The Crisis of the Third Century

By the close of the second century AD the signs of the oncoming crisis had become clear: a weakening of the imperial authority and the political institutions of the Principate, a rapid deterioration of economic conditions, social unrest and the emergence of new external threats on the empire's frontiers.

With the virtual abandonment of the principle of diarchy (the double rule of the emperor and the senate)^{^[910]} and the gradual militarisation of the administration, the emperors came to depend entirely upon the support of the legions, and the army, once the servant of the empire, now became its master. In order to meet the ever-increasing demands of the army the imperial government imposed heavy taxes on the population and devalued the currency, precipitating the collapse of the empire's economic system. At the same time, with the proliferation of military usurpers, the empire was tom by civil wars and was left undefended against external enemies. From 235 AD disorder reigned as different armies, one after another, made and unmade emperors at will and used their own strength to plunder without restraint the lands of the empire.^{^[911]} As a result of the continuous military mutinies and struggles between different pretenders of the throne the state's defences were weakened and the frontier of the empire was invaded at almost every point. On the Rhine and Danube frontiers Germanic tribes repeatedly crossed into Roman territory and in the East the Persians, under the Sassanid dynasty, rose up again and began to raid deep into the Roman provinces.^{^[912]} In the wake of the devastation caused by war and plunder commerce and industry declined, trade came to a standstill, once flourishing urban centres decayed and widespread epidemics ravaged the population.

The political, social and economic crisis was accompanied by profound changes in the cultural and religious life of the empire.

Deep psychological changes were occurring and the age was marked by spiritual unrest and a widespread interest in supernatural faith. There was a growing demand for some cure for the ills of life, a cure which neither the established state religion nor the dominant philosophies of the day were able to offer. The weakness of the imperial authority, the corruption of the ruling classes, the insecurity of life and property gave rise to a general feeling that the world was growing old and that some terrible catastrophe was impending. The pessimism that prevailed throughout the Roman world is reflected in both the Christian and pagan literature of this period. It was during this period that oriental mystery religions poured into Rome and other parts of the empire and attracted large numbers of followers from all classes of society. These cults were designed to play upon human emotions; their aim was to bring an awareness of sin, a desire for salvation through the purification of the soul and a promise of eternal life in a future world. In a more articulate form the same attitudes found expression in philosophy. The philosophical schools of this period^{^[913]} returned to the religious and metaphysical aspects of previous philosophies and attempts were made to combine Greco-Roman and eastern thought. During the same period scientific curiosity and the standards of art and literature declined and this decline continued in the centuries that followed.^{^[914]}

Some comments on the causes of the decline of the empire in the third century

The crisis of the third century was the result of the influence of a complex set of interconnected factors. Some of these factors had their origins in conditions already present in earlier ages, especially in the flaws in the system of government established by Augustus and his successors: reliance of emperors on the army to maintain control of the state; creation of a vast administrative apparatus which, in the long run, could not be supported by the resources of the empire; and perpetuation of a class structure that failed to give the producing classes rewards equal to the burdens imposed upon them.

Furthermore, in a state where all real power was concentrated in the hands of the ruler and his officials public spirit decreased and servility and lack of enterprise took the place of active participation in public affairs. As a consequence, the ideal which had meant so much to the early Romans - the strong and free citizen who threw himself into the service of his city and state - was all but destroyed by the imperial system. Among the chief causes of the economic decline were the disruption of agriculture, trade and industry by foreign and civil wars, lack of economic equilibrium, rapid inflation combined with coin deterioration and low and declining productivity. The peasant classes, in particular, upon which the empire's economy ultimately depended, were no longer able to bear the burden of taxation and to support such numerous classes as the soldiers, urban proletariat, state officials and estate holders with their numerous retinues. At the same time, as the urban middle class was crushed by high taxation and gradually merged with the oppressed peasantry, cities became less prosperous and the basis of the economy shifted back to an agrarian pattern. These and possibly other controversial or unknown facts of social change inexorably eroded the resources of the empire.

Towards the end of the third century the army was eventually controlled, external threats checked and the political unity of the empire restored. However, politically, economically and culturally the Roman world that emerged from the crisis of the third century was very different from that of the republican and early imperial periods. The civilisation and forms of social and cultural life which had been characteristic of the ancient Greco-Roman world had been irreversibly broken down, and the coming of the Middle Ages was at hand.

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Source: Mousourakis George. The Historical and Institutional Context of Roman Law. Routledge,2003. — 480 p.. 2003

The Crisis of the Third Century

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