After Caracalla's death, the Roman throne became a joke. The army appointed whomever it pleased as emperor.
And in 218 AD, the Syrian army sent a 14-year-old boy to Rome. He wasn't from an ancient Roman family, but rather a Syrian priest of the sun god (Elagabal).
His name was Elagabalus.
Roman historians were astonished to see him. He dressed like a girl, not a boy. He applied kohl to his eyes, blush to his cheeks, and danced around in silken clothes.
He brought with him a Black Stone. It was a meteorite. He replaced Jupiter, Rome's greatest god, and declared:
"From now on, this Black Stone is Rome's greatest god."
He married Rome's most sacred priestess (Vestal Virgin), who was forbidden to marry. This was the greatest spectacle in Roman religion.
His behavior was so strange that today's psychologists might consider him transgender. He promised Roman doctors a lot of money and said:
"Can you make me a woman through surgery?"
He presented himself as a prostitute in the palace and solicited clients. He would roll naked on piles of rose petals. He once showered so many flowers and petals on his guests from the ceiling that some died of suffocation.
The Roman public and army felt that enough was enough. This boy would destroy Rome.
His own grandmother, Julia Maesa, plotted to have him killed.
At the age of 18, Elagabalus was found hiding in a latrine. Soldiers slit his throat. His corpse was dragged through the streets of Rome and then thrown into the sewer of the Tiber River.
Rome breathed a sigh of relief. But the relief did not last long.
The next 50 years were hell for Rome. This period is known as the "Crisis of the Third Century."
From 235 AD to 284 AD:
26 emperors changed. Almost every one was killed by his own soldiers.
Inflation: The silver content of Roman coins dropped from 90% to just 2%. Money became worthless. People began bartering again.
Plague of Cyprian: Disease devastated cities.
The Falling Empire: Rome split into three parts:
In the West: The Gallic Empire (France/Britain).
In the east: Palmyra Empire (Syria/Egypt).
In the middle: Remnant of Rome.
In the east, Palmyra had a queen—Zenobia.
She considered herself a descendant of Cleopatra. She was very beautiful and brave. She led her army on foot, not on horseback. She conquered Egypt and stopped grain shipments to Rome. Rome began to starve.
Rome needed a superhero. And he arrived.
His name was Aurelian.
He was a tough soldier. His hand was always on the hilt of his sword. He was called "Aurelian with the Hand" (Manu ad ferrum).
He ruled for only five years (270-275 AD), but in those five years, he performed miracles.
He disciplined his army (anyone who made a mistake was punished).
He built a massive wall around the city of Rome—the Aurelian Walls. (This wall still stands in Rome today). This was proof that Rome was no longer safe and needed a wall to stop enemies.
He defeated Queen Zenobia in the East. She was brought to Rome in golden chains (but not killed; she was allowed to live in a good house).
He defeated the Gallic Empire in the West.
He reunited a broken Rome (like Fevicol). The Senate gave him the title "Restitutor Orbis," meaning "Rebuilder of the World."
But Rome's disease—betrayal—did not spare him either.
One of Aurelian's corrupt secretaries made a mistake and, fearing the emperor would punish him, forged a list to save his own life. The list contained the names of officers Aurelian was (allegedly) going to kill.
The secretary showed the list to the officers. They were terrified. They thought Aurelian had gone mad.
When Aurelian stopped to urinate, his own generals surrounded him and stabbed him with swords.
Rome's defender was killed because of a lie.
But Aurelian had strengthened Rome so much that it did not collapse completely. Now what was needed was a man who would change this system. One who would understand that it was impossible for one man to control the entire world.
That man was Diocletian.
284 AD. Upon arriving, Diocletian said:
"This empire is too big. One man cannot be in both the East and the West at the same time."
He divided the empire into two parts:
Eastern Roman Empire: Capital Nicomedia (Turkey). Language: Greek.
Western Roman Empire: Capital: Milan (Italy). Language: Latin. (Yes, Rome was no longer the capital; it was merely a symbol).
And he began the Tetrarchy, meaning "rule of four."
2 major emperors (Augustus)
2 minor emperors (Caesar)
Diocletian imposed price control to curb inflation. He doubled his army. He persecuted Christians (The Great Persecution), burning their churches and destroying religious scriptures.
He ruled for 20 years. And then he did something no other emperor in Roman history had done.
305 AD. The Plain of Nicomedia.
Diocletian took off his purple robe in front of his army and people. He laid down his crown.
He said, "I am tired. I am retiring now."
He went to his village (Croatia) and started farming there.
When civil war broke out again in Rome a few years later and people went to call him back, Diocletian showed them his fields and said:
"If you could see how well I grew cabbages with my own hands, you would never have asked me to return to that dirty politics."
As soon as Diocletian retired, the system of the "Four Emperors" he had created fell apart like a house of cards. Everyone started fighting for the throne again.
In this struggle, a young general from the West emerged. His father was a "Caesar" (younger emperor).
His name was Constantine.
312 AD. Constantine led his army towards Rome. He was to face Maxentius. Maxentius had a much larger army. Constantine was worried.
The night before the battle, Constantine had a dream (or saw a sign in the sky).
He saw a cross or 'Chi-Rho' sign in the sky, and below it was written in Greek:
"En Touto Nika"
(In this sign, you shall conquer.)
This was the sign of Jesus Christ. The very religion that the Roman emperors had been trying to eradicate for 300 years.
Constantine ordered his soldiers, "Paint the sign of Christ on your shields!"
The next day, battle broke out at the Milvian Bridge.
Constantine's army, bearing the mark of Christ, attacked the enemy. Maxentius' army, in a stampede, fell into the Tiber River. Maxentius himself drowned along with his heavy armor.
Constantine won.
And this victory changed the history of the entire world.
Rome, once pagan and worshiping Jupiter and Mars, was now on its way to becoming Christian.
Constantine made another major decision. He said, "The city of Rome has become old. There are too many intrigues there. I need a new capital. A new Rome."
He chose Byzantium, a small Greek city in the East. He built a magnificent city there: golden domes, large churches, and strong walls.
He named it Constantinople. (Today's Istanbul).
The heart of Rome had now moved from Italy to Turkey.
But after Constantine's death, his sons began fighting again. And this time the threat came from outside. A storm was brewing from the forests of the north. A people that no one could stop.
These were the Huns.
And their king was Attila the Hun, known as the "Scourge of God."
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