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109-702: Aurelian ( Latin : Lucius Domitius Aurelianus ; 9 September c. 214 – c. November 275) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 270 to 275 during the Crisis of the Third Century . As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited the Roman Empire after it had nearly disintegrated under the pressure of barbarian invasions and internal revolts. Born in modest circumstances, most likely in Moesia Superior , he entered

218-620: A dux of the Illyrian and Thracian legions . Ulpius was reportedly born in the city of Italica , in modern Spain . He took an interest in Aurelian's early career. Aurelian was reportedly his deputy for a time. When a group of Goths invaded Illyria and Thrace, Ulpius had fallen ill, so he ordered Aurelian to deal with the invaders. Aurelian was designated as legate of the Third Legion. He used his force of 2,500 auxiliaries , and

327-570: A senator and corrector (governor) of Lucania et Bruttium . Aurelian returned to Rome and won his last honorific from the Senate – Restitutor Orbis ("Restorer of the World"). This title was first assumed by Aurelian in late summer of 272, and had been carried previously by both Valerian and Gallienus. In four years, Aurelian had secured the frontiers of the Empire and reunified it. Aurelian

436-457: A usurper . With his base of power secure, he now turned his attention to Rome's greatest problems – recovering the vast territories lost over the previous two decades, and reforming the res publica . In 248, Emperor Philip the Arab had celebrated the millennium of the city of Rome with great and expensive ceremonies and games, and the Empire had given a tremendous proof of self-confidence. In

545-404: A Pannonian from Sirmium and as a native of Dacia Ripensis "which he founded so that he would have been a Moesian". Pseudo-Victor and John Xiphilinus place his birthplace in an area between Dacia Ripensis and Macedonia (overlapping with Dacia Mediterranea ). Modern research considers Dacia Ripensis as the more likely region. When he was born this region was part of Moesia Superior . Aurelian

654-643: A devastating plague swept through the Balkans, killing many soldiers in both armies. Emperor Claudius fell ill on the march to the battle and returned to his regional headquarters in Sirmium, leaving Aurelian in charge of operations against the Goths. Aurelian used his cavalry to great effect, breaking the Goths into smaller groups which were easier to handle. By late summer the Goths were defeated: any survivors were stripped of their animals and booty and were levied into

763-526: A faster pace. It is characterised by greater use of prepositions, and word order that is closer to modern Romance languages, for example, while grammatically retaining more or less the same formal rules as Classical Latin. Ultimately, Latin diverged into a distinct written form, where the commonly spoken form was perceived as a separate language, for instance early French or Italian dialects, that could be transcribed differently. It took some time for these to be viewed as wholly different from Latin however. After

872-743: A few in German , Dutch , Norwegian , Danish and Swedish . Latin is still spoken in Vatican City, a city-state situated in Rome that is the seat of the Catholic Church . The works of several hundred ancient authors who wrote in Latin have survived in whole or in part, in substantial works or in fragments to be analyzed in philology . They are in part the subject matter of the field of classics . Their works were published in manuscript form before

981-404: A few. Famous and well regarded writers included Petrarch, Erasmus, Salutati , Celtis , George Buchanan and Thomas More . Non fiction works were long produced in many subjects, including the sciences, law, philosophy, historiography and theology. Famous examples include Isaac Newton 's Principia . Latin was also used as a convenient medium for translations of important works first written in

1090-635: A lie on a minor issue. In fear of what the emperor might do, he forged a document listing the names of high officials marked by the emperor for execution and showed it to collaborators. The notarius Mucapor and other high-ranking officers of the Praetorian Guard , fearing punishment from the emperor, murdered him shortly after October 275 ( Tacitus began his reign in November or December), in Caenophrurium , Thrace . Aurelian's enemies in

1199-535: A more radical reform." Indeed, around this time, Aurelian reformed the Cura Annonae to replace the dole of grain by a dole of bread, salt and pork, as well as subsidized prices for other goods such as oil and wine. The deaths of the Sassanid Kings Shapur I (272) and Hormizd I (273) in quick succession, and the rise to power of a weakened ruler ( Bahram I ), presented an opportunity to attack

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1308-560: A native language, Medieval Latin was used across Western and Catholic Europe during the Middle Ages as a working and literary language from the 9th century to the Renaissance , which then developed a classicizing form, called Renaissance Latin . This was the basis for Neo-Latin which evolved during the early modern period . In these periods Latin was used productively and generally taught to be written and spoken, at least until

1417-466: A reduced price since 123 BC, and for free since 58 BC through the Cura Annonae . Aurelian is usually credited with changing or completing the change of the food distribution system from grain or flour to bread, and adding olive oil, salt, and pork to the products distributed to the populace. These products had been distributed sporadically before. Aurelian is also credited with increasing the size of

1526-567: A result, the list has variants, as well as alternative names. In addition to the historical phases, Ecclesiastical Latin refers to the styles used by the writers of the Roman Catholic Church from late antiquity onward, as well as by Protestant scholars. The earliest known form of Latin is Old Latin, also called Archaic or Early Latin, which was spoken from the Roman Kingdom , traditionally founded in 753 BC, through

