Taylor Pudenz
Econ 001- Professor Sarkar
December 11, 2014
The Roman Empire was one of the most prosperous in the world for many years. Under
the rule of successful leaders such as Augustus and Tiberius, the empire experienced a time of
technological advance, achievement in the arts, and expanding trade and commerce. The
empire experienced such great growth due to secure borders and central government as well as
the use of diplomacy instead of military action. This period of a flourishing empire was filled
with many successful emperors and lasted until approximately 193 AD. The downfall was a
result of Commodus’s, the successor and son to Marcus Aurelius, misrule and corruption.
Marcus Aurelius led a crusade against the Germanic and Sarmatian tribes. Unfortunately,
Marcus died before he could finish the job therefor the job was handed off to Commodus. He
completed the work of his father in the first year of his reign, but it stopped there. He spent no
time furthering the expansion of the empire. This caused people to see his reign as a waste of
time especially because he did everything with purely selfish intent. His death brought a turn
of rulers. The Aurelius dynasty had ended, but the misfortune of the empire continued.
In 193 AD, Septimius Severus gained control over the Roman Empire. His rule was the
exact opposite of the emperors who caused prosperity in the empire. He was more reliant on
the military then they were. In addition, he removed senators from important administrative
positions and replaced them with equestrian officers. These actions increased imperial power
in the empire. This style of ruling continued through the Severan dynasty. The end of the
Severan dynasty came with the assassination of Alexander Severus.
After the Severan dynasty came a time of soldier-emperors. This was a time when at
least 16 different men ruled the empire in a short period of time. Most of them were military
men and used the army to rule. Each of them took over after the murder of the last one. This
time period was called the Imperial Crisis. It was the time known for constant civil war, social
unrest, and economic instability. The empire even dissolved into three separate regions. Just
when the empire was losing hope, Diocletian stepped in. He established Tetrarchy which is
defined as the rule of four governors. He felt as if the empire as a whole was too large and vast
to rule over alone. He decided to divide it in half creating the Western Roman Empire and
Eastern Roman Empire (also known as the Byzantine Empire) in order to develop a more
efficient way to rule over the land. He also established the differences between the roles of
military commanders and governors. Diocletian put the empire back together piece by piece.
In addition to all other changes he made, Diocletian noted that a major problem in the
Imperial Crisis was the clarity of succession. He then declared that each successor must be
chosen/approved by the individual in power. He then named his successors to be Maxentius
and Constantine. He retired from his role shortly after in 305 CE which put his two successors
in charge of the two halves of the Roman Empire.
Unfortunately, Diocletian’s successors did not initially keep the empire’s prosperity
going. Shortly after Diocletian’s death, the empire reverted back to civil war. Maxentius and
Constantine were in constant battles. After the Battle of Milvian Bridge, Constantine had
officially defeated Maxentius and taken control over the entire empire. Constantine credited
Jesus Christ for his successes in the battles against Maxentius. For this reason, he put in a set
of laws that called for religious tolerance throughout the empire. He also stabilized the
empire, revalued the currency and reformed the military. His actions help put the empire back
on its feet and road to success once again.
After Constantine’s death, his three son’s inherited the empire. Each of them got a
section of the empire, but they weren’t satisfied with the section they were given. This led to
conflict between the three causing death of two of the sons. This left Constanius II in charge.
