ipl-logo

Crisis Of The Third Century Essay

2553 Words11 Pages

ABSTRACT The Crisis of the Third Century has seen a new period of interest due to the rise in popularity of emperors of the era such as Aurelian and Claudius Gothicus. This paper presents an analysis of emperor Probus’s military career as the Roman emperor, such as his campaigns against invading barbarians and against usurpers, as well as how his actions played a role in defining the reigns of his successors. This paper argues that Probus deserves more attention than he gets, as he played a crucial role in ending the Crisis of the Third Century, and his actions can lead to a better understanding of the crisis.

Keywords: Probus, Roman Empire, Crisis of the Third Century, campaigns against barbarians

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION …show more content…

What comes into mind when events of the Crisis of the Third Century are discussed? One would be the actions of Aurelian both as a general under previous Roman emperors and as Roman emperor himself. After all, it was said he was such a prominent figure during the time of emperor Claudius Gothicus that after the latter’s death and his brother Quintillus’s death, he became the sole ruler of what remained of the Roman Empire, and would later triumph over the Goths, killing their leader Cannabas, as well as the Palmyrenes [1]. What is not really paid attention to, however, is the reign of the emperor Probus. Probus tends to be ignored in the typical discussion on the Crisis of the Third Century, as he is often overshadowed in popularity by other emperors of the era such as Aurelian, Claudius Gothicus, and Gallienus. Considering how little attention Probus receives, what was his importance during the Crisis of the Third Century? What became the result of his military career? Probus is an emperor who deserves more attention, as it was through his outstanding military career which Probus helped stabilize the empire, which contributed to the end of the crisis, and some of the military generals who served under him would later be crucial figures in continuing his work in ending the Crisis of the Third

Show More
Related

Three Important Political Accomplishments Of Justinian Essay

239 Words | 1 Pages

1.1 Describe three important political accomplishments of Justinian A. He launched a military campaign against Germanic tribes in Italy and North Africa. As a result he regained most of the empire’s western territories and he restored Ravenna’s status as a capital in Italy B. He took a leading role in shaping church policy by eliminating any remaining Greco-Roman paganism and he also removed all Manichaeans and Samaritans.

Read More

Fall Of Rome Dbq Essay

474 Words | 2 Pages

The Roman Empire lasted for 1200 years, conquering the Mediterranean with an iron fist. They were nearly unstoppable: a successor to Ancient Greek culture, a prosperous and innovative economy and government, geography which provided great protection, and a military that deserved its brutal reputation. Yet, they still fell. After the Pax Romana, a 200 year long peacetime, Rome lost the people’s support to fear. A series of natural disasters, mass-migration and disease, and political corruption weakened Rome, forging Rome into easy prey for the Goths to sack, and finally, ending its reign.

Read More

Fall Of Rome Dbq Essay

706 Words | 3 Pages

The two factors that most contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire were greatly impactful in Ancient History. Before the fall of the Empire, during the Pax Romana, Emperors ruled longer and most likely died of natural causes. During the decline, the reign was much shorter and they were most likely to be murdered. Thanks to Dioclectian’s reign, the New Empire was introduced, giving people more rights and protection. However, this resulted in great consequences as it became harder to govern and harder to manage.

Read More

Roman Empire Dbq Essay

551 Words | 3 Pages

As a Roman citizen, watching the decline of the Roman Empire was frightening because of the constant worry. The Roman Empire lost its power due to simultaneous external and internal factors such as the lack of political stability, deterioration of the military, and constant invasions from outsiders. The first internal factor that led to the fall of the Roman Empire was the lack of political stability. This was due to the constant change of emperors, causing haphazard leadership. “The soldiers in various parts of the empire proclaimed fifty emperors in about the same number of years” (Lines 8-10, Document 3a, Third Century Crisis of the Roman Empire).

Read More

How Were The Corrupt Rulers During The Pax Romana

448 Words | 2 Pages

During the Pax Romana the Roman Empire grew and prospered. Before this time period of great rulers Rome had a lot of corrupt rulers. There were five incredible emperors known as Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius, and Marcus Aurelius (Spielvogel 292). Trajan was known as the best ruler. He was a successful and powerful leader.

Read More

How Did Augustus And Tiberius Become A Re-Establishment Of The Republic

3402 Words | 14 Pages

In the period 44 BC to 37AD, to what extent were the principles of Augustus and Tiberius more an establishment of a new governing system rather than a re-establishment of the republic? The turning point in Roman history between 44 BC and 37 AD is seen to be caused by the transformative reigns of Augustus (referred to as Octavian before his title change, honoured by the senates after his victory in the Battle of Actium and becoming princeps senatus;) Tiberius, whose principates have been a focus of discussion for their impact on the Roman political landscape throughout the rest of Roman history until its end in the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284. The Principate was the imperial government of the Roman Empire since the beginning of

Read More

Changes And Continuities Between 100 And 600 C. E.