1635-407: A separate language, existing more or less in parallel with the literary or educated Latin, but this is now widely dismissed. The term 'Vulgar Latin' remains difficult to define, referring both to informal speech at any time within the history of Latin, and the kind of informal Latin that had begun to move away from the written language significantly in the post-Imperial period, that led ultimately to

1744-709: A small number of Latin services held in the Anglican church. These include an annual service in Oxford, delivered with a Latin sermon; a relic from the period when Latin was the normal spoken language of the university. In the Western world, many organizations, governments and schools use Latin for their mottos due to its association with formality, tradition, and the roots of Western culture . Canada's motto A mari usque ad mare ("from sea to sea") and most provincial mottos are also in Latin. The Canadian Victoria Cross

1853-429: A sort of informal language academy dedicated to maintaining and perpetuating educated speech. Philological analysis of Archaic Latin works, such as those of Plautus , which contain fragments of everyday speech, gives evidence of an informal register of the language, Vulgar Latin (termed sermo vulgi , "the speech of the masses", by Cicero ). Some linguists, particularly in the nineteenth century, believed this to be

1962-572: A spoken and written language by the scholarship by the Renaissance humanists . Petrarch and others began to change their usage of Latin as they explored the texts of the Classical Latin world. Skills of textual criticism evolved to create much more accurate versions of extant texts through the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and some important texts were rediscovered. Comprehensive versions of authors' works were published by Isaac Casaubon , Joseph Scaliger and others. Nevertheless, despite

2071-432: A strictly left-to-right script. During the late republic and into the first years of the empire, from about 75 BC to AD 200, a new Classical Latin arose, a conscious creation of the orators, poets, historians and other literate men, who wrote the great works of classical literature , which were taught in grammar and rhetoric schools. Today's instructional grammars trace their roots to such schools , which served as

2180-693: A vernacular, such as those of Descartes . Latin education underwent a process of reform to classicise written and spoken Latin. Schooling remained largely Latin medium until approximately 1700. Until the end of the 17th century, the majority of books and almost all diplomatic documents were written in Latin. Afterwards, most diplomatic documents were written in French (a Romance language ) and later native or other languages. Education methods gradually shifted towards written Latin, and eventually concentrating solely on reading skills. The decline of Latin education took several centuries and proceeded much more slowly than

2289-479: A vision of the great 1st-century philosopher Apollonius of Tyana , whom he respected greatly, in a dream. Apollonius implored: "Aurelian, if you desire to rule, abstain from the blood of the innocent! Aurelian, if you will conquer, be merciful!" Aurelian spared Tyana, and it paid off; many more cities submitted to him upon seeing that the Emperor would not exact revenge upon them. Within six months, his armies stood at

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2398-411: Is Veritas ("truth"). Veritas was the goddess of truth, a daughter of Saturn, and the mother of Virtue. Switzerland has adopted the country's Latin short name Helvetia on coins and stamps, since there is no room to use all of the nation's four official languages . For a similar reason, it adopted the international vehicle and internet code CH , which stands for Confoederatio Helvetica ,

2507-837: Is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages . Latin was originally spoken by the Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio ), the lower Tiber area around Rome , Italy. Through the expansion of the Roman Republic it became the dominant language in the Italian Peninsula and subsequently throughout the Roman Empire . By the late Roman Republic , Old Latin had evolved into standardized Classical Latin . Vulgar Latin refers to

2616-640: Is a reversal of the original phrase Non terrae plus ultra ("No land further beyond", "No further!"). According to legend , this phrase was inscribed as a warning on the Pillars of Hercules , the rocks on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar and the western end of the known, Mediterranean world. Charles adopted the motto following the discovery of the New World by Columbus, and it also has metaphorical suggestions of taking risks and striving for excellence. In

2725-588: Is contested — his rise to the highest ranks is more easily understood if he did not have to start from the bottom. His suggestion has not been taken up by other academic authorities. Whatever his origins, Aurelian certainly must have built up a very solid reputation for military competence during the tumultuous mid-decades of the century. To be sure, the exploits detailed in the Historia Augusta vita Divi Aureliani , while not always impossible, are not supported by any independent evidence and one at least

2834-426: Is demonstrably an invention typical of that author. However, he was probably associated with Gallienus 's cavalry army and shone as an officer of that elite unit because, when he finally emerged in a historically reliable context in the early part of the reign of Claudius II , he seems to have been its commander. The existence of Ulpius Crinitus has been doubted by many historians . If he did exist he would have been

2943-552: Is found in any widespread language, the languages of Spain, France, Portugal, and Italy have retained a remarkable unity in phonological forms and developments, bolstered by the stabilising influence of their common Christian (Roman Catholic) culture. It was not until the Muslim conquest of Spain in 711, cutting off communications between the major Romance regions, that the languages began to diverge seriously. The spoken Latin that would later become Romanian diverged somewhat more from

