Actually, the story is better than that.
Aurelian was a harsh and suspicious ruler. With good reason, given recent history in the empire. He had a well-earned rep for executing corrupt or conspiring generals and officials.
So the embezzler you mention forged a list of names the emperor was planning to have executed, and went around showing it to the "intended victims."
Given Aurelian's character, they instantly believed the fraud and killed the emperor in what they thought was self-defense.
The moral being that suspicion and harshness can be every bit as deadly as the clemency that killed Julius Caesar.
Thanks SL. Aurelian remains one of my favorite emperors (not a hard choice, IMHO).
It’s perhaps not surprising that often the greatest leaders have arisen at or very near the beginning of great states — for if they don’t, the state never becomes great. :’) Augustus was a delegator and blessed with a good friend in Agrippa, who was one of the more competent (probably not great) military minds of their times. And his stepsons Drusus and Tiberius were probably the best generals who were brothers the Empire ever produced, they established Roman dominion over the Rhine. Augustus completed the transition of the Roman political system into one with a permanent executive branch.
Tiberius in his turn had a series of advisers of varying quality, and managed to hang on through at least one assassination plot (Sejanus). Caligula by contrast never seemed to maintain any trustworthy staff, probably because he wasn’t worthy of trust himself. Claudius settled on two capable advisors and executive assistants, one of whom prevented a mutiny and kept the invasion force on track to Britain. Having two meant being able to ensure their loyalty to him and competition between them maximized their output. Nero was in the shadow of his own mother, both of them were loons, and after he had her killed (seems like it was aboard a vessel), and had his wife (Claudius’ daughter) killed, and the city burned down, he had burned off anyone and everyone who might have been loyal to him.
The months of anarchy that followed ended with the ascension (usurpation) of Vespasian, the first of a number of military leaders to seize power in Roman history, and the final establishment of the precedent of dynastic rule.