At the height of Rome’s period of anarchy during the third century, with the empire
on the very brink of total collapse, a group of tough soldier emperors took the throne
for themselves and set about restoring what had been lost.
One of these formidable men, Aurelian, took the Roman Empire with an iron grip, glued
together its crumbling domain, and set the stage for another two centuries of dominance.
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One evening in early September of the year 268, Emperor Gallienus ate supper in his army’s
camp near Mediolanum, which was under siege.
He was there to deal with a treacherous general named Aureolus, but that would not have been
all on his mind.
Rome was in total crisis.
Almost a decade earlier, the empire had been ripped into three pieces by Postumus’ revolt
in the west, and a withering Sassanian assault in the east.
Moreover, barbarian attacks from across the northern frontier were steadily getting worse.
In the midst of his meal, Cecropius - one of Gallienus’ commanders - brought word
that their besieged enemy was readying a sortie.
The emperor immediately got to his feet and rushed off to deal with them.
Suspecting nothing, Gallienus departed without his personal guard and was quickly beset and
killed by assassins from within his own ranks, Cecropius among them.
The perpetrators were a group of military commanders from Illyria who had seen considerable
advancement under the now-dead emperor and his father Valerian.
One of them was raised to the throne as Claudius II.
Also among the conspirators was the subject of our video - Lucius Domitius Aurelianus.
He had been born near Serdica on September 9th of either 214 or 215.
After joining the army at about the age of 20, he rose through the ranks with astounding
success.
By 268 Aurelian was in his early fifties and had risen to be a high ranking officer who
was incredibly popular with the troops.
He had earned so much renown for bravery and talent that the nickname of manu ad ferrum
- ‘hand on sword’ - became his.
Upon taking the Roman throne, Claudius immediately granted Aurelian a high cavalry command and
effectively made him his right hand man.
Together, they took up where Gallienus left off.
After quickly executing Aureolus, Claudius II, with manu ad ferrum at his side, marched
to Northern Italy and smashed an Alamanni invasion at Lake Garda.
The Romans then turned southeast and advanced into the Balkans, where they managed to defeat
a Gothic incursion into the Balkans at Naissus in 269.
In both of these triumphs and whilst mopping up afterwards, Aurelian is said to have played
a decisive role.
Before Claudius Gothicus Maximus had a chance to celebrate these victories, he died of plague
in early 270, triggering yet another power struggle.
Quintilius - the late emperor’s brother and commander of the troops in Italy - claimed
the throne.
However Aurelian, by far the most respected and feared figure in the empire, was simultaneously
acclaimed emperor by the legions who were with him.
Though Quintilius marshalled his forces at Aquileia, it was not enough.
By the time Aurelian and his legions neared Italy, Quintilius’ troops had faltered,
killed their commander, and confirmed the ascension of Aurelian in September of 270.
After deifying his short-lived predecessor, Aurelian marched back to Pannonia, which was
being threatened by a Vandal horde.
The emperor first waged a war of attrition against them, denying them food and supplies,
then smashed the weakened barbarians in battle.
As soon as Aurelian had repelled that Vandal threat, he received word that a united Juthungi-Alamanni
army had cut through Raetia and was making a beeline for Italy.
Rushing to protect the home province, Aurelian’s forces caught up with the Germans near Placentia.
However, the emperor had not been careful enough, and his exhausted forces were ambushed
near the city, resulting in a terrible defeat.
Rumours of the humiliation sent Rome itself into a panic, but Aurelian continued on as
though nothing had happened, recovering from a setback that would have been the end of
lesser leaders.
The emperor regrouped his army, pursued the invaders south for a second time, and managed
to defeat them by pinning their army against the Metaurus river.
Despite its losses, the Juthungi-Alamanni coalition was still strong, but Aurelian was
not willing to allow the enemy to retreat with any Roman spoils.
After hard, uncompromising negotiations, and without any further fighting, the barbarians
eventually departed empty-handed.
Having dealt with all of this external pressure in a mere nine months, Aurelian was also keen
to deal with corruption at home.
When the corrupt rationalis - or chief financial minister of the Roman mint - was confronted
about his own underhanded operations, he incited his workers, who feared Aurelian’s retribution,
to riot.