3052-651: Is just speculative. Sources hint at an interregnum between Aurelian's death and the election of Marcus Claudius Tacitus as his successor. Additionally, some of Ulpia's coins appear to have been minted after Aurelian's death. The city of Orléans in France is named after Aurelian. Originally named Cenabum , Aurelian rebuilt and renamed it Aurelianum or Aureliana Civitas ("city of Aurelian", cité d'Aurélien ), which evolved into Orléans . Latin language Latin ( lingua Latina , pronounced [ˈlɪŋɡʷa ɫaˈtiːna] , or Latinum [ɫaˈtiːnʊ̃] )

3161-689: Is modelled after the British Victoria Cross which has the inscription "For Valour". Because Canada is officially bilingual, the Canadian medal has replaced the English inscription with the Latin Pro Valore . Spain's motto Plus ultra , meaning "even further", or figuratively "Further!", is also Latin in origin. It is taken from the personal motto of Charles V , Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain (as Charles I), and

3270-1011: Is taught at many high schools, especially in Europe and the Americas. It is most common in British public schools and grammar schools, the Italian liceo classico and liceo scientifico , the German Humanistisches Gymnasium and the Dutch gymnasium . Occasionally, some media outlets, targeting enthusiasts, broadcast in Latin. Notable examples include Radio Bremen in Germany, YLE radio in Finland (the Nuntii Latini broadcast from 1989 until it

3379-543: The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL). Authors and publishers vary, but the format is about the same: volumes detailing inscriptions with a critical apparatus stating the provenance and relevant information. The reading and interpretation of these inscriptions is the subject matter of the field of epigraphy . About 270,000 inscriptions are known. The Latin influence in English has been significant at all stages of its insular development. In

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3488-582: The Historia Augusta and are considered unreliable. Comparative research with other sources from his era has rendered some details more secure than others. Aurelian was born on 9 September, a date recorded in the Chronograph of 354 . The 6th-century chronicler John Malalas wrote that he died at the age of 61, implying a birth in 214. However, his chronicle is often described as "too frequently unreliable", meaning that his statement may not be completely accurate. The Historia Augusta describes him both as

3597-470: The cohortes urbanae ("urban cohorts"), reinforced by some regular troops of the imperial army, to attack the rebelling mob: the resulting battle, fought on the Caelian hill , marked the end of the revolt, even if at a high price (some sources give the figure, probably exaggerated, of 7,000 casualties). Many of the rebels were executed; also some of the supporting senators were put to death. The mint of Rome

3706-619: The limes of the Rhine , seceded to form a third, autonomous state within the territories of the Roman Empire, which is now known as the Gallic Empire . In Rome, the Emperor was occupied with internal menaces to his power and with the defence of Italia and the Balkans. The first actions of the new Emperor were aimed at strengthening his own position in his territories. Late in 270, Aurelian campaigned in northern Italia against

3815-531: The Goths at the Battle of Naissus . Aurelian was married to Ulpia Severina , about whom little is known. She was from Dacia . They are known to have had a daughter together. Claudius was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers outside Mediolanum. The new emperor immediately ordered the Senate to deify Gallienus. Next, Claudius began to distance himself from those responsible for his predecessor's assassination, ordering

3924-610: The Goths , Vandals , Juthungi , Sarmatians , and Carpi . Aurelian restored the Empire's eastern provinces after his conquest of the Palmyrene Empire in 273. The following year he conquered the Gallic Empire in the west, reuniting the Empire in its entirety. He was also responsible for the construction of the Aurelian Walls in Rome , the abandonment of the province of Dacia , and monetary reforms attempting to curb

4033-583: The Holy See , the primary language of its public journal , the Acta Apostolicae Sedis , and the working language of the Roman Rota . Vatican City is also home to the world's only automatic teller machine that gives instructions in Latin. In the pontifical universities postgraduate courses of Canon law are taught in Latin, and papers are written in the same language. There are

4142-574: The Middle Ages , borrowing from Latin occurred from ecclesiastical usage established by Saint Augustine of Canterbury in the 6th century or indirectly after the Norman Conquest , through the Anglo-Norman language . From the 16th to the 18th centuries, English writers cobbled together huge numbers of new words from Latin and Greek words, dubbed " inkhorn terms ", as if they had spilled from a pot of ink. Many of these words were used once by

4251-468: The Palmyrene Empire , ruled by Queen Zenobia from the city of Palmyra . Zenobia had carved out her own empire, encompassing Syria , Palestine , Egypt and large parts of Asia Minor . The Syrian queen cut off Rome's shipments of grain, and in a matter of weeks, the Romans started running low on bread. In the beginning, Aurelian had been recognized as Emperor, while Vaballathus , the son of Zenobia, held

4360-576: The Roman Rite of the Catholic Church at the Vatican City . The church continues to adapt concepts from modern languages to Ecclesiastical Latin of the Latin language. Contemporary Latin is more often studied to be read rather than spoken or actively used. Latin has greatly influenced the English language , along with a large number of others, and historically contributed many words to

