To what extent did Aurelian successfully stabilise the Roman Empire during his reign with his campaigns, policies and reforms?

Moss, Alexander (2023) To what extent did Aurelian successfully stabilise the Roman Empire during his reign with his campaigns, policies and reforms? MRes thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

During the Crisis of the Third Century that shook the Roman Empire, the commander of the cavalry, Aurelian, would be proclaimed emperor by his troops in AD 270, leading to a five-year reign that would see the empire transformed from a divided realm beset by internal and external struggle into a united superpower once more as Aurelian gave it a new lease on life. In spite of the fact that Aurelian brought such benefits to the empire while spending so little time on the imperial throne, it has only been in the past two decades that historians have begun to devote the necessary attention to this spectacular figure of history, leaving the scholarship on Aurelian incredibly sparse with many gaps still to be filled. Exploration of the ancient historians who covered Aurelian’s reign along with analysis of the coinage will form the basis of this investigation, since these are the main surviving sources of information for the period. This study aims to ascertain how Aurelian restored stability to the empire through his campaigns, policies and reforms and to what extent he can be judged to have been successful, providing an opportunity to better understand the reign of an extraordinary emperor.

• Item Type: Thesis (MRes)
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Subjects: D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D051 Ancient History; D History General and Old World > DE The Mediterranean Region. The Greco-Roman World
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > Classics
• Supervisor's Name: Omissi, Dr. Adrastos
• Date of Award: 2023
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2023-83502
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 05 May 2023 15:01
• Last Modified: 05 May 2023 15:01
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.83502
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/83502