Quintilius-sympathising senators, disruption of the grain supply from now Palmyrene-controlled
Egypt and the prior months’ invasion scare ratcheted up the tension to the point that
the riot turned into small-scale pitched battles.
Up to 7,000 were dead by the time Aurelian subdued the city with an iron fist.
Ringleaders, including senators, were summarily rounded up and executed.
However, along with this punitive solution, the emperor also took measures to prevent
future unrest.
Beginning in 271 and continuing throughout the rest of his reign, Aurelian attempted
to stabilise the coinage and harshly deal with corruption.
Most notable of his financial reforms however, was the strategic relocation of mints away
from Rome, instead favouring strategic locations, such as Milan and Siscia, where pay could
more easily be transported to the armies.
It was also clear to Aurelian that Rome’s legions and age-old frontier defences were
no longer sufficient to protect the empire’s heartland; individual cities now needed their
own fortifications.
So, the construction of a series of practical, non-aesthetic defensive walls began around
Rome, which still remain in the modern day - the Aurelian walls.
Having done this, Aurelian marshaled the legions and moved to meet a Gothic raid in the Balkans.
He arrived during the autumn of 271 and quickly pushed them back across the river Danube.
Not content to let the barbarians off so easily, the emperor crossed the river into enemy territory,
defeated the Goths decisively, and killed their king - Cannabaudes.
It is possible that this Gothic ruler was the same individual as Cniva, the raider who
had defeated Decius at Abritus two decades earlier.
In the wake of this last conflict, Aurelian acknowledged that the province of Dacia, which
was beyond the Danube frontier, was a pointless exertion of imperial resources and a vulnerable
gateway into the empire.
To remedy this, Aurelian ordered that all legionary forces and citizens withdraw from
the region, effectively abandoning the province.
The border was consolidated and shortened on the near side of the river, and a deal
was negotiated with a tribe of friendly Germans to settle in the abandoned area as a buffer.
It must have been a big step for the conservative Romans to voluntarily and pragmatically admit
to this, and it is a sign of Aurelian’s adaptable and charismatic nature.
With his central section of the empire safe for the time being, Aurelian set about mustering
one of the greatest armies of the third century throughout the winter months of 271.
It was made up of some of the most veteran military units in the empire, including a
core of legions from Pannonia, Raetia, Noricum and Moesia.
To supplement that, Aurelian also brought along some loyal, elite vexillationes which
had been with him since the beginning, along with contingents of Dalmatian and Mauritanian
cavalry who had proven their worth in the Gothic war.
When spring of 272 was near, the emperor ferried his great invading force across the Hellespont
and began a steady march across Asia Minor.
His ultimate aim was an ambitious one - to reclaim the eastern empire from the de facto
Palmyrene ruler, Zenobia, who ruled on behalf of her young son Vaballathus.
As Aurelian rode at the head of the main field army, he also sent a naval taskforce to reclaim
Egypt in May.
It was possibly, but not certainly, under the command of future emperor Probus.
Very little detail is known of the campaign, but the recently captured Palmyrene possession
was weakly held, and the Romans recaptured it by midsummer.
Meanwhile to the north, Aurelian’s advance was almost totally unopposed until he reached
the Cappadocian city of Tyana, which refused to admit the emperor.
He was so infuriated by this defiance that he pledged not to leave even a dog alive once
the city fell to his armies.
However, the relatively short siege cooled Aurelian’s temper and he came to realise
that leniency would be a more prudent course of action in the long term.
To that end, he ordered that his triumphant army spare the citizens rather than slaying
them.
He was to be a liberator of these Roman lands, rather than a vicious foreign conqueror.
News of this angered the soldiers, who were denied their opportunity to sack Tyana.
They reminded Aurelian of the pledge he had made, but the emperor was not intimidated,
replying that “I did indeed decree that no dog should be allowed to live.
Well then, kill all the dogs!”
The angry soldiers were pleased with the joke and set about carrying out their ruler’s
orders with calmed tempers.
Such clemency proved to be a wise strategy.
After Tyana no city in Asia Minor resisted Aurelian’s march, and he emerged from the
Cilician gates into Syria, ready to confront the Palmyrenes in their home territory.
Zenobia’s greatest general Zabdas placed his army in between Aurelian and Antioch.
Instead of attacking the great city from the north, where the tactical incentive lay with
Zabdas, Aurelian instead shifted his forces to outflank him from the east.