4469-569: The Romance languages . During the Classical period, informal language was rarely written, so philologists have been left with only individual words and phrases cited by classical authors, inscriptions such as Curse tablets and those found as graffiti . In the Late Latin period, language changes reflecting spoken (non-classical) norms tend to be found in greater quantities in texts. As it

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4578-454: The Vandals , Juthungi , and Sarmatians , expelling them from Roman territory. To celebrate these victories, Aurelian was granted the title of Germanicus Maximus . The authority of the Emperor was challenged by several usurpers — Septimius , Urbanus , Domitianus , and the rebellion of Felicissimus —who tried to exploit the sense of insecurity of the empire and the overwhelming influence of

4687-636: The Western Roman Empire fell in 476 and Germanic kingdoms took its place, the Germanic people adopted Latin as a language more suitable for legal and other, more formal uses. While the written form of Latin was increasingly standardized into a fixed form, the spoken forms began to diverge more greatly. Currently, the five most widely spoken Romance languages by number of native speakers are Spanish , Portuguese , French , Italian , and Romanian . Despite dialectal variation, which

4796-558: The tres militia – the three steps of the equestrian military career – one of the routes to higher equestrian office in the Imperial Service. This could be a more expeditious route to senior military and procuratorial offices than that pursued by ex-rankers, although not necessarily less laborious. However, although Saunders's conjecture as to Aurelian's early career is not supported by any evidence other than his nomen which could indicate Italian settler ancestry — and even this

4905-637: The British Crown. The motto is featured on all presently minted coinage and has been featured in most coinage throughout the nation's history. Several states of the United States have Latin mottos , such as: Many military organizations today have Latin mottos, such as: Some law governing bodies in the Philippines have Latin mottos, such as: Some colleges and universities have adopted Latin mottos, for example Harvard University 's motto

5014-613: The English lexicon , particularly after the Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons and the Norman Conquest . Latin and Ancient Greek roots are heavily used in English vocabulary in theology , the sciences , medicine , and law . A number of phases of the language have been recognized, each distinguished by subtle differences in vocabulary, usage, spelling, and syntax. There are no hard and fast rules of classification; different scholars emphasize different features. As

5123-599: The Grinch Stole Christmas! , The Cat in the Hat , and a book of fairy tales, " fabulae mirabiles ", are intended to garner popular interest in the language. Additional resources include phrasebooks and resources for rendering everyday phrases and concepts into Latin, such as Meissner's Latin Phrasebook . Some inscriptions have been published in an internationally agreed, monumental, multivolume series,

5232-682: The Persians and another in Egypt against the usurper Firmus , Aurelian was obliged to return to Palmyra in 273 when that city rebelled once more. This time, Aurelian allowed his soldiers to sack the city, and Palmyra never recovered. More honors came his way; he was now known as Parthicus Maximus and Restitutor Orientis ("Restorer of the East"). The rich province of Egypt was also recovered by Aurelian. The Brucheion (Royal Quarter) in Alexandria

5341-527: The Roman army in 235 and climbed up the ranks. He went on to lead the cavalry of the emperor Gallienus , until Gallienus' assassination in 268. Following that, Claudius Gothicus became emperor until his own death in 270. Claudius' brother Quintillus then ruled for three months, before Aurelian took the empire for himself. During his reign, he defeated the Alamanni after a devastating war. He also defeated

5450-543: The Sassanid Empire, and in 275 Aurelian set out for another campaign against the Sassanids. On his way, he suppressed a revolt in Gaul – possibly against Faustinus, an officer or usurper of Tetricus – and defeated barbarian marauders in Vindelicia ( Germany ). However, Aurelian never reached Persia, as he was murdered while waiting in Thrace to cross into Asia Minor. As an administrator, he had been strict and had handed out severe punishments to corrupt officials or soldiers. A secretary of his (called Eros by Zosimus ) had told

5559-399: The Senate briefly succeeded in passing damnatio memoriae on the emperor, but this was reversed before the end of the year, and Aurelian, like his predecessor Claudius II, was deified as Divus Aurelianus . There is some evidence that Aurelian's wife, Ulpia Severina , who had been declared Augusta in 274, ruled the empire in her own right for some time after his death, although this

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5668-409: The United States the unofficial national motto until 1956 was E pluribus unum meaning "Out of many, one". The motto continues to be featured on the Great Seal . It also appears on the flags and seals of both houses of congress and the flags of the states of Michigan, North Dakota, New York, and Wisconsin. The motto's 13 letters symbolically represent the original Thirteen Colonies which revolted from

5777-447: The University of Kentucky, the University of Oxford and also Princeton University. There are many websites and forums maintained in Latin by enthusiasts. The Latin Misplaced Pages has more than 130,000 articles. Italian , French , Portuguese , Spanish , Romanian , Catalan , Romansh , Sardinian and other Romance languages are direct descendants of Latin. There are also many Latin borrowings in English and Albanian , as well as

