Aurelian, << aw REE lee uhn >> (A.D. 215?-275), was a Roman emperor. His vigorous military rule reunited the empire, which appeared to be breaking up when he came to power. Aurelian stamped his coins with the words Restorer of the World. He won major victories over Germanic invaders near the Danube River; over Zenobia, queen of Palmyra in Syria; and over Tetricus, a semi-independent ruler of Gaul (now mainly France).
Aurelian was born Lucius Domitius Aurelianus, probably in Illyricum, a Roman province on the northeastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. He became emperor in 270 and ruled until October or November 275, when a group of officers murdered him. Most of the wall he started to build around Rome still stands.
