Aurelian

Reece Period attributed: Period 13

Member of the Third Century Emperors dynasty.

Coins for this issuer were issued from 270 until 275.

Lucius Domitius Aurelianus was born ca. 214 in Moesia Inferior (a Danube province). He led a military career and achieved honours under Gallienus; he may have instigated the plot which led to the murder of that emperor. Aurelian did not succeed Gallienus, but allowed the more popular Claudius II to rule.

When Claudius II died of the Plague, Aurelian became the natural choice for a successor. He went to Rome for the winter, but then went back to the Danube to face the threats of various tribes along the border. Recurring invasions by Germanic groups made Aurelian decide that Rome, unwalled since the reign of Augustus, needed a city wall. He accordingly built the Aurelian Wall (finished by Probus).

Probus, Aurelian’s chief general and future successor, reconquered Egypt; Aurelian re-took the separatist Gallic Empire. He celebrated a huge victory in Rome and set off to fight the Persians. On the way, he fell victim to a misunderstanding—his men thought they were sentenced to punishment and revolted, when in reality the rumor was spread by the emperor’s secretary to escape his own punishment. After only five years this beloved and successful emperor died; the Senate immediately deified him and his soldiers gave him a magnificent burial.

Latest examples recorded with images

We have recorded 144 examples.

Other resources about Aurelian

• Dbpedia: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Aurelian
• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurelian
• VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/77109448

View all coins recorded by the scheme attributed to Aurelian.

Information from Wikipedia

• Preferred label: Aurelian
• Full names:
  • Aurelian
• Title: Consul of the Roman Empire
• Predecessor: Quintillus
• Successor: Marcus Claudius Tacitus
• Definition: Aurelian (Latin: Lucius Domitius Aurelianus; 9 September 214 or 215 – September or October 275) was Roman emperor from 270 to 275. Born in humble circumstances, he rose through the military ranks to become emperor. During his reign, he defeated the Alamanni after a devastating war. He also defeated the Goths, Vandals, Juthungi, Sarmatians, and Carpi. Aurelian restored the Empire's eastern provinces after his conquest of the Palmyrene Empire in 273. The following year he conquered the Gallic Empire in the west, reuniting the Empire in its entirety. He was also responsible for the construction of the Aurelian Walls in Rome, the abandonment of the province of Dacia and monetary reform. His successes were instrumental in ending the Roman Empire's Crisis of the Third Century, earning him the title Restitutor Orbis or "Restorer of the World". Although Domitian, two centuries previous, was the first emperor who had demanded to be officially hailed as dominus et deus (master and god), these titles never occurred in written form on official documents until the reign of Aurelian.
• Parents:
  • Father:
  • Mother:
• Birth place:
• Death place:
• Spouse:
  • Ulpia Severina
• Other title(s):
  • Consul of the Roman Empire
  • List of Roman emperors
• Came After:
  • Tacitus Augustus II
  • Aemilianus II
  • Junius Veldumnianus
  • Titus Flavius Postumius Quietus
• Came before:
  • Virius Orfitus
  • Marcus Claudius Tacitus
  • Placidianus
  • Flavius Antiochianus
• Subjects on wikipedia:
  • Imperial Roman consuls
  • Assassinated heads of state
  • 3rd-century Roman emperors
  • 3rd-century murdered monarchs
  • Roman emperors murdered by the Praetorian Guard
  • Gothicus Maximus
  • Sirmium
  • Illyrian people
  • 210s births
  • 275 deaths
  • Domitii
  • Aurelian
  • Crisis of the Third Century
  • Deified Roman emperors