Volusianus

Volusianus became caesar in June 251 after his father Trebonianus Gallus was elected emperor by the legions following the battlefield deaths of Decius and Herennius Etruscus. When the younger Decian heir, Hostilian, died weeks later — possibly from the plague now ravaging the empire — Volusianus was elevated to augustus and ruled alongside Gallus. The father-son regime faced relentless pressure: the plague continued, the Sasanian Empire pressed from the east, the Goths from the north. In August 253, as the usurper Aemilian's forces closed on Rome, their own soldiers — paralyzed by fear — turne…