About the book: 1999 / The book is the result of many years of research by the author, one of the most difficult periods in the history of Ancient Rome. It examines those aspects of the socio-political development of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century. n. e., which are the subject of dispute among modern scholars of antiquity. Based on evidence from historical sources, the author shows the role of the most important political institutions of the Romans - the Senate and the army - in the socio-political life of the Roman state in the 3rd century. n. e., tries to resolve the issue of the legitimacy of the assertions of antiquists regarding provincial separatism in the empire in the crisis century of its history, offers a new interpretation of a number of theoretical aspects of the problem of the crisis of the 3rd century in the Roman Empire.