The Crisis of the Third Century as Viewed through the Planning and Energetics of the Aurelian Wall

Abstract

The Aurelian Wall represents the largest construction project of the Third Century Crisis, an era of political, social, and economic unrest that nearly proved fatal to the cohesion of the Roman Empire. Investigations of the period have often omitted the economic aspects of the Crisis, a failure that leads to misunderstandings and incorrect conclusions; this paper thus utilizes the method of Architectural Energetics upon the physical artifact of the Aurelian Wall in order to remedy such uneven coverage. In the utilization of this method, the Wall's processes of production and construction are elaborated and quantified in detail, following earlier applications. Additionally, the work examines the planning work done by Aurelian and his closest advisors, in an investigation of the Wall that promises to offer insight into the fundamental problems of the day. Final conclusions favor the adoption of the Wall's creation as a watershed moment in imperial politics, one that defines the nature of the subsequent era.