Page "Crisis of the Third Century" Paragraph 15

With the onset of the Crisis of the Third Century, however, this vast internal trade network broke down.

The widespread civil unrest made it no longer safe for merchants to travel as they once had, and the financial crisis that struck made exchange very difficult with the debased currency.

This produced profound changes that, in many ways, would foreshadow the very decentralized economic character of the coming Middle Ages.