Struck Gold

I chose Aurelian Ball as the title for my blog to represent both my whimsical love for fiction and my adoration of history. Reference to the lucky golden ball of the Frog Prince fairy tale should be obvious, but Aurelian is from the Latin word aureus*, meaning "golden" or "to be gilded." Aurelian also happens to be one of my favorite Roman emperors.


Imperator Caesar Lucius Domitius Aurelian

Aurelian is one of the seven "soldier emperors," a title given to those of military credentials who are more or less elected by their troops. A was a conqueror and a reformer. Among his other titles, he is called Restitutor Orbis, or "Restorer of the World." He secured the frontiers of the empire and reunified it. He also reformed Rome's coinage and economy, set fixed prices for the most important goods, and firmly prosecuted misdeeds of public officers and soldiers.

He rocks. Basically, he bolstered the empire and boosted its life span to last two more centuries. Unlike many of his predecessors, he actually did something with his reign, and he was so great a number of emperors after his time copied many of his policies. Notably including the biggies-- Diocletian and Constantine.

*My oldest niece is named Aubria, which I believe means "golden light." Isn't that pretty?