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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Gavin Richardson, post: 3079491, member: 83956&quot;]A fine post calling attention to an important period in the history of religion. Here&#039;s my Aurelian Sol, as well as a briefer write-up I once did on the subject.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]775222[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>So between 235 and 284 A.D., as many as twenty-six “barracks emperors” claimed the imperial throne. Few emperors died in their sleep; quite often they were slain by rival forces or by another ambitious general within the Roman army. Aurelian reigned longer than most: 270-275 A.D., and he was quite a formidable force, doing much to bring Rome back from the brink of collapse. This pagan emperor who allegedly persecuted Christians was also ironically significant in paving the way for Christianity, for he was devoted to the god Sol, or the sun. “Solar Monotheism,” while still spectacularly pagan, laid the popular groundwork for an empire believing in only one God. Indeed, judging by his coinage, Constantine the Great was a particular devotee of Sol Invictus, until he sees a cross in the sky and decides to become a Christian. (Some believe the “cross” was a solar halo, further syncretizing Sol and Christ in Constantine’s belief system.) The coin in the photo is one of Aurelian’s, with the reverse of Sol striding left between two bound captives and the reverse legend “ORIENS AVG,” perhaps best glossed as “THE RISING AUGUSTUS.” Here the rising fortunes of the Emperor are to be aligned with the rising Sun. Clearly Aurelian was feeling pretty good about himself—until, of course, a corrupt army secretary faked and leaked a list of men Aurelian was allegedly about to execute. These men stabbed to death one of the few capable emperors of the chaotic third century.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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