Collection: AD 235-284 CRISIS OF THE THIRD CENTURY

The Crisis of the Third Century was a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed. The crisis ended due to the military victories of Aurelian and with the accession of Diocletian and his implementation of reforms in 284. The crisis began in 235 with the assassination of Emperor Severus Alexander by his own troops. During the following 50-year period, the empire saw the combined pressures of barbarian invasions and migrations into Roman territory, civil wars, peasant rebellions and political instability, with multiple usurpers competing for power.