In a Tuesday thread posted to X, user 'Culture Critic' (@Culture_Crit) posted a deep dive into the unraveling of the Rome in the 3rd century. Let's jump in;

When Augustus slowed the expansion of the empire, wealth stopped flowing from conquered lands into the treasury. Managing expenditures (construction, armies, bureaucracy) became increasingly difficult.

Whenever costs exceeded tax income, emperors minted new coins to cover it. Mining precious metals increased the supply of gold and silver coinage.