AURELIANUS,
an Hungarian, (some assign Dacia or Mysia for his Country) a Man of an obscure Birth. He was raised to the Throne by the Legions, after he had passed through all the Offices of the Army with Honour, which was the Reason that the Senate and People received him with great Applause.
He subdued the Scythians and Marcomanni, after which Victory he exercised great Cruel∣ties at Rome, upon all Sorts of People. Ne∣vertheless he did one Act of Clemency, when he took the City of Tyana in Cappadocia.
He met with so great Oppositions, that he swore in his Wrath, he would not leave so much as a Dog alive. He got into the City by the Treachery of One of the Inha∣bitants, and when the Souldiers began to plunder, and put all the Citizens to the Sword, according to his Resolution he told them, that he would allow them to kill all the Dogs.
He made War with Zenobia, who kept the Eastern Empire after her Husband Odenatus. The Queen knew all the Oriental Languages perfectly, and spoke the Greek and Latin in their Purity. Trebellius Pollio says, she was the fairest and most valiant of all Women, she made the whole East to tremble, beat the Leiutenants of the Emperor Gallienus, and maintained a stout War against the Romans, in which the Emperor Aurelian conquered herand carried her Captive to Rome. Seve∣ral blamed him for this Action, but he wrote a Letter to the Senate and the People of Rome to excuse himself, and in it gives such a Commendation of this unfortunate Princess, as if she were one of the most formi∣dable Enemies, that the Empire ever had.
After this famous Victory, Aurelian built a Temple for the Sun at Rome, and enriched it with the Spoils of the Palmyrians, and the Images of the Sun and Belus which he brought from Palmyra, as Herodian assures us.
He wasslain between Byzantium and Heraclea, as he went to the War against the Persians, by the most valiant Men of his Army, who believ'd this a false Slander of his Secretary, named Menestheus, that he sought their Lives in the 6th, or 7th year of his Reign.