- Paperback: 416 pages
- Publisher: Routledge; 2Rev Ed edition (23 Aug 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0415239443
- ISBN-13: 978-0415239448
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 753,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Roman Empire From Severus to Constantine
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The third century AD in the Roman Empire began and ended with Emperors who are recognised today as being strong and dynamic - Septimius Severus, Diocletian and Constantine. Yet the intervening years have traditionally been seen as a period of crisis. The 260s saw the nadir of Imperial fortunes, with every frontier threatened or overrun, the senior emperor imprisoned by the Persians, and Gaul and Palmyra breaking away from central control. It might have been thought that the empire should have collapsed - yet it did not.
Pat Southern shows how this was possible by providing a chronological history of the Empire from the end of the second century to the beginning of the fourth; the emergence and devastating activities of the Germanic tribes and the Persian Empire are analysed, and a conclusion details the economic, military and social aspects of the third century 'crisis'.
Pat Southern shows how this was possible by providing a chronological history of the Empire from the end of the second century to the beginning of the fourth; the emergence and devastating activities of the Germanic tribes and the Persian Empire are analysed, and a conclusion details the economic, military and social aspects of the third century 'crisis'.
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The third century opened and closed with the emergence of strong, vigorous Emperors victorious in civil war, each of whom survived long enough to consolidate his power and reorganise the state. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
The third century opened and closed with the emergence of strong, vigorous Emperors victorious in civil war, each of whom survived long enough to consolidate his power and reorganise the state. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Frankly, if I'd been in charge of naming this book I'd have called it something different: 'The Third-Century Crisis', or to borrow from German historiography 'The Age of the Soldier-Emperors'. Or they could have chosen something dramatic such as 'The Collapse of Rome' or 'The Survival of the Roman Empire'. They could even have used one of their own chapter names: 'A World Geared for War.' The current title is so painfully generic that it holds out little hope of being a readable book. Which is why it is somewhat surprising that it manages to achieve a very high level of entertainment while remaining scrupulously accurate.
The book begins (unsurprisingly) with Septimius Severus. All books dealing with this time do so, which is somewhat odd since the empire didn't change so much during his reign as after it. His main contribution was to tie the military more securely to the seat of power, thus limiting the role of senators. His successors had to deal with the increasing instability of the position of the emperor and with the ever increasing frequency of assassination. After the Severans fell, the empire passed back and forth between various generals who raised themselves to the throne only to fall within a few short years. This is what's known as the crisis of the third-century.
Towards the middle of the Third-Century Crisis the book becomes little more than a list of emperors being raised and defeated. This is the same with every book dealing with this time. Nothing can be done about it since these fluctuations are important and yet very little is known about them except for the names and a brief synopsis of their careers. This book does manage a decent summary, helped out by the inclusion of pictures for most of the emperors. There is nothing special here, but there can never be. Southern feels that Gallienus was the biggest innovator before Diocletian, having created the mobile cavalry that would form the comitatenses and promoted the careers of equestrians over those of senators. This section takes up all of the second chapter.
The third chapter deals with the slow recovery from the crisis and the rise of Diocletian. After Diocletian she takes a break to look at the people surrounding the empire, ie: the barbarians and the Persians. Given the changing relationship between Rome and these powers this is an important area to cover. I'm only surprised she leaves it that long. After this comes the concluding chapter which is an analysis of what changed between the beginning of this period and its end.
There's nothing new or shocking about this book. It covers what it aims to cover in an almost entirely chronological way. I'd say that this book works best as an introduction for the beginner. Not that there isn't valuable information in here for more advanced students, but there are other books which analyze events in more detail. Unfortunately most of these are in German. A more in-depth and thorough look at this period is The Roman Empire at Bay. It is a slightly harder read but makes it easier to figure out where to go for further reading. This book is slightly too polished to make that easy. But don't let that deflect you from reading it. It is a very good book that is accessible to the beginner but not useless to the professional.
The book begins (unsurprisingly) with Septimius Severus. All books dealing with this time do so, which is somewhat odd since the empire didn't change so much during his reign as after it. His main contribution was to tie the military more securely to the seat of power, thus limiting the role of senators. His successors had to deal with the increasing instability of the position of the emperor and with the ever increasing frequency of assassination. After the Severans fell, the empire passed back and forth between various generals who raised themselves to the throne only to fall within a few short years. This is what's known as the crisis of the third-century.
Towards the middle of the Third-Century Crisis the book becomes little more than a list of emperors being raised and defeated. This is the same with every book dealing with this time. Nothing can be done about it since these fluctuations are important and yet very little is known about them except for the names and a brief synopsis of their careers. This book does manage a decent summary, helped out by the inclusion of pictures for most of the emperors. There is nothing special here, but there can never be. Southern feels that Gallienus was the biggest innovator before Diocletian, having created the mobile cavalry that would form the comitatenses and promoted the careers of equestrians over those of senators. This section takes up all of the second chapter.
The third chapter deals with the slow recovery from the crisis and the rise of Diocletian. After Diocletian she takes a break to look at the people surrounding the empire, ie: the barbarians and the Persians. Given the changing relationship between Rome and these powers this is an important area to cover. I'm only surprised she leaves it that long. After this comes the concluding chapter which is an analysis of what changed between the beginning of this period and its end.
There's nothing new or shocking about this book. It covers what it aims to cover in an almost entirely chronological way. I'd say that this book works best as an introduction for the beginner. Not that there isn't valuable information in here for more advanced students, but there are other books which analyze events in more detail. Unfortunately most of these are in German. A more in-depth and thorough look at this period is The Roman Empire at Bay. It is a slightly harder read but makes it easier to figure out where to go for further reading. This book is slightly too polished to make that easy. But don't let that deflect you from reading it. It is a very good book that is accessible to the beginner but not useless to the professional.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Crisis in the 3d Century
18 Mar 2002
Format:Paperback
Having enjoyed the authors LATE ROMAN ARMY, I was pleasantly surprised to discover this volume on a recent visit to Rome. Of course any author benefits when writing about the likes of Diocletian, Septimus Severus and Constantine the Great. Southerns highly readable text, buttressed with extensive illuminating notes and a sound examination of the sources, brings the period alive. I find Southerns writing to be clear and understandable ---very well-crafted. I found the authors well-developed bibliography particularly helpful. Passable maps, interesting illustrations and the obligatory, colossal head of Constantine accompany the text as well as a number of numismatological sketches of the eras coinage. Chester Starr in his brief but excellent THE ROMAN EMPIRE delineates this time period as The First Test ---a massive turning point for the empire. Southern does a masterful job examining the evolving threats to the empire including themes such as depopulation, barbarization, succession, usurpation. I also liked her analysis of the mobile, multiethnic war bands of the era as well as her defense of the Emperor Gallienus (not too surprising as she co-authored THE ROMAN CAVALRY). I thoroughly enjoyed this work, in all three readings. I recommend following this up with Birleys SEVERUS and Williams DIOCLETIAN. The old standby, AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS, is still available in an affordable Penguin abridgment.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
The Most Readable History of the Third-Century Crisis
18 Feb 2012
Format:Hardcover
Frankly, if I'd been in charge of naming this book I'd have called it something different: 'The Third-Century Crisis', or to borrow from German historiography 'The Age of the Soldier-Emperors'. Or they could have chosen something dramatic such as 'The Collapse of Rome' or 'The Survival of the Roman Empire'. They could even have used one of their own chapter names: 'A World Geared for War.' The current title is so painfully generic that it holds out little hope of being a readable book. Which is why it is somewhat surprising that it manages to achieve a very high level of entertainment while remaining scrupulously accurate.
The book begins (unsurprisingly) with Septimius Severus. All books dealing with this time do so, which is somewhat odd since the empire didn't change so much during his reign as after it. His main contribution was to tie the military more securely to the seat of power, thus limiting the role of senators. His successors had to deal with the increasing instability of the position of the emperor and with the ever increasing frequency of assassination. After the Severans fell, the empire passed back and forth between various generals who raised themselves to the throne only to fall within a few short years. This is what's known as the crisis of the third-century.
Towards the middle of the Third-Century Crisis the book becomes little more than a list of emperors being raised and defeated. This is the same with every book dealing with this time. Nothing can be done about it since these fluctuations are important and yet very little is known about them except for the names and a brief synopsis of their careers. This book does manage a decent summary, helped out by the inclusion of pictures for most of the emperors. There is nothing special here, but there can never be. Southern feels that Gallienus was the biggest innovator before Diocletian, having created the mobile cavalry that would form the comitatenses and promoted the careers of equestrians over those of senators. This section takes up all of the second chapter.
The third chapter deals with the slow recovery from the crisis and the rise of Diocletian. After Diocletian she takes a break to look at the people surrounding the empire, ie: the barbarians and the Persians. Given the changing relationship between Rome and these powers this is an important area to cover. I'm only surprised she leaves it that long. After this comes the concluding chapter which is an analysis of what changed between the beginning of this period and its end.
There's nothing new or shocking about this book. It covers what it aims to cover in an almost entirely chronological way. I'd say that this book works best as an introduction for the beginner. Not that there isn't valuable information in here for more advanced students, but there are other books which analyze events in more detail. Unfortunately most of these are in German. A more in-depth and thorough look at this period is The Roman Empire at Bay. It is a slightly harder read but makes it easier to figure out where to go for further reading. This book is slightly too polished to make that easy. But don't let that deflect you from reading it. It is a very good book that is accessible to the beginner but not useless to the professional.
The book begins (unsurprisingly) with Septimius Severus. All books dealing with this time do so, which is somewhat odd since the empire didn't change so much during his reign as after it. His main contribution was to tie the military more securely to the seat of power, thus limiting the role of senators. His successors had to deal with the increasing instability of the position of the emperor and with the ever increasing frequency of assassination. After the Severans fell, the empire passed back and forth between various generals who raised themselves to the throne only to fall within a few short years. This is what's known as the crisis of the third-century.
Towards the middle of the Third-Century Crisis the book becomes little more than a list of emperors being raised and defeated. This is the same with every book dealing with this time. Nothing can be done about it since these fluctuations are important and yet very little is known about them except for the names and a brief synopsis of their careers. This book does manage a decent summary, helped out by the inclusion of pictures for most of the emperors. There is nothing special here, but there can never be. Southern feels that Gallienus was the biggest innovator before Diocletian, having created the mobile cavalry that would form the comitatenses and promoted the careers of equestrians over those of senators. This section takes up all of the second chapter.
The third chapter deals with the slow recovery from the crisis and the rise of Diocletian. After Diocletian she takes a break to look at the people surrounding the empire, ie: the barbarians and the Persians. Given the changing relationship between Rome and these powers this is an important area to cover. I'm only surprised she leaves it that long. After this comes the concluding chapter which is an analysis of what changed between the beginning of this period and its end.
There's nothing new or shocking about this book. It covers what it aims to cover in an almost entirely chronological way. I'd say that this book works best as an introduction for the beginner. Not that there isn't valuable information in here for more advanced students, but there are other books which analyze events in more detail. Unfortunately most of these are in German. A more in-depth and thorough look at this period is The Roman Empire at Bay. It is a slightly harder read but makes it easier to figure out where to go for further reading. This book is slightly too polished to make that easy. But don't let that deflect you from reading it. It is a very good book that is accessible to the beginner but not useless to the professional.
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