The Crisis of the Third Century was a period of unrest and instability in the Roman Empire which lasted from 235 to 284 AD, marked by barbarian invasions and migrations, civil wars, peasant rebellions, increased banditry, the Roman Army's increased reliance on Germanic mercenaries, plague, debasement of currency, and economic depression. From 268 to 274, the empire itself was divided between the Gallic Empire in the west, the Roman Empire in Italy, the Balkans, and North Africa, and the Palmyrene Empire in the east. The empire was reunified by Aurelian, but it was not until Diocletian's assumption of the throne in 284 and his ensuing reforms that the Crisis abated and stability was restored to the much-weakened empire.
Background[]
Roman Army troops marching in Rome
The Romans were no strangers to civil war, with the Roman Empire itself being formed following the civil war between Octavian and Mark Antony in 31-30 BC. Octavian was granted emergency powers by the Roman Senate in 27 BC, assuming the title of Princeps and the new name of "Augustus". Augustus maintained a semi-republican government, with the Senate maintaining a degree of power, and the Princeps holding the final say on all matters. The Julio-Claudian dynasty reigned until Nero's assassination in 68 AD, after which the Year of the Four Emperors, during which Galba, Otho, and Vitellius were slain and Vespasian took power as the head of the Flavian dynasty, which reigned from 69 to 96 AD. Domitian's death in 96 AD and the rise of Nerva led to the initiation of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty, which reigned from 96 to 192 AD, including the great emperors Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius. Marcus Aurelius' son Commodus humiliated the empire during his rule, and he was assassinated in 192 AD; this ushered in the Year of the Five Emperors of 193 AD, namely Pertinax, Didius Julianus, Pescennius Niger, Clodius Albinus, and Septimius Severus. During the Severan dynasty of 193-235 AD, the size of the Roman Army was increased, with the army being doubled in both size and pay. The Severan empire decreased the number of silver in their coins to pay for the army, starting a protracted economic crisis; at the same time, the Senate lost its privileges. In 232 AD, Emperor Alexander Severus fought against the Sassanid Persians, reserving Roman territories. However, the military suffered heavy casualties and became insubordinate, assassinating him when he hesitated to fight against Germanic invaders in 235. Alexander's death initiated the Crisis of the Third Century.
Crisis[]
Germanic barbarians invading the Roman Empire
The army became the new real source of power in Rome, and 30 puppet emperors or soldier-emperors reigned in Rome over the next 50 years. At the same time, the Empire was facing a greater number of foreign enemies than ever before, including the Goths, Vandals, and Alemanni, who began to raid along the Rhine and Danube frontiers of the empire. At the same time, the Sassanid emperor Shapur I exploited Rome's weakness; in 252 AD, he seized Nisibis and defeated the Romans at Barbalissos a year later before seizing Antioch as well. Emperor Valerian marched against the Sassanids while his son Gallienus was left in charge of the west. In 259, Valerian's troops arrived in Asia Minor, but the Goths invaded the region at the same time, rampaging through Asia Minor and then returning across the Danube. Valerian's 70,000-strong army was defeated by Shapur's 40,000 Persian troops, and he was captured in battle and died a year later. Gallienus rose to the throne, quelling a revolt in 260. The Alemanni and other Germanic tribes invaded Italy that same year, and, at Mediolanium, he led 60,000 troops against 300,000 Alemanni and Franks, but his cavalry won the day. That same year, the Roman general Postumus rebelled against him in Gallia and Britannia, creating the Gallic Empire; he also took control of Hispania while Valerian fought against other usurpers. In the east, the Roman vassal ruler Odaenathus of Palmyra reconquered Rome's lost eastern lands from the Persians in 262-263, and he claimed the Persian title of "King of Kings" while remaining a Roman vassal. In 267, he was assassinated in Anatolia, and his widow Zenobia became regent for their son.
Secession[]
Map of the divided Roman Empire
In the west, Postumus defended his new realm against Gallienus in 265 and 266, causing discontent among the Roman legions. In 268, Gallienus was assassinated, and Claudius II regained the throne. He fought against a Gothic incursion into Serbia, defeating them at Naissus in 269; 50,000 Goths were killed, holding the Goths off for a century. At Lake Benacus in 269, Claudius defeated another Alemanni invasion; that same year, Postumus died and was succeeded as Gallic Emperor by Marcus Aurelius Marius. Claudius exploited the Gallic Empire's weakness and retook Hispania, but he succumbed to a plague in 270; Aurelian became emperor shortly after. Zenobia took advantage of Claudius' death to proclaim her son Vaballathus as the new Emperor, and Egypt and most of central and eastern Anatolia joined the new Palmyrene Empire by 271. Aurelian expelled the Vandals from northern Italy and defeated the Juthungi Alemanni at Fano and Pavia, also abandoning Dacia due to its indefensible nature. The fall of Egypt caused a grain crisis in the empire, so Aurelian invaded the Palmyrene Empire and defeated Zenobia's army; it was alleged that part of the Library of Alexandria was burned during the campaign. He then returned to the West, and, after diplomacy failed, he defeated the Gallic emperor Tetricus I at Chalons in 274, reuniting the empire.
However, the death of Aurelian in 275 started a new round of the crisis, and six Roman emperors reigned in the next nine years: Tacitus, Florianus, Probus, Carus, Carinus, and Numerian. In 284, Diocletian became the empire's ruler. He stabilized the Empire with his reforms, holding a general census to help with taxation, while he also set price controls; this led to the black market taking over. He also created the tetrarchy, dividing the empire between the East and West, and both halfs would have senior emperors (Augustus) and junior emperors (Caesar). The tetrarchy failed shortly after Diocletian's death, but the empire's division prolonged the empire's existence.
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