5886-554: The area. In early 269, emperor Claudius and Aurelian marched north to meet the Alamanni, defeating them at the Battle of Lake Benacus . While still dealing with the defeated enemy, news came from the Balkans reporting large-scale attacks from the Heruli , Goths , Gepids , and Bastarnae . Claudius immediately dispatched Aurelian to the Balkans to contain the invasion as best he could until Claudius could arrive with his main army. The Goths were besieging Thessalonica when they heard of emperor Claudius' approach, causing them to abandon

5995-454: The armies in Roman politics. Aurelian, being an experienced commander, was aware of the importance of the army, and his propaganda, known through his coinage, shows he wanted the support of the legions. The burden of the northern barbarians was not yet over, however. In 271, the Alamanni moved towards Italia, entering the Po plain and sacking the villages; they passed the Po River , occupied Placentia and moved towards Fano . Aurelian, who

6104-424: The armies of four Germanic chieftains to defeat the Goths in battle. Aurelian used the resources gained from the battles to enrich the provinces . After the battle, Crinitus thanked Valerian , the emperor at the time, for providing him with such a talented deputy. Crinitus adopted Aurelian as his heir, either voluntarily or possibly through force. Emperor Valerian attended the adoption ceremony which took place in

6213-419: The army and for agriculture. The end result was that the Empire could not endure the blow of the capture of Emperor Valerian in 260 by the Sassanids . The eastern provinces found their protectors in the rulers of the city of Palmyra , in Syria , whose autonomy grew until the formation of the Palmyrene Empire , which was successful in defending against the Sassanid threat. The western provinces, those facing

6322-419: The army in 235 at around age twenty. It is also generally assumed that, as a member of the lowest rank of society – albeit a citizen – he would have enlisted in the ranks of the legions. Saunders suggests that his career is more easily understood if it is assumed that his family was of Roman settler origins with a tradition of military service and that he enlisted as an equestrian. This would have opened up for him

6431-421: The army or settled as farmers in frontier regions. Aurelian had no time to relish his victories; in late August news arrived from Sirmium that emperor Claudius was dead. When Claudius died, his brother Quintillus seized power with support of the Senate. With an act typical of the Crisis of the Third Century , the army refused to recognize the new emperor, preferring to support one of its own commanders: Aurelian

6540-469: The author and then forgotten, but some useful ones survived, such as 'imbibe' and 'extrapolate'. Many of the most common polysyllabic English words are of Latin origin through the medium of Old French . Romance words make respectively 59%, 20% and 14% of English, German and Dutch vocabularies. Those figures can rise dramatically when only non-compound and non-derived words are included. Procurator (Roman) A fiscal procurator ( procurator Augusti )

6649-432: The baths of Byzantium. Following this, Crinitus disappeared from the historical record. A painting showing Ulpius Crinitus alongside Aurelian has been found in the Temple of Sol , adding to the veracity of his existence. Aurelian's successes as a cavalry commander ultimately made him a member of Emperor Gallienus ' entourage. In 268 Gallienus travelled to Italy and fought Aureolus , his former general and now usurper for

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6758-425: The benefit of those who do not understand Latin. There are also songs written with Latin lyrics . The libretto for the opera-oratorio Oedipus rex by Igor Stravinsky is in Latin. Parts of Carl Orff 's Carmina Burana are written in Latin. Enya has recorded several tracks with Latin lyrics. The continued instruction of Latin is seen by some as a highly valuable component of a liberal arts education. Latin

6867-409: The careful work of Petrarch, Politian and others, first the demand for manuscripts, and then the rush to bring works into print, led to the circulation of inaccurate copies for several centuries following. Neo-Latin literature was extensive and prolific, but less well known or understood today. Works covered poetry, prose stories and early novels, occasional pieces and collections of letters, to name

6976-407: The cavalry and sent in only the infantry to stop their break-out. The determined Goths killed many of the oncoming infantry and were only prevented from slaughtering them all when Aurelian finally charged in with his Dalmatian cavalry. The Goths still managed to escape and continued their march through Thrace. The Roman army continued to follow the Goths during the spring and summer of 270. Meanwhile,

7085-415: The classicised Latin that followed through to the present are often grouped together as Neo-Latin , or New Latin, which have in recent decades become a focus of renewed study , given their importance for the development of European culture, religion and science. The vast majority of written Latin belongs to this period, but its full extent is unknown. The Renaissance reinforced the position of Latin as

7194-412: The country's full Latin name. Some film and television in ancient settings, such as Sebastiane , The Passion of the Christ and Barbarians (2020 TV series) , have been made with dialogue in Latin. Occasionally, Latin dialogue is used because of its association with religion or philosophy, in such film/television series as The Exorcist and Lost (" Jughead "). Subtitles are usually shown for

7303-429: The decline in written Latin output. Despite having no native speakers, Latin is still used for a variety of purposes in the contemporary world. The largest organisation that retains Latin in official and quasi-official contexts is the Catholic Church . The Catholic Church required that Mass be carried out in Latin until the Second Vatican Council of 1962–1965 , which permitted the use of the vernacular . Latin remains

7412-463: The devaluation of the Roman currency . Although Domitian , two centuries earlier, was the first emperor who had demanded to be officially hailed as dominus et deus ("master and god"), these titles never occurred in written form on official documents until the reign of Aurelian. His successes were instrumental in ending the crisis, earning him the title Restitutor Orbis ("Restorer of the World"). Many details about Aurelian's early life come from

