Curated playlist
Crisis of the Third Century
- Gordian IGordian I ruled Rome for exactly 22 days. A mob made the roughly 80-year-old proconsul emperor.
- BalbinusBalbinus, a Roman emperor in 238 AD, is shown in armor on his own coffin. Written sources call him the civilian partner.
- Battle of NaissusAncient writers cannot agree who won the Battle of Naissus. Their accounts credit three different Roman leaders.
- Claudius GothicusAn ancient legend says Emperor Claudius Gothicus once knocked out a horse's teeth with one punch.
- Gordian IIGordian II was Roman emperor for about 22 days in 238 AD. No recorded reign was shorter.
- DiocletianRetired emperor Diocletian answered a plea to return in 308 by talking about his cabbages.
- Maximinus ThraxRoman emperor Maximinus Thrax never once visited Rome during his entire reign. His own soldiers killed him in 238.
- AurelianA forged list of officials marked for execution got Roman emperor Aurelian killed by his own officers.
- Gallic EmpireIn 260, a Roman general had his emperor's son killed and founded the Gallic Empire. It held for fourteen years.
- Palmyrene EmpireThe Palmyrene Empire lasted only three years, yet its queen conquered Egypt.
- Plague of CyprianThe Plague of Cyprian killed five thousand people a day in Rome at its peak. A Carthage bishop described the dying.
- Crisis of the Third CenturyIn 235, Roman soldiers murdered their own emperor and crowned a man the Senate called a peasant.
- ZenobiaZenobia took power in 267 for her ten-year-old son and soon invaded Egypt. Her Palmyrene empire reached Ancyra by 271.
- Historia AugustaThe Historia Augusta claims six authors, but scholars think one person wrote it.
- TetrarchyTwo Roman emperors retired together on May 1, 305, under Diocletian's Tetrarchy. Its plan soon fell apart.
- Gordian IIIGordian III became Roman emperor at just thirteen years old.
- Severus AlexanderSeverus Alexander was ruling the Roman Empire alone by age thirteen.