Causes of the crisis of the Roman Empire in the III century. Roman Empire Sunset

The greatness of the Ancient Roman state in the 3rd century thoroughly shook. The main causes of the crisis of the Roman Empire were based on constantly changing domestic politics and greedy emperors. During the III century, the country was headed by 15 rulers, and almost all of them were killed during the coups. Political intrigues led to a thorough undermining of the status of the Roman Empire as one of the leading states of that time.

The Roman Empire

The state appeared before our era in 30-27 years. It was a huge country, the territory of which occupied the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea (it was located inside the state). In addition, in its area included ports with access to the Atlantic Ocean. A huge number of states of the ancient world combined into one. Collected together by military means, it included Britain, Pannonia, Syria, Arabia, Egypt, Namibia, Spain, Gaul, Italy, Illyrium and other countries.

For a long time, the people lived without freedom, in slavery, losing their cultural level, until the crisis of the Roman Empire of the 3rd century led to the separation of the state, and then to its complete destruction.

Dates of the reign of emperors of the III century

During the III century, 15 emperors of the Roman Empire were elected senators and legionaries . The dates of their reign are recorded in documents of that time and have come down to us.

Change of power in the empire

Frequent change of power is one of the causes of the crisis of the Roman Empire of the III century. None of the emperors held the throne for more than 10 years, and some did not last a year. In order to understand the main causes of the crisis, you need to pay attention to the internal political life of the state.

Reign of Pannonia Septimius

Pannony Septimius is the first emperor of the III century. He came to power at the end of the II century after the death of the previous emperor Antoninus. At that time, three candidates were nominated, but it was Pannony who captured the capital and proclaimed himself emperor. He dismissed all the regiments of the Praetorian Guard and established a military monarchy, relying on the legions of the army created for his personal command. The emperor made a huge fortune by killing and confiscating property from representatives of the Roman aristocracy and senators. Septimia and his mother were killed in 235 by his own soldiers.

Board of Maximin Frakits

In its place, the army elected one of the soldiers - Maximin Frakits. He wore the crown of August for only 3 years. During this time, he conducted a successful military operation, defeating the Sarmatians and Dacians. Discontent among the people began after the new taxation, which the Thracian introduced to provide the army with everything necessary. After that, Gordian I was offered to the place of the Thracian

Reign of Gordian III

Gordian I was an elderly African landowner. Due to his age, he offered his son Gordian II. The African war killed both, and in 238 the next in the dynasty came to power - Gordian III. The emperor obeyed the senate and was killed by his soldiers.

Board of Julius Philippe Arab

The next ruler was elected commander in chief Julius Philip. The people called him Philip Arab. During his reign, all high posts in the empire were given to members of his family. He fought corruption, trying to control the collection of taxes, concluded a peace treaty with Persia, which consolidated the power of the empire in the lands of Mesopotamia and Lesser Armenia. Philip cared for the people, but, despite the efforts, he did not achieve his devotion. The emperor died in the year 249 during the coup, after the uprising of the legionaries: the consul Decius betrayed Philip and seized the throne.

Reign of Decius

Decius ruled for only 3 years. Coming from the Senate, he was popular and possessed a large number of established political ties. Decius wanted to restore the Roman cult of the old gods, in particular, to return to the faceless, tired people inherent in the Romans, instilled in centuries of spiritual values. So the religions of the East and Christianity were banned, and people professing these beliefs were prosecuted by law. At the same time, the Goths attacked the Balkan Islands, and Decius, leading the army, died in battle.

For 251-253, the throne of the empire took three more emperors, but not one of them could hold on to power. Such chaos only aggravated the causes of the crisis of the Roman Empire, bringing the foreign policy of the state to the lowest level.

Reign of Valerian

Emperor Valerian took the throne in 253. He chose Gallien as co-ruler. For 7 years of joint rule, their domestic policy led to the complete separation of Gaul, Britain and Spain, and the posts of senators became available to workers. Attempts to introduce one currency to unite the empire were unsuccessful. About 30 settlements were captured by the rebels and declared independent, economic ties between them were destroyed. Valerian was killed during the coup.

Board of Marcus Aurelius Claudius

Power was captured by Marcus Aurelius Claudius. The emperor regained Roman power in Moravia, enriched the treasury, strengthened the army. During his reign, a plague came to Roman civilization, from which Mark died.

Reign of Aurelian

The next crown from the senators was Aurelian. Under his leadership, luck accompanied the army. During military operations, Roman civilization regained Palmyra, Spain, Britain, Mesopotamia, Egypt and Gaul. Aurelian introduced a new currency and provided the people with humanitarian aid in the form of bread and olive oil. He died at the hands of traitors in 275.

After this, the imperial throne for a year was occupied by Senator Tacitus, who was also killed.

Board of Marcus Aurelius Proof

Marcus Aurelius Prob took the place of Tacitus and ruled for 6 years. He successfully established contacts and resolved issues arising among the military and senators. Under his command, riots in Gaul and Egypt were eliminated. To improve the economy of the country, Mark Probe ordered to settle and use the land that was previously empty. But the soldiers were still unhappy. Marcus Aurelius was killed by the rebel legionnaires.

The last emperor of the III century was Guy Valerian Diocletian. Under his rule, the Roman Empire crossed the line and entered from the 3rd to 4th century.

Political Causes of the Crisis

Of the main political causes of the crisis of the Roman Empire are the following:

1. The military reform of Septimius Severus, thanks to which, instead of politicians leading the army, soldiers who had reached the rank of commander gained access to the post.
2. Some emperors catered only to their own whims and absolutely did not care about the people and the development of the empire.
3. During constant civil wars, the borders of Roman civilization were attacked by neighboring tribes.

The economic causes of the crisis

Of the main economic causes of the crisis of the Roman Empire are the following:

1. Decrease in the amount of agricultural crop. The reason was the cooling in the country.
2. The constant civil strife led to the complete degradation of trade relations between farms. This contributed to ending the division of labor into territories. Each farm sought to produce the necessary products on its own.
3. Due to the spiritual crisis, the native religion of the Romans gave way to emerging Christianity and Mithraism.

The crisis of the Roman Empire in the III century led to its complete decline. And later he provoked the separation of the state's territory into Western and Eastern, after which in 476 it completely ceased to exist.