In 400, Gothic rebels under Gainas forced the emperor Arcadius to give them Aurelianus, and he was exiled; he returned to Constantinople after the defeat of the Goths later that year.
When the Gothic magister militum Gainas rose to power at the court of Emperor Arcadius, he had all supporters of his enemy Eutropius removed; he chose Aurelianus as Praetorian prefect of the East (August 399), replacing Eutychianus, Eutropius' choice.
[1] Aurelianus, therefore, became the most powerful civilian official and was involved in the trial against Eutropius, which started at Chalcedon in September of that year and culminated in the latter's execution.
[2] He was appointed consul for the year 400, but his colleague in the West, the magister militum Stilicho, did not recognize him in an act of open confrontation with the Eastern court and particularly with Gainas.
[2] After the defeat of the Goths at Constantinople (12 July 400), Aurelianus made a triumphant return to the capital.