1. Third Century CrisisCLAH266 The Later Roman Empire Lecture 2, 5th October 2012 Dr Jamie Wood

2. Todays lecture: aims Provide a narrative of the thirdcentury crisis in the RomanEmpire Provide an overview of the keythemes during the period Think about problems relating to1. Source material for the period2. Historiography of the period 3. Todays lecture: structure Early third century The year of 6 emperors (238 CE) and immediateaftermath Group work: reviewing De Blois reading Break The crisis (235-284): key themes and effects Historiography Some effects of the crisis: e.g. Bureaucracy Conclusions 4. Things to bear in mind The crisis lasts for less than 50 years (235-284 CE) NOT the entire century AND some parts of the 50 years are peaceful(or at least not in crisis) IT (whatever it is!) effects some geographicalareas more than others The crisis is a historiographical construct TODAY we are going to try to explore thehistorical events and processes that led to theconstruction of the idea of crisis THEN think about whether crisis is a fairdescriptor for the period 5. Some key points from last week Continuity of emperors or at least the image of it Gibbons golden age social conservatism of Antonines best way of keeping stability Look after the army and youll be ok Succession co-emperorship Provincial emperors throughout period cities in provinces had money poured back into them Shift from philosopher to soldier in representation Good emperors followed by bad ones (sources) 6. Cassius Dio, Roman History, Epitome of Book 74.11(auction of the emperorship in praetorian camp in 193) When the fate of Pertinax was noised about, some ran to their homes and others to those ofthe soldiers, all taking thought for their own safety. But Sulpicianus, who had been sent byPertinax to the camp to set matters in order there, remained on the spot, and intrigued toget himself appointed emperor. Meanwhile Didius Julianus, at once an insatiate money-getter and a wanton spendthrift, who was always eager for revolution and hence had beenexiled by Commodus to his native city of Mediolanum [= Milan], now, when he heard of thedeath of Pertinax, hastily made his way to the camp, and, standing at the gates of theenclosure, made bids to the soldiers for the rule over the Romans. Then ensued a mostdisgraceful business and one unworthy of Rome. For, just as if it had been in some market orauction-room, both the City and its entire empire were auctioned off. The sellers were theones who had slain their emperor, and the would-be buyers were Sulpicianus and Julianus,who vied to outbid each other, one from the inside, the other from the outside. Theygradually raised their bids up to twenty thousand sesterces per soldier. Some of the soldierswould carry word to Julianus, Sulpicianus offers so much; how much more do you make it?And to Sulpicianus in turn, Julianus promises so much; how much do you raise him?Sulpicianus would have won the day, being inside and being prefect of the city and also thefirst to name the figure twenty thousand, had not Julianus raised his bid no longer by a smallamount but by five thousand at one time, both shouting it in a loud voice and also indicatingthe amount with his fingers. So the soldiers, captivated by this excessive bid and at the sametime fearing that Sulpicianus might avenge Pertinax (an idea that Julianus put into theirheads), received Julianus inside and declared him emperor. 7. Septimius Severus (d. 211) -deathbed advice to his sons Be harmonious, enrich the soldiers and scorn all other men. (Cassius Dio, Roman History, epitome of book 77.15) 8. Severus Alexander (222-235) 9. Who was Severus Alexander? Cousin of Elagabalus (218-222); Syrian origin Shares consulship and is given title of Caesar in 221; heir apparent Their grandmother Julia Maesa plotted to have SAtake over Elagabalus sees that SA is (more) popular with thearmy and tries to eliminate him; Elagabalus isassassinated instead in 222 Only 13 years old when he replaces Elagabalus 26th Roman Emperor 10. Government under the influence of his mother, JuliaMamaea, and jurist Ulpian (praetorian prefect) Building programme in Rome (last until Diocletian) Alienation of troops due to lack of funds numerousmutinies Pressure from Sassanid Persians in east and Germans inwest Sassanid threat fought off; note raising of Taurinus asemperor by Syrian legions in 232Aqua Alexandrina aqueduct, R The Reign of SA Failure to deal militarily with German threat (diplomacy/bribery used instead) caused his downfallAlexander showed nohonourable intention to pursuethe war and preferred a life of ease, when he should havemarched out to punish theGermans for their previous 11. Maximinus Thrax (235-238) Career soldier who hadcome up through theranks; Thracian origin Declared emperor; troopsmutiny and SA and hismother are killed Stressed his military skillfrom the start MTs reign: protractedwarfare along Rhine andDanube frontiers 12. Maximinus Thrax:Military emperor or enemy of the Senate? SA: traditionally judged a pro-senatorial emperor MT: eventually deposed by rebels with the support of thesenate So, often seen as very anti-Senate MT: military origins; raised from the army, by the army Financial policy: MT accused of greed by his enemies (e.g.Herodian); it is more likely that he tried to find new sources ofincome because he needed to fund the military Even if MT was a military emperor there is no reason to fullyaccept the strong accusation that he was especially anti-senatorial (K. Haegemans, Imperial authority and dissent: theRoman empire in AD 235-238, Leuven: 2010, p. 110) 235-8 CE was not a period of discontinuity, but fitted withpatterns which had been taking place since the end of the 2ndcentury 13. 