Changes

The inability of the Romans to defend their borders was related to socio-economic factors. A pandemic had decimated the Imperial territories in the 250s and 260s and this led to population decline. The plague according to Gibbon, ‘five thousand persons died daily in Rome, and many towns, that had escaped the hands of the barbarians, were entirely depopulated’ depopulated.’<ref>Gibbon, I, chapter 8</ref>. This had serious repercussions as the army found it harder to recruit legionnaires and the tax base was much reduced, which led to serious economic dislocation. Then as we have seen climate change reduced the yield of agricultural surplus and this led to the near collapse of long-distance trade. Then the constant tax demands of the Emperors added to the dire situation in many provinces. All of these compounded the difficulties facing Rome and weakened its ability to defend itself against the Persians and Germans. However, the economic and social decline of the Empire should not be overstated, as seen in its revival under the Illyrian Emperors.