The Roman Empire From Severus To Constantine -

The silver content of Roman coins dropped to nearly zero.

Constantine legalized Christianity, moving it from a persecuted cult to the favored religion of the state.

For fifty years, the Roman Empire was a revolving door of "Barracks Emperors"—generals who were declared emperors by their troops only to be murdered months later. The empire faced a "perfect storm" of disasters: The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine

The collapse was halted by , a pragmatic reformer who realized the empire was too large for one man to rule. He established the Tetrarchy (Rule of Four), dividing the empire into Eastern and Western halves, each governed by an "Augustus" and a junior "Caesar."

The empire physically broke apart into three pieces: the Gallic Empire in the west, the Palmyrene Empire in the east, and the Roman core. Diocletian and the Tetrarchy (284–305 AD) The silver content of Roman coins dropped to nearly zero

Germanic tribes crossed the Rhine and Danube, while the Sassanid Persians pressured the East.

The Cyprian Plague decimated the workforce and the army. The empire faced a "perfect storm" of disasters:

Diocletian stabilized the economy through price edicts and reorganized the military into mobile field armies. However, he is also remembered for the "Great Persecution," a final, violent attempt to suppress the rising tide of Christianity and restore traditional Roman values.