EPISODE · Jan 14, 2026 · 40 MIN
Did the Emperor Aurelian Break or Fix the Monetary System of the Roman Empire? - The Pax Romana Podcast 96
from The Pax Romana Podcast · host Professor Colin Elliott
Did the emperor Aurelian's big coin reform in the 270s AD shatter public trust in the money system? Did it shift value from faith in the government to just the metal in the coins? I wrote most of an article addressing these issues, but never got around to publishing it. So I use this podcast episode to make an argument that the system was already crumbling decades before Aurelian. And Aurelian's changes were in fact a clever fix. The price inflation that followed was disruptive, but it also proved the reform worked, clearing up confusion and stabilizing markets.Read Haklai (2011), 'Aurelian’s Monetary Reform: Between Debasement and Public Trust'.Donate: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/WZTWCMWCJJYFCYouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ProfCPEBuy Professor Elliott's book:Pox Romana: The Plague that Shook the Roman World.
Embed this episode
Ready to play
Did the Emperor Aurelian Break or Fix the Monetary System of the Roman Empire? - The Pax Romana Podcast 96
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
No similar episodes found.
Similar Podcasts
No similar podcasts found.