Worrying that this would move the clash into unfavourable terrain and onto his own line
of retreat, the Palmyrene general sent most of his cavalry to intercept Aurelian on the
eastern shores of Lake Antioch.
Rather than risking his infantry against Zabdas’ cataphracts, the Roman emperor sent out his
horsemen to bait the enemy into a trap.
When the Palmyrene heavy cavalry charged, the lighter armoured and armed Roman units
fled at the first contact, fleeing several kilometres towards the town of Immae.
When the overburdened cataphracts and their horses began to slow down from exhaustion,
Aurelian’s cavalry turned and countercharged them, scattering the Palmyrene forces, winning
a decisive victory and allowing the emperor to sit on the enemy’s line of retreat.
Zenobia and Zabdas’ defeat led them to abandon Antioch and retreat south to Emesa, where
it is said that 60,000 of Aurelian’s men faced 70,000 of Zenobia and Zabdas.
Aurelian once again tried to lure the Palmyrene cataphractarii into a similar trap.
But this time the maneuver went wrong and the emperor’s cavalry caught the brunt of
the enemy’s charge, resulting in massive losses and a near-rout.
The veteran legions of Aurelian were still fighting however, and they managed to break
the Palmyrene infantry in front of them.
On the flanks, Zenobia’s cataphracts charged too far, and were themselves cut to pieces
when the Roman infantry pivoted to the wings and smashed into them.
The queen fled Emesa to Palmyra, leaving so quickly that there was not even enough time
to transport the treasury away from danger.
As the sweltering high summer approached, Aurelian wasted no time and embarked on a
grueling march east through the desert, putting the enemy capital under siege whilst also
securing a deal with local bedouins to receive food.
Realising that her only hope for aid now was a personal appeal to the Sassanian king, Zenobia
snuck through the Roman siege lines and attempted to flee into Persian territory on a camel.
However when the alarm was quickly raised, the Palmyrene ruler was captured by Aurelian’s
outriders and brought to the emperor.
The besieged oasis’ population was divided, but the emperor ended any uncertainty by ordering
those who wished for peace to come out and surrender.
At first people were slow to do so, but when they witnessed Aurelian’s mercy to the initial
few, more and more came and submitted, giving him gifts and tribute in return for pardon.
Without any further shedding of blood, Aurelian entered the city of Palmyra in total victory.
Whilst present there, he trialed and executed some of the main enemy leaders, including
Zabdas, imposed a garrison upon the city, and distributed much of its wealth to the
soldiers.
He also received an ambassador from the Sassanian Empire who brought the shah’s congratulations
on the great victory.
His own realm was riven by internal strife and could not risk a war against Aurelian’s
power, even if the prize was such a great one as Palmyra.
The emperor’s most treasured prize was Zenobia herself.
She was spared, but suffered the indignity of being paraded through Syria’s cities
chained to a camel.
This, and rumours of her cowardice in the face of defeat, were designed to snuff out
any lingering support the queen may have had.
As he marched back to the city of Byzantium, Aurelian assumed the title for which he is
most well-known, restitutor orbis - ‘restorer of the world’.
Still, he had much to do.
Upon his arrival in Europe, Aurelian crushed yet another barbarian incursion into Moesia,
but was then forced to return to Palmyra in early 273 upon receiving intelligence from
a loyal subordinate in the area that the city’s leaders intended to betray him.
For the second time in less than a year, the presumably furious emperor approached Palmyra
after a lightning quick march which took the rebel leaders totally by surprise.
There was no time to prepare proper defences, and Aurelian took the city swiftly.
Again he showed remarkable restraint in his vengeance.
The ringleaders were immediately slain, but the citizens were permitted to leave.
The city of Palmyra itself was not so lucky.
Aurelian allowed his troops to ravage the troublesome enemy capital; much of its wealth
was plundered and many of its great structures razed.
After this second siege, Palmyra never again regained its once-held importance and grandeur,
becoming yet another irrelevant provincial town on the Roman frontier.
Before he returned to the west, Aurelian had to march on Egypt and subdue a revolt there,
securing Rome’s grain supplies.
With all business in the east taken care of, the emperor and his field army returned to
the capital and set about preparing an expedition to finally put an end to the Gallic Empire,
which was at that point under the control of Tetricus.