7521-405: The educated and official world, Latin continued without its natural spoken base. Moreover, this Latin spread into lands that had never spoken Latin, such as the Germanic and Slavic nations. It became useful for international communication between the member states of the Holy Roman Empire and its allies. Without the institutions of the Roman Empire that had supported its uniformity, Medieval Latin

7630-418: The elite Dalmatian cavalry and soon promoted to overall head of the army after the emperor and what had been Emperor Claudius' own position before his acclamation. The war against Aureolus and the concentration of forces in Italy allowed the Alamanni to break through the Rhaetian limes along the upper Danube . Marching through Raetia and the Alps unhindered, they entered northern Italy and began pillaging

7739-408: The execution of those directly involved. Aureolus was still besieged in Mediolanum and sought reconciliation with the new emperor, but Claudius had no sympathy for a potential rival. The emperor had Aureolus killed and one source implicates Aurelian in the deed, perhaps even signing the warrant for his death himself. During the reign of Claudius, Aurelian was promoted rapidly: he was given command of

7848-451: The following years, however, the Empire had to face a huge pressure from external enemies, while, at the same time, dangerous civil wars threatened the empire from within, with usurpers weakening the strength of the state. Also, the economic substrate of the state, agriculture and commerce, suffered from the disruption caused by the instability. On top of this, an epidemic swept through the Empire around 250, greatly diminishing manpower both for

7957-546: The full force of his cavalry, killing many and driving the remainder westward into Thrace . As winter set in, the Goths retreated into the Haemus Mountains , only to find themselves trapped and surrounded. The harsh conditions now exacerbated their shortage of food. However, the Romans underestimated the Goths and let their guard down, allowing the enemy to break through their lines and escape. Apparently emperor Claudius ignored advice, perhaps from Aurelian, and withheld

8066-481: The gates of Palmyra, which surrendered when Zenobia tried to flee to the Sassanid Empire . Eventually Zenobia and her son were captured and made to walk the streets of Rome in his triumph, the woman in golden chains. With the grain stores once again shipped to Rome, Aurelian's soldiers handed out free bread to the citizens of the city, and the Emperor was hailed a hero by his subjects. After a brief clash with

8175-703: The invention of printing and are now published in carefully annotated printed editions, such as the Loeb Classical Library , published by Harvard University Press , or the Oxford Classical Texts , published by Oxford University Press . Latin translations of modern literature such as: The Hobbit , Treasure Island , Robinson Crusoe , Paddington Bear , Winnie the Pooh , The Adventures of Tintin , Asterix , Harry Potter , Le Petit Prince , Max and Moritz , How

8284-704: The language of the Roman Rite . The Tridentine Mass (also known as the Extraordinary Form or Traditional Latin Mass) is celebrated in Latin. Although the Mass of Paul VI (also known as the Ordinary Form or the Novus Ordo) is usually celebrated in the local vernacular language, it can be and often is said in Latin, in part or in whole, especially at multilingual gatherings. It is the official language of

8393-440: The large areas where it had come to be natively spoken. However, even after the fall of Western Rome , Latin remained the common language of international communication , science, scholarship and academia in Europe until well into the early 19th century, by which time modern languages had supplanted it in common academic and political usage. Late Latin is the literary language from the 3rd century AD onward. No longer spoken as

8502-467: The late seventeenth century, when spoken skills began to erode. It then became increasingly taught only to be read. Latin grammar is highly fusional , with classes of inflections for case , number , person , gender , tense , mood , voice , and aspect . The Latin alphabet is directly derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets . Latin remains the official language of the Holy See and

8611-431: The later part of the Roman Republic , up to 75 BC, i.e. before the age of Classical Latin . It is attested both in inscriptions and in some of the earliest extant Latin literary works, such as the comedies of Plautus and Terence . The Latin alphabet was devised from the Etruscan alphabet . The writing later changed from what was initially either a right-to-left or a boustrophedon script to what ultimately became

8720-421: The less prestigious colloquial registers , attested in inscriptions and some literary works such as those of the comic playwrights Plautus and Terence and the author Petronius . While often called a "dead language", Latin did not undergo language death . By the 6th to 9th centuries, natural language change eventually resulted in Latin as a vernacular language evolving into distinct Romance languages in

8829-466: The loaves of bread without increasing their price – a measure that was undoubtedly popular with the Romans who were not receiving free bread and other products through the dole. Aurelian is believed to have terminated Trajan 's alimenta program. Roman prefect Titus Flavius Postumius Quietus was the last known official in charge of the alimenta , in 271. If Aurelian "did suppress this food distribution system, he most likely intended to put into effect

8938-459: The mint workers to revolt: the rebellion spread in the streets, even if it seems that Felicissimus was killed immediately, presumably executed. The Palmyrene rebellion in Egypt had probably reduced the grain supply to Rome , thus disaffecting the population to the emperor. This rebellion also had the support of some senators, probably those who had supported the election of Quintillus , and thus had something to fear from Aurelian. Aurelian ordered

