History 112 - the Third Century Roman Empire

The Third Century Roman Empire

Angel Hernandez

History 112

Dr. Robert Hedicke

        During the third century Rome went through many cultural, economic, and political changes. Rome simply began as simple villages and became one of the most illustrious empires of all history. Although at its height Rome was a prolific society, the Roman Empire nearly disintegrated, as the crisis of the third century occurred. During this time invasion, civil war, plague, and economic depression were a huge weight that caused the collapse of Rome. Although many historians have placed blame on these factors, other factors may have played a substantial role in the fall of Rome as well. Some historians believe that the barbarian invasions were largely to blame whereas others believe that the relationship between the senate and the people may have been the reason. Other factors that may have played a vital role could be climate change, depopulation, and the decline of military morale.

 The crisis was marked by the assassination of Emperor Alexander Serverus. Serverus died at the hand of his own troops, and Roman Army generals predominantly assumed power of Rome. While the generals fought for control of war, the threat of invasion loomed and the duties of protecting and preventing invasion were neglected.

After the death of Marcus Aurelius in 180 C.E. the Roman Empire lacked structure, and a true emperor. During this time the Senate, military and other parties supported their own candidates for emperor. At this time there numerous occasions in which multiple people who claimed to be emperor. This period lasted 49 years, from 235 to 284, and during this time there were over twenty different emperors that ruled Rome.

Internal conflicts became inevitable and the Roman Empire divided into three competing states. The Roman provinces were composed of Gaul, Britain, and Hispania. During the attacks of the Sassanids and Germans, Roman emperors were forced to raise taxes that also led to revolts. The small rebellions once again depleted Rome’s armed forces and left Rome vulnerable in the east and north. With the constant problem of civil wars and the Roman troops too busy fighting each other foreign enemies took advantage of the situation and attacked the empire. (osu.edu, n.d.). These civil wars disrupted the collection of taxes and decreased funding supplied to troops in affected areas. Thus the two conflicts worked together to lead to the demise of the Roman Empire.