Diocletian (Latin:Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus Augustus ; c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was aRoman Emperor
from 284 to 305. Born to a family
of low status in theRoman province of Dalmatia
, Diocletian rose through the ranks of the military to become cavalry commander to the EmperorCarus
. After the deaths of Carus and his sonNumerian
on campaign in Persia, Diocletian was proclaimed Emperor. The title was also claimed by Carus' other surviving son,Carinus
, but Diocletian defeated him in theBattle of the Margus
. Diocletian's reign stabilized the Empire and marks the end of theCrisis of the Third Century
. He appointed fellow officer Maximian
Augustus
his senior co-emperor in 285.
Diocletian delegated further on 1 March 293, appointingGalerius
andConstantius
asCaesars
, junior co-emperors. Under this "Tetrarchy",
or "rule of four", each emperor would rule over a quarter-division of
the Empire. Diocletian secured the Empire's borders and purged it of all
threats to his power. He defeated theSarmatians
andCarpi
during several campaigns between 285 and 299, theAlamanni
in 288, and usurpers inEgypt
between 297 and 298. Galerius, aided by Diocletian, campaigned successfully againstSassanid Persia
, the Empire's traditional enemy. In 299 he sacked their capital,Ctesiphon
. Diocletian led the subsequent negotiations and achieved a lasting and
favorable peace. Diocletian separated and enlarged the Empire's civil
and military services and reorganized the Empire's provincial divisions,
establishing the largest and mostbureaucratic
government in the history of the Empire. He established new administrative centers inNicomedia
,Mediolanum
,Antioch
, andTrier
, closer to the Empire's frontiers than the traditional capital at Rome had been. Building on third-century trends towards absolutism
, he styled himself an autocrat, elevating himself above the Empire's
masses with imposing forms of court ceremonies and architecture.
Bureaucratic and military growth, constant campaigning, and construction
projects increased the state's expenditures and necessitated a
comprehensive tax reform. From at least 297 on, imperial taxation was
standardized, made more equitable, and levied at generally higher rates.
Not all of Diocletian's plans were successful: the
Edict on Maximum Prices
(301), his attempt to curb inflation
viaprice controls
, was counterproductive and quickly ignored. Although effective while he
ruled, Diocletian's Tetrarchic system collapsed after his abdication
under the competing dynastic claims ofMaxentius
andConstantine
, sons of Maximian and Constantius respectively. TheDiocletianic Persecution
(303–11), the Empire's last, largest, and bloodiest official persecution ofChristianity
, did not destroy the Empire's Christian community; indeed, after 324
Christianity became the empire's preferred religion under its first
Christian emperor,Constantine
.
In spite of his failures, Diocletian's reforms fundamentally changed
the structure of Roman imperial government and helped stabilize the
Empire economically and militarily, enabling the Empire to remain
essentially intact for another hundred years despite being near the
brink of collapse in Diocletian's youth. Weakened by illness, Diocletian
left the imperial office on 1 May 305, and became the only Roman
emperor to voluntarily abdicate the position. He lived out his
retirement inhis palace
on the Dalmatian coast, tending to his vegetable gardens. His palace eventually became the core of the modern-day city ofSplit
.
Early life
Diocletian was probably born nearSalona
inDalmatia
(Solin
in modern Croatia
), some time around 244. His parents named him Diocles, or possibly Diocles Valerius. The modern historianTimothy Barnes
takes his official birthday, 22 December, as his actual birthdate.
Other historians are not so certain. Diocles' parents were of low
status, and writers critical of him claimed that his father was a scribe
or afreedman
of the senator Anullinus, or even that Diocles was a freedman himself.
The first forty years of his life are mostly obscure. TheByzantine
chroniclerJoannes Zonaras
states that he was
Dux
Moesiae
, a commander of forces on the lowerDanube
. The often-unreliable
Historia Augusta
states that he served in Gaul, but this account is not corroborated
by other sources and is ignored by modern historians of the period.
Death of Numerian
Emperor Carus
' death left his unpopular sons Numerian and Carinus as the new Augusti .
Carinus quickly made his way to Rome from Gaul and arrived by January
284. Numerian lingered in the east. The Roman withdrawal from Persia was
orderly and unopposed. TheSassanid
kingBahram II
could not field an army against them as he was still struggling to
establish his authority. By March 284, Numerian had only reached Emesa (Homs)
inSyria
; by November, only Asia Minor. In Emesa he was apparently still alive and in good health: he issued the only extantrescript
in his name there, but after he left the city, his staff, including the prefectAper
, reported that he suffered from an inflammation of the eyes. He traveled in a closed Coach from then on. When the army reached Bithynia
, some of the soldiers smelled an odor emanating from the Coach. They opened its curtains and inside they found Numerian dead.
