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====The Third Century Crisis====
Alexander Severus had been assassinated because he tried to buy off German invaders and the army was repelled by this and Macrinus the Praetorian Prefect became Emperor in 235 AD. The military situation on the Rhine and the Danube was very serious as more and more German tribes invaded Roman provinces. In 238 AD Macrinus was deposed in a coup and five more Emperors ascended the throne before they too were assassinated, all in the space of 12 months.<ref>Watson, <i>Alaric Aurelian and the Third Century </i> (Taylor & Francis, 2004), p 134</ref>. The Empire was battled over by a series of military adventurers or warlords, who would temporarily gain the throne before being assassinated. There was no central government and the army had become fractured and instead of battling the many barbarians they would engage in countless civil wars. This greatly weakened the once mighty Roman legions and placed a considerable burden on the citizenry. Moreover, the Praetorian Guard the bodyguards of the Emperor often assassinate their master, out of political expediency or sheer greed. For a brief period, Emperor Philip managed to stabilize the situation. However, his assassination marked a new and even darker period in the crisis. Decius succeeded Phillip and he had to deal with a Gothic invasion. He was defeated and killed at the Battle of Abrittus (251 AD). Every year there was a series of barbarian invasions, which would ravage entire provinces. To compound the situation the Parthians in the east were replaced by the Sassanian Empire. They were to prove to be even more formidable enemies of Rome. The Sassanian monarch defeated several Roman armies and even captured Emperor Valerian and his entire army. The apparent failure of the Roman government and army to defend the provinces lead to growing separatism in the provinces and this led to the fragmentation of the Empire. By 268, the empire had split into rival states. Much of western Europe was part of the Gallic Empire. In the east, the great city of Palmyra under Odaenathus had driven back the Persians and created the so-called Palmyrene Empire, which was later ruled by the legendary Queen Zenobia .<ref>, Pat Southern. Empress Zenobia: Palmyra's Rebel Queen (London, Continuum, 2008), p. 133 </ref>. Furthermore, parts of Dacia and the Rhine provinces were occupied by German tribes. No part of the Empire was safe from raiders and even Athens was besieged by Gothic pirates. During the many wars and invasions, pan-Mediterranean trade was severely curtailed. Hyper-inflation became the norm. Agriculture was disrupted, and food shortages were common and another eruption of the plague devasted many urban centers. However, the Empire managed to pull itself back from the abyss under a series of military Emperors. The Roman army remained very formidable and under several Illyrian Emperors, order was restored in the provinces, and the frontiers secured. The recovery began when Claudius II defeated a Gothic invasion and after he died of the plague he was succeeded by his Master of Cavalry, Aurelian in 275 AD. He was a brilliant commander and he defeated several barbarian invasions. He then went on to defeat the Gallic and Palmyrene Empire. However, instability continued after his assassination and it was only with the accession of Diocletian, that the crisis was finally ended. However, it is widely held that the Third Century Crisis permanently weakened the Empire and it ushered in trends that many see as marking the beginning of the end of the world of Antiquity and marking the transition to the Medieval world <ref> Brown, P, The World of Late Antiquity (W Norton, London, 1971), p. 22 </ref>.
[[File: 3rd century AD 2.jpg |200px|thumb|left| Emperor Decius who was defeated and killed by the Goths]]
Furthermore, parts of Dacia and the Rhine provinces were occupied by German tribes. No part of the Empire was safe from raiders and even Athens was besieged by Gothic pirates. During the many wars and invasions, pan-Mediterranean trade was severely curtailed. Hyper-inflation became the norm. Agriculture was disrupted, and food shortages were common and another eruption of the plague devasted many urban centers. However, the Empire managed to pull itself back from the abyss under a series of military Emperors. The Roman army remained very formidable and under several Illyrian Emperors, order was restored in the provinces, and the frontiers secured. The recovery began when Claudius II defeated a Gothic invasion and after he died of the plague he was succeeded by his Master of Cavalry, Aurelian in 275 AD. He was a brilliant commander and he defeated several barbarian invasions. He then went on to defeat the Gallic and Palmyrene Empire. However, instability continued after his assassination and it was only with the accession of Diocletian, that the crisis was finally ended. However, it is widely held that the Third Century Crisis permanently weakened the Empire and it ushered in trends that many see as marking the beginning of the end of the world of Antiquity and marking the transition to the Medieval world.<ref> Brown, P, The World of Late Antiquity (W Norton, London, 1971), p. 22 </ref>
====Barbarian Invasions===
In the reign of Alexander Severus, there was a sudden rise in the number of raids by German and other barbarians. These raids were a part of life for Rome’s frontier population but by the 230s, they became more intense and frequent <ref> Southern, Pat. The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine (London, Routledge, 2015), p 356</ref>. German tribes became better organized and formed into confederations such as the Franks. The emergence of the Goths who created a large state in modern Ukraine created a major challenge for the Balkan and Black Sea provinces. They were militarily powerful and were especially proficient in cavalry and even took to the sea to launch piratical attacks in the 250 AD. The ferocity of the barbarian attacks can be attributed to two factors. The Romans were weakened by constant war, especially bloody civil wars and this meant that the legions could not defeat raids and invasions <ref>Heckster, p 113</ref>. The barbarians were often desperate. Climate change and rising sea levels had impacted on their food supply and they were forced to raid deeper and deeper into Imperial Roman territories to secure resources and in hopes of seizing arable lands. The continuous barbarian invasion thus weakened the Empire, and this encouraged further raiding by tribal confederations beyond the Rhine and Danube.
