A Century of Disorder 175 ensued. In this tempest of anarchy during the third century of our era the civilization of the ancient world fell into final ruin. The leadership of intelligence and of scientific knowledge won by the Greeks in the third century B.C. yielded to the reign of igno- rance and superstition in these disasters of the third century of the Christian Era. Such turmoil sadly weakened the Roman army. The Northern barbarians were quick to perceive the helplessness of the Empire. They crossed the frontiers almost at will and penetrated far into Greece and Italy ; in the West they overran Gaul and Spain, and some of them even crossed to Africa. Moreover, on Rome's eastern boundary the Parthians were overthrown (A.D. 226) by a new and enlightened Persian dynasty, the Sassanids, who took possession of the Fertile Crescent and made Persia a dangerous rival of Rome. Their capital was Ctesi- phon on the Tigris. III. THE ROMAN EMPIRE BECOMES AN ORIENTAL DESPOTISM 277. Reign of Diocletian (A.D. 234-305) ; Oriental Pomp. A little more than a century after the death of Marcus Aurelius, the emperor Diocletian managed to restore what promised to be a lasting peace (A.D. 284). The Roman world under Diocletian was a totally different one from that which Augustus and the Roman Senate had ruled three centuries before. Diocletian de- prived the shadowy Senate of all power except that of governing the city of Rome. Reduced to a mere City Council, it then dis- appeared from the stage of history. With the unlimited power of an oriental despot the emperor now assumed also its outward symbols, the diadem, the gorgeous robe embroidered with pearls and precious stones, the throne and footstool, before which all who came into his presence must bow down to the dust. This pomp offered a great contrast to the earlier simplicity of Roman rulers. Long regarded as a divinity, the emperor had now become an oriental sun-god, and he. was officially called the "Invincible Sun."