Aper officially broke the news inNicomedia
(İzmit) in November. Numerianus' generals
and tribunes called a council for the succession, and chose Diocles as
Emperor, in spite of Aper's attempts to garner support. On 20 November
284, the army of the east gathered on a hill 5 kilometres (3.1 mi)
outside Nicomedia. The army unanimously saluted Diocles as their new
Augustus, and he accepted the purple imperial vestments. He raised his
sword to the light of the sun and swore an oath disclaiming
responsibility for Numerian's death. He asserted that Aper had killed
Numerian and concealed it. In full view of the army, Diocles drew his
sword and killed Aper. According to theHistoria Augusta , he quoted fromVirgil
while doing so. Soon after Aper's death, Diocles changed his name to
the more Latinate "Diocletianus", in full Gaius Aurelius Valerius
Diocletianus.
Conflict with Carinus
After his accession, Diocletian and Lucius Caesonius Bassus were named as consuls and assumed the
fasces
in place of Carinus and Numerianus. Bassus was a member of asenatorial
family fromCampania
, a former consul and proconsul of Africa, chosen by Probus for signal
distinction. He was skilled in areas of government where Diocletian
presumably had no experience. Diocletian's elevation of Bassus as consul
symbolized his rejection of Carinus' government in Rome, his refusal to
accept second-tier status to any other emperor, and his willingness to
continue the long-standing collaboration between the Empire's senatorial
and military aristocracies. It also tied his success to that of the
Senate, whose support he would need in his advance on Rome.
Diocletian was not the only challenger to Carinus' rule: the usurperM. Aurelius Julianus
, Carinus' corrector Venetiae , took control of northernItaly
andPannonia
after Diocletian's accession. Julianus minted coins from the mint at Siscia (Sisak,
Croatia) declaring himself as Emperor and promising freedom. It was all
good publicity for Diocletian, and it aided in his portrayal of Carinus
as a cruel and oppressive tyrant. Julianus' forces were weak, however,
and were handily dispersed when Carinus' armies moved from Britain to
northern Italy. As leader of the united East, Diocletian was clearly the
greater threat. Over the winter of 284–85, Diocletian advanced west
across theBalkans
. In the spring, some time before the end of May, his armies met Carinus' across the river Margus (Great Morava) inMoesia
. In modern accounts, the site has been located between the Mons Aureus (Seone, west ofSmederevo
) andViminacium
, near modernBelgrade
, Serbia.
Despite having the stronger army, Carinus held the weaker position.
His rule was unpopular, and it was later alleged that he had mistreated
the Senate and seduced his officers' wives. It is possible thatFlavius Constantius
, the governor of Dalmatia and Diocletian's associate in the household
guard, had already defected to Diocletian in the early spring. When theBattle of the Margus
began, Carinus' prefect Aristobulus also defected. In the course of the
battle, Carinus was killed by his own men. Following Diocletian's
victory, both the western and the eastern armies acclaimed him Augustus.
Diocletian exacted an oath of allegiance from the defeated army and
departed for Italy.
Early rule
Diocletian may have become involved in battles against theQuadi
andMarcomanni
immediately after the Battle of the Margus. He eventually made his way
to northern Italy and made an imperial government, but it is not known
whether he visited the city of Rome at this time. There is a
contemporary issue of coins suggestive of an imperial
adventus
(arrival) for the city, but some modern historians state that
Diocletian avoided the city, and that he did so on principle, as the
city and its Senate were no longer politically relevant to the affairs
of the Empire and needed to be taught as much. Diocletian dated his
reign from his elevation by the army, not the date of his ratification
by the Senate, following the practice established by Carus, who had
declared the Senate's ratification a useless formality. If Diocletian
ever did enter Rome shortly after his accession, he did not stay long;
he is attested back in the Balkans by 2 November 285, on campaign
against theSarmatians
.
Diocletian replaced theprefect
of Rome with his consular colleague Bassus. Most officials who had
served under Carinus, however, retained their offices under Diocletian.
In an act of clementia denoted by the epitomatorAurelius Victor
as unusual, Diocletian did not kill or depose Carinus' traitorous
praetorian prefect and consul Ti. Claudius Aurelius Aristobulus, but
confirmed him in both roles. He later gave him the proconsulate of
Africa and the rank of urban prefect. The other figures who retained
their offices might have also betrayed Carinus.
Maximian made co-emperor
Maximian's consistent loyalty to Diocletian proved an important component of the Tetrarchy's early successes.
The assassinations ofAurelian
and Probus demonstrated that sole rulership was dangerous to the
stability of the Empire. Conflict boiled in every province, from Gaul to
Syria, Egypt to the lower Danube. It was too much for one person to
control, and Diocletian needed a lieutenant. At some time in 285 atMediolanum
(Milan), Diocletian raised his fellow-officerMaximian
to the office ofCaesar
, making him co-emperor.
The concept of dual rulership was nothing new to the Roman Empire.Augustus
, the first Emperor, had nominally shared power with his colleagues, and more formal offices of co-Emperor had existed fromMarcus Aurelius
on. Most recently, the emperor Carus and his sons had ruled together,
albeit unsuccessfully. Diocletian was in a less comfortable position
than most of his predecessors, as he had a daughter, Valeria, but no
sons. His co-ruler had to be from outside his family, raising the
question of trust. Some historians state that Diocletian adopted
Maximian as his filius Augusti , his "Augustan son", upon his
appointment to the throne, following the precedent of some previous
emperors. This argument has not been universally accepted.
