Philip or Philip the Arabian (Marcus Julius Philippus), 204?–249, Roman emperor (244–49). He served under Gordian III against the Persians, instigated the assassination of the emperor, and concluded a peace with Persia. The millennium of Rome was celebrated by him with the splendor of secular games in the Circus Maximus. Philip sent Decius to the Danube to quell a mutiny, but when the troops hailed Decius as emperor, he marched at their head upon Italy. Philip met them near Verona and was slain.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Ancient History, Rome: Biographies