The Triumph of Aurelian in Rome

The reign of Aureliano as emperor of Rome between September 270 and September 27 was a period in which a certain semblance of stability in the empire was restored, although the chaos had returned in those five years.

Lucius Domitius Aurelianus was born in 214 in Dacia (the western part of present-day Romania). He was a leader of the cavalry who had distinguished himself under the rule of Emperor Gallienus. He took power when Claudius died in January 270 of the plague and Claudio's brother, Quintillus, committed suicide shortly thereafter.

Aurélien has had some serious problems. One of these was the threat that the barbarian tribes in Italy had in the city of Rome. The struggle to evict them was difficult, demonstrating the vulnerability in the heart of the Empire.

Aureliano then gave the order to build a great defensive wall, of which parts can still be seen today. The Aurelian Wall stretched for over 19 kilometers and covered the entire city, replacing the ancient Severian Wall (built in the 4th century BC), which protected only the city center. It had a thickness of four meters and a height of 6.5 meters. It was marked by 18 entrances protected by semicircular towers and by the wall was a four-meter-high square tower. Although the construction was not completed at the end of Aurelian's reign, he did the trick to distract the barbarian invasions and assured the Senate and the people of Rome that his new emperor was a reliable person to defend them.

Aureliano understood that defending the empire would always be a struggle, especially in the outlying provinces. As a result, he took the step to abandon Dacia's control, even if it was his home. Dacia had been saved by Emperor Trajan at the beginning of the second century, but its position on the other side of the Danube still made defense difficult.

Aureliano had to solve the problem of Palmira. It was a client kingdom based on modern Syria, which was a very effective buffer against the Sasanian Empire in the East. Palmira had been ruled by a prince named Odaenathus and after his murder by his young widow Zenobia. Claudius II had made the mistake of annoying Zenobia, whose answer was to establish his own empire by invading the countries that belonged to Rome, especially in Asia Minor and in Egypt. Aureliano had to repair the damage.

The Aurelian campaign had two fronts, both in Egypt and in Asia Minor, and victory was easy enough to obtain. Queen Zenobia was captured and what happened next is not clear. One story says she died when she was chained to Rome, but another says she was well treated by Aureliano and gave a villa to live. It is believed that he remarried and that his descendants later served as senators in the history of Rome.

However, the capture of Zenobia has not calmed Palmyra. There were other revolts, and they were suppressed with great force, the city of Palmyra was sacked and looted, so that it would never again be a threat to Rome.

Another problematic place of old was Gallia, where Claudio was determined not to control a local leader who was looking for too much independence for the taste of Rome. The battle was reunited in 274 at Chalons-sur-Marne with Tetrick, the last Emperor of Gaul. It was a strange battle because Tetrico surrendered early enough, but his soldiers did not. There were many unnecessary victims, but a small administrative task was assigned to Tetrick in southern Italy.

Aureliano had solved the most urgent problems in Rome and everything should have been fine. Their actions outside the front of the campaign, however, were not so much the general recognition.

On the one hand, it has taken the extraordinary step of reviving the cult of the sun god Elagabal, which was so devastating when it was promoted almost 60 years ago by Emperor Heliogabalus. Palmyra was not far from Emesa (the modern Homs) was the center of worship and, after a battle near the site, said Aurelian, had received direct help in their victory, Elagabal.

Back in Rome, Aureliano built a new temple in Elagabal, although he was renamed Sol Invictus (Sun Undefeated) and decreed that it would be the main deity of Rome. Aurélien has also declared himself a god for a good measure. He was the first Roman emperor to do it; In the past, it had always been the case that the emperors were declared gods by their successors.

The religious policy of Aureliano - the introduction of a foreign god after asking for help during a battle - was a forerunner of the much broader action of Constantine some 40 years later, when Christianity became the official religion of the Empire.

Perhaps Aureliano's greatest mistake was an attempt to restore Rome's economic situation by reforming the currency. This led to unbridled inflation, which led to violent uprisings and will not heal for decades.

It could have been the unpopularity on the internal front that caused the plot, which in turn led to his murder. He was killed in Thrace in September 275, while on the way to launch another campaign, the conspirators were members of his domestic helpers with the help of some Praetorian Guards.

Although Aurelian was over 60, he had not thought of naming a successor as an emperor, perhaps even believing that the self-proclaimed gods were immortal. His assassins did not even think about him, so another moment of chaos was inevitable.