The relationship between Diocletian and Maximian was quickly couched
in religious terms. Around 287 Diocletian assumed the title Iovius , and Maximian assumed the title Herculius . The titles were probably meant to convey certain characteristics of their associated leaders. Diocletian, inJovian
style, would take on the dominating roles of planning and commanding; Maximian, inHerculian
mode, would act as Jupiter's
heroic subordinate. For all their religious connotations, the emperors were not "gods" in the tradition of theImperial cult
—although they may have been hailed as such in Imperialpanegyrics
. Instead, they were seen as the gods' representatives, effecting their
will on earth. The shift from military acclamation to divine
sanctification took the power to appoint emperors away from the army.
Religious legitimization elevated Diocletian and Maximian above
potential rivals in a way military power and dynastic claims could not.
Conflict with Sarmatia and Persia
After his acclamation, Maximian was dispatched to fight the rebelBagaudae
in Gaul. Diocletian returned to the East, progressing slowly. By 2 November, he had only reached Citivas Iovia (Botivo, near Ptuj
,Slovenia
). In the Balkans during the autumn of 285, he encountered a tribe ofSarmatians
who demanded assistance. The Sarmatians requested that Diocletian
either help them recover their lost lands or grant them pasturage rights
within the Empire. Diocletian refused and fought a battle with them,
but was unable to secure a complete victory. The nomadic pressures of
theEuropean Plain
remained and could not be solved by a single war; soon the Sarmatians would have to be fought again.
Diocletian wintered inNicomedia
. There may have been a revolt in the eastern provinces at this time, as he brought settlers fromAsia
to populate emptied farmlands inThrace
. He visitedSyria Palaestina
the following spring, His stay in the East saw diplomatic success in the conflict with Persia: in 287,Bahram II
granted him precious gifts, declared open friendship with the Empire,
and invited Diocletian to visit him. Roman sources insist that the act
was entirely voluntary.
Around the same time, perhaps in 287, Persia relinquished claims onArmenia
and recognized Roman authority over territory to the west and south of
the Tigris. The western portion of Armenia was incorporated into the
Empire and made a province.Tiridates III
,Arsacid
claimant to the Armenian throne and Roman client, had been disinherited
and forced to take refuge in the Empire after the Persian conquest of
252-53. In 287, he returned to lay claim to the eastern half of his
ancestral domain and encountered no opposition. Bahram II's gifts were
widely recognized as symbolic of a victory in the ongoingconflict with Persia
, and Diocletian was hailed as the "founder of eternal peace". The
events might have represented a formal end to Carus' eastern campaign,
which probably ended without an acknowledged peace. At the conclusion of
discussions with the Persians, Diocletian re-organized the Mesopotamian
frontier and fortified the city ofCircesium
(Buseire, Syria) on theEuphrates
.
Maximian made Augustus
Maximian's campaigns were not proceeding as smoothly. The Bagaudae had been easily suppressed, butCarausius
, the man he had put in charge of operations against Saxon
andFrankish
pirates
on theSaxon Shore
, had begun keeping the goods seized from the pirates for himself.
Maximian issued a death-warrant for his larcenous subordinate. Carausius
fled the Continent, proclaimed himself Augustus, and agitated Britain
and northwestern Gaul into open revolt against Maximian and Diocletian.
Spurred by the crisis, on 1 April 286, Maximian took up the title ofAugustus
. His appointment is unusual in that it was impossible for Diocletian to
have been present to witness the event. It has even been suggested that
Maximian usurped the title and was only later recognized by Diocletian
in hopes of avoiding civil war. This suggestion is unpopular, as it is
clear that Diocletian meant for Maximian to act with a certain amount of
independence.
Maximian realized that he could not immediately suppress the rogue
commander, so in 287 he campaigned solely against tribes beyond theRhine
instead. The following spring, as Maximian prepared a fleet for an
expedition against Carausius, Diocletian returned from the East to meet
Maximian. The two emperors agreed on a joint campaign against theAlamanni
. Diocletian invaded Germania through Raetia while Maximian progressed
from Mainz. Each emperor burned crops and food supplies as he went,
destroying the Germans' means of sustenance. The two men added territory
to the Empire and allowed Maximian to continue preparations against
Carausius without further disturbance. On his return to the East,
Diocletian managed what was probably another rapid campaign against the
resurgent Sarmatians. No details survive, but surviving inscriptions
indicate that Diocletian took the title Sarmaticus Maximus after 289.
