3rd century - Warmongers pushed 'intellectual' politicians asi

[Viggen]

Military warmongers took over the Roman Empire in the third century. The senate, the administrative elite of the Roman empire watched from the sidelines. Dutch researcher Inge Mennen investigated the balance of power in Imperium Romanum during the 'crisis of the third century'. Conclusion: senators lost their military power but retained their status. Meanwhile military emperors pulled the strings...

 

...read the full article at Alpha Galileo

[Ursus]

.... this isn't exactly a stunning revelation, though? Maybe I am missing something but why is this news?

[guy]

Military warmongers took over the Roman Empire in the third century. The senate, the administrative elite of the Roman empire watched from the sidelines. Dutch researcher Inge Mennen investigated the balance of power in Imperium Romanum during the 'crisis of the third century'. Conclusion: senators lost their military power but retained their status. Meanwhile military emperors pulled the strings...

 

...read the full article at Alpha Galileo

 

Respectfully, I think this is too simplistic of a characterization of "Third Century Rome." This is from the description of Micheal Grant's great (but out of print) book Climax of Rome:

 

The period between the accession of Marcus Aurelius in AD 161 and the death of Constantine the Great in 337 is often seen as little more than a protracted interval between the glories of the ancient world and the genesis of medieval Europe. This book shows a much more creative picture of this time - despite internal strife and wars along vast frontiers, there was a stupendous military achievement which preserved the Empire for several centuries. This overal stability allowed Roman civilization to flourish, combining "an artistic, literary, spiritual and political brilliance with unparalleled lavishness". In these two centuries Michael Grant finds the climax of "a terrible but marvellous age"

 

 

guy also known as gaius

[Caius Maxentius]

I agree with Ursus -- is there more to Mennen's study than what was reported here?

 

The fact that the equestrian class dominated military and imperial commands after the Severans is commonly discussed. The short, successive reigns of the three Gordians was the senatorial class's last attempt to reassert control over succession in the imperial office, and showed how far removed from military control they had become.

 

I'd be more interested in why this situation came into being when it did, and moreover, why it didn't happen sooner.

Edited May 19, 2010 by Caius Maxentius