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Claudius II. Gothicus (270), Aurelian was proclaimed his successor with the universal approval of the soldiers. His first task was to continue the See also:

war which had been begun by Claudius against the Goths. He drove them out of See also:

MOESIA (Gr. Muck and Mveia i)

Moesia across the See also:

DANUBE (Ger. Donau, Hungarian Duna, Rumanian Dunarea, Lat. Danubius or Danuvius, and in the lower part of its course Ister)

Danube, where he See also:

LEFT

left them in See also:

possession of See also:

DACIA

Dacia, which he did not think himself able to retain; the name was transferred to Moesia, which was then called Dacia Aureliani. The See also:

CHRONOLOGY (Gr. xpovo?oyfa, computation of time, xp6vos)

chronology, how-ever, of Aurelian's reign is very confused, and the See also:

ABANDONMENT (Fr. abandonnement, from abandonner, to abandon, relinquish; abandonner was originally equivalent to mettred banddn, to leave to the jurisdiction, i.e. of another, bandon being from Low Latin bandum, bannum, order, decree, " ban ")

abandonment of Dacia is placed by some authorities towards its See also:

close. He next entered upon campaigns against the Juthungi, See also:

Alamanni, and other Germanic tribes, over whom, after a severe defeat which was said to have imperilled the very existence of the See also:

EMPIRE

empire, he at length obtained a See also:

COMPLETE

complete victory. Having thus secured the See also:

RHINE (Lat. Rhenus, Ger. Rhein, Fr. Rhin, Dutch Rhyn, or Rijn)

Rhine and Danube frontiers, he turned his energies towards the See also:

east, and in 271 set out on his expedition against See also:

ZENOBIA (Gr. Zr7vo(3ia)

Zenobia, See also:

queen of See also:

PALMYRA

Palmyra (q.v.).

At the same time he crushed two pretenders to the throne—Firmus and Tetricus. Firmus, a wealthy See also:

MERCHANT (O. Fr. marcheant, modern marchand; from Lat. mercari, to trade, merx, goods, merchandise)

merchant of See also:

SELEUCIA (Gr. EeXeimeta)

Seleucia, had proclaimed himself emperor of See also:

EGYPT

Egypt. Aurelian, who was at the time in See also:

MESOPOTAMIA (Mevoaora)

Mesopotamia, hastened thither, and ordered him to be seized and put to death. Tetricus, who had been proclaimed emperor in the See also:

west after the death of See also:

GALLIENUS, PUBLIUS LICINIUS EGNATIUS

Gallienus, and left undisturbed by Claudius IT., still ruled over See also:

Gaul, See also:

Spain and See also:

BRITAIN (Gr. Hperavuml vi7vot, Bperravia; Lat. Britannia, rarely Britannia)

Britain. A decisive See also:

BATTLE

battle was fought near the See also:

MODERN

modern Chalons, in which Tetricus was defeated. The restoration of the unity of the empire was thus complete. In 294 a brilliant See also:

TRIUMPH (triumphus)

triumph, adorned by the persons of Zenobia and Tetricus, was celebrated at See also:

Rome. Aurelian now turned his See also:

ATTENTION (from Lat. ad-tendo, await, expect; the condition of being " stretched " or " tense ")

attention to the See also:

INTERNAL

internal affairs of the empire. He introduced sumptuary See also:

LAWS

laws; relieved the poor by distributions of See also:

BREAD

bread and See also:

MEAT

meat, proceeded with great severity against informers and embezzlers; began the construction of various public See also:

WORKS

works and buildings; and proclaimed a See also:

general See also:

AMNESTY (from the Gr. &µvrly-ria, oblivion)

amnesty for See also:

POLITICAL

political crimes. The restoration and enlargement of the walls of Rome, commenced by him, was not completed till the reign of See also:

Probus. An See also:

ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt to restore the See also:

standard of the coinage is said to have caused a revolt of the workmen and officials connected with the See also:

mint, which was only put down with the loss of 7000 soldiers. It has been suggested that this was really an attempt at revolution incited by the See also:

SENATE (Lat. senatus, from root sen-, as in senex, old; the root is the Sanskrit sana, cf. Gr. 'vos; the same element appears in senor, seigneur, seneschal)

senate and praetorian See also:

GUARDS, AND HOUSEHOLD TROOPS

guards, the opportunity being found in disturbances resulting from opposition to the attempted reform, which by themselves could hardly have assumed such serious proportions.

Aurelian's restless spirit was not See also:

long able to endure a See also:

LIFE

life of inaction in the See also:

CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city. Towards the end of 274, he started on an expedition against the Persians, halting in Thrace by the way. While on the See also:

march between Heracleia and See also:

BYZANTIUM

Byzantium, at the beginning of the following See also:

YEAR

year, he was assassinated through the treachery of his secretary See also:

EROS

Eros, who, in See also:

order to See also:

ESCAPE (in mid. Eng. eschape or escape, from the O. Fr. eschapper, modern echapper, and escaper, low Lat. escapium, from ex, out of, and cappa, cape, cloak; cf. for the sense development the Gr. iichueoOat, literally to put off one's clothes, hence to sli

escape the See also:

DISCOVERY

discovery of his own irregularities, incited certain See also:

OFFICERS

officers against the emperor by showing them a forged See also:

list, on which their names appeared as marked out for death. Aurelian well deserved the See also:

TITLE (0. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. titulus)

title of restorer of the empire, and it must be remembered that he lived in an See also:

AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age when severity was absolutely necessary. He was a great soldier and a rigid but just disciplinarian. In more favourable circumstances he would have been a great See also:

ADMINISTRATOR

administrator. He displayed a fondness for pomp and show on public occasions; he was the first Roman emperor to See also:

WEAR

wear the diadem, and assumed the title of See also:

Lord and See also:

God on medals. The See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief authority for the events of Aurelian's reign is his life by Vopiscus, one of the writers of the " Augustan See also:

HISTORY

History "; it is founded on See also:

Greek See also:

MEMOIRS

memoirs and certain See also:

JOURNALS

journals deposited in the See also:

ULPIAN (DoMrrIus ULPIANUS)

Ulpian library at Rome. See L. Homo, Le Regne de l'empereur Aurelien (1904), and Groag's See also:

art. in Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyclopadie, v. 1347 See also:

FOIL

foil.

End of Article: AURELIAN [Lucius DoMITIus AURELIANUS]

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