In the East, Diocletian engaged in diplomacy with desert tribes in
the regions between Rome and Persia. He might have been attempting to
persuade them to ally themselves with Rome, thus reviving the old,
Rome-friendly,Palmyrene
sphere of influence
, or simply attempting to reduce the frequency of their incursions. No
details survive for these events. Some of the princes of these states
were Persian client kings, a disturbing fact in light of increasing
tensions with the Sassanids. In the West, Maximian lost the fleet built
in 288 and 289, probably in the early spring of 290. Thepanegyrist
who refers to the loss suggests that its cause was a storm, but this
might simply be the an attempt to conceal an embarrassing military
defeat. Diocletian broke off his tour of the Eastern provinces soon
thereafter. He returned with haste to the West, reaching Emesa by 10 May
290, and Sirmium on the Danube by 1 July 290.
Diocletian met Maximian in Milan in the winter of 290–91, either in
late December 290 or January 291. The meeting was undertaken with a
sense of solemn pageantry. The Emperors spent most of their time in
public appearances. It has been surmised that the ceremonies were
arranged to demonstrate Diocletian's continuing support for his
faltering colleague. A deputation from the Roman Senate met with the
Emperors, renewing its infrequent contact with the Imperial office. The
choice of Milan over Rome further snubbed the capital's pride. But then
it was already a long established practice that Rome itself was only a
ceremonial capital, as the actual seat of the Imperial administration
was determined by the needs of defense. Long before Diocletian,Gallienus
(r. 253–68) had chosen Milan as the seat of his headquarters. If the
panegyric detailing the ceremony implied that the true center of the
Empire was not Rome, but where the Emperor sat ("...the capital of the
Empire appeared to be there, where the two emperors met"), it simply
echoed what had already been stated by the historianHerodian
in the early third century: "Rome is where the emperor is". During the
meeting, decisions on matters of politics and war were probably made in
secret. The Augusti would not meet again until 303.
Tetrarchy
Foundation of the Tetrarchy
Triumphal Arch of the Tetrarchy,
Sbeitla
,
Tunisia
Some time after his return, and before 293, Diocletian transferred command of the war against Carausius from Maximian toConstantius Chlorus
, a former governor of Dalmatia and a man of military experience stretching back toAurelian
's campaigns againstZenobia
(272–73). He was Maximian's praetorian prefect in Gaul, and the husband to Maximian's daughter,Theodora
. On 1 March 293 at Milan, Maximian gave Constantius the office of Caesar. In the spring of 293, in either Philippopolis (Plovdiv,Bulgaria
) or Sirmium, Diocletian would do the same for Galerius
, husband to Diocletian's daughter Valeria, and perhaps Diocletian's
praetorian prefect. Constantius was assigned Gaul and Britain. Galerius
was assigned Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and responsibility for the eastern
borderlands.
This arrangement is called the Tetrarchy, from aGreek
term meaning "rulership by four". The Tetrarchic Emperors were more or
less sovereign in their own lands, and they travelled with their own
imperial courts, administrators, secretaries, and armies. They were
joined by blood and marriage; Diocletian and Maximian now styled
themselves as brothers. The senior co-Emperors formally adopted Galerius
and Constantius as sons in 293. These relationships implied a line of
succession. Galerius and Constantius would become Augusti after the
departure of Diocletian and Maximian. Maximian's sonMaxentius
and Constantius' sonConstantine
would then become Caesars. In preparation for their future roles,
Constantine and Maxentius were taken to Diocletian's court in Nicomedia.
Conflict in the Balkans and Egypt
Diocletian spent the spring of 293 traveling with Galerius from Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica,Serbia
) toByzantium
(Istanbul,Turkey
). Diocletian then returned to Sirmium, where he would remain for the
following winter and spring. He campaigned against the Sarmatians again
in 294, probably in the autumn, and won a victory against them. The
Sarmatians' defeat kept them from the Danube provinces for a long time.
Meanwhile, Diocletian built forts north of the Danube, atAquincum
(Budapest,Hungary
), Bononia (Vidin, Bulgaria), Ulcisia Vetera, Castra Florentium, Intercisa (Dunaújváros, Hungary), and Onagrinum (Begeč, Serbia). The new forts became part of a new defensive line called the Ripa Sarmatica .
In 295 and 296 Diocletian campaigned in the region again, and won a
victory over the Carpi in the summer of 296. Afterwards, during 299 and
302, as Diocletian was then residing in the East, it was Galerius' turn
to campaign victoriously on the Danube. By the end of his reign,
Diocletian had secured the entire length of the Danube, provided it with
forts, bridgeheads, highways, and walled towns, and sent fifteen or
more legions to patrol the region; an inscription atSexaginta Prista
on the Lower Danube extolled restored tranquilitas at the region. The defense came at a heavy cost, but was a significant achievement in an area difficult to defend.
Galerius, meanwhile, was engaged during 291–293 in disputes inUpper Egypt
, where he suppressed a regional uprising. He would return to Syria in
295 to fight the revanchist Persian Empire. Diocletian's attempts to
bring the Egyptian tax system in line with Imperial standards stirred
discontent, and a revolt swept the region after Galerius' departure. The
usurperL. Domitius Domitianus
declared himself Augustus in July or August 297. Much of Egypt, includingAlexandria
, recognized his rule. Diocletian moved into Egypt to suppress him, first putting down rebels in theThebaid
in the autumn of 297, then moving on to besiege Alexandria. Domitianus
died in December 297, by which time Diocletian had secured control of
the Egyptian countryside. Alexandria, whose defense was organized under
Diocletian's former
corrector
Aurelius Achilleus
, held out until a later date, probably March 298.
