# The Crisis of the Third Century: A Pivotal Era of Ancient Rome — WHE Definition Discussion (1-16450)

**URL:** <https://community.worldhistory.org/t/the-crisis-of-the-third-century-a-pivotal-era-of-ancient-rome-whe-definition-discussion-1-16450/18706>\
**Category:** WHE Articles\
**Created:** [January 30, 2026, 10:11am UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/the-crisis-of-the-third-century-a-pivotal-era-of-ancient-rome-whe-definition-discussion-1-16450/18706 "2026-01-30T10:11:35Z")\
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**Author:** ![JPryst](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/community.worldhistory.org/jpryst/32/168_2.png) [@JPryst](https://community.worldhistory.org/u/JPryst)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2026, 10:11am UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/the-crisis-of-the-third-century-a-pivotal-era-of-ancient-rome-whe-definition-discussion-1-16450/18706/1 "2026-01-30T10:11:35Z")

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The Crisis of the Third Century (also known as the Imperial Crisis, 235-284) was the period in the history of the Roman Empire during which it splintered into three separate political entities: the Gallic Empire, the Roman Empire, and the Palmyrene Empire. These breakaway empires, as well as the social turmoil and chaos which characterized the period, resulted from a number of factors:

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_This is a companion discussion topic for the original definition at [https://www.worldhistory.org/Crisis\_of\_the\_Third\_Century/](https://www.worldhistory.org/Crisis_of_the_Third_Century/)._

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**Author:** ![system](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/community.worldhistory.org/system/32/30_2.png) [@system](https://community.worldhistory.org/u/system)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 3:43am UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/the-crisis-of-the-third-century-a-pivotal-era-of-ancient-rome-whe-definition-discussion-1-16450/18706/2 "2026-08-01T03:43:05Z")

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