Sommer, Michael Soldatenkaiser

The Roman Empire was on the brink of collapse in the 3rd century AD: militarily, politically, socially and fiscally. Was it a "world crisis" that the ancient Mediterranean region suffered under the soldier emperors? This volume traces the various aspects and attempts an interpretation: it was not a crisis affecting all areas of life that shook the Roman world empire, but revolutionary changes outside the empire that required military reactions and shook the old order of the principate. The "soldier emperors" - many of these emperors, who were consistently raised by the army, were anything but uncivilised swashbucklers - faced the challenges of their age in a typically Roman, tradition-bound and yet innovative manner, and thus created a new empire.

Michael Sommer studied Ancient History, Classical Philology, Scientific Politics, Modern and Contemporary History as well as Near Eastern Archaeology in Freiburg, Basel, Bremen and Perugia, taught in Liverpool and has been Professor of Ancient History at the University of Oldenburg since 2012. His research focuses on the Imperium Romanum, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Phoenicians. He has published numerous books, including "Der römische Orient. Between the Mediterranean and the Tigris" (2006), "The Roman Emperors. Herrschaft und Alltag" (2010) and "Narren im Purpur. Lebensbilder aus der Antike" (2012).