9047-480: The only uprising of mint workers. The rationalis Felicissimus , a senior public financial official whose responsibilities included supervision of the mint at Rome, revolted against Aurelian. The revolt seems to have been caused by the fact that the mint workers, and Felicissimus first, were accustomed to stealing the silver for the coins and producing coins of inferior quality. Aurelian wanted to eliminate this, and put Felicissimus on trial. The rationalis incited

9156-413: The other varieties, as it was largely separated from the unifying influences in the western part of the Empire. Spoken Latin began to diverge into distinct languages by the 9th century at the latest, when the earliest extant Romance writings begin to appear. They were, throughout the period, confined to everyday speech, as Medieval Latin was used for writing. For many Italians using Latin, though, there

9265-500: The principle of "one faith, one empire", which would not be made official until the Edict of Thessalonica . He appears with the title deus et dominus natus ("God and born ruler") on some of his coins, a style also later adopted by Diocletian. Lactantius argued that Aurelian would have outlawed all the other gods if he had had enough time. He was recorded by Christian historians as having organized persecutions . Aurelian's reign records

9374-408: The siege and pillage north-eastern Macedonia. Aurelian intercepted the Goths with his Dalmatian cavalry and defeated them in a series of minor skirmishes, killing as many as three thousand of the enemy. Aurelian continued to harass the enemy, driving them northward into Upper Moesia where emperor Claudius had assembled his main army. The ensuing battle was indecisive: the northward advance of the Goths

9483-429: The throne. Driving Aureolus back into Mediolanum , Gallienus promptly besieged his adversary in the city. However, during the siege the Emperor was assassinated. One source says Aurelian, who was present at the siege, participated and supported general Claudius for the purple — which is plausible. In 268 or 269 Aurelian and his cavalry participated in the victory of Emperor Gallienus (or Emperor Claudius II Gothicus ) over

9592-579: The title Germanicus Maximus . However, the menace of the Germanic people and a Germanic invasion was still perceived by the Romans as likely; therefore Aurelian resolved to build a new system of walls around Rome that became known as the Aurelian Walls . The emperor led his legions to the Balkans, where he defeated and routed the Goths beyond the Danube, killing the Gothic leader Cannabaudes , and assuming

9701-447: The title of rex and imperator ("king" and "supreme military commander"), but Aurelian decided to invade the eastern provinces as soon as he felt his army to be strong enough. Asia Minor was recovered easily; every city but Byzantium and Tyana surrendered to him with little resistance. The fall of Tyana lent itself to a legend: Aurelian to that point had destroyed every city that resisted him, but he spared Tyana after having

9810-408: The title of Gothicus Maximus . However, he decided to abandon the province of Dacia , on the exposed north bank of the Danube, as it was too difficult and expensive to defend. He reorganized a new province of Dacia south of the Danube, inside the former Moesia , called Dacia Aureliana , with Serdica as the capital. In 272, Aurelian turned his attention to the lost eastern provinces of the empire,

9919-399: The tradition that the clan Aurelius had been entrusted with the maintenance of that deity's cult in Rome, inspired the notion that this could explain the devotion to the sun-god that Aurelian was to manifest as emperor. However, it seems that this extrapolation of unverifiable facts is now generally accepted as being no more than just that. It is commonly accepted that Aurelian probably joined

10028-473: Was a reformer, and settled many important functions of the imperial apparatus, dealing with the economy and religion. He restored many public buildings, reorganized the management of the food reserves, set fixed prices for the most important goods, and prosecuted misconduct by the public officers. Aurelian strengthened the position of the Sun god Sol Invictus as the main divinity of the Roman pantheon. His intention

10137-570: Was an Illyrian like several other emperors of the late 3rd century ( Illyrian emperors ) all of whom shared a common military background. Pseudo-Victor describes his father as a colonus (tenant farmer) who worked the lands of a senator named Aurelius. Aurelian's father was probably a veteran of the Roman army. He married the daughter of Aurelius from whom Aurelian received his name via his mother. The Historia Augusta describes her as "priestess of Sol ", whose worship Aurelian promoted as Emperor ( Sol Invictus ). These two propositions, together with

10246-556: Was an improvement over the previous situation gives an idea of the severity of the economic situation Aurelian faced. The Emperor struggled to introduce the new "good" coin by recalling all the old "bad" coins before their introduction. A very large number of rare gold coins of Aurelian have been discovered as part of the Lava Treasure in Corsica , France, in the 1980s. Rome had been distributing grain to its poorest citizens at

10355-459: Was burned to the ground. This section of the city once contained the Library of Alexandria , although the extent of the surviving Library in Aurelian's time is uncertain. In 274, the victorious emperor turned his attention to the west, and the Gallic Empire which had already been reduced in size by Claudius II . Aurelian won this campaign largely through diplomacy; the "Gallic Emperor" Tetricus

