Emperors of Rome | Chaos (Lecture 32)

Lecture 32: Rome’s army became deeply involved in politics in the 3rd century, and this factor was a major contributor to the chaos of the period. With the murder (by his own troops) of Severus Alexander in 235, the Severan Dynasty collapsed and the succession was again thrown into doubt. Generals began fighting for dominance, but no clear winner emerged quickly, and civil wars raged almost continuously for the better part of 50 years. With the frontiers stripped of troops to fight these internal conflicts, external enemies took advantage to raid and plunder the empire. Franks, Vandals, and Goths poured across the Rhine Danube frontier and wreaked mayhem from Spain to Asia Minor. In the east, a newly resurgent Persia sacked the empire’s third major city, Antioch in Syria. Eventually, the empire began to fragment, as secessionist states east and west sought to ensure their own regional security. In this lecture, we examine several of the emperors of this ill-documented era.

Essential Reading:
HA, various lives between Maximinus and Gallienus.
Zosimus, New History, book 1.1–40.
Brauer, The Age of the Soldier-Emperors.
Watson, Aurelian and the Third Century, pp. 1–39.

Supplementary Reading:
DIR, “Maximinus Thrax,” “Decius,” “Valerian,” “Gallienus.”
Southern, Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine, especially pp. 64–108.
MacMullen, Roman Government’s Response to Crisis.