It has been said that the greatest enemy of Rome was Rome itself, and this is certainly true of the period known as the Crisis of the Third Century (also known as the Imperial Crisis, 235-284). During this time of almost 50 years, over 20 different emperors ruled in quick succession; a statistic that becomes more alarming when compared with the 26 who reigned between 27 BCE and 235 CE. These rulers – known as the 'barracks emperors' because they were supported by and largely came from the Roman army – were generally motivated by their own ambition and personal interests and so served themselves before the interests of the state.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original article at https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1145/enemies-of-rome-in-the-3rd-century-ce/.
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