The three great empires - Roman, Kushan and Han - which we described in the last century all showed signs of decay in this 3rd century of the Christian era. Although still maintaining its extensive borders, Rome had even more troubles with Persia and the local situation in Italy deteriorated rapidly, so that by the end of the century the Emperor Diocletian even transferred his capital to Nicomedia, near the Bosporus Strait. Although some of the Kushan Empire remained in Central Asia, it lost territory both to the Persians and to various factions within India. The Han Dynasty disappeared in 220 and China again became divided. The great Maya Culture dominated Central America.
Epidemics were wide spread in this century and the Christian doctrine of care of the sick and the faith that made life meaningful even amid sudden and surprising death gave this new religion a great boost over paganism, in these difficult times. Tertullian, one of the great believers in the value of martyrdom, as exemplified by Jesus' crucifixion, eventually left the Orthodox Church to join the Montanists, a radical, prophetic circle, and then even formed his own "church" scorning the Catholic group as "the church of a number of bishops". The Gnostics never accepted martyrdom as a basis of Christian belief. (Ref. 163, 140) (Continue on page 354)
Back to Africa: A.D. 101 to 200
The kingdom of Kush fell prey to desert nomads but in Ethiopia Axum continued as a powerful, well developed entity. Coins were minted and much of the Sudan to the west was conquered. Ivory, rhinoceros horn, hippopotamus hides and slaves were all exported through the Red Sea harbor of Adulis. Unfortunately even at this early period excessive rains with flooding, along with forest clearing and cultivation of hilltops and slopes had started soil erosion that was to eventually be part of the downfall of this unusual kingdom. (Ref. 175, 270)
Egyptian prestige[102] began to decline under destructive factionalism, a massacre of all adult males capable of bearing arms (by Emperor Caracalla) to prevent revolt, high taxes, listless forced labor and Rome's annual exaction of grain. Sea trade from the Mediterranean went principally up the Nile to Thebes, then over to the Red Sea and on by boat. The refurbished Nile-Red Sea canal was a disappointment to the Romans (as it had been to the Ptolemies and the Persians) because winds in the northern Red Sea were unreliable and merchants did better with the Nile to Thebes route. At the last of the century (266 to 272), Queen Zenobia's conquering of Egypt and siege of Alexandria resulted in the death of half the population and helped Egypt's decline. (See IRAQ AND SYRIA, below) In A.D. 272 Egypt was reconquered by Rome. (Ref. 136)
Rome continued to dominate the coast line of north Africa, but in the far northwest Moorish (chiefly Berber) culture and activity increased with expansion of the territory they controlled. The cities of the Sahara had a flourishing commerce with coastal cities, probably sending precious stones, slaves and ivory for trade. (Ref. 83)
At this time there was the beginning of the development of the Empire of Ghana at the northern curve of the Niger River. The village of Jenne-jeno, which we have previously mentioned, may have been a part of this process. On the east the iron and cattle cultures spread almost completely to the southern tip of Africa. Blackburn was established in A.D. 105 and the use of iron spread from the Funa River (off the Congo) to Katanga and the Lakes region. In the southwest, the Khoikoi peoples, speaking the Khoisan language, only slowly gave way to the aggressive Bantu-speakers. Indonesian traders appeared in increasing numbers along the east coast in this and the following centuries.
Back to The Near East: A.D. 101 to 200
Jordan belonged to the Romans, but most of Arabia was untouched by the Roman armies. In the south of the peninsula the cities began to decline and the nomads again assumed rule. By the end of the century the Aksumite kings of Ethiopia were in control of Yemen and the Sassanian King Shapur annexed Oman on the Arabian Gulf shore about A.D. 260. (Ref. 8
Lebanon was a part of Roman controlled Syria and even Judea was non-existent as a separate Jewish state. The common people of most of these areas tended to remain unchanged, century after century, however, and basically only the governments shifted.
