Thank you
Curtis,
I have made a note of the title and when I visit a large city, I'll try the
library for this one. I
had read in an on line article by
Robert McMahon (
http://www.roman-emperors.org/decius.htm ) that there is significant evidence that Gallus
had ordered a Damnatio
Memoria of
Decius and
his family. This agrees with Zosimus (who clearly liked
Decius and disliked Gallus), but it is the opposite of the other authors (Jordanes,
Aurelius Victor and a few more) and seems at odds with the coins that make it appear that Gallus truly honored
Decius and adopted himself into that family. The
inscription that would be most interesting to see (and is in the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum) is the one described by McMahon: "
However, the discovery of an army document, where Decius' and Herennius' name have been suppressed, leaving only the iterations of III et I cos., with no names, indicates that the condemnation was an official policy. (i.e not just the Christians who disliked
Decius). Actually, I'm not sure how McMahon ruled out a Chrisitan officer, or someone at a later date, erasing the names.
Also I have read that according to Eutropius
Decius was deified. If that is true, it would seem politically foolish for Gallus to have blot
his memory withing a year or two.
Best regards,
Richard