Imperial Rome AD 193 to 284: The Critical Century (The Edinburgh History of Ancient Rome)

A pioneering history of this period of crisis

The Roman Empire during the period framed by the accession of Septimius Severus in 193 and the rise of Diocletian in 284 has conventionally been regarded as one of crisis. Between 235 and 284, at least eighteen men held the throne, for an average of less than three years, without counting all the relatives and lieutenants with whom they shared power. Compared with the century between the accession of Nerva and the death of Commodus, this appears to be a period of near unintelligibility.

The middle of the century also witnessed catastrophic, if temporary, ruptures in the territorial integrity of the empire. Large portions of the eastern and western halves passed under the control of powers and principalities that assumed the mantle of Roman government and exercised meaningful and legitimate power over millions. Even regions that remained Roman were subjected to deprivation and pillage by invading armies. The Roman peace, which had become the justification for empire, had been shattered.

Clifford Ando integrates the contrasting histories of different parts of the empire and assesses the effects of administrative, political and religious change.

Key features:

• Follows Rome’s confrontation with the Sasanian Persian Empire, in which two Roman emperors lost their lives
• Devotes special attention to legal history
• Examines changing religious pluralism and the Christian persecutions