With the prosperous times of the Pax Romana a distant memory, by the middle of the 200s, the Crisis of the Third Century was in full swing. This period of unprecedented chaos and destruction should have destroyed the Roman Empire two hundred years before it actually fell.

Plagued with corruption, lawlessness, rebellion, civil wars, a failing economy, and invasions on all fronts, it is nothing short of a miracle that Rome was able to hang on. Hindered by a series of short-lived and incompetent emperors, Rome was unable to find its footing and properly deal with these threats. Barbarian invasions penetrated deep into the Roman heartland, and entire regions of the empire were breaking off and declaring their independence.