238 CE: A year of many emperors[Maximinus Thrax > Gordian I & Gordian II > Pupienus & Balbinus > Gordian III] Revolt in Africa: proclamation of Gordian I and his son,Gordian II, as emperors. Probably pre-planned to attract support at Rome andelsewhere rapidly NOT a general senatorial conspiracy or a rebellion byAfrican nationalists Senate raises Pupienus and Balbinus after Maximinusforces defeat the Gordians (I and II) Maximinus tries to move his army from the Danube toItaly Turning point: resistance at Aquileia, which leads troops to kill Maximinus 14. Gordian III (238-244) Acceptable to both Senate and army Young (13 years old) Gordian I and II and his grandfatherand uncle respectively Starts as Caesar under B and P Rules under influence of his father-in-law, Timesitheus (Praetorian Prefect) Campaigns with some success against the Germans and the Persian Sassanids (where he dies and is replaced by Philip the Arab, the new Praetorian Prefect) 15. 235-238 some thoughts Rather than initiating the crisis ofthe third century, the events of these3 years illustrate processes whichwere already underway and whichwere to occur more frequently andwith greater impact later in thecentury Intersection of private patronagerelationships and expandinggovernment networks had importantimpact on course and success of theinsurrection against MT i.e. expansion of government 16. Group work In groups of 4 or 5 Discuss the following questions, based on your reading of De Blois (2002), The Crisis of the Third Century A.D. in the Roman Empire: A Modern Myth?: 1. What are the key points that DB is trying tomake? 2. What scholarly trends is DB reacting against? 3. What model(s) does DB propose in their place? You have 15 minutes, at which point you will 17. 1. What key points is DB trying tomake? Not one key reason for crisis smaller factors add up Was it a crisis? Exaggeration? Historiographical many areas not affected. Depends where you are Idea of crisis comes from senators rather than average Romans Not massively tumultuous period for everyone continuity with Severans 18. 2. What scholarly trends is DBreacting against? People who say it is a general crisis Historians this is convenient start/ end point convenience Potter crisis ascribed to Dio and Herodian depends on sources 19. 3. What model(s) does DB proposein their place? Not big crisis Geography some areas more than others Where military conflict happens bigger crisis E.g. Frontier zones Long term = bigger impact 20. Key themes in the third centurycrisis: an overview Politics Military and external affairs Economy Social change Religion 21. Politics Lack of means of securing thesuccession (evident throughoutimperial history) 3rd century: usurpations, civil warsand breakaways becamecommonplace 235-284: more emperors than inprevious 250 years Separate empires emerge in Gauland Palmyra, questioning the unityof the empire Emperors spent much of their timefighting usurpers, increasing theirreliance on the military Need to pay, supply and reward the 22. Maximinus Thrax (the Thracian) 235-8Gordian I 238Gordian II (co-emp. with Gordian I) 238Pupienus and Balbinus 238 Emperors ofGordian III (Caesar to P. and B. 238)238-44the thirdPhilip244-century crisis49Decius249-51Gallus251-53Aemilianus253 Claudius II Gothicus 268-Valerian253- 7060(Vaballathus ruler of Palmyrene EmpireGallienus (co-emp. with V. 253-60) 253- 269-71)68Aurelian 270-75(Postumus - ruler of Gallic Empire 260-8) Tacitus275-(Odenathus - ruler of Palmyrene Empire 76260-69) Probus 276- 23. Military and external affairs Frequent/ constant civil war Empire already under pressure from Germans/ Sassanids; but internal strife provides further opportunities Germans: Gothic invasions into Balkans,Greece and Asia Minor, in mid-century Abandonment of Dacia in 265 Sassanid Persians: persistent and serious threat in the East: e.g. Valerian (253-260) captured 24. Valerian held captive by Shapur I (240/2-270/2)(Naghsh-e Rostam, Shiraz, Iran) 25. Lugo YorkBarcelona Aurelian Walls, Rome 26. City walls: a symptom of crisis? At first sight, these constructions clearly respondto political and military troubles of mid 3rd century But maybe not...1. Tendency to date archaeology according to thehistorical record is problematic are these