- Also known as
- Marcus Julius Philippus
- Philip the Arabian
A member of a distinguished equestrian family of Arab descent, Philip was praetorian prefect when the emperor Gordian III was killed in a mutiny (perhaps with Philip’s connivance). Philip became emperor and quickly concluded a peace ending a war with Persia. After undertaking a series of campaigns against the Goths and other tribes on the Danube, he returned to Rome in 248 to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of the founding of the city. Philip’s reign saw the true beginning of the crisis of the 3rd century, which was marked by a series of barbarian invasions across the Danube and internal civil war led by dissident generals. The initial success of Decius, sent by Philip to face the Goth invasion of 248, led Decius’s army to proclaim him emperor. In 249 their armies met near Verona, where Philip was defeated and slain.
Philip was an excellent administrator who had risen through the ranks from the equestrian order to become ruler in a time that required not administrative skills but military competence.