Aurelian Accession

When Claudius II died in 270—sources suggest plague—his army needed a successor who could continue the hard work at the frontiers. They chose one of their own. Aurelian, a cavalry commander known for rigorous discipline and rapid movement, received the purple not in the Forum but amid the clangor of a Danubian camp. The acclamation echoed along roads from Sirmium to Naissus [11][14].

The map on Aurelian’s writing table held three problems. First, the north still bled: the Juthungi and Alamanni probed Italy and Raetia. Second, the east was in revolt under Zenobia, who held Syria and Egypt. Third, the west persisted as a separate Gallic polity under Tetricus. The order of operations would decide whether Rome survived whole or died piecemeal [11][14].

Aurelian acted in layers. He pushed back Juthungi and Alamanni, meeting them in sharp fights and restoring the Po valley’s security. Then he made a decision that signaled how he would govern: ring Rome with walls. Brick‑red and concrete, the Aurelian Walls would stretch to protect the Seven Hills—Porta Appia, Porta Tiburtina, and more—so that barbarians would see stone before they saw senators. The sound of mason hammers replaced the panic drumbeat of raids [11][14].

Only then did he pivot east. Intelligence from Antioch and Emesa spoke of Palmyrene strength and cataphracts. The Orontes valley would see him employ deception like a weapon—feigned retreats, disciplined cavalry reversals. He planned to cut the eastern limb cleanly—Syria, then Palmyra itself, and Egypt restored in the process [2][11].

The west could wait because walls bought time. Aurelian understood that a single field army could not be everywhere at once; it had to win in sequence. The Danubian soldier’s instincts—grind in the north, shore up the capital, strike in the east—would soon be tested. And once the east fell, the Gallic Empire’s purple would look faded against Rome’s scarlet again.