Three virgins of Tuburga

They are among the few named victims of this widespread persecution, and the primary source on them is John Foxe who records that they "had gall and vinegar given them to drink, were then severely scourged, tormented on a gibbet, rubbed with lime, scorched on a gridiron, worried by wild beasts, and at length beheaded".

[4][5] Maxima, aged 14, and Donatilla were residents of Tuburga, a Roman colony in Africa Proconsularis,[6] six miles southwest of Carthage.

When an edict was issued for the townsfolk to sacrifice to the Roman gods[7][8] the girls refused, after which they were tried and sentenced by Proconsul Anullinus.

Tradition holds that despite the older two girls trying to convince Secunda to recant – as she was much younger and the only child of an aged father – she refused.

The Emperor Valerian was later captured in battle by the Parthians and reputedly flayed, causing belief among some in the Church in North Africa to claim it was divine retribution for his actions against the martyrs.