570 Words | 3 Pages

Between 100 and 600 C.E, the Roman Empire went through a number of political and cultural changes and continuities. Several changes were occurring such as the division and fall of Rome and the rise and spread of Christianity but one thing that continued was the idea of patriarchy and authority in the average Roman family. In the year 100 C.E, most of Europe was in a time of peace and prosperity but after 180 C.E, Rome started to decline due to ineffective leadership and outside invasions, ending the empire’s golden age. Germanic people spread plagues causing a decrease in population and also took the opportunity to attack Rome.

Read More

Septimius Severus Accomplishments

807 Words | 4 Pages

Septimius Severus exemplified qualities that, by far, made him the greatest military emperor Rome had ever witnessed after coming to power in 193 CE. After decades of weak rulers that resulted in Roman vulnerability, Severus seized the position of emperor with the aim of returning Rome to its former glory. He was a man of the people, continually appeasing the Romans with numerous sacrifices and gladiatorial games. He even greatly represented the army through his countless military reforms and expeditions. Unfortunately, Severus was continuously undermined by a jealous Senate, who never understood the plans Severus had for the empire.

Read More

Secret History Procopius Primary Sources

758 Words | 4 Pages

The first source that will be discussed in this essay is an extract from a book by Procopius, a prominent Byzantine scholar, entitled Secret History. Written circa 550 AD, the book itself heavily criticises the emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora, and its disparaging, subjective, and almost anecdotal tone is reflected in the source. The author of the book is of significance- not only was Procopius potentially the most well-known Byzantine historian, but he had previously written another book, History of the Wars, which was extremely complementary of Justinian and Theodora. This means that, because Secret History took such a vastly different tone, the authorship of the book has been brought into question, especially since it was published

Read More

Why Is Charlemagne A Barbaric Slaughterer Or A Statesman

980 Words | 4 Pages

In 476 AD, the Western Roman Empire had lost the strength needed to effectively manage a large empire. Charlemagne’s reign had strengthened the Western part of the Roman

Read More

Marcus Aurelius The Five Good Emperors

1468 Words | 6 Pages

Despite the circumstances, the reign of Marcus Aurelius was relatively successful, and thus, is appropriately referred to with the phrase “the five good emperors”. As even though such a term is partially subjective, the selflessness and benevolent nature of Aurelius lead him to bring further peace and prosperity to Rome. Marcus Aurelius was born in Rome in the 26th of April 121AD as Catilius Severus to the three-time consul, and prefect of Hadrian, Annius Verus, and Domitia Lucilla, the daughter of a former consular. (Historia Augusta) At the age of six, he would attract the interest of Hadrian by the frankness of his character, who would nickname him ‘Verissimus’ (meaning most true, or sincere).

Read More

Exemplarity In Roman Literature

1631 Words | 7 Pages

In her chapter on the historiography of Roman exemplarity, Christina Shuttleworth Kraus examines this loss of power through the transition of exempla as the res gestae populi Romani to the res gestae divi Augusti (Kraus, 2). In early Roman history, exemplarity rested in the hands of popular consciousness; the citizens of Rome had the sole power of deciding which events or people to raise up to the status of exempla. This system of exemplarity that is explained in detail by Matthew Roller’s four stage model of the creation of exempla by public discourse (Roller, 216-217). However, Roller’s framework begins to collapse when Augustus intentionally influences exemplary power through his coercive Res Gestae. Rather than looking to the past for the great deeds of common people like the Sabine women or Lucretia, Roman citizens of the Augustan period had their attention directed towards the persona of one man, an exemplar in the form of an emperor.

Read More

Why Was Julius Caesar Important

1064 Words | 5 Pages

Greetings Supreme Commander, I will move forward with most haste to recollect all the information before they are utterly and entirely, DELETED! At the behest of your request, I have located five IMPORTANT events that shaped the Roman Empire. The first event was the assassination of Julius Caesar; the second event was the reign of Augustus; the third event was the reign of Caligula; the fourth event was the death of Nero; FINALLY, the fifth event is the account of the destruction of Pompeii by Pliny the Younger. The first event; the death of Julius Caesar, is paramount to the history of Rome as a whole.

Read More

Why Did Rome Fall Essay

696 Words | 3 Pages

According to The Crisis of the Third Century by William Duiker, during the third century things started to collapse for the Romans. It started with them not being able to sufficiently protect themselves. The borders were increasing at a rate that the Roman military couldn’t protect it anymore. When they realized this they tried to repopulate as many “new soldiers” as

Read More

How Did Christian Leaders Influence The Modern World

1484 Words | 6 Pages

Constantine benefited greatly from his father’s promotion and his duty fell to the battlefield (Lenski, 2006:59-60). After his father’s death in 306 A.D, there became fierce competition between him and Maxentius for the role of emperor.

Read More

More about Crisis Of The Third Century Essay

Related Topics

Open Document