Music & vocals by Farya Faraji, bagpipe by @Dimitrios_Dallas, aulos and syrinx by @stefanoskrasopoulis, with additional improvisations by the them, and translation by Demetrios Paraschos. Please note that this isn't reconstructed historical music, it's modern music using Ancient Roman instruments and the framework of their music theory.
Aurelian was a Roman emperor who reigned from 270 to 275 during the Crisis of the Third Century. Rising through the ranks first as a soldier and then as a general, he was hailed Caesar by his troops and took command of a divided empire on the verge of dissolution, uniting it all, which has earned him the title Restorer of the World.
The instrumentation consists of the Vergina model of the aulos, played by my colleague Stefanos Krasopoulis whose channel I highly recommend you visit for more music using ancient Greco-Roman instruments. He has also accompanied the melody with a syrinx, a traditional flute used to this day in parts of Greece, especially in the north. Dimitrios Dallas, whose channel I also urge you to visit for examples of Greek music, plays the askomandoura, an old bagpipe played to this day in Crete, and almost identical to the bagpipes used in the day by the Ancient Romans and Greeks.
The lyrics use Classical pronunciation and adhere almost completely to the vowel length and subsequent penultimate stress rule of Latin.
Lyrics in Latin:
Ex fīnibus vēnī,
Ex antīquā terrā Moesiae,
Ubi Sōl Invīctus lūcet,
Sanguis meus est sanguis Illyriae.
Mīles factus sum,
Sub calōre sōlis,
Cum equīs Dalmatiae,
Sanguinem Gothōrum effūdī.
Claudius mortuus est, et Quintīlius surrēxit,
Sed legiōnēs meae mē Caesarem nōmināvērunt,
Vīcī Quintīlium, usurpatōrem,
Factus sum sicut sōl in caelō.
Imperium dīvīsum vīdī,
In Orientem et Occidentem,
Zenobiam punīvī,
Factus sum Parthicus Maximus et Restitūtor Orientis.
In Occidentem intuitus sum,
Ad usurpatōrēs Gallicōs,
Illos totōs absorbēbam,
Ut leo ovem dēvorat.
Sīcut in caelō sōl ūnus est,
Ita in mundō imperium ūnum est,
Deus et dominus natus sum,
Cum meō sanguine et gladiō mundum restituī.
Servus Sōlis Invīctī sum,
Restitūtor Orbis sum.
English translation:
I have come from the frontiers,
From the ancient land of Moesia,
Where Sol Invictus shines,
My blood is the blood of Illyria,
I am the servant of Sol Invictus,
I am the Restorer of the World.
I became a soldier,
Below the warmth of the sun,
With the horses of Dalmatia,
I shed the blood of the Goths,
I am the servant of Sol Invictus,
I am the Restorer of the World,
Claudius died, and Quintilius rose,
But my legions named me Caesar,
I defeated Quintilius, the usurper,
I became like the sun in the sky.
I am the servant of Sol Invictus,
I am the Restorer of the World,
I saw an empire divided,
In the east and the West,
I punished Zenobia,
I became Parthicus Maximus and Restorer of the East,
I turned my gaze to the West,
To the Gallic usurpers,
I swallowed them whole,
Like the lion swallows the sheep,
I am the servant of Sol Invictus,
I am Restitutor Orbis.
Just like there is only one sun in the sky,
So is there only one empire in the world,
I am Master and God
With my blood and my sword, I have restored the world,
I am the servant of Sol Invictus,
I am the Restorer of the World.
21 май 2024
