Crisis of the 3rd Century · War Crimes & Atrocities
The Crisis of the Third Century fell heavily on civilians. Raiders sacked cities across the Balkans, Greece, and Asia Minor; Sasanian armies captured eastern cities and deported inhabitants; and the Roman state launched empire-wide demands for religious sacrifice that led to imprisonment, coercion, and executions of Christians. The Plague of Cyprian caused severe mortality, but its total toll cannot be reconstructed from surviving evidence.
Victims: Christians across the Roman Empire(The number executed is uncertain but ran into the thousands; far more were imprisoned, tortured, or forced to apostatise.)
20,000+
deaths
Victims: The people of Greece and Asia Minor(The seaborne Gothic raids sacked many cities and killed and enslaved large numbers; precise figures do not survive.)
15,000+
deaths
Victims: The populations of Antioch and the eastern cities(Beyond those killed in the storming of cities, tens of thousands of captives were deported to Persia; the total is unknown.)