HOW THE ROMAN EMPIRE WENT FROM MAGNIFICENCE TO WOEFULNESS IN THE THIRD CENTURY

​As you know, my favourite period for my writing is the Anglo-Saxon era AD 410 -1066.
Out of curiosity, I began to read up on the period before AD 410. What struck me immediately was how the Roman Empire had gone from magnificence to woefulness in the third century. The more I studied, the more I wanted to write a novel about it. I was under no illusions because the argument is complex. I’d like to share my findings here, not least to temp you into obtaining a copy of The Saxon Shore my latest novel, which contains a pinch of each of the following ingredients!
 
The question is WHY?
You think the world is a mess in 2024 – you should try AD 286 (when my novel begins).
In no particular order of importance --
BECAUSE

1. The Empire over-extended, causing the military to stretch thinly protecting extensive borders; it was too much for one ruler;
2. Manpower shortages from too many campaigns; devastating plagues; farming hit
3. Piracy – dissuading merchants and hitting trade
4. Over-reliance on slave labour—necessitating further campaigns to capture able-bodied slaves
5. Climate change—causing droughts, flooding and crop failure; rising sea levels, causing tribal emigration and re-settlement
6. Debasement of currency, especially the silver denarius, causing inflation and rebellion; another factor affecting trade
7. Heavy taxation increases the divide between rich and poor, causing social upheaval and a local rather than central reliance
8. Usurpation – successful generals gained support from the disaffected and claimed the imperial purple. Once such usurper survived 19 assassination attempts before his murder.
9. Traditional Roman values and social structure eroded by the growth of new religions, particularly Christianity and eastern cults.
10. Shrinking territory, particularly ravaged by warfare and rebellion - hence the Saxon Shore forts in Britannia
11. Continuous outside threats – notably the Persian Sassanid Empire and the various Germanic tribes (see above point about the forts).

 
That’s complex enough, isn’t it? It took Diocletian to sort it out, but in AD 303 he began to persecute Christians
 
I have tried to write page-turning fiction about this period from ca. AD 286 to the Edict of Mediolanum AD 306 when Emperor Constantine the Great decreed Christianity would be tolerated throughout the Empire. I hope that the Saxon Shore will be published by the spring. Look out for my postings in Facebook and here.