Herennius Etruscus

Roman emperor (220-251)

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Lived 227–251, aged 24

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Era
227–251
Aged 24

Summary

Updated 2026-06-09

A Roman emperor for weeks, not years. Herennius Etruscus wore the purple at his father's side in 251, sent to the Danube frontier as the Goths tore through the provinces. He died in battle that June, one of the few emperors to fall in combat — and the only one to die alongside his father on the same field.

Biography

About

Quintus Herennius Etruscus Messius Decius was still a child when his father Decius seized power in 249, proclaimed emperor by legions in Pannonia after defeating Philip in battle. Elevated to Caesar in 250 and then Augustus in May 251, Etruscus joined the campaign against Cniva's Gothic invasion of the Danubian provinces. He led the vanguard that ambushed and routed Cniva at Nicopolis ad Istrum in 250, a short-lived victory before the Romans were themselves routed at Beroe. In June 251, at the Battle of Abritus, both father and son were killed. Trebonianus Gallus, governor of Moesia, was elect…

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