At the beginning of the century the Rabbi Judah codified Jewish law, both civil and religious, in a work called the "Mishnah" which became the basis of continuous study in the Middle East and was later preserved in the Talmud. (Ref. 8)
As the century opened this entire area was dominated by Rome but in the old area of Mesopotamia in western Iraq the Persian King Ardashir invaded about A.D. 230, but shortly withdrew again. This was followed in A.D. 260 by Shapur I with clouds of cavalry that raided throughout all of Syria and returned to Persia laden with spoils and the
Roman Emperor Valerian. who was captured at Edessa, where Syria joins Asia Minor. It was only after this that Odenathus of the Septimii tribe, governor of Palmyra in Syria, crowned himself a puppet king under the Romans and promptly drove the Persians back across Mesopotamia, defeating them finally at Ctesiphon, the ancient Persian capital near present Baghdad. He then declared himself king not only of Syria but of Cilicia, Arabia, Cappadocia and Armenia. After his assassination in A.D. 266 his son took his title, but his widow, Zenobia, took his power. She beautified the capital and brought scholars and artists to her court, but also found time to lead an army into Asia Minor, conquering Cappadocia, Galatia and most of Bithynia. Then, with a great fleet and army she conquered Egypt. The Roman Emperor Domitius Aurelianus soon reconquered this land, however, and then his armies proceeded to beat Palmyra from a great central Syrian city of 30,000 people to a desert village as it had been before and remains yet today. (Ref. 48, 136)
Persian cities sat on the silk route from China to the Roman Empire and regardless of the local administration and any hostilities, the Persians controlled this traffic. Rayy (near modern Tehran) as well as Herat (now over the border in Afghanistan) became major cities and enjoyed great prosperity. In about A.D. 224, Ardashir I, originally a feudal lord of Persia, overcame the weakened Parthian Arsacid Dynasty and became king of all the Persians, founding the Sassanian or Sassanid Dynasty. This family strongly identified with the old Achaemenian Empire and Zorastrianism was restored as the state religion. New conquests were undertaken as Ardashir invaded Syria although his main purpose was to dethrone and kill the Arsacid king who was ruling Armenia. Ardashir 's successor, Shapur I, (240-271) built a new city in his home province of Fars, the Sassanian "Versailes", and he also promoted agriculture and several irrigation systems. As mentioned above, however, he is most famous for his extensive cavalry raids throughout Syria and his capture of the Roman Emperor Valerian at Edessa. Thousands were killed in Antioch and Tarsus was about destroyed. Victory may have resulted as the result of the Persian cavalry's use of damask steel sabres, superior to anything made in the West. (See SUBCONTINENT OF INDIA, this chapter). Shapur eventually went down to defeat at the hands of Odenathus, an Arab prince from Palmyra, whose troops chased the Persians back and defeated them at Ctesiphon, as we have noted. (Ref. 48, 18)
In A.D. 242 Mani began his religious teachings, taking Zorasterism as a base but accepting Moses, Jesus and Buddha as prophets. He traveled to Turkistan, India and China and his ideas spread widely, becoming a fruitful root-stock of Christian heresies for almost a thousand years. (Ref. 229) At first Shapur favored Mani, but later he was banished and when Shapur's second son, Varahran I became king in 272 Mani was executed. (Ref. 119)
The entire Anatolian peninsula was part of the Roman Empire, but this was an era of multiple raids from both north and south, with the Goths and other Russian tribes coming down to ravage the cities of the Black Sea such as Pontus, Chalcedon, Nicomedia, etc., while the Persians later overran Cilicia and Cappadocia. It was in Edessa, then part of Syria, but near the modern city of Urfa, Turkey that the Persian king Shapur captured Valerian. This was somewhat nullified as the Queen Mother Zenobia temporarily took over additional territory in this region. By the end of the century Roman rule had been pretty well restored and the Emperor Diocletian established his capital for the entire empire at Nicomedia. Greek was written and spoken in this eastern Roman capital except for purely administrative and occasional literary purposes. The great plague which reached most of the empire in the middle of the century struck Pontus particularly violently. (Ref. 136, 127, 222)
The puppet king, Chosroes, was of the Iranian Arsacid line, and as noted above, he was murdered by the Persian Ardashir I and Armenia came under the Persian wing. In A.D. 284, after Queen Zenobia had finally been defeated, Emperor Diocletian helped Tiridates, the son of Chosroes, to again ascend the throne of this country.
Back to Europe: A.D. 101 to 200
This entire area was an integral part of the Roman Empire and was administered in three parts: The Dacian diocese, comprised of eastern Yugoslavia, western Bulgaria, Moesia Superior, Dacia and some smaller areas; the Macedonian diocese consisting chiefly of Greece; and the Thracian diocese, which was made up of eastern Bulgaria and the European part of Turkey, which in turn, included Lower Moesia, Scythia, Thrace, etc. Of these only Dacia used the Latin language, while the others all spoke Greek. The Goths arrived in the Black Sea area by A.D. 214 and soon occupied all the region west of this sea, splitting into two divisions, to be known as Ostrogoths (East Goths) and Visigoths (West Goths). They battled the Romans in this area throughout the century and the Roman Emperor Decius was slain by them in Dacia as the Romans withdrew in A.D. 275 to safety south of the Danube. Many native Dacians took to the hills with their Latin language, to reappear centuries later as ancestors of the modern Romanians. Gallus, a former legate of Moesia (chiefly the area of Bulgaria), became emperor of Rome in 251. In 268 Claudius II (Gothicus) became the first of a series of emperors from Illyria. They were a capable group and prepared the way for Diocletian. (Ref. 127, 206, 48)
Although already diminished by some severe pestilence, the population of Rome at the beginning of this 3rd century was at least one million. An epidemic hit again between 251 and 266, with 5,000 dying each day at its peak in Rome and with the rural populations also heavily affected. The disease may have been either measles and/or smallpox. Civil disorders and barbarian invasions simply added to the problem. Vacancies within the legions on the Roman frontiers, caused by deaths from disease and mutinies, resulted in invitations to the barbarians to both enter the legions and settle the lands. Rapid die-off around the entire Mediterranean hampered commerce and diminished the flow of cash to the imperial treasury and this resulted in no pay for the soldiers, thus further mutinies, military uprisings and civil wars in outlying areas. (Ref. 140) Armies in different provinces tried to set up their own commanders as emperors (the "Thirty Tyrants"), but this situation was eliminated between 268 and 284. Of course almost constant war with the powerful Persians in the east did not help and a succession of emperors of anarchy came and went, usually by murders. The resources of the rich were consumed by war and by the government. The menial work of Rome was performed by about 400,000 slaves, with even middle class citizens owning about 8 and the rich from 500 to 1,000. (Ref. 222)
The eastern part of the empire was momentarily saved in name, if not in truth, by Odenathus and Zenobia, as we have reported in the section on THE NEAR EAST. Gaul had revolted and assumed its own autonomy under first Postumus and then Tetricus. Aurel- ian, emperor from 270 to 275, however, temporarily restored Gaul, Spain and Britain to the fold and built the existing walls of Rome as a protection against future incursions by barbarians. To keep the expanding poor of Rome reasonably happy, Aurelian added free pork-fat and wine to the "Annona", as well as giving bread instead of just grain. In order to pay troops, the government gradually debased the silver currency and along with devaluation this culminated in rapid inflation. Increasingly slaves were used in all capacities, even in positions of dependent management of farms, shops, ships and banks. (Ref. 8)
The whole Roman realm had a short period of peace under one of the Balkan emperors, Probus, until his troops murdered him in 282. Then Diocles, or Diocletian, a man of genius and statesmanship became emperor and reorganized the empire. A native Illyrian and Dalmation soldier, he abandoned Rome and made his headquarters at Nicomedia, a few miles south of Byzantium in Asia Minor. He delegated control of the western half of the empire to his general, Maximian, as co-ruler in the city of Ravenna, Italy, and then made extensive political reforms including the division of the empire into four major prefectures and then forming further subdivisions as dioceses and finally provinces. (Ref. 28) At that time the empire was said to have 435,000 men under arms, chiefly infantry. Finally Diocletian, falling prey to the common curse of ancient men of power, claimed that he was the earthly embodiment of Jupiter, while Maximian consented to be Hercules. This identification of god and king meant the final failure of republican institutions of antiquity and a reversion to the forms and theories of Achaemenid and Egyptian courts. From this orientalized monarch came the structure and form of Byzantine and the European kingdoms until the time of the French Revolution. All that was needed now was to ally the oriental monarch in his oriental capital with an oriental faith. Byzantinism began with Diocletian. (Ref. 48, 127)
As the Germanic tribes migrated westward, behind them the Slavs began to cross the Elbe and filter into modern Bohemia, Moravia and parts of eastern Germany. The Marcomanni, who were already in this area, raided westward and southward, even into Italy itself. The Frankish tribes invaded across the Rhine and along with the Alemanni also attacked directly into Italy. In battles from A.D. 270 to 275 the Emperor Aurelian finally stopped these invasions and held the Germanic tribes essentially at the Rhine once again. In the Pannonian diocese, which included most of Austria, Hungary and the western edge of Yugoslavia, the Asding branch of the Vandals had replaced the Iazygians as the dominant element in the southern portion, while the Gepids (related to the Goths) occupied the north. (Ref. 136, 127)
Spain became a large scale producer of wine, olive oil and other products, including a delicious fish-paste. Some insurrections in this country, as in other parts of the empire, were eventually put down by Aurelian. Revolt leaders Postumus and Tetricus in Gaul were also eventually defeated. In Belgium the Franks swept the Gaulic Celts into the south, giving rise to the original language barrier with the northern Germanic tongue dominant at that time. In England, late in the century the pirates were so numerous around the coasts that Carausius, who happened to be a Belgian sailor, was assigned by the Roman authorities to clear the North Sea and the channel of these brigands. He did so, using mercenaries of Germanic and Frankish origin. But he made enemies in Rome and was murdered in A.D. 293 by his finance officer, Allectus, who then kept England independent of Roman control for three years, until Constantius Chlorus re-conquered the area using a new navy and fresh troops. (Ref. 8, 43, 136, 24)
In this area the most significant change from recent centuries was the replacement of all Lapps and Finns in Denmark by Germanic tribes by A.D. 250. Included in the latter group were the definitive Danes. Roman coins of the 3rd century have been found on Iceland, presumably taken there by the Roman Emperor Constans who sailed in pursuit of Celtic pirates who had raided Wales and then led their pursuer to an arctic island.
Traveling from north to south in this region, we would find Finns in the sparsely settled far north, but south of them going from west to east along the Baltic, we would find first the Balts, then a large area of Slavs and finally, just north of the Black Sea, various Iranian tribes, including the Roxolani and Alans. By A.D. 300 the Ostrogoths had expanded eastward across the Ukraine to dominate the Roxolani, but otherwise there was not much change throughout this century with the possible exception that there may have been some Turkish-speaking Hunnish people already drifting into this area. (Ref. 136, 127)
Forward to Europe: A.D. 301 to 400