LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
Academy · Biography & Mythology

Desiiderius

brother of Magnentius, by whom he was created Caesar and soon after put to death, when the tyrant, finding that his position was hopeless, in a transport of rage, massacred all his relations and friends, and then, to avoid falling into the power of his rival, perished by his own hands. According to Zonaras, however, Desiderius was not actually killed, but only grievously wounded, and upon his recovery surrendered to Constantius. No genuine medals of this prince are extant. (Zonar. 13.9; Julian, Orat. frag.; Chron. Alexand. p. 680, ed. 1615; Eckhel, vol. viii. p. 124.)

From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.