Image and Reality of Roman Imperial Power in the Third Century AD focuses on the wide range of available sources of Roman imperial power in the period AD 193-284, ranging from literary and economic texts, to coins and other artefacts.

List of maps; Preface; Abbreviations; Maps; CHAPTER I : Introduction; 1. The Roman Empire about AD 200; 2. Power, ancient and modern; 3. Available sources; Literary texts; Juridical texts; Inscriptions, coins, and papyrus texts; Archaeological evidence; 1.4 Status quaestionis; CHAPTER II: Wars; 2.1 Escalation, crisis, and recovery; 2.2 The Severan era from AD 193 to 230; 2.3 Escalation: the years 231-249; 2.4 Crisis: the years 249-268; 2.5 Recovery: the years 268-284; 2.6 Conclusions; CHAPTER III: Economic sources of imperial power, AD 193-284; 3.1 Introduction; 3.2 Tax territories; 3.3 Mining; 3.4 Imperial domains; 3.5 Debasement of the imperial coinage; 3.6 Conclusions; CHAPTER IV: Sources of military and political imperial power, AD 193-284; 4.1 Introduction; 4.2 Sources of military power; 4.3 Networks and administrative personnel; - Changing appointment policies; - The local level; - The emperor's bureaucracy; 4.4 Conclusions; CHAPTER V: Ideological sources of imperial power; 5.1 Introduction; 5.2 Good imperial behavior and general goodwill; 5.3 A permanent potential for victory; 5.4 Dynastic claims; 5.5 Infant emperors; 5.6 Divine associations; CHAPTER VI: Conclusions; Bibliography; Index