Skip to content
Map of Ancient Rome 271 AD
Blank map of South Europe and North Africa.svg : historicair 23:27, 8 August 2007 (UTC) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Conflict Europe

Crisis of the Third Century

235 CE – 284 CE · 49 years

The Roman Empire nearly collapsed under civil wars, barbarian invasions, and plague. At its nadir the empire split into three rival states. Aurelian reunified it in 274 and Diocletian ended the crisis.

See it on the timeline

Wikipedia

The opening of the article, and a way into the rest of it without leaving the site.

Crisis of the Third Century on Wikipedia.

Read the article Open on Wikipedia ↗

Belligerents

The main peoples, kingdoms and states involved.

  • Rival Roman emperors
  • Gothic & Germanic invaders

Key moments

Defining events in the Crisis of the Third Century.

  1. 251 Battle of Abritus
  2. 260 Formation of the Gallic Empire
  3. 274 Battle of Chalons

Elsewhere in Europe at the time

Records whose own span overlaps this one, found by the same test the canvas draws with. The bar under each card is where it sits inside this one.

See the whole view

Landmark · Europe

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

550 BCE – 262 CE

Polity · Europe

Roman Empire

26 BCE – 395 CE

Trade route · Europe

Amber Road

1000 BCE – 400 CE

Conflict · Europe

Sassanid-Roman Wars of the 3rd Century

260 CE – 298 CE

Landmark · Europe

Plitvice Lakes

3000 BCE – still standing

Polity · Europe

Saami

Attested 1500 BCE – 700 CE

Trade route · Europe

Roman Mediterranean Trade

27 BCE – 476 CE

Landmark · Europe

Giant's Causeway

3000 BCE – still standing

Dated moments inside this span

Events the timeline places between 235 CE and 284 CE.

260 CE Sassanid-Roman Wars of the 3rd Century 270 CE Aksumite–Himyarite Wars 270 CE Palmyrene Empire

And in the rest of the world

Records running through the same years, on the other side of the map.

Grand Canyon Landmark · Americas 3000 BCE – still standing Pallavas Polity · South Asia 275 CE – 897 CE Mesoamerican Trade Network Trade route · Americas 1200 BCE – 1521 CE Three Kingdoms (China) Conflict · East Asia 220 CE – 280 CE Nagarjuna Figure · South India 150 CE – 250 CE Great Barrier Reef Landmark · Oceania 3000 BCE – still standing
Image credits6 pictures from Wikimedia Commons