Did the Emperor Aurelian Break or Fix the Monetary System of the Roman Empire? - The Pax Romana Podcast 96

Did the Emperor Aurelian Break or Fix the Monetary System of the Roman Empire? - The Pax Romana Podcast 96

From The Pax Romana Podcast by Professor Colin Elliott

January 14, 2026 · 40 min

About this episode

Professor Colin Elliott discusses the monetary reforms of Emperor Aurelian and their impact on the Roman economy.

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/WZTWCMWCJJYFC⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube Channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@ProfCPE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Buy Professor Elliott's book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Pox Romana: The Plague that Shook the Roman World ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ .

People in this episode

Host: Professor Colin Elliott

Topics covered

  • Roman Empire
  • monetary reform
  • Aurelian
  • inflation
  • public trust
  • economic stability

Keywords

  • Aurelian
  • monetary system
  • Roman Empire
  • coin reform
  • inflation
  • economic history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: YouTube Channel

Products: Pox Romana: The Plague that Shook the Roman World

Books & works: Aurelian’s Monetary Reform: Between Debasement and Public Trust

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