Western Roman Empire

The Western Roman Empire is the name given to the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 286 AD. It would exist intermittently in several periods between the 3rd Century and the 5th Century, after Diocletian's Tetrarchy and the reunifications associated with Constantine the Great and his later successors, and is generally held to have ended with the abdication of Romulus Augustus on September 4, 476, under pressure of the Germanic chieftain Odoacer. Its counterpart, the Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantine Empire, survived for another 1,000 years.

Crisis of the 3rd Century

Rome and the Italian peninsula began to experience an economic slowdown as industries and money began to move outward.

Related Topics:
Rome - Italian peninsula

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Starting on March 18/19, 235 with the assassination of Roman Emperor Alexander Severus, the Roman Empire fell into a 50 year cycle of civil wars known as the Crisis of the Third Century. In 259, Emperor Valerian I was captured by Shapur I of Persia, a ruler of the Sassanid dynasty. His succeeding son, Gallienus was off fighting in the East. His own son and the Praetorian Prefect Aurelius Heraclianus were residing in Colonia Agrippina. The governor of the German provinces, Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus, took it upon himself to assault Colonia Agrippina, kill the heir and the prefect, and create an independent state now known as the Gallic Empire.

Related Topics:
March 18 - 19 - 235 - Roman Emperor - Alexander Severus - Crisis of the Third Century - Emperor Valerian I - Shapur I of Persia - Sassanid dynasty - Gallienus - Praetorian Prefect - Aurelius Heraclianus - Colonia Agrippina - Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus - Gallic Empire

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Its capital was at Augusta Treverorum, and in time it expanded to control not just the German provinces, but also all of Gaul, Hispania, and Britannia. It had its own senate, and a partial list of consuls still survive. It maintained Roman religion, language, and culture, and was more concerned with fighting the Germanic tribes than other Romans. However, in the reign of Claudius Gothicus (268 to 270), large expanses of the Gallic Empire were returned to Roman rule.

Related Topics:
Capital - Augusta Treverorum - Gaul - Hispania - Britannia - Senate - Consul - Germanic tribes - Claudius Gothicus

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At roughly the same time, the eastern provinces were rebelling as the ?Kingdom of Palmyra?, ruled over by Queen Zenobia. In 272, Emperor Aurelian managed to finally subdue Palmyra and return its territory to the Empire. With the East secure, he turned his attention west, and in the next year, the Gallic Empire fell. Due to a secret deal between Aurelian and the Gallic emperor Tetricus I and his son Tetricus II, the Gallic army was massacred while the two were allowed to live. This saved face for the two, and in exchange Aurelian went so far as to give them important positions in Italy.

Related Topics:
Palmyra - Zenobia - Aurelian - Tetricus I - Tetricus II

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