Decius

Roman emperor

Born AD 201 · died 1 July AD 251, aged 49 or 50
Also known as Trajan Decius, Gaius Messius Quintus Decius

Who was alive at the same time as Decius?

Drag across the timeline, or use the arrow keys, to see who was alive in any year and the age each person reached that year. Dashed lines mark world events. Faded ends mark uncertain dates.

When Decius was born, Septimius Severus was 54 or 55, Caracalla was 12 or 13, Ardashir I was 20 or 21, Geta was 11 or 12 and Zhuge Liang was 19 or 20.

When Decius died, Plotinus was 45 or 46, Aurelian was 36, Constantius Chlorus was about a year old, Saint Valentine was 75 or 76 and Claudius Gothicus was 37.

Born during Decius’s lifetime: Plotinus, Diocletian, Aurelian, Elagabalus, Pope Sixtus II, Severus Alexander, Philip the Arab and Constantius Chlorus.

Not quite contemporaries: Commodus died about 9 years before Decius was born, Eusebius was born about 12 years after Decius died, Didius Julianus died about 8 years before Decius was born and Pertinax died about 8 years before Decius was born.

What happened in Decius’s lifetime

Battle of Red Cliffs AD 208Decius was 6 or 7

Where Decius’s contemporaries were born

Decius is labelled; the others are the best-known people we track who lived at the same time. Each dot is a birthplace from Wikidata (60 of 72 placed); tap one to open that person.

Birthplaces as a list

Decius: Martinci
Septimius Severus: Leptis Magna
Nagarjuna: South India
Clement of Alexandria: Athens
Macrinus: Cherchell
Maximinus Thrax: Thrace
Saint Valentine: Terni
Pope Cornelius: Rome
Origen: Alexandria
Caracalla: Lugdunum
Pope Dionysius: Roman Empire
Pope Fabian: Rome
Diophantus: Alexandria
Valerian: Roman Empire
Philip the Arab: Shahba
Elagabalus: Rome
Plotinus: Asyut
Severus Alexander: Tell Arqa
Pope Sixtus II: Greece
Mani: Ctesiphon
Aurelian: Sirmium
Diocletian: Doclea
Constantius Chlorus: Dardania
Claudius Gothicus: Sremska Mitrovica
Gordian I: Phrygia
Gordian III: Rome
Porphyry of Tyre: Tyre
Ardashir I: Istakhr
Geta: Rome
Saint Lawrence: Osca
Maximian: Sirmium
Aemilianus: Djerba
Probus: Sirmium
Tacitus: Terni
Trebonianus Gallus: Perugia
Quintillus: Sirmium
Agatha of Sicily: Catania
Zenobia: Palmyra
Hippolytus of Rome: Anatolia
Cecilia of Rome: Rome
Carus: Narbonne
Zhuge Liang: Yinan County
Florianus: Terni
Iamblichus: Qinnasrin
Hostilian: Sremska Mitrovica
Ulpian: Tyre
Guan Yu: Yanhu District
Herennius Etruscus: Pannonia
Cao Pi: Bozhou
Gregory the Illuminator: Armenia
Saloninus: Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium
Sun Quan: Zhejiang
Novatian: Phrygia
Pope Alexander I of Alexandria: Alexandria
Herodian: Roman Empire
Paul of Thebes: Egypt
Papinian: Homs
Dionysius of Alexandria: Alexandria
Liu Hui: Zibo
Sextus Julius Africanus: Aelia Capitolina

Compare Decius

The 71 best-known contemporaries

71 of the people we track were surely alive at the same time as Decius. All of them are listed here. See also everyone alive in AD 226.

Nagarjuna c. AD 150 – c. AD 250
Plotinus AD 205 – AD 270
Tertullian c. AD 160 – c. AD 240
Diocletian 240s – AD 316
Septimius Severus AD 146 – AD 211
Caracalla AD 188 – AD 217
Aurelian AD 214 – AD 275
Elagabalus AD 203 – AD 222
Origen c. AD 184 – AD 254
Pope Sixtus II c. AD 215 – AD 258
Pope Dionysius c. AD 200 – AD 268
Diophantus c. AD 200 – c. AD 284
Severus Alexander AD 208 – AD 235
Pope Cornelius c. AD 180 – AD 253
Pope Fabian c. 200s – AD 250
Macrinus c. AD 164 – AD 218
Clement of Alexandria c. AD 150 – c. AD 215
Philip the Arab c. AD 204 – AD 249
Constantius Chlorus AD 250 – AD 306
Valerian c. AD 199 – c. AD 265
Mani c. AD 216 – c. AD 276
Maximinus Thrax AD 173 – AD 238
Saint Valentine AD 175 – AD 273
Claudius Gothicus AD 214 – AD 270
Cao Cao AD 155 – AD 220
Gordian I AD 159 – AD 238
Gordian III AD 225 – AD 244
Gallienus c. AD 218 – AD 268
Porphyry of Tyre c. AD 233 – c. AD 301
Ardashir I AD 180 – c. AD 242
Geta AD 189 – AD 211
Cyprian c. AD 200 – AD 258
Saint Lawrence AD 225 – AD 258
Maximian c. AD 245 – AD 310
Aemilianus AD 207 – AD 253
Probus AD 232 – AD 282
Balbinus AD 178 – AD 238
Tacitus AD 200 – AD 276
Trebonianus Gallus AD 206 – AD 253
Quintillus AD 212 – AD 270
Agatha of Sicily AD 235 – AD 261
Gordian II 190s – AD 238
Zenobia c. AD 240 – AD 274
Hippolytus of Rome c. AD 170 – AD 235
Cecilia of Rome c. AD 200 – c. AD 230
Diadumenian AD 208 – AD 218
Carus c. AD 222 – AD 283
Zhuge Liang AD 181 – AD 234
Florianus AD 232 – AD 276
Iamblichus c. AD 245 – c. AD 325
Carinus AD 250 – AD 285
Hostilian c. AD 232 – AD 251
Lactantius c. AD 240 – c. AD 320
Volusianus AD 230 – AD 253
Ulpian AD 170 – AD 228
Guan Yu AD 160 – AD 220
Herennius Etruscus c. AD 227 – AD 251
Cao Pi AD 187 – AD 226
Gregory the Illuminator AD 239 – c. AD 327
Saloninus AD 242 – AD 260
Liu Bei AD 161 – AD 223
Sun Quan AD 182 – AD 252
Novatian AD 220 – AD 258
Pope Alexander I of Alexandria AD 250 – AD 326
Herodian c. AD 170 – c. AD 250
Paul of Thebes c. AD 227 – c. AD 342
Papinian AD 142 – c. AD 212
Vologases V AD 130 – AD 208
Dionysius of Alexandria AD 190 – AD 264
Liu Hui c. AD 225 – c. AD 295
Sextus Julius Africanus c. AD 160 – c. AD 240