Rome Split Into Three Empires Long Before It Split Into Two
The Crisis of the Third Century
The year 476 CE will always be associated with the Fall of Rome. It was this year that the Western Roman Empire crumbled for good, and the Roman torch passed forever to Constantinople in the East. However, Rome nearly collapsed two centuries earlier during the Crisis of the Third Century. This political crisis saw the Roman Empire break into three distinct pieces. Like the US Civil War, various states seceded from Rome and tried to form new states independent of Rome.
The Roman Empire split into three distinct states. The empire broke out into the Palmyrene Empire, the Gallic Empire, and the Roman Empire. The Palmyrene Empire and the Gallic Empire are largely forgotten, but their influence on Rome and the history that follows can still be seen and felt.
The Palmyrene Empire was based out of the city of Palmyra and contained most of the eastern lands, including Syria and the Holy Land. The Gallic Empire contained all of Roman Gaul, Britannia, and, for a brief time, Spain.
In a different world, this civil war succeeds, and Rome splits into various parts far sooner than it did in our reality. Instead, a massive military campaign and a tremendous force of will brought the empire back together with a slew of lasting…