By the time campaigning of 274 began, all preparations were complete.
Aurelian marched across the Alps to his foothold in Gallia Narbonensis, then quickly took Lugdunum.
The Gallic Empire was weak, but Tetricus nevertheless rallied his Rhine legions and met Aurelian
near Chalons in late February.
Historians debate what truly happened, but the contest was decided before the first pila
was thrown.
Either Aurelian’s superior generalship quickly gained him mastery of the battlefield, or
Tetricus made a deal with the emperor to submit before any fighting was necessary.
Whatever the case, the splinter empire in Gaul and Britannia was extinguished, its military
units were reintegrated into the Roman army, and the empire was whole once again for the
first time in fourteen years.
With his victory now total, Aurelian went back to the capital with his spoils in tow
and hosted what might have been one of the greatest triumphs in all of Roman history.
Coming up first in the procession were vast eastern treasures gained from the conquest
of Palmyra, most prominent among the hoard being three ornate royal chariots arrayed
one behind the other.
First among them was a fabulously crafted vehicle, ordained with silver, gold, and jewels
which had belonged to Odenathus before his own death years before.
The second was an equally masterful creation - a Persian chariot which had been granted
to Aurelian as a gift from the Sassanian king.
Finally came the true prize, the Palmyrene queen Zenobia herself, riding in a grand chariot
that it is said she herself constructed.
After this glorious display, vast amounts of exotic animals were exhibited before the
awestruck population of Rome, such as elephants, tigers, giraffes, and elks.
After them came rank upon rank of bound prisoners, prominent men from Palmyra and barbarian tribes
in the region - including representations of the mythical amazons, who had been captured
during the campaign.
From his western conquest Aurelian’s highlight was Tetricus, self proclaimed ‘emperor’,
clad in a scarlet imperial cloak, yellow tunic and Gallic trousers.
Along with the western usurper was his son whom the former had acclaimed co-emperor the
year before his defeat.
When the grand procession came to an end, vast entertainments were held for days afterwards,
including theatrical plays, chariot races in the circus, wild beast hunts, gladiator
fights, and even a naval battle reenactment.
After all of the celebrations were over, Aurelian still could not or would not rest on his laurels.
As the fifth year of his reign dawned, the emperor went west to deal with a minor Alamanni
invasion, and then marched east into Thrace in the summer.
Because third century sources can be somewhat unreliable, it is not agreed as to why Aurelian
moved east.
However, most historians either believe that the emperor was in the Balkans to deal with
a barbarian invasion, or to prepare for a great offensive against the civil war-ridden
Sassanian Empire, whose capture and humiliation of Valerian had not been forgotten.
Whatever the case, at some point in the middle of 275 Aurelian encamped at a waystation on
the road to Byzantium called Caenophurium, which was next to the Sea of Marmara.
It was to be his final resting place.
While he was there, one of Aurelian’s administrators of secretaries - a slave or freedman known
as Eros - did an unknown deed which would both be inevitably discovered and would inevitably
bring the emperor’s notorious wrath upon him when it was discovered.
To save himself, Eros came up with a desperate solution.
Since the bureaucrat was able to imitate Aurelian’s writing style, he forged a series of documents
accusing many senior army officers of crimes and misdeeds, and condemning those same men
to death.
When Eros showed the men this list, they were terrified and reacted too quickly, without
thought.
A group of desperate conspirators, led by a general known as Mucapor, waited until Aurelian
dismissed his bodyguard, and then stabbed their emperor to death.
Yet, the assassination was not a crime of hatred.
When the reality of Eros’ deceit came to light, the officers who had murdered the emperor
were filled with a combination of guilt, grief, and fury.
It was all directed at the desperate secretary, who the Historia Augusta tells us was tied
to a stake and savaged by ravenous wild beasts.
Just like that, with a crude act of deception, the life of Aurelian came to an end in the
middle of 275, only five years after he took the throne.
Grief struck the entire empire when it learned of their great emperor’s passing.
To indicate just what a significant occasion it really was, the senate and the army did
not jostle to install the new emperor.
Conversely, they even bestowed that right on the other party, aiming to push away the
accusation of guilt.
Eventually, Aurelian’s second in command Probus came to the throne, and after a few
more tentative years, Diocletian inherited the Roman Empire and ended the crisis years.
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