Bureaucratic affairs were completed during Diocletian's stay: a
census took place, and Alexandria, in punishment for its rebellion, lost
the ability to mint independently. Diocletian's reforms in the region,
combined with those ofSeptimus Severus
, brought Egyptian administrative practices much closer to Roman
standards. Diocletian travelled south along the Nile the following
summer, where he visitedOxyrhynchus
andElephantine
. In Nubia, he made peace with theNobatae
andBlemmyes
tribes. Under the terms of the peace treaty Rome's borders moved north toPhilae
and the two tribes received an annual gold stipend. Diocletian left
Africa quickly after the treaty, moving from Upper Egypt in September
298 to Syria in February 299. He met up with Galerius in Mesopotamia.
War with Persia
Invasion, counterinvasion
In 294, Narseh
, a son of Shapur who had been passed over for the Sassanid succession, came to power in Persia. Narseh eliminatedBahram III
, a young man installed in the wake of Bahram II's death in 293. In
early 294, Narseh sent Diocletian the customary package of gifts between
the empires, and Diocletian responded with an exchange of ambassadors.
Within Persia, however, Narseh was destroying every trace of his
immediate predecessors from public monuments. He sought to identify
himself with the warlike kingsArdashir
(r. 226–41) andShapur I
(r. 241–72), who had sacked Roman Antioch and skinned the EmperorValerian
(r. 253–260) to decorate his war temple.
Narseh declared war on Rome in 295 or 296. He appears to have first
invaded western Armenia, where he seized the lands delivered to
Tiridates in the peace of 287. Narseh moved south into Roman Mesopotamia
in 297, where he inflicted a severe defeat on Galerius in the region
between Carrhae (Harran, Turkey) and Callinicum (Ar-Raqqah, Syria) (and thus, the historianFergus Millar
notes, probably somewhere on theBalikh River
). Diocletian may or may not have been present at the battle, but he
quickly divested himself of all responsibility. In a public ceremony at
Antioch, the official version of events was clear: Galerius was
responsible for the defeat; Diocletian was not. Diocletian publicly
humiliated Galerius, forcing him to walk for a mile at the head of the
Imperial caravan, still clad in the purple robes of the Emperor.
Galerius was reinforced, probably in the spring of 298, by a new
contingent collected from the Empire's Danubian holdings. Narseh did not
advance from Armenia and Mesopotamia, leaving Galerius to lead the
offensive in 298 with an attack on northern Mesopotamia via Armenia. It
is unclear if Diocletian was present to assist the campaign; he might
have returned to Egypt or Syria. Narseh retreated to Armenia to fight
Galerius' force, to Narseh's disadvantage; the rugged Armenian terrain
was favorable to Roman infantry, but not to Sassanid cavalry. In two
battles, Galerius won major victories over Narseh. During thesecond encounter
, Roman forces seized Narseh's camp, his treasury, his harem, and his
wife. Galerius continued moving down the Tigris, and took the Persian
capital Ctesiphon before returning to Roman territory along the
Euphrates.
Peace negotiations
Narseh sent an ambassador to Galerius to plead for the return of his
wives and children in the course of the war, but Galerius had dismissed
him. Serious peace negotiations began in the spring of 299. The magister memoriae
(secretary) of Diocletian and Galerius, Sicorius Probus, was sent to Narseh to present terms. The conditions of the resultingPeace of Nisibis
were heavy: Armenia returned to Roman domination, with the fort of Ziatha as its border;Caucasian Iberia
would pay allegiance to Rome under a Roman appointee; Nisibis, now
under Roman rule, would become the sole conduit for trade between Persia
and Rome; and Rome would exercise control over the five satrapies
between the Tigris and Armenia: Ingilene, Sophanene (Sophene), Arzanene (Aghdznik),Corduene
(Carduene), and Zabdicene (near modernHakkâri
, Turkey). These regions included the passage of the Tigris through theAnti-Taurus
range; theBitlis
pass, the quickest southerly route into Persian Armenia; and access to theTur Abdin
plateau.
A stretch of land containing the later strategic strongholds of Amida (Diyarbakır,
Turkey) and Bezabde came under firm Roman military occupation. With
these territories, Rome would have an advance station north of
Ctesiphon, and would be able to slow any future advance of Persian
forces through the region. Many cities east of the Tigris came under
Roman control, includingTigranokert
,Saird
,Martyropolis
,Balalesa
,Moxos
,Daudia
, and Arzan – though under what status is unclear. At the conclusion of
the peace, Tiridates regained both his throne and the entirety of his
ancestral claim. Rome secured a wide zone of cultural influence, which
led to a wide diffusion ofSyriac Christianity
from a center at Nisibis in later decades, and the eventual Christianization of Armenia.