citywalls all mid-3rd century in date? [e.g. M. Kulikowski, Late Roman Spain and its Cities(Baltimore: 2004), pp. 39-64]2. City walls serve other purposes than defence; e.g.as a symbol of prestige and power [e.g. for an earlier period: W.E. Mierse, Augustan citywalls in the west, Journal of Roman Archaeology, 3(1990), pp. 358-360] 27. Economy General collapse in 3rd century Population decline? Outbreak ofplague (251-66) Loss of agricultural productivity? Political and military instability? Very high inflation and currencycollapse; in places the empirealmost reverts to a naturaleconomy (barter; no coinage) Reduced taxation base(breakaways and invasions) Need to pay/ reward/ bribe thearmy to resist internal and externalthreats = vicious circle State frequently does not have themoney to cover expenses = furtherinstability Evidentiary gain: instability means 28. Debasement of coinage (i):weight 29. Debasement of coinage (ii):precious metal content 30. Debasement of coinage (iii):quality antoninian us of Caracalla (217 CE) antoninian us of Tetricius I (270-3 CE) 31. Social change and the epigraphichabit Increased in 1st C BCE and 1st CE, peaking at turn of2/3rd CAbout display and audienceCollectively: shows that new provinces are part of the empire: common culture; shows that local elites are people to work with; part of process of RomanizationIndividually: after grant of Roman citizenship it is a way to differentiate yourself from people who dont have citizenship Drastic decline in 3rd centuryA symptom of crisis?Or possible link to Constitutio Antoniniana in 212 CE citizenship for all free inhabitants of the empire; means it is no longer necessary (or possible) to distinguish yourself by epigraphy 32. Religion: a drive for conformity Increasing move towards worship ofone dominant god within Romanpantheon (e.g. worship of sol invictus) Disasters afflicting the empire (e.g.Plague/ invasion) interpreted as signof divine displeasure = drive to re-establish favour of the gods byensuring that the entire populationconforms E.g. Decian persecution (250) Libelli: certificates/ tickets of sacrifice Is this (a) a persecution targeted at Christians OR (b) an administrative process in which some Christians get John Rylands Library, Greek Papyrus 12, certificate of Pagan Sacrifice, AD 250 caught up by accident? [Rives, J. B. The Decree of Decius and the 33. The end of the crisis: factors Military Diocletian defeats his rivals Military reforms (field armies and frontier forces - limitanei) Invasions cease (or are defeated) Government Development of new system: the Tetrarchy (rule of 4) Sharing of power cf. earlier efforts to share power under Antonines and Severans (andduring crisis) cf. regional empires during the crisis Reorganisation of bureaucracy and administration (e.g. smallerprovinces) Economic reforms (e.g. price fixing; labour/ status laws) We will look at the emergence of the Tetrarchy, especially the 34. A note on historiography Decline, fall and 3rd century crisis: Since Edward Gibbon, the enlightened despotism ofMarcus Aurelius et al. seen as golden age of Rome inwhich philosophy and power were combined (see lastweeks slides) Period afterwards seen as military dictatorship runningamok Both of these interpretations derive from the senatorial viewpoint ofCassius Dio and others AND the Enlightenment viewpoint ofGibbon i.e. they are the result of the preoccupations of our historicalsources and the historiographical tradition (see De Blois andothers on bibliography for revisionist opinions) But very interesting that the empire survives the crisis 35. Conclusions: Crisis or Continuity? Depends what you mean by crisis/where you look (geographically andstructurally) 3rd century extreme case that illustratesproblems with the imperial system: Lack of secure succession createsopportunities for challenges Lack of military success (or financialmeans to get military on-side) meanslegitimacy of emperors is questioned Pressure from outside empire/ elites inthe provinces needs to be dealt with(either by victory or co-operation) Related to earlier tendencies: Increasing military involvement in politics; Increased bureaucratisation (alreadygoing on under Antonines and Severans) Paradox is that military/ bureaucraticreforms are the solution to the 3rd C 36. Homework: historical sources for thelate 2nd and 3rd centuriesIts important that you have a grasp of the main sources for the early part of the period, so this week Id like you to spend a bit of time researching the following three sources (use reputable sources like the Oxford Classical Dictionary; dont use wikipedia etc. as anything other than a basic starting point)1. Cassius Dios Roman History2. Historia Augusta3. HerodianHeres the information Id like you to collect on each source: Date of composition (esp. in relation to events described) Author(s) (who they are, where they are from) What its about (e.g. recurrent themes/ topics) Issues (e.g. viewpoint or biases of the author/ history of the