Although its golden age had long passed, the Roman Empire was still a prosperous and militarily formidable state at the turn of the fourth century. The famed Pax Romana – the century between the reign of Trajan (98 - 117) and that of Severus Alexander (222 - 235), which corresponded to the apogee of Roman civilization – continued to evoke nostalgia in the collective memory of the Empire’s inhabitants. However, internal order was frequently disrupted by heated confrontations between Paganism and Christianity, as well as amongst the various nascent Christian factions themselves. The enemies of the Empire, such as the Germanic confederations and the Persians, who were undergoing a militaristic revival, were by now exerting a permanent and increasing pressure