Religious persecutions
Early persecutions
At the conclusion of thePeace of Nisibis
, Diocletian and Galerius returned to Syrian Antioch. At some time in 299, the Emperors took part in a ceremony of sacrifice
anddivination
in an attempt to predict the future. The haruspices
were unable to read the entrails of the sacrificed animals and blamed
Christians in the Imperial household. The Emperors ordered all members
of the court to perform a sacrifice to purify the palace. The Emperors
sent letters to the military command, demanding the entire army perform
the required sacrifices or face discharge. Diocletian was conservative
in matters of religion, a man faithful to the traditional Roman pantheon
and understanding of demands for religious purification, butEusebius
,Lactantius
andConstantine
state that it was Galerius, not Diocletian, who was the prime supporter
of the purge, and its greatest beneficiary. Galerius, even more devoted
and passionate than Diocletian, saw political advantage in the politics
of persecution. He was willing to break with a government policy of
inaction on the issue.
Antioch was Diocletian's primary residence from 299 to 302, while
Galerius swapped places with his Augustus on the Middle and Lower
Danube. He visited Egypt once, over the winter of 301–2, and issued a
grain dole in Alexandria. Following some public disputes withManicheans
, Diocletian ordered that the leading followers ofMani
be burnt alive along with their scriptures. In a 31 March 302 rescript
from Alexandria, he declared that low-status Manicheans must be executed
by the blade, and high-status Manicheans must be sent to work in the
quarries of Proconnesus (Marmara Island, Turkey) or the mines of Phaeno in southernPalestine
. All Manichean property was to be seized and deposited in the imperial
treasury. Diocletian found much to be offended by in Manichean religion:
its novelty, its alien origins, the way it corrupted the morals of the
Roman race, and its inherent opposition to long-standing religious
traditions. Manichaeanism was also supported by Persia at the time,
compounding religious dissent with international politics. Excepting
Persian support, the reasons he disliked Manichaenism were equally
applicable, if not more so, to Christianity, his next target.
Great Persecution
Diocletian returned to Antioch in the autumn of 302. He ordered that thedeacon
Romanus of Caesarea
have his tongue removed for defying the order of the courts and
interrupting official sacrifices. Romanus was then sent to prison, where
he was executed on 17 November 303. Diocletian believed that Romanus of
Caesarea was arrogant, and he left the city for Nicomedia in the
winter, accompanied by Galerius. According to Lactantius, Diocletian and
Galerius entered into an argument over imperial policy towards
Christians while wintering at Nicomedia in 302. Diocletian argued that
forbidding Christians from the bureaucracy and military would be
sufficient to appease the gods, but Galerius pushed for extermination.
The two men sought the advice of the oracle
ofApollo
atDidyma
. The oracle responded that the impious on Earth hindered Apollo's
ability to provide advice. Rhetorically Eusebius records the Oracle as
saying "The just on Earth..." These impious, Diocletian was informed by
members of the court, could only refer to the Christians of the Empire.
At the behest of his court, Diocletian acceded to demands for universal
persecution.
On 23 February 303, Diocletian ordered that the newly built church at
Nicomedia be razed. He demanded that its scriptures be burned, and
seized its precious stores for the treasury. The next day, Diocletian's
first "Edict against the Christians" was published. The edict ordered
the destruction of Christian scriptures and places of worship across the
Empire, and prohibited Christians from assembling for worship. Before
the end of February, a fire destroyed part of the Imperial palace.
Galerius convinced Diocletian that the culprits were Christians,
conspirators who had plotted with theeunuchs
of the palace. An investigation was commissioned, but no responsible
party was found. Executions followed anyway, and the palace eunuchs
Dorotheus andGorgonius
were executed. One individual,Peter Cubicularius
, was stripped, raised high, and scourged. Salt and vinegar were poured in his wounds, and he wasslowly boiled
over an open flame. The executions continued until at least 24 April 303, when six individuals, including the bishop
Anthimus
, weredecapitated
. A second fire occurred sixteen days after the first. Galerius left the
city for Rome, declaring Nicomedia unsafe. Diocletian would soon
follow.
Although further persecutionary edicts followed, compelling the
arrest of the Christian clergy and universal acts of sacrifice, the
persecutionary edicts were ultimately unsuccessful; most Christians
escaped punishment, and pagans too were generally unsympathetic to the
persecution. Themartyrs
' sufferings strengthened the resolve of their fellow Christians.
Constantius and Maximian did not apply the later persecutionary edicts,
and left the Christians of the West unharmed. Galerius rescinded the
edict in 311, announcing that the persecution had failed to bring
Christians back to traditional religion. The temporary apostasy of some
Christians, and the surrendering of scriptures, during the persecution
played a major role in the subsequentDonatist
controversy. Within twenty-five years of the persecution's
inauguration, the Christian Emperor Constantine would rule the empire
alone. He would reverse the consequences of the edicts, and return all
confiscated property to Christians. Under Constantine's rule,
Christianity would become the Empire's preferred religion. Diocletian
was demonized by his Christian successors: Lactantius intimated that
Diocletian's ascendancy heralded the apocalypse, and inSerbian mythology
, Diocletian is remembered asDukljan
, theadversary
ofGod.
