Editing Crisis of the Third Century (section)

=== Natural disasters ===
The first and most immediately disastrous of the natural disasters that the Roman Empire faced during the Third Century was the plague. The 2nd-century [[Antonine Plague]] that preceded the Crisis of the Third Century sapped manpower from Roman armies and proved disastrous for the [[Roman economy]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sabbatani |first1=S. |last2=Fiorino |first2=S. |date=December 2009 |title=The Antonine Plague and the decline of the Roman Empire |journal=Le Infezioni in Medicina: Rivista Periodica di Eziologia, Epidemiologia, Diagnostica, Clinica e Terapia delle Patologie Infettive |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=261–275 |issn=1124-9390 |pmid=20046111}}</ref> From 249 to 262, the [[Plague of Cyprian]] devastated the Roman Empire to such a degree that some cities, such as the [[Alexandria|city of Alexandria]], experienced a 62% decline in population.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bernett |first=Rich |date=2020-08-22 |title=Systemic Problems that Led to the Crisis of the Third Century |url=https://www.wondriumdaily.com/systemic-problems-that-led-to-the-crisis-of-the-third-century/ |access-date=2023-01-12 |website=Wondrium Daily |language=en-US}}</ref> These plagues greatly hindered the Roman Empire's ability to ward off barbarian invasions but also factored into problems such as [[famine]], with many farms becoming abandoned and unproductive.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harper |first=Kyle |date=2017-11-01 |title=Solving the Mystery of an Ancient Roman Plague |language=en-US |work=The Atlantic |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/11/solving-the-mystery-of-an-ancient-roman-plague/543528/ |url-status=live |access-date=2018-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121010741/https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/11/solving-the-mystery-of-an-ancient-roman-plague/543528/ |archive-date=2018-01-21}}</ref>

A second and longer-term natural disaster that took place during the third century was the increased variability of weather. Drier summers meant less [[agricultural productivity]] and more extreme weather events led to agricultural instability. This could also have contributed to the increased barbarian pressure on Roman borders, as they too would have experienced the detrimental effects of climate change and sought to push inward to more productive areas of the Mediterranean region.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Büntgen |first1=Ulf |last2=Tegel |first2=Willy |last3=Nicolussi |first3=Kurt |last4=McCormick |first4=Michael |last5=Frank |first5=David |last6=Trouet |first6=Valerie |last7=Kaplan |first7=Jed |last8=Herzig |first8=Franz |last9=Heussner |first9=Karl-Uwe |last10=Wanner |first10=Heinz |last11=Luterbacher |first11=Jürg |last12=Esper |first12=Jan |date=13 January 2011 |title=2500 Years of European Climate Variability and Human Susceptibility |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1197175 |archive-url= |journal=Science |volume=331 |issue=6017 |pages=578–582 |doi=10.1126/science.1197175 |pmid=21233349 |bibcode=2011Sci...331..578B |language=en-US}}</ref>