3rd century

The 3rd century is the period from to  in accordance with the  in the.

Overview
After the death of Commodus in the previous century the Roman Empire was plunged into a civil war. When the dust settled, emerged as emperor, establishing the  dynasty. Unlike previous emperors, he openly used the army to back his authority, and paid them well to do so. The regime he created is known as the as a result. The system fell apart in the s, giving way to a fifty-year period known as the Military Anarchy or the, where no fewer than twenty emperors held the reins of power, most for only a few months. The majority of these men were assassinated, or killed in battle, and the empire almost collapsed under the weight of the political upheaval, as well as the growing threat in the east. Under its new Sassanid rulers, Persia had grown into a rival superpower, and the Romans would have to make drastic reforms in order to better prepare their state for a confrontation. These reforms were finally realized late in the century under the reign of, one of them being to divide the empire into an eastern and western half, and have a separate ruler for each.

Events



 * 208: the Chinese naval occurs
 * 212: grants  to all free Roman men
 * 212–216:
 * 220: The comes to an end with establish of the Wei Dynasty.
 * 230–232: of Persia launches a war to reconquer lost lands in the Roman east
 * 235–284: shakes
 * 250–538:, the first part of the in
 * 258: 's Massacre of Christians
 * 260: Roman is taken captive by  of Persia
 * 184–280: Period of the in China
 * 280–420: of China
 * becomes a center of arts in
 * Diffusion of as a food crop from  into  begins
 * The Kingdom of reaches its zenith under the rule of
 * The move from  to  and she the

Significant persons

 * , emperor
 * , wrote Arithmetica
 * , considered first
 * , Chinese mathematician
 * , founder of
 * , Greek mathematician
 * , founder of
 * , sometimes called father of Latin church
 * , restorer of the in
 * , known as the greatest strategist during the period of the
 * , founding emperor of the
 * , founding emperor of the
 * , known as the greatest strategist during the period of the
 * , founding emperor of the
 * , founding emperor of the

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

 * A primitive form of were developed for a nearsighted princess in.
 * The invented by, a wheeled mechanical device that acts as a directional