When we think of Rome’s enemies, we often picture barbarians storming the frontiers or Persians marching with exotic banners. In the 3rd century AD, those enemies weren’t just at the gates — they were reshaping the empire itself. For me as a novelist, writing about Rome’s enemies is less about faceless hordes and more about understanding the pressures that nearly broke the empire.
## Who Were Rome’s Enemies?
The 3rd century saw threats on almost every border:
– The Goths and other Germanic tribes pressing into the Balkans, sacking cities, and even raiding as far as Asia Minor.
– The Alamanni and Franks threatening Gaul and Italy.
– The Sassanian Persians, led by Shapur I, humiliating Rome by capturing Emperor Valerian alive.
– Breakaway Empires like the Gallic Empire in the west and Palmyra in the east — not technically “foreign,” but internal rivals that fractured Rome’s unity.
Rome’s enemies weren’t monolithic. They were diverse, opportunistic, and often motivated by survival as much as conquest.
## Beyond the “Barbarian” Label
Ancient Roman writers often dismissed outsiders as barbari — crude, savage, inferior. But archaeology tells a more complex story. The Goths had their own social structures, the Persians commanded a sophisticated empire, and groups like the Alamanni were adapting Roman tactics to fight Rome itself.
As a writer, this complexity matters. I don’t want to paint Rome’s enemies as faceless villains. They were people with families, ambitions, and strategies of their own. To understand Rome’s crisis, we need to understand those who challenged it.
## The Human Cost of Conflict
Writing about enemies also means writing about the ordinary people caught between them. A Gothic raid wasn’t just a clash of warriors; it meant farmers losing crops, towns abandoned, and refugees flooding safer regions. The empire’s borders weren’t abstract lines on a map — they were lived realities for those in their shadow.
In my novels, I try to capture that tension: the fear in a frontier village, the clash of languages in a market, the uneasy truce between Roman and outsider when trade was more profitable than war.
## Why They Matter to the Story
Rome’s enemies define the stakes. Without them, Gallienus’ reforms, Valerian’s capture, or the empire’s survival would make less sense. They provide the pressure that forced Rome to adapt. They also give readers a broader view: history isn’t just about what Rome did, but about the interactions — violent or otherwise — between Rome and the world around it.
## My Takeaway as a Writer
Writing about Rome’s enemies has taught me to look past stereotypes. Conflict is never just “us versus them.” It’s about competing needs, fears, and ambitions. By giving Rome’s enemies depth, I give Rome itself sharper contrast.
## Reader’s Corner
When you read historical fiction, do you prefer enemies to be painted as dark foils for the heroes, or do you enjoy seeing their complexity and humanity revealed?
This article was developed with the assistance of ChatGPT, an AI language model by OpenAI
