Sol Invictus ("Unconquered Sun") was the official
sun god of the later
Roman Empire and a patron of soldiers. In 274 AD the
Roman emperor Aurelian made it an official
cult alongside the traditional Roman cults. Scholars disagree about whether the new deity was a refoundation of the ancient
Latin cult of
Sol, a revival of the cult of
Elagabalus or completely new. The god was favored by emperors after Aurelian and appeared on their coins until
Constantine I. The last inscription referring to Sol Invictus dates to AD 387, and there were enough devotees in the 5th century that
Augustine found it necessary to preach against them.