Decimus Vergilius Praetextatus (65 BC-) was a Roman general who served as legate of Octavian's Legio VI Concordialis during the late 1st century BC.
Biography[]
Decimus Vergilius Praetextatus was born in Rome, Latium, Roman Republic in 65 BC, and he came from a noble family which was supportive of the Octavian dynasty. In 40 BC, he was appointed legate of Legio VI Concordialis after it was raised in Rome to defend Italia, and, when war broke out with Mark Antony, Praetextatus led his legion across the Adriatic from Brundisium to Apollonia, capturing the city from Antony's Rome. He proceeded to lead his legion into central Greece, taking Pharsalus and proceeding to encamp to the east of Athens, hoping to lure Antony into a decisive battle. Antony refused to give battle, so Praetextatus force-marched his army into the Peloponnese to capture Sparta and thus encircle Attica. Antony marched south to attack Praetextatus in conjunction with the Sparta garrison, but, in the ensuing Battle of Leontium, Praetextatus fought off Antony's ambush and inflicted heavy losses on both of the enemy armies, despite being outnumbered two-to-one. Praetextatus proceeded to chase Antony to Athens, which he took by storm.