Later life
Illness and abdication
Diocletian entered the city of Rome in the early winter of 303. On 20
November, he celebrated, with Maximian, the twentieth anniversary of
his reign (vicennalia ), the tenth anniversary of the Tetrarchy (decennalia ),
and a triumph for the war with Persia. Diocletian soon grew impatient
with the city, as the Romans acted towards him with whatEdward Gibbon
, followingLactantius
, calls "licentious familiarity". The Roman people did not give enough
deference to his supreme authority; it expected him to act the part of
an aristocratic ruler, not a monarchic one. On 20 December 303,
Diocletian cut short his stay in Rome and left for the north. He did not
even perform the ceremonies investing him with his ninth consulate; he
did them in Ravenna
on 1 January 304 instead. There are suggestions in the
Panegyrici Latini
and Lactantius' account that Diocletian arranged plans for his and
Maximian's future retirement of power in Rome. Maximian, according to
these accounts, swore to uphold Diocletian's plan in a ceremony in theTemple of Jupiter
.
From Ravenna, Diocletian left for the Danube. There, possibly in
Galerius' company, he took part in a campaign against the Carpi. He
contracted a minor illness while on campaign, but his condition quickly
worsened and he chose to travel in alitter
. In the late summer he left for Nicomedia. On 20 November, he appeared
in public to dedicate the opening of the circus beside his palace. He
collapsed soon after the ceremonies. Over the winter of 304–5 he kept
within his palace at all times. Rumors alleging that Diocletian's death
was merely being kept secret until Galerius could come to assume power
spread through the city. On 13 December, he seemed to have finally died.
The city was sent into a mourning from which it was only retrieved by
public declarations of his survival. When Diocletian reappeared in
public on 1 March 305, he was emaciated and barely recognizable.
Galerius arrived in the city later in March. According to Lactantius,
he came armed with plans to reconstitute the Tetrarchy, force
Diocletian to step down, and fill the Imperial office with men compliant
to his will. Through coercion and threats, he eventually convinced
Diocletian to comply with his plan. Lactantius also claims that he had
done the same to Maximian at Sirmium. On 1 May 305, Diocletian called an
assembly of his generals, traditional companion troops, and
representatives from distant legions. They met at the same hill, 5
kilometres (3.1 mi) out of Nicomedia, where Diocletian had been
proclaimed emperor. In front of a statue of Jupiter, his patron deity,
Diocletian addressed the crowd. With tears in his eyes, he told them of
his weakness, his need for rest, and his will to resign. He declared
that he needed to pass the duty of Empire on to someone stronger. He
thus became the first Roman Emperor to voluntarily abdicate his title.
Most in the crowd believed they knew what would follow;Constantine
and Maxentius, the only adult sons of a reigning Emperor, men who had
long been preparing to succeed their fathers, would be granted the title
of Caesar. Constantine had traveled through Palestine at the right hand
of Diocletian, and was present at the palace in Nicomedia in 303 and
305. It is likely that Maxentius received the same treatment. In
Lactantius' account, when Diocletian announced that he was to resign,
the entire crowd turned to face Constantine. It was not to be:Severus
andMaximin
were declared Caesars. Maximin appeared and took Diocletian's robes. On
the same day, Severus received his robes from Maximian in Milan.
Constantius succeeded Maximian as Augustus of the West, but Constantine
and Maxentius were entirely ignored in the transition of power. This did
not bode well for the future security of the Tetrarchic system.
Retirement and death
Diocletian retired to his homeland,Dalmatia
. He moved into the expansiveDiocletian's Palace
, a heavily fortified compound located by the small town of Spalatum on the shores of theAdriatic Sea
, and near the large provincial administrative center ofSalona
. The palace is preserved in great part to this day and forms the historic core of the largest city of modernSplit
,Croatia
.
Maximian retired to villas inCampania
orLucania
. Their homes were distant from political life, but Diocletian and
Maximian were close enough to remain in regular contact with each other.
Galerius assumed the consular fasces in 308 with Diocletian as his colleague. In the autumn of 308, Galerius again conferred with Diocletian atCarnuntum
(Petronell-Carnuntum,Austria
). Diocletian and Maximian were both present on 11 November 308, to see Galerius appointLicinius
to be Augustus in place of Severus, who had died at the hands of
Maxentius. He ordered Maximian, who had attempted to return to power
after his retirement, to step down permanently. At Carnuntum people
begged Diocletian to return to the throne, to resolve the conflicts that
had arisen through Constantine's rise to power and Maxentius'
usurpation. Diocletian's reply: "If you could show thecabbage
that I planted with my own hands to your emperor, he definitely
wouldn't dare suggest that I replace the peace and happiness of this
place with the storms of a never-satisfied greed."
