Editing 3rd century (section)

{{Short description|One hundred years, from 201 to 300}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2019}}
{{centurybox|3}}
[[Image:East-Hem 200ad.jpg|thumb|300px|Eastern Hemisphere at the beginning of the 3rd century AD.]]
[[Image:World map 250 CE.png|thumb|300px|Map of the world in AD 250.]]
[[Image:East-Hem 300ad.jpg|thumb|300px|Eastern Hemisphere at the end of the 3rd century AD.]]
The '''3rd century''' was the period from AD [[201]] (represented by the [[Roman numerals]] CCI) to AD 300 (CCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar.

In this century, the [[Roman Empire]] saw a [[Crisis of the Third Century|crisis]], starting with the assassination of the Roman Emperor [[Severus Alexander]] in 235, plunging the empire into a period of economic troubles, barbarian incursions, political upheavals, civil wars, and the split of the Roman Empire through the [[Gallic Empire]] in the west and the [[Palmyrene Empire]] in the east, which all together threatened to destroy the Roman Empire in its entirety, but the reconquests of the seceded territories by Emperor [[Aurelian]] and the stabilization period under Emperor [[Diocletian]] due to the administrative strengthening of the empire caused an end to the crisis by 284. This crisis would also mark the beginning of [[Late Antiquity]]. While in North Africa, Roman rule continued with growing Christian influence, particularly in the region of Carthage.

In Persia, the [[Parthian Empire]] was succeeded by the [[Sassanid Empire]] in 224 after [[Ardashir I]] defeated and killed [[Artabanus V of Parthia|Artabanus V]] during the [[Battle of Hormozdgan]]. The Sassanids then went on to subjugate many of the western portions of the declining [[Kushan Empire]]. In Africa the most significant event was the rise of the Aksumite Empire in what is now Ethiopia, which experienced significant military expansion and became a major trading hub in northeast Africa.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-29 |title=Aksum {{!}} History, Map, Empire, & Definition {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Aksum-ancient-kingdom-Africa |access-date=2024-12-03 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

In China, the [[End of the Han dynasty|chaos]] that had been raging since 189 would ultimately continue to persist with the decisive defeat of [[Cao Cao]] at the [[Battle of Red Cliffs]] in 208, which would increasingly end the hopes of unification and lead to the tripartite division of China into three main empires; [[Shu Han|Shu]], [[Eastern Wu|Wu]], and [[Cao Wei|Wei]], colloquially known as the [[Three Kingdoms]] period, which started in 220 with the formal abdication of [[Emperor Xian of Han]] to Cao Cao's son, [[Cao Pi]], thereby founding Wei, which would go on to [[Conquest of Shu by Wei|conquer Shu]] in 263, but would ultimately be united again under the [[Jin dynasty (265-420)|Jin dynasty]], headed by the [[Emperor Wu of Jin|Sima clan]], who would usurp Wei in 266, and [[Conquest of Wu by Jin|conquer Wu]] in 280.

In other parts of the world, Korea was ruled by the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]], Japan entered the [[Kofun period]] and the Southeast Asian mainland was mostly dominated by [[Funan]], the first kingdom of the [[Khmer people]]. In [[Indian subcontinent|India]], the [[Gupta Empire]] was on the rise towards the end of the century. In [[1st millennium in North American history|Pre-Columbian America]], the [[Adena culture]] of the [[Ohio River]] valley declined in favor of the [[Hopewell culture]]. The [[Maya civilization]] entered its [[Mesoamerican chronology#Classic Era|Classic Era]].