Aureolus
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- For the Frankish ruler of Aragon, see Aureolus of Aragon.
| Aureolus | ||
|---|---|---|
| Usurper of the Roman Empire | ||
| Reign | 268 (against Gallienus) | |
| Full name | Manius Acilius Aureolus | |
| Died | 268 | |
Manius Acilius Aureolus (d. 268) was a military commander and usurper who rebelled against Emperor Gallienus and supported the Gallic Emperor Postumus.
[edit] Against Macriani and Postumus
Aureolus was a Roman cavalry commander under Emperor Gallienus. In 261 he had defeated in Thrace the army of the usurpers Macrianus Major and Macrianus Minor, who had rebelled against Gallienus.
In 265, he was sent to dispose of the rebellion of Postumus in Gaul, who had carved the Gallic Empire for himself out of the northern Roman provinces, but his carelessness allowed the usurper to flee.
Zosimus (1.41) reports that Aureolus and other two officers conspired against Gallienus, but that all of them were punished and submitted, except Aureolus, who retained his anger against the emperor.
[edit] Rebellion against Gallienus and death
By 268, Aureolus had succeeded to recover Raetia to the central empire (Aurelius Victor, 33.17). In that same year, he was in Mediolanum, where he rebelled against Gallienus, supporting Postumus and minting coins in his name. He sent letters to Postumus, asking the Gallic emperor to come and invade Italy, but Postumus refused, and left Aureolus to his fate.
Gallienus left his Scythian war, and returned to Italy to siege Aureolus in Mediolanum, but was killed by his own soldiers. After the death of the emperor, Aureolus claimed the purple with the support of his troops, but then surrendered to Emperor Claudius Gothicus. He was killed by the Praetorian Guard, who still remembered his treachery (Zosimus 1.41; Zonaras 26.1f).
The author(s) of the Historia Augusta lists him among the Thirty Tyrants.
