Under pressure from civil war, plague and economic depression, dozens of generals battled to become emperor, eventually splitting the empire into thirds. The Emperor Aurelian reunited the empire, but continuing stability remained elusive.
This is a 3D Atlas of the Roman Empire during the Crisis of the 3rd Century. The front of the model shows Roman territory in 235 BCE and each subsequent year is placed behind the previous year in order until the end of the Crisis in 284 CE.
The red section in the middle of the model shows the remnant Roman Empire during the period when the Gallic and Palmyrene Empires seceded from Rome and operated as coherent empires with their own laws, government and money.
The purple sections in front and behind the red section show the period when Roman territory was merely fought over by internal factions. However, these factions never gained the same coherence as the Gallic and Palmyrene Empires and are thus not individually depicted.
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