The Roman Empire in Crisis, 248-260: When the Gods Abandoned Rome
This book is a narrative history of a dozen years of turmoil that begins with Rome’s millennium celebrations of 248 CE and ends with the capture of the emperor Valerian by the Persians in 260. It was a period of almost unremitting disaster for Rome, involving a series of civil wars, several major invasions by Goths and Persians, economic crisis, and an empire-wide pandemic, the ‘plague of Cyprian’. There was sustained persecution of the Christians. A central theme of the book is that this was a period of moral and spiritual crisis in which the traditional state religion suffered greatly in prestige, paving the way for the eventual triumph of Christianity.

The sensational recent discovery of extensive fragments of the lost Scythica of Dexippus sheds much new light on the Gothic Wars of the period. The author has used this new evidence in combination with in-depth investigations in the field to develop a revised account of events surrounding the great Battle of Abritus where the army of the emperor Decius was annihilated by Cniva’s Goths. New light is shed on a period which is pivotal for understanding the transition between Classical civilisation and the period known as Late Antiquity.
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The Roman Empire in Crisis, 248-260: When the Gods Abandoned Rome
This book is a narrative history of a dozen years of turmoil that begins with Rome’s millennium celebrations of 248 CE and ends with the capture of the emperor Valerian by the Persians in 260. It was a period of almost unremitting disaster for Rome, involving a series of civil wars, several major invasions by Goths and Persians, economic crisis, and an empire-wide pandemic, the ‘plague of Cyprian’. There was sustained persecution of the Christians. A central theme of the book is that this was a period of moral and spiritual crisis in which the traditional state religion suffered greatly in prestige, paving the way for the eventual triumph of Christianity.

The sensational recent discovery of extensive fragments of the lost Scythica of Dexippus sheds much new light on the Gothic Wars of the period. The author has used this new evidence in combination with in-depth investigations in the field to develop a revised account of events surrounding the great Battle of Abritus where the army of the emperor Decius was annihilated by Cniva’s Goths. New light is shed on a period which is pivotal for understanding the transition between Classical civilisation and the period known as Late Antiquity.
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The Roman Empire in Crisis, 248-260: When the Gods Abandoned Rome

The Roman Empire in Crisis, 248-260: When the Gods Abandoned Rome

by Paul N Pearson
The Roman Empire in Crisis, 248-260: When the Gods Abandoned Rome

The Roman Empire in Crisis, 248-260: When the Gods Abandoned Rome

by Paul N Pearson

Hardcover

$42.95 
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Overview

This book is a narrative history of a dozen years of turmoil that begins with Rome’s millennium celebrations of 248 CE and ends with the capture of the emperor Valerian by the Persians in 260. It was a period of almost unremitting disaster for Rome, involving a series of civil wars, several major invasions by Goths and Persians, economic crisis, and an empire-wide pandemic, the ‘plague of Cyprian’. There was sustained persecution of the Christians. A central theme of the book is that this was a period of moral and spiritual crisis in which the traditional state religion suffered greatly in prestige, paving the way for the eventual triumph of Christianity.

The sensational recent discovery of extensive fragments of the lost Scythica of Dexippus sheds much new light on the Gothic Wars of the period. The author has used this new evidence in combination with in-depth investigations in the field to develop a revised account of events surrounding the great Battle of Abritus where the army of the emperor Decius was annihilated by Cniva’s Goths. New light is shed on a period which is pivotal for understanding the transition between Classical civilisation and the period known as Late Antiquity.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781399090971
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Publication date: 04/29/2022
Pages: 336
Product dimensions: 6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x (d)

About the Author

Paul N. Pearson is Honorary Professor of Geology at Cardiff University and has a long-held passion for Roman history. He has written numerous peer-reviewed articles and is the author of the highly praised 'Maximinus Thrax: from Common Soldier to Emperor of Rome' (Pen & Sword, 2016). He lives in Somerset.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vi

List of Plates vii

List of Maps ix

Introduction xiii

Prologue: Millennium xv

Part I Philip to Decius, 248-251 ce 1

Chapter 1 Empire at the Millennium 3

Chapter 2 Rebels 18

Chapter 3 The Forces of Conservatism 33

Chapter 4 Escalation of the Gothic War 43

Chapter 5 Ostrogotha Takes the Initiative 58

Chapter 6 The Road to Abritus 82

Part II Gallus to Valerian, 251-260 ce 107

Chapter 7 Gallus 109

Chapter 8 253: World in Flames 127

Chapter 9 Restorers of the Human Race 156

Chapter 10 Turbulence 176

Chapter 11 Nadir 194

Chapter 12 Disintegration 212

Epilogue: Rome Abandons the Gods 231

Literature Cited 237

Notes 256

Index 295

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