Peter Heather

I believe it is.

I think you need some backstory.

I think you need to understand how the imperial system is working in the fourth century at the verge of the outbreak of the process of unraveling or whatever you want to call it.

Because I think if you don't understand, well, the process of unraveling is dictated, the precise nature of it, by the way that the empire works.

And if you don't understand how the empire works, you're not going to understand the process of unraveling.

The third century crisis is really interesting because in part it's caused by the Romans' own success story.

What they've done is turn the provincial populations everywhere from Britain into Iraq into Romans.

So, you know, the Brits have stopped painting themselves blue.

They're learning Latin.

They're living in villas.

They're wearing togas.

They're in the imperial system, and they want more from it.

So the success of Romanization policies, self-Romanization in the first 200 years, creates a lot of political voices who want a share in the system.

And the third century crisis is very substantially...

The internal side of it is about these provincial voices wanting a share in the system.

It's also caused by the rise of a Persian superpower next door.

Absolutely the first time.

Iraq and Iran.

So southern Iraq and Iran.

So it's the two combined.