10464-444: Was closed temporarily, and the institution of several other mints caused the main mint of the empire to lose its hegemony. His monetary reformation included the introduction of antoniniani containing 5% silver. They bore the mark XXI (or its Greek numeral form KA ), which meant - according to some researchers - that twenty of such coins would contain the same silver quantity of an old silver denarius . Considering that this

10573-413: Was free to develop on its own, there is no reason to suppose that the speech was uniform either diachronically or geographically. On the contrary, Romanised European populations developed their own dialects of the language, which eventually led to the differentiation of Romance languages . Late Latin is a kind of written Latin used in the 3rd to 6th centuries. This began to diverge from Classical forms at

10682-473: Was halted but Roman losses were heavy. Claudius could not afford another pitched battle, so he instead laid a successful ambush, killing thousands. However, the majority of the Goths escaped and began retreating south the way they had come. For the rest of year, Aurelian harassed the enemy with his Dalmatian cavalry. Now stranded in Roman territory, the Goths' lack of provisions began to take its toll. Aurelian, sensing his enemies' desperation, attacked them with

10791-514: Was held by the fiscal procurators, who assisted governors of the senatorial provinces , who were always senators. In addition, procurator was the title given to various other officials in Rome and Italy. After the mid-first century, as a result of the Pax Romana , the provinces previously governed by prefects , who were military men, were gradually moved into the hands of procurators, who were essentially civilian fiscal officials. Egypt, as

10900-688: Was in Pannonia to control the Vandals ' withdrawal, quickly entered Italia, but his army was defeated in an ambush near Placentia (January 271). When the news of the defeat arrived in Rome, it caused great fear for the arrival of the barbarians, but Aurelian attacked the Alamanni camping near the Metaurus River , defeating them in the Battle of Fano , and forcing them to re-cross the Po river; Aurelian finally routed them at Pavia . For this, he received

11009-452: Was in charge of the province's financial affairs, including the following primary responsibilities: The office of fiscal procurator was always held by an equestrian, unlike the office of governor, which was reserved for members of the higher senatorial order . The reason for the dual administrative structure was to prevent excessive concentration of power in the hands of the governor, as well as to limit his opportunities for peculation . It

11118-496: Was much more liberal in its linguistic cohesion: for example, in classical Latin sum and eram are used as auxiliary verbs in the perfect and pluperfect passive, which are compound tenses. Medieval Latin might use fui and fueram instead. Furthermore, the meanings of many words were changed and new words were introduced, often under influence from the vernacular. Identifiable individual styles of classically incorrect Latin prevail. Renaissance Latin, 1300 to 1500, and

11227-441: Was no complete separation between Italian and Latin, even into the beginning of the Renaissance . Petrarch for example saw Latin as a literary version of the spoken language. Medieval Latin is the written Latin in use during that portion of the post-classical period when no corresponding Latin vernacular existed, that is from around 700 to 1500 AD. The spoken language had developed into the various Romance languages; however, in

11336-553: Was not unknown for friction to arise between governors and procurators over matters of jurisdiction and finance. A procurator Augusti (often called the Praesidial Procurator , i.e., a garrison- or troop-commanding procurator), however, might also be the governor of the smaller imperial provinces (i.e., those provinces whose governor was appointed by the emperor, rather than the Roman Senate ). The same title

11445-440: Was proclaimed emperor about August or September (older sources argue for May) by the legions in Sirmium. Aurelian defeated Quintillus' troops, and was recognized as emperor by the Senate after Quintillus' death. The claim that Aurelian was chosen by Claudius on his death bed can be dismissed as propaganda; later, probably in 272, Aurelian put his own dies imperii at the day of Claudius' death, thus implicitly considering Quintillus

11554-482: Was shut down in June 2019), and Vatican Radio & Television, all of which broadcast news segments and other material in Latin. A variety of organisations, as well as informal Latin 'circuli' ('circles'), have been founded in more recent times to support the use of spoken Latin. Moreover, a number of university classics departments have begun incorporating communicative pedagogies in their Latin courses. These include

11663-514: Was the chief financial officer of a province during the Principate (30 BC – AD 284). A fiscal procurator worked alongside the legatus Augusti pro praetore (imperial governor) of his province but was not subordinate to him, reporting directly to the emperor. The governor headed the civil and judicial administration of the province and was the commander-in-chief of all military units deployed there. The procurator, with his own staff and agents,

11772-547: Was to give to all the peoples of the Empire, civilian or soldiers, easterners or westerners, a single god they could believe in without betraying their own gods. The centre of the cult was a new temple , built in 274 and dedicated on December 25 of that year in the Campus Agrippae in Rome, with great decorations financed by the spoils of the Palmyrene Empire. During his short rule, Aurelian seemed to follow

11881-472: Was willing to abandon his throne and allow Gaul and Britain to return to the Empire, but could not openly submit to Aurelian. Instead, the two seem to have conspired so that when the armies met at the Battle of Châlons at Durocatalaunum that autumn, Tetricus simply deserted to the Roman camp and Aurelian easily defeated the Gallic army facing him. Tetricus was rewarded for his collusion by Aurelian who made him

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