Crises and the Roman Empire: Proceedings of the Seventh Workshop of the International Network Impact of Empire (Nijmegen, June 20-24, 2006)
Abstract
The Greek philosopher and sophist Protagoras would surely not mind this reuse of one of his most famous statements. “Concerning the crisis of the third century, I have no means of knowing whether there was one or not, or of what sort of a crisis it may have been. Many things prevent knowledge including the obscurity of the subject andthe brevity of human life.”‘ Within these proceedings one finds striking disagreement about whether there was a crisis as the term has been conventionally understood. And, if there was one, when did it begin? Dictionaries define our word crisis as: “An unstable condition, as inpolitical, social, or economic affairs, involving an impending abruptor decisive change”. During the years 235 to 285, the Roman Empire surely did enter a period of instability. The patterns of ’emperor mak-ing and breaking’ and of barbarian invasion during this period mark in my estimation the characteristics of a major political crisis. Indeed,when one compares the overall stability of the Roman imperial system and government of the mid-second to that of the mid-third century,the differences are readily apparent both in terms of leadership anddefense.2 In sum, that there was a ‘crisis’ is a fundamental assumption of this paper; but it is also a demonstrable proposition.
I am more over especially concerned here not only how to understand the nature of the crisis as a complex set of related events, but also how to explain the complexities of the crisis to others, especially to students. One has only to read the standard textbooks on the subject to geta sense of the problem that has been examined within these proceedings. Some historians overwhelm the reader with details on the lives ofemperors elevated and eliminated. Other historians try to grapple withthe equally obscure accounts of the crisis as preserved in the Scriptores Historiae Augustae. That the ‘lives’ of emperors for the period 238-252.
John Nicols
Crises and the Roman Empire: Proceedings of the Seventh Workshop of the International Network Impact of Empire (Nijmegen, June 20-24, 2006)
Abstract
The Greek philosopher and sophist Protagoras would surely not mind this reuse of one of his most famous statements. “Concerning the crisis of the third century, I have no means of knowing whether there was one or not, or of what sort of a crisis it may have been. Many things prevent knowledge including the obscurity of the subject andthe brevity of human life.”‘ Within these proceedings one finds striking disagreement about whether there was a crisis as the term has been conventionally understood. And, if there was one, when did it begin? Dictionaries define our word crisis as: “An unstable condition, as inpolitical, social, or economic affairs, involving an impending abruptor decisive change”. During the years 235 to 285, the Roman Empire surely did enter a period of instability. The patterns of ’emperor mak-ing and breaking’ and of barbarian invasion during this period mark in my estimation the characteristics of a major political crisis. Indeed,when one compares the overall stability of the Roman imperial system and government of the mid-second to that of the mid-third century,the differences are readily apparent both in terms of leadership anddefense.2 In sum, that there was a ‘crisis’ is a fundamental assumption of this paper; but it is also a demonstrable proposition.
I am more over especially concerned here not only how to understand the nature of the crisis as a complex set of related events, but also how to explain the complexities of the crisis to others, especially to students. One has only to read the standard textbooks on the subject to geta sense of the problem that has been examined within these proceedings. Some historians overwhelm the reader with details on the lives ofemperors elevated and eliminated. Other historians try to grapple withthe equally obscure accounts of the crisis as preserved in the Scriptores Historiae Augustae. That the ‘lives’ of emperors for the period 238-252.
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