The Rise and Fall of the North African Empire

The 4th century empire had fewer people and was less wealthy overall than it had been during the solid days of Trajan and Hadrian. North Africa, though, came out of the crisis of the 3rd century into a burst of economic growth. Why? Because we see a huge expansion in exports to Italy in the 4th century. At its core, this success was driven by the requirements of the state, but also produced a tremendous infrastructure that allowed private business to flourish as well.