Unit 1 The 3rd Century CE: Crisis Or Transformation Flashcards
Introduction
Classical Reception?
A question to keep in mind is the extent to which looking back to earlier periods of the empire and the mechanisms through which it operated, can be used to understand and explain the nature of the later empire.
Unit1 The third century CE: crisis our transformation?
Intro
3rd C crisis- traditionally marked as the transition between the imperial period which you have bee focusing on in the module so far and the period often called ‘late antiquity’ post 284CE
Principate and Dominate
Later scholars posit ‘did it actually happen?
1.1 The sources of evidence
Dio Cassius (who wrote during 211-235 CE) was obsessed with the misbehaviour of the army and laid almost all Rome’s problems at its door
Emperors had enabled Soldiers had become too powerful by paying them large bonuses known as a ‘donative’ and increasing their pay - though he may be biased after his rift with the Army when he served in Pannonia as governor resulting in his sending into retirement by the Praetorian Guard
Between 260-274 CE Germania, Gaul and Britannia separated themselves from the Roman Empire forming the Gallic empire
At the same time Syria, Palestine and Egypt broke away in the east and formed the Palmyrene empire, all this left the remaining empire centred on Rome much diminished - a bleak picture
1.2 Military Crisis? Civil wars, badly behaved soldiers and pressures not the frontiers
Woolf, 3 reasons for civil wars and incursions by people’s from the north and east in the 190s CE (he suggests problems began in the later 2nd C CE
1 - long contact between Rome and people just beyond the frontier resulted in those people becoming better armed and increasingly familiar with Roman military tactics, the empire becomes a wealthy source of beauty
2 - the Roman army was unable to defend the whole of the empire’s frontiers when they came under simultaneous attack in different areas
3 - the pressure on Rome’s frontiers was a result of mass migrations by people much further north, which put pressure on those close to the frontiers of the empire, pushing them into the empire itself (foreign invasions from Moesia 230’s CE, Dacia 240’s CE, Noricum, Raetia and Pannonia late 250’s CE, Gaul and Spain late 250’s CE, Taracco, Athens and Ephesus 260’s CE
1.2 Military Crisis? Civil wars, badly behaved soldiers and pressures not the frontiers II
Rome’s armies were changing, had become increasingly and significantly political it had become the political pawnbroker of the empire e.g. Septimius Serverus doubled their pay 190s CE, Maximus Thrax doubled it again 230’s CE
Indiscipline- Skaptopara (Thrace) petition to emperor Geordian III 238CE re their townsmen’ complaints of undisciplined soldiers being allowed to steal from provincial communities and an inscribed text shown in public shows that the emperor had responded personally to relive their distress
Another cause of the 3rd C crisis - lots of emperors coming and going (dying at the hand of their own soldiers, suicide, killed in battle, killed by the Praetorian guard, plague, killed by a jealous husband) 235-305 CE 29 EMPERORS
- 2 Military Crisis? Civil wars, badly behaved soldiers and pressures not the frontiers III
- 3 Politics and emperors: a crisis
It is important to note that the distinction between emperors and usurpers is not clear cut: in this period, many legitimate emperors were simply so-called usurpers who had been successful
It is noticeable how important the army had become in the making or breaking of emperors e.g. Valerian and Philip the Arab were reliant on the support of their soldiers each being declared emperor in their provinces.
They were focused on their own position rather than governing the empire and rapid turnover resulted in a lack of continuity this ‘military anarchy’ has traditionally been seen as a crucial element of the 3rd C crisis
The Persian incursions benefited from the lack of continuity AND the evolution of their use of heavily armoured cavalry - The Sassanians succession to Persia in 220CE e.g. King Shapur I 240-272 CE 30 year rule of his continuity as opposed to 12 Roman emperors ROMAN HUMILIATION
1.4 Economic Changes
Causes
Short-lived Emperors foolishly pay their soldiers large bonuses creating their total dependency on the army this in turn began to exhaust the public purse - become 75% of imperial expenditure under Septimius Severus
Therefore these factors suggest THERE WAS AN OVERARCHING CRISIS but that it was probably more evident in some places and appeared later in others e.g. Serious inflation in Egypt (which also had its own currency) doesn’t appear evident until the 270’s
Lead production declined after the 1st C CE probably reflecting a decrease in silver production and imperial revenue and the use of lead in pipes and cosmetics may also have begun to affect population growth note many Iberian mines cease production late 2nd to 3rd C CE, due to possible foreign invasions or being mined out, also much recycling of previous coinage
General social and economic problems lead to a lack of investment in mining and debasement of coinage I.e. Augustan period 84 denarii made from 1 pound of Roman silver, Nero 96 denarii made from the same amount - currency becomes less trusted
1.5 Epidemics: plague and pestilence l
Several serious epidemics during the 2nd and 3rd centuries, 160 and 189 CE The Antonine plague (thought to be smallpox) Dio Cassius estimates that 2000 a day died in Rome (exaggerated?)
Littman and Littman 1973, suggest a mortality rate of 7-10% I.e. Between 7-10 million between 165-189 CE. 3rd C outbreak, 15 years 255-270 CE death toll Unknown (not much evidence) consequently evidence for ancient outbreaks of highly contagious disease difficult to find and evaluate
Evidence - Aurelius Victor short history of Rome (33) complete 360CE ‘at the same time plague devastated Rome’ & Pontus of Carthage 258CE ‘afterwards there broke out a dreadful plague…hateful disease invaded every house
1.6 Later Roman cities: dying or just different?
Cleary’s ‘The Roman West’ 2013 - evidence for a 3rd century crisis
Cities became smaller and were walled with the walls often containing reused materials from tombstones and mausolea
A decline in the number of inscriptions of all types
The occupation of many small towns ended and a large number of villas were also apparently abandoned (lack of security?)
Trading routes between the Mediterranean and the western empire were disrupted and some major industries e.g. Sammian ware from Gaul ceased production
An increase in coin hoarding in the 3rd C
1.6 Later Roman cities: dying or just different? II
Cleary’s ‘The Roman West’ 2013 - evidence for a 3rd century crisis
Reasons may however be:-
After 212 CE all freeborn inhabitants of the empire became citizens so the need to assert one’s citizen status through inscriptions disappeared - a lack of inscriptions is not necessarily a symptom of ‘crisis’ ‘Constitution Antoniniana - (aka edict of Caracalla) declares all free men in the a Roman Empire were to be given Roman citizenship
Yes some cities were destroyed by invading barbarians but others were destroyed by natural or other disasters e.g. fire, and earthquake
An inclination to make the archeological evidence fit the ancient texts/paradigm. Clearly suggests that the various strands need to be teased out of the single current thread to make a more objective argument it picture
1.7 Why did cities have walls?
Prestige? Defence? Change of priorities? New way of life?
One eye on civic prestige and status, they were clearly not thrown up in a hurt
They also serve a defensive purpose if required
We should not necessarily see them as direct evidence for urban panic or crisis although they may have in fact been erected to direct response to a threat. Then again some cities did not erect walls at all
Another quite common phenomenon was that 3rd or early 4th C walls enclosed a much smaller area than the original town, though this may have been a sign of changing priorities rather the decline e.g. In Gallic towns
The wealthy (Christians) now paying for town walls and churches (outside the walls) was this in fact a crisis or a shift to a new way of life?
1.7 Why did cities have walls? II
If we think that there was a ‘third century crisis’ we need to ask ‘for whom?’
The 700 year old Roman empire needed to adapt to a changing environment and that is perhaps partly what we are seeing in the 3rd century
It depends on where you look in the empire.
Frontier regions wold have been badly affected by foreign invasions, but the majority of the empire wasn’t touched by that sort of catastrophe.
Coin debasement bad but the effect on ordinary people may not have been as great as we think.
The constant change of emperors in the third century suggests a crisis but millions in the empire may not even have been aware of these events?
1.8 was it the same everywhere?
Fora and basilicas being used for different purposes which shouldn’t necessarily be described as constituting a ‘decline’ as they may have been merely a pragmatic adjustment to prevailing conditions
However in the western empire a general lessening of enthusiasm for the civitas (city)
Libyan tribes - the Austoriani - raid Lepcis Magna and Sabratha resulting in important facilities like baths being abandoned by the later 4th century, but evidence elsewhere (Carthage) of baths being repaired and kept functional far beyond this date. Even in 1st half of 5th C inscriptions indicate work is being carried out on public baths and on a theatre plus new houses being built and euergetism still evident there
1.8 was it the same everywhere? II
Christianity gained ground and changed the topography of Roman towns in many ways, but the towns also became the administrative centres of the new church, temples of the old gods, yes, demolished, used for new purposes (churches) or fall into disrepair
These changes in the 3rd C should perhaps then be seen as an adaption to a changing environment rather than a crisis
