The Crisis of the Third Century (235–284 CE) began with the assassination of Emperor Severus Alexander (reign 222–235 CE) in 235 CE, triggering the collapse of centralized imperial authority. Over the next five decades, Roman power fractured as rival claimants, mostly proclaimed by frontier legions, fought for the throne in rapid succession. This era saw extreme political instability, with emperors rising and falling at the pace of battlefield loyalty rather than legal succession. The rapid militarization of power undermined Rome’s administrative coherence and exposed deep structural weaknesses across the empire’s frontiers, economy, and civil institutions.
Between 235 and 284 CE, more than fifty emperors and usurpers were proclaimed, many never ruling from Rome at all. Economic breakdown accelerated through currency debasement and inflation, while repeated invasions by Germanic groups and sustained pressure from the Sassanian Persian Empire destabilized the eastern frontier. Roman unity fractured further with the emergence of the Gallic Empire (c. 260–272 CE) in the west and the Palmyrene Empire (c. 250–273 CE) in the east. Simultaneously, the Plague of Cyprian (c. 249–262 CE) severely reduced population, manpower, and agricultural output. The crisis began to reverse under Aurelian (reign 270–275 CE), who restored territorial unity, and was decisively resolved through the systemic reforms of Diocletian (reign 284–305 CE), whose restructuring of imperial administration, the army, and taxation laid the groundwork for Late Roman stability.
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Cite This Work
APA Style
Netchev, S. (2023, March 07). The Roman Empire and the Crisis of the Third Century, c. 270 CE: Pretenders, Breakaways, Plague, and the Fight for Unity. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17154/the-roman-empire-and-the-crisis-of-the-third-centu/
Chicago Style
Netchev, Simeon. "The Roman Empire and the Crisis of the Third Century, c. 270 CE: Pretenders, Breakaways, Plague, and the Fight for Unity." World History Encyclopedia, March 07, 2023. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17154/the-roman-empire-and-the-crisis-of-the-third-centu/.
MLA Style
Netchev, Simeon. "The Roman Empire and the Crisis of the Third Century, c. 270 CE: Pretenders, Breakaways, Plague, and the Fight for Unity." World History Encyclopedia, 07 Mar 2023, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17154/the-roman-empire-and-the-crisis-of-the-third-centu/.
