The Crisis of the Third Century (235–284 CE): Rome on the Brink of Collapse

In 235 CE, the Roman Empire was struck by three simultaneous crises:

1. External invasions by Germanic tribes and eastern enemies.
2. Internal civil wars as emperors were overthrown in rapid succession.
3. Economic collapse, with hyperinflation and declining trade.

This period, known as the Crisis of the Third Century (235–284 CE), marked one of the most dangerous moments in Roman history, nearly leading to the empire’s disintegration.

1. External Invasions: Rome’s Borders Under Siege

• The Germanic tribes, including the Goths, Alemanni, and Franks, launched devastating raids into Roman territory.
• In the East, the Sassanid Persian Empire replaced the Parthians as Rome’s primary adversary, inflicting heavy defeats.
• The empire’s defensive system strained under the pressure, as legions were stretched too thin to defend all fronts effectively.

2. Internal Civil War: The Barracks Emperors

• The empire saw rapid turnover of emperors, often installed by legions rather than the Senate.
• Between 235 and 284 CE, over 25 emperors ruled, most meeting violent ends.
• Civil wars between rival claimants weakened Rome’s ability to deal with external threats.

3. Economic Collapse and Inflation

• Rome faced severe financial strain due to continuous wars and loss of tax revenues.
• The currency debased, leading to hyperinflation and a collapse of trade and urban economies.
• The middle and lower classes suffered, causing social unrest and a shift toward a feudal-like economic system.

Pivotal Moment: The Transition to Late Antiquity

The Crisis of the Third Century fundamentally reshaped the Roman world, marking the transition from classical Rome to Late Antiquity:

• The empire began shifting toward a more militarized, autocratic structure.
• The traditional city-based economy declined, replaced by self-sufficient rural estates.
• Political power moved from Rome to regional capitals, signaling the beginning of the division between Eastern and Western Rome.

The Road to Recovery

• In 284 CE, Emperor Diocletian seized power and implemented sweeping reforms, stabilizing the empire.
• His creation of the Tetrarchy (rule by four emperors) temporarily ended civil wars.
• His military and economic policies restored order, but at the cost of greater imperial control and bureaucracy.

While the Roman Empire survived, the Crisis of the Third Century weakened its foundations, setting the stage for further transformations that would lead to the eventual fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE.

The Crisis of the Third Century (235–284 CE): Rome’s Near Collapse

The Crisis of the Third Century, also called the "Military Anarchy" or "Imperial Crisis," was a period of severe instability in the Roman Empire, lasting from 235 to 284 CE. Marked by external invasions, internal civil war, and economic collapse, this crisis nearly led to the empire’s disintegration and permanently altered Roman institutions, society, and governance.

The Three Simultaneous Crises

1. External Invasions:

   • The Goths, Vandals, and Alemanni launched devastating raids across Gaul, the Balkans, and Italy.
   • The Sassanid Persian Empire aggressively pushed into Mesopotamia, even capturing Emperor Valerian in 260 CE.
   • The Danube and Rhine frontiers collapsed, forcing Rome into constant defensive wars.

2. Internal Civil War:

   • More than 25 emperors ruled in just 50 years, most meeting violent ends at the hands of rival factions or mutinous troops.
   • Legions declared their own generals as emperors, leading to endless power struggles.
   • The empire briefly split into three competing states:
     • The Gallic Empire (Gaul, Britain, and Spain).
     • The Palmyrene Empire (Syria and Egypt).
     • The central Roman Empire, ruled by whoever controlled Italy.

3. Economic Collapse:

   • Rome’s currency was devalued, leading to hyperinflation and a breakdown of trade.
   • The tax system crumbled, forcing local provinces into a barter economy.
   • Cities shrank, and large landowners gained power, beginning a shift toward a feudal-like system.

The Crisis as a Watershed Moment

Historians increasingly view the Crisis of the Third Century as the key transition between the classical Roman world and late antiquity:

• Political Structure Changes:

  • The empire became more militarized and autocratic, reducing senatorial influence.
  • The rise of soldier-emperors meant that military power determined leadership, not Roman traditions.

• Social and Economic Shifts:

  • The weakened economy led to localization, with provinces relying on self-sufficient estates rather than long-distance trade.
  • Cities declined in importance, while wealthy landowners gained more power, foreshadowing medieval feudal structures.

• Religious Transformations:

  • Traditional Roman polytheism weakened, while new religions, including Christianity and Eastern mystery cults, gained followers.
  • The persecution of Christians intensified, as emperors sought to reinforce unity through traditional Roman gods.

The Road to Recovery: Diocletian and the Tetrarchy (284 CE)

• In 284 CE, Emperor Diocletian seized power and ended the crisis, implementing sweeping military, economic, and political reforms.
• He created the Tetrarchy, dividing the empire into Eastern and Western halves, stabilizing governance.
• His policies restored temporary order, but the empire had already fundamentally changed.

Conclusion: A Turning Point for Rome

The Crisis of the Third Century was a watershed moment in Roman history, marking the transition from the Principate (27 BCE–284 CE) to the Dominate (284–476 CE).

While Rome survived, it emerged transformed, setting the stage for:

• The eventual division of the empire into East and West.
• The rise of feudal land structures.
• The growing dominance of Christianity.

This tumultuous period reshaped Rome, leading to a new political and social order that would define Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages.

Conflict had resumed between Rome and Persia shortly after the overthrow of Parthian rule and the foundation of the Sassanid Empire by Ardashir I.

Ardashir in 230 had raided Mesopotamia and Syriaa nd demanded the cession of all the former territories of the Achaemenid Empire.

Alexander Severus, after fruitless negotiations, sets out in 232 against Ardashir and finally repulses him.

Ardashir towards the end of his reign attacks again in 238–240, taking several cities in Syria and Mesopotamia, including Carrhae and Nisibis.

The struggle resumes and intensifies under Ardashir's successor Shapur I, who invades Mesopotamia.

His forces are defeated in 243 at a battle near Resaena and the Romans regains Carrhae and Nisibis.

The arrival of Germanic-speaking invaders along the coast of the Black Sea is generally explained as a gradual migration of the Goths from what is now Poland to Ukraine, reflecting the tradition of Jordanes and old songs.

The Goths—Germans coming from what is now Sweden—will be followed by the Vandals, the Burgundians, and the Gepidae.

The aftereffect of their march to the southeast, toward the Black Sea, had been to push the Marcomanni, the Quadi, and the Sarmatians onto the Roman limes in Marcus Aurelius' time.

Their presence is brusquely revealed to the civilized Greco-Roman world when they attack the Greek towns on the Black Sea about 238.

The Goths, in the first attested incursion into Thrace, are mentioned as Boranoi by Zosimus, writing at the turn of the sixth century, and as Boradoi by Gregory Thaumaturgus.

The first incursion of the Roman Empire that can be attributed to Goths is the sack of Histria in 238.

The town suffers serious destruction from which it will never recover.

The main theory is that it is destroyed by Gothic invasion; another theory presumes that the town was destroyed in an earthquake.

Maximinus spends most of his reign fighting invading tribes along the Danube and the Rhine.

The numerous milestones displaying his name attest to his energetic reconstructions of the roads in these regions.

A treasury official's extortions through false judgments in corrupt courts against some local landowners ignite a full-scale revolt early in 238 in the province of Africa.

The landowners, who are mostly young and wealthy, arm their clients and their agricultural workers and enter Thysdrus (modern El Djem), where they murder the offending official and his bodyguards and proclaim the aged governor of the province, Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus (Gordian I), and his son, Gordian II, as co-emperors.

The Senate in Rome switches allegiance, gives both Gordian and Gordian II the title of Augustus, and sets about rousing the provinces in support of the pair.

Maximinus, wintering at Sirmium, immediately assembles his army and advances on Rome, the Pannonian legions leading the way.

Maximinus marches on Rome, but Aquileia closes its gates against him.

His troops become disaffected during the unexpected siege of the city, during which they suffer from famine and disease.

In April 238, soldiers of the II Parthica in his camp assassinate him, his son, and his chief ministers.

Their heads are cut off, placed on poles, and carried to Rome by cavalrymen.

Pupienus and Balbinus now become undisputed co-emperors.

The Senate finds itself in great jeopardy with the collapse of the African revolt.

Gordian's rule of only a few weeks had drawn the Senate to oppose Maximinus.

Having shown clear support for the Gordians, they can expect no clemency from Maximinus when he reaches Rome.

In this predicament, they determine to defy Maximinus, and in April 238 the rebellious Senate places the government in the hands of a board of twenty, one of whom is the patrician Balbinus—a Salian priest, twice a consul, and proconsul in Asia—and then chooses Balbinus and Pupienus Maximus to be joint emperors.

Pupienus, a seventy-four-year-old former city prefect, is extremely unpopular with the people of Rome.

When the Roman mob hears that the Senate has selected two men from the Patrician class, men whom the ordinary people hold in no great regard, they protest, showering the imperial cortège with sticks and stones.

When the enraged populace besieges the Senate and emperors in the Capitol, Balbinus and Pupienus, having no option but to compromise, extricate themselves by appointing as Caesar the young Gordian, grandson of the original leader of the revolt, with the backing of Gordian III's father-in-law, the praetorian prefect Timesitheus.

Pupienus advances to defeat Maximinus, and Balbinus, in charge of the civil administration, remains in Rome to maintain order, a task in which he signally fails.

A revolt of the praetorians is not repressed until much blood has been shed and a considerable part of the city reduced to ashes.

The revolt in Africa has not gone as planned.

The province of Africa is bordered on the west by the province of Numidia, whose governor, Capellianus, nurses a long-standing grudge against the Gordians and controls the only legionary unit (III Augusta) in the area.

He marches on Carthage and easily overwhelms the local militias defending the city.

Gordian II is killed in the fighting and, on hearing this, Gordian I hangs himself with his belt.