Hello, and welcome to the history of Rome, episode 113, three empires.

Though I haven't yet stated it explicitly, I think the nature of the military campaigns

the Romans have lately been engaged in, against the Goths and the Sassanaids and the Franks

and the Alemani, collectively speak for themselves.

The Romans are now on the defensive.

For its entire history, Rome had always projected outward.

When battles were fought, they were fought in enemy territory.

When battles were won, they enriched the empire with new wealth and new subjects.

When battles were lost, it simply slowed the rate of Roman expansion.

But now, the battles are being fought in Roman territory.

When these battles are won, the reward is little more than a temporary peace.

And far from enriching the empire, even victory was now a net loss on the balance sheet,

in men, in money, in economic impact.

And when those battles are lost, well, the very foundation of imperial legitimacy was

the ability to provide physical security for its citizens.

So you do the math.

In 260 AD, this legitimacy was finally shattered by simultaneous attacks on all the major frontiers.

When the central government proved itself unable to provide the security demanded by its

people, the people abandoned the central government, and the Roman Empire broke apart.

Now one thing that we should clear up right off the bat is that while the administrative

reach of Galeinus' government is about to be radically reduced, at no point should the

rise of the Gallic and Palmyrene empires be viewed as a repudiation of Roman values.

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