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Aurelian
Short Biography
about the life of Aurelian
Short Biography profile and facts about one of the most famous Romans of all, in the life of
Aurelian, Emperor of Rome and provinces of the Roman Empire.
Name commonly known as: Aurelian
Latin Roman Name: Lucius Domitius Aurelianus
Reigned as Roman
Emperor / Caesar: September 270 -
275
Dynasty /
Historical Period: Crisis of the
Third Century (235 - 284) the era of
Illyrian Emperors (268 - 285)
Place and Date of
Birth: September 9, 214 in Pannonia
(present-day western-half of Hungary
)
Name of previous Emperor: His predecessor or the Emperor before Aurelian was
Quintillus
Family connections / Genealogy
*** *** Married: Ulpia Severina
Place and Date of Death:
September or October 275 at Caenophrurium, Thrace (Thrace covered
parts of Greece, Turkey and
Bulgaria)
Name of next Emperor:
The rivals to Aurelian were Zenobia
the Empress and Vabalathus
(son of the Empress) but officially the
successor was Tacitus
Interesting facts
about the life of Aurelian
Obtain a fast overview of the times of the Roman Emperor
Aurelian from the following facts and information about his life.
Why was Aurelian famous? Accomplishments, achievements
and important events. The Roman troops had refused to
recognize Quintillus as the new emperor. Instead they gave
General Aurelian the support of the military. Aurelian
defeated Quintillus' troops and was proclaimed emperor in
September 270 by the legions in Sirmium. Aurelian, a native
of Pannonia, was the next emperor. The reign of Aurelian
lasted four years and nine months, but was filled with
remarkable events. Aurelian abandoned Dacia to the Goths,
defeated the Alemanni, and drove them out of Italy. But he
foresaw the danger of future invasions and surrounded Rome
with new walls about twenty-one miles in extent.
Aurelian
and Zenobia
In A.D. 272 he marched against Zenobia,
queen of Palmyra, who ventured to defy the power of Rome.
This illustrious woman was not only learned, beautiful, and
an agreeable writer, but governed the East for five years
with discretion and success. Aurelian was amazed at her
warlike preparations upon the fall of Palmyra, and treated
her beautiful city with lenity; but the Palmyrenians having
rebelled, the city was taken by storm, and its people put to
death. Aurelian now returned to Rome to celebrate his
triumph. The spoils of his campaigns were borne before him
as were his captives were from Germany, Syria, and Egypt.
Among the captives were the Emperor Tetricus and the
beautiful Empress Zenobia, bound with fetters of gold. A
whole day was consumed in the passage of the triumphal
procession through the streets of Rome.
The Death of Aurelian
Despite his military successes
Aurelian, who was illiterate, unpolished, and severe, failed
to win the regard of his people, and was plainly more at his
ease at the head of his army than in the cultivated society
of Rome. Aurelian therefore returned, to the East,
where he died, as was usual with so many of the emperors, by
the hand of an assassin, in A.D. 275. He restored vigor to
the empire, and preserved it from instant destruction.
The
Interregnum
The army, filled with sorrow for the
loss of the Emperor Aurelian, revenged his death by tearing
his assassin in pieces; and they then wrote a respectful
letter to the Senate, asking the Senators to select his
successor. The Senate, however, passed a decree that the
army should name the new emperor. The soldiers, in their
turn, refused, and for eight months an interregnum prevailed
while this friendly contest continued. (An interregnum
(plural interregna or interregnums) is the time between the
reigns of two rulers when the throne is unoccupied -
literally meaning 'between reigns'). Eventually the Senate
appointed the virtuous seventy year old Tacitus as the next
Emperor of Rome.
Aurelian -
Dynasties of Roman Emperors -
Illyrian Emperors (268 - 285)
The Illyrian Emperors (268
- 285). The "Illyrian emperors" is the name given to the
Roman emperors who governed the Roman Empire between 268 and
282. Illyria was a region in the western part of
today's Balkan Peninsula. The people for Illyria were renown
for their military prowess and they became an important
source of manpower for the Roman army. Because of their
military strength many of the emperors from this period came
from Illyria.
Aurelian
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