Aurelian

AVRELIAN viewing the Aurelian Walls

**AVRELIAN** The great restorer of the world was one of the many Roman soldier emperors who took the throne during The Crisis of the 3rd Century.

He was the successor of Claudius II and in his 5 years of government, he managed to unify it more than any of his predecessors, exterminated the barbarians who threatened Rome and defeated the traitors who tried to make their own empires at the cost of Roman territory.

## In Unbiased History

### "The Crisis of the Third Century"

#### Early Life

It is said in Illyricum, a Sol Priestess gave birth a divine son, Aurelian, and as time goes on, he enlisted in the legions when Rome need him the most. Battle after battle defeated the enemies of Rome with power and skill that was never seen before, fighting as a great warrior and always loyal victorious - defeating Barbarians and Traitors alike. After the senseless murder of Gallienus at the hands of the Praetorian Guard, Claudius Gothicus appointed several officers to be his most trusted men and commanders - Aurelian being the commander of the cavalry.

#### Rise to power

Once Claudius Gothicus fell ill and the bad news fell from all directions, knowing that his end was approaching, he chose Aurelian to be his successor, having the hopes of the world in his hands and recognizing his destiny. For **GOD AND** **EMPIRE**, he put on the mask and dedicated himself to rescuing the empire from ruin and decay.

He together with his army marched to Italy and deposed the usurper Quintillus, when the Vandals **DARED** to attack his home, he marched and **ANIHILLATED** every last of them. When the G\*rms dared to invade Italy itself, he **CRUSHED** them by the sea, denying them any mercy.

Once in Rome, he restored the economy and destroyed all the corrupt senators. To make Rome eternal, he commanded the construction of the Aurelian walls to last *another **1000** years.* After terrorizing the Danube River for 2 decades, he managed to defeat the Goths and avenge the death of Decius.

Defeating Zenobia's eastern army, he later triumph over the traitorous legions of Tetricus, and accomplishing greatest achievement: Aurelian united the land under **ONE** empire, under **ONE** emperor, under **ONE** god. For his deeds in reuniting the Roman Empire, he was proclaimed **RESTITVTOR** \* **ORBIS** - The Restorer of the World.

#### Betrayal and death

It was his efforts that would give future emperors the opportunity to end the crisis, but unfortunately he would not be able to see it, because Aurelian was betrayed and assassinated by the Praetorians before starting a campaign in the Middle East, an act that has been dubbed the Praetorians' "worst crime".

### Diocletian's tetrarchy

After the officers found Aurelian's body, they were horrified and informed the legions of what had happened. The soldiers, in their fury, captured and tortured all those involved in the emperor's death (to the complete surprise of Constantius and Probus, but to the happiness of Diocletian).

The Senate was concerned that the imperial throne was empty and tried to convince the army to choose a new emperor; but no one wanted out of respect for Aurelian's memory and simply waited until the Senate selected a new emperor in the coming months. During this period, Ulpia Severina and her daughter to ruled the empire, but waited for a successor.

After 8 months of nothing, the Senate gave up and decides to just elect an old senator to be emperor, Marcus Tacitus, was introduced to Ulpia and she accepted. With this problem resolved, Aurelian's family abdicated and disappeared from historical records; after meeting with the legions, Marcus ordered the death of the conspirators to ease tensions and prevent savagery from among the ranks.

## "Trivia"

* A probable reason why Aurelian's face is never shown onscreen is the fact that Dovah treats him as a divine being, since Aurelian is called the "Greatest Roman Emperor" by Dovah. The same treatment is given to Aurelian's family members such as Ulpia Severina and Aurelian's daughter (who also wear golden masks), being related to a "divine being".
	+ The closest we got to seeing Aurelian's face was when the lower half of his face was seen, revealing a beard. His eye color remains unknown.
* Aurelian's helmet in the show is based on his appearance from Total War: Rome 2's Empire Divided DLC, where he was shown with ornate golden mask.
* One of his interesting events left out of the series was the accounts of his siege of Tyana, which he threatened that even the dogs would be massacred .The inhabitants of Tyana surrendered later on and Aurelian decided to just kill the city's canine populace instead, both as an act of mercy and proof of being a man of word.
* In reality, one of Aurelian's accountants--who feared his disciplinarian approach to any errors and failures--forged execution orders to get a group of officers to murder Aurelian, who didn't actually write the order and the remorseful officers had the accountant tied up to be feasted on by wolves.
* He wasn't an Aurelii and was actually a plebeian.
* Despite the fact that Unbiased History shows that Gallienus was assassinated by the Praetorians, one source claims that Aurelian and other officers like the future Claudius II were responsible for plotting against Gallienus and causing his death. Although this is not confirmed, it is not implausible.
* In the scene from Aurelian's life, a Legatus is shown when the future emperor was just a recruit and his fight against the Goths. this may be a minimal reference to Ulpius Crinitus, governor of Illyria who became seriously ill and Aurelian had to impersonate to lead the defenses against the barbarians.
	+ He served as assistant to the governor and later Ulpius Crinitus appoints Aurelian as his son and heir, although it is not clear whether it was by his own will or forced to do so.

* In reality, he did not depose Quintillus but the latter committed suicide when he realised that he could not win.
* Actually, Aurelian pardoned the city of Palmyra once defeated Zenobia, but when the resentful elites of the city rose in revolt, he quickly returned to the area and ordered the citizens to leave and subsequently destroyed the old enemy capital.
* It was mentioned once that his mother was a freed woman who served as a priestess of the Sol Invictus cult (which explain her son's devotion for that deity) and his father was a farmer who adopted the surname of a senator from the GENS Aurelia.
* During the ending of Episode XIX of the Unbiased History series, Aurelian is the only character in the closing sequence shown to be his own person, rather than animated.
* His relationship with Christians is not completely defined and has many versions. One mentions him as someone relatively positive towards them, but others point out that he started a persecution against them (either because of his position on "one faith, one empire" , or because his assistants convinced him to do so).