Aurelian, 270-275AD
- continued fights with invaders, in 271 had a wall built around Rome (12 feet thick and 20 feet high) to keep out sudden attacks - conquered the smaller “states” inside the empire that had been created under Gallienus
- established the worship of the sun (Sol Invictus) as an official religion of the state, with he birthday of the god being on December 25th, the day the Romans accepted as the winter solstice (this day had been popularized by Christians as the birthday of Jesus some fifty years earlier, no later than 221 AD)
- in 275, he threatened to punish his private secretary for lying - the secretary went out and lied to senior officers that Aurelian was going to kill them, and they had the emperor assassinated
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