Aurelian (The Romans Abide)

Aurelian (Latin: Flavius Aurelian Aetius Caesar Augustus; 23 April, 894 - 23 September, 957) was the 27th Roman Emperor, reigning from 938 to 957.

Aurelian was born into the mercantile Arrinus family, his father being the Consul Fabius Arrinus and his mother being Aureliana Sabinus, a descendant of the Emperor Sabinus II. Raised into Roman aristocracy, he left for Rome in 910 at the age of 16 to join the military, and fight against the Germanic raiders in the north. Over the years, he rose through the ranks of the Germanic Legions, and in 929, he was called for personally back to the capital by Sabinus III to serve in the Praetorian Guard, and after six years in the position, he became a Prefect, renound for his loyalty.

This changed in 938, however, when his father was executed by the Emperor for plotting against him. In an act of revenge, he entered into a conspiracy with a number of other disgruntled Praetorian Guardsmen, planning to murder Sabinus, and act that would come ahead in 28 July, 938, when he and one-hundred conspirators entered into the Imperial palace, and captured and executed their leader. After a short struggle against his contemporaries, he swayed those Guardsmen under his control to swear loyalty to himself as Augustus, the Senate later agreeing to appointed him to the position.

During his reign, Aurelian was known as his extravagance (he built a number of large statues and memorials to himself and his family) and perversity, being renowned as a philanderer and heavy drinker, having slept with a number of high noblewomen, as well as producing several "illegitimate" children. Note, however, that this portion of his historical record may be subject to bias by the biographers of the time, and that some information may not be reliable. To legitimise his rule, in 945 Aurelian adopted former-Emperor Graitian's nephew Drusus Julianus, proclaiming him his heir over his other children. For the last several years of his reign, the Emperor fled to his villa in Aleria on the island of Corsica, essentially allowing the Senate to maintain law-and-order in his absence.