AURELIAN (274)

LUCIUS DOMITIUS AURELIANUS
Roman emperor from 270 to 275.

By reuniting the empire, which had virtually disintegrated under the pressure of invasions and internal revolts, he earned his self-adopted title resitutor orbis or "restorer of the world". Aurelian was a native of Illyria, northwest Balkan peninsula, who had established himself as a professional army officer when, about 260, the frontiers of the empire suddenly collapsed. The Persians overran the eastern provinces, the Germanic tribes ravaged Gaul and the Balkans, and the Roman armies of the east and of the Rhine hailed their respective commanders as emperors.

With his compatriot Claudius, Aurelian led the cavalry of the emperor Gallienus (253-268) in defeating the rival emperor Aureolus. Then Aurelian and other officers overthrew Gallienus and proclaimed Claudius emperor. After a reign of 18 months, Claudius died. His brother Quintillus ruled about three months, died or was killed, and in May 270 Aurelian succeeded as emperor.

Aurelian quickly set about restoring Roman authority in Europe. He turned back the Vandal and Sarmatian invaders from Pannonia and after a series of battles expelled the Juthungi from northern Italy. Returning to Rome, he quelled a revolt sparked by disaffected employees of the imperial mint. The Emperor then ordered the construction of a new wall, 12 miles long and 20 feet high, around the city to protect it against tribal incursions. Much of this structure -which was not completed until after his death- still stands.

In 271 Aurelian marched to the east. He defeated the Goths on the Danube and withdrew Roman troops and civillians from Dacia to an area south of the Danube. Evidently he realized that the empire had overextended its resources and must contract if it was to survive. At the same time, he sought to recover the eastern provinces, which for ten years had obeyed the rule of the princes of Palmyra. He defeated Palmyrene armies near Antioch and at Emesa and besieged Palmyra. in the autumn of 272, he captured Septimia Zenobia, regent of Palmyra for her young son Vaballathus; shortly afterward the capital surrendered. When Palmyra revolted a second time, Aurelian recaptured and destroyed the city (272).

In 274 Aurelian returned west to confront Tetricus, the rival emperor who controlled Gaul, Spain, and Britain. Beset by a German invasion and by internal conspiracies, Tetricus concluded a secret treaty with Aurelian, deserting to him at the Batle of Châlons. The leaderless army of the Rhine was swiftly defeated and Tetricus was rewarded with the governorship of Lucania. Thus the vast empire was again ruled by a central authority.

Aurelian was an outstanding general and a severe and uncompromising administrator. By increasing the distribution of free food at Rome, he did more for the plebeians than almost any other emperor. At the same time, his attempt to reform the coinage met with only limited success. The Emperor sought to subordinate the divergent religions of the empire to the cult of the Unconquered Sun (Sol Invictus). Sorrounding himself with an aura of divine majesty, he told his armies that it was the god, not they, who was the source of the emperor´s authority.

Early in 275, while marching to open a campaign against Persia, Aurelian was murdered by a group of officers who had allegedly been misled by his secretary into believing themselves marked for execution. The army council then requested the Senate to name a civilian ruler. After six months, during which time the government was continued in the name of Aurelian´s widow, Ulpia Severina, the Senate appointed the elderly M. Claudius Tacitus to the throne.