Aurelian

Aurelian (c. 214 – 275) was Roman emperor from 270 to 275 and one of the soldiers who rebuilt the empire after the crisis of the third century. Born at Sirmium or in its region, he rose through the army and was proclaimed emperor after the death of Claudius Gothicus. He defeated the Goths, Vandals and Juthungi, then turned west to recover the breakaway Gallic Empire and east to defeat Zenobia's Palmyrene regime, reuniting the empire by 274. He also restored the Rhine and Danube frontier, defeated a Gothic invasion, and began the withdrawal from Dacia, which he abandoned to the Goths. His reign was short but symbolic: he surrounded Rome with the Aurelian Walls, reformed the coinage, and promoted the cult of Sol Invictus as a unifying imperial religion. He was assassinated by his own officers in 275 while preparing a campaign against Persia. Later emperors, especially Diocletian, built on his military and administrative recovery.