Six Emperors in One Year | Rome’s Deadliest Power Struggle

How unstable can an empire become before it finally breaks? For Rome in the year 238 AD, the answer was simple: unstable enough to crown six different emperors in a single year — and kill five of them before it was over.

Power in the Roman Empire was never just a title. It was the ultimate prize — the difference between obscurity and godhood, between command over legions and a knife in the dark. But in 238 AD, that prize became a curse. The imperial purple stopped being a symbol of authority and instead became a death sentence.

In our new video, Six Emperors in One Year | Rome’s Deadliest Power Struggle, we dive into one of the most chaotic chapters in Roman history — a whirlwind of tax revolts, assassinations, sieges, civil war, and political betrayal that pushed the empire to the brink.

A spark in Africa ignites an empire-wide crisis

It all began not in Rome, but on the empire’s wealthy North African frontier.

A brutal tax collector pushed local elites too far.
A mob formed.
Blood was spilled.
And suddenly, rebellion was the only way forward.

To save themselves, the rebels turned to an elderly governor — Gordian I — and dragged his reluctant son into power beside him. For a brief moment, it seemed the Senate and people had their champions…

…until trained legionaries arrived and reality came crashing down.

Their reign lasted just 22 days.

The tyrant, the senators, and the child emperor

Hovering over all of this was Maximinus Thrax — the massive frontier general-turned-emperor who ruled through fear, heavy taxation, and the loyalty of his soldiers.

As the rebellion spread, the Senate made its own desperate move: they appointed two co-emperors, Pupienus and Balbinus, to stand against him. One was a battle-hardened commander. The other, a cultured aristocrat.

It sounded clever on paper.

In reality, Rome was now ruled by:

• a tyrant marching south
• two uneasy co-emperors in the capital
• and a 13-year-old boy, Gordian III, declared heir to calm the angry crowds

Then came the siege of Aquileia, starvation in the camps, soldiers losing faith — and a tent soaked in betrayal.

The year Rome learned who really held the power

In just a few months, the empire cycled through:

• Maximinus Thrax
• Gordian I
• Gordian II
• Pupienus
• Balbinus
• Gordian III

Only the child survived the year.

The real winners were neither the Senate nor the people — but the Praetorian Guard, Rome’s kingmakers, who reminded the world where ultimate power truly lay.

This was more than political chaos. It was a warning sign of something deeper: the coming Crisis of the Third Century, a fifty-year storm of invasions, plagues, civil wars, economic collapse, and emperors dying faster than coins could be minted with their faces.

Watch the full story

Our video brings this year of chaos to life — from the Thracian giant on the frontier to the terrified boy emperor lifted onto a bloodstained throne.

🎥 Watch here:

Join the discussion

After watching, tell us in the comments:

Which of these six emperors do you think had the strongest — or most legitimate — claim to the throne?

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