Final answer:
Soon after the death of Marcus Aurelius, Rome faced a period of conflict, confusion, and civil wars that marked a phase of political instability and transformation. These issues were part of the larger Crisis of the Third Century, which included rapid changes in leadership, economic problems, and disruptions due to continuous conflicts.
Step-by-step explanation:
After the death of Marcus Aurelius in A.D. 180, Rome faced multiple problems that contributed to a period of instability. These included a period of conflict, a period of confusion, and several periods of civil war. Following decades of territorial expansion, Rome entered into a phase where these issues presaged the political transformations that the empire would suffer through in subsequent decades.
The demise of Rome's political stability commenced during the Crises of the Roman Republic when internal strife, coupled with an increase in slave populations which led to unemployment, triggered populist movements and societal unease. Consequently, the third century, in particular, was plagued by the Crisis of the Third Century characterized by the rapid succession of emperors, foreign pressure on Roman borders, civil unrest, economic turmoil due to inflation, and disruption to commerce and daily life.