply as Herennius Etruscus, was briefly Roman emperor in 251, ruling jointly under his father Decius. His father was proclaimed emperor by his troops in September 249 while in Pannonia and Moesia, in opposition to Philip. Decius defeated Philip in battle, and was then proclaimed emperor by the Senate. Etruscus, still a child, was elevated to Caesar (heir) in 250, then further raised to Augustus (emperor) in May 251. When the Goths, under Cniva, invaded the Danubian provinces, he was sent with a vanguard, followed by the main body of Roman troops, led by Decius. They ambushed Cniva at the Battle of Nicopolis ad Istrum in 250, routing him, before being ambushed and routed themselves at the Battle of Beroe. Etruscus was killed in the Battle of Abritus the following year, alongside his father. After the deaths of both emperors, Trebonianus Gallus, who had been governor of Moesia, was elected emperor by the remaining Roman forces.
Hostilian was briefly Roman emperor in 251. Hostilian was born to Decius and Herennia Etruscilla at an unknown date and elevated to caesar in 250 by Decius. After Decius and Herennius Etruscus, Hostilian's brother, were killed at the Battle of Abritus, an ambush by the Goths, Trebonianus Gallus was proclaimed emperor by the legions. Almost immediately, he elevated Hostilian to co-emperor and his own son, Volusianus, to caesar. Hostilian died soon after, either due to plague or being murdered by Trebonianus Gallus.
Silbannacus was an obscure Roman emperor or usurper during the Crisis of the Third Century. Silbannacus is not mentioned in any contemporary documents and his existence was forgotten until the 20th century, when two coins bearing his name were discovered, the first in the 1930s and the second in the 1980s. His unusual name suggests that he might have been of Gallic descent.
Cniva was a Gothic king who invaded the Roman Empire. He successfully captured the city of Philippopolis in 250 and killed Emperor Decius and his son Herennius Etruscus at the Battle of Abritus as he was attempting to leave the Empire in 251. This was the first time a Roman Emperor had been killed in combat against foreigners. He was allowed by the new Emperor Trebonianus Gallus to leave with his spoils and was paid tribute to stay out of the empire.
Gaius Vibius Volusianus was a Roman emperor from 251 to 253, ruling with his father Trebonianus Gallus.
The name Herennius may refer to:
The Illyriciani or Illyrian emperors were a group of Roman emperors during the Crisis of the Third Century who were of Illyrian origins and hailed from the region of Illyricum, and were raised chiefly from the ranks of the Roman army.
Gnaea Seia Herennia Sallustia Barbia Orbiana, usually known as Sallustia Orbiana, was a third century Roman empress, with the title of Augusta as the wife of Severus Alexander from AD 225 to 227. The emperor married her in late 225, following the death of his grandmother. Severus was around sixteen years of age at this time. She was known for her beauty, which was captured in multiple works of art. Possibly a victim of the jealousy of Julia Mamaea, the emperor's mother, Orbiana was divorced and exiled to Libya in 227.
Afinia Gemina Baebiana was the wife of Roman emperor Trebonianus Gallus, who ruled briefly in 251–253.
Andautonia was a Roman settlement located on the southern bank of the river Sava, located in the modern-day village of Šćitarjevo, southeast of the city of Zagreb, Croatia.
The gens Vibia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Although individuals named Vibius appear in history during the time of the Second Punic War, no members of this gens are found at Rome until the final century of the Republic. The first of the Vibii to obtain the consulship was Gaius Vibius Pansa in 43 BC, and from then until imperial times the Vibii regularly filled the highest offices of the Roman state. The emperors Trebonianus Gallus and Volusianus each claimed descent from the family.
The Battle of Nicopolis ad Istrum was fought between the Roman army of Emperor Decius and his son Herennius Etruscus, and the Gothic army of King Cniva, in 250 AD. The Romans were victorious.
The gens Herennia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned among the Italian nobility during the Samnite Wars, and they appear in the Roman consular list beginning in 93 BC. In Imperial times they held a number of provincial offices and military commands. The empress Herennia Etruscilla was a descendant of this gens.
The gens Messia was a plebeian family at Rome. The first person of this name to appear in history is Vettius Messius, a Volscian soldier whose courage inspired his comrades in a desperate battle against the Romans in 431 BC. It is not known when the Messii first obtained Roman citizenship. Members of the family appear in the lists of annual magistrates during the final decades of the Republic. In imperial times, some of the Messii achieved the highest offices of the Roman state.
The Gothic War took place between the years 248 and 249, as well as in the year 253. Within this war, a series of battles occurred and plundering was carried out by the Goths and their allies in the eastern territory of the Roman Empire, specifically in the Balkans. With the cessation of the payment of tribute previously made by the Roman emperor Philip the Arab to the tribes beyond the Danube, the Goths and their allies, led by King Ostrogotha and his subcommanders Argedo and Gundericus, moved towards the Roman border and began a series of attacks, including against the fortified city of Marcianopolis in Thracia. After these actions, the Goths withdrew with their spoils of war.
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