Casey Gray Hakim | 2025 I.S. Symposium

Name: Casey Gray Hakim
Title: How the Roman World was Restored; an Analysis of the Last Decades of the Crisis of the Third Century
Majors: Ancient Mediterranean Studies; Global & International Studies
Minor: French & Francophone Studies
Advisors: Madonna Hettinger; Josephine Shaya

This Independent Study examines the military recovery and political stabilization of the Roman empire from 260 to 283 AD. My project seeks to answer the following questions: How did Roman fortunes rebound so quickly during this turbulent period and what was the broader historical significance of the era, which I term the Late Crisis. To research this subject, I carefully read several ancient sources, most importantly the Historia Augusta and Zosimus’ New History, and dozens of modern publications on third-century Roman history and many related topics. The most important work for this period is David Potter’s The Roman Empire at Bay, AD 180-395. Potter contended that the third and fourth centuries can broadly be understood as a period of decline caused by poor leadership and a weakening military. I conclude that within this period, the Late Crisis represented a temporary reversal of the trend. While their economic policies were not always successful, I argue that Late Crisis emperors restored Roman dominance over neighboring territories because of an effective military doctrine pioneered by the emperor Gallienus in the 260’s and mastered in the 270’s by subsequent emperors Aurelian and Probus.

I was drawn to the Late Crisis because it stands out amidst two centuries of slow decline, and because many of the historical figures who lived during this period had personalities that were larger than life (especially the emperor Aurelian). Were I to follow up this study, I would more thoroughly research the economic policy of the emperor Probus, which is an obscure but extremely interesting subject.

Posted in Symposium 2025 on May 1, 2025.