He lived on for three more years, spending his days in his palace
gardens. He saw his Tetrarchic system fail, torn by the selfish
ambitions of his successors. He heard of Maximian's third claim to the
throne, his forced suicide, his
damnatio memoriae
. In his own palace, statues and portraits of his former companion
emperor were torn down and destroyed. Deep in despair and illness,
Diocletian may have committedsuicide
. He died on 3 December 311.
Reforms
Tetrarchic and ideological
Modern view of
Diocletian's Palace
near
Salona
(in
Split
,
Croatia
)
Diocletian saw his work as that of a restorer, a figure of authority
whose duty it was to return the empire to peace, to recreate stability
and justice where barbarian hordes had destroyed it. He arrogated,
regimented and centralized political authority on a massive scale. In
his policies, he enforced an Imperial system of values on diverse and
often unreceptive provincial audiences. In the Imperial propaganda from
the period, recent history was perverted and minimized in the service of
the theme of the Tetrarchs as "restorers". Aurelian's achievements were
ignored, the revolt of Carausius was backdated to the reign of
Gallienus, and it was implied that the Tetrarchs engineered Aurelian's
defeat of thePalmyrenes
; the period between Gallienus and Diocletian was effectively erased.
The history of the empire before the Tetrarchy was portrayed as a time
of civil war, savage despotism, and imperial collapse. In those
inscriptions that bear their names, Diocletian and his companions are
referred to as "restorers of the whole world", men who succeeded in
"defeating the nations of the barbarians, and confirming the tranquility
of their world". Diocletian was written up as the "founder of eternal
peace". The theme of restoration was conjoined to an emphasis on the
uniqueness and accomplishments of the Tetrarchs themselves.
The cities where Emperors lived frequently in this period—Milan,Trier
,Arles
, Sirmium,Serdica
,Thessaloniki
, Nicomedia, andAntioch
—were treated as alternate imperial seats, to the exclusion of Rome and
its senatorial elite. A new style of ceremony was developed, emphasizing
the distinction of the Emperor from all other persons. The
quasi-republican ideals of Augustus'
primus inter pares
were abandoned for all but the Tetrarchs themselves. Diocletian took to wearing a gold crown and jewels, and forbade the use ofpurple cloth
to all but the Emperors. His subjects were required to prostrate themselves in his presence (adoratio ); the most fortunate were allowed the privilege of kissing the hem of his robe (proskynesis ,
προσκύνησις). Circuses and basilicas were designed to keep the face of
the Emperor perpetually in view, and always in a seat of authority. The
emperor became a figure of transcendent authority, a man beyond the grip
of the masses. His every appearance was stage-managed. This style of
presentation was not new—many of its elements were first seen in the
reigns of Aurelian and Severus—but it was only under the Tetrarchs that
it was refined into an explicit system.
Administrative
In keeping with his move from an ideology of republicanism to one of autocracy, Diocletian's council of advisers, his consilium ,
differed from those of earlier Emperors. He destroyed the Augustan
illusion of imperial government as a cooperative affair between Emperor,
Army, and Senate. In its place he established an effectively autocratic
structure, a shift later epitomized in the institution's name: it would
be called a consistorium
("consistory"), not a council. Diocletian regulated his court by distinguishing separate departments (scrina ) for different tasks. From this structure came the offices of different magistri , like the Magister officiorum
("Master of offices"), and associated secretariats. These were men
suited to dealing with petitions, requests, correspondence, legal
affairs, and foreign embassies. Within his court Diocletian maintained a
permanent body of legal advisers, men with significant influence on his
re-ordering of juridical affairs. There were also two finance
ministers, dealing with the separate bodies of the public treasury and
the private domains of the Emperor, and the praetorian prefect, the most
significant person of the whole. Diocletian's reduction of the
Praetorian Guards to the level of a simple city garrison for Rome
lessened the military powers of the prefect, but the office retained
much civil authority. The prefect kept a staff of hundreds and managed
affairs in all segments of government: in taxation, administration,
jurisprudence, and minor military commands, the praetorian prefect was
often second only to the emperor himself.
Altogether, Diocletian effected a large increase in the number of
bureaucrats at the government's command; Lactantius was to claim that
there were now more men using tax money than there were paying it. The
historian Warren Treadgold estimates that under Diocletian the number of
men in thecivil service
doubled from 15,000 to 30,000. The classicistRoger Bagnall
estimated that there was one bureaucrat for every 5–10,000 people in
Egypt based on 400 or 800 bureaucrats for 4 million inhabitants (no one
knows the population of the province in 300 AD; Strabo 300 years earlier
put it at 7.5 million, excluding Alexandria). (By comparison, the ratio
intwelfth-century China
was one bureaucrat for every 15,000 people.) Jones estimated 30,000
bureaucrats for an empire of 50–65 million inhabitants, which works out
to approximately 1,667 or 2,167 inhabitants per imperial official as
averages empire-wide. The actual numbers of officials and ratios per
inhabitant varied, of course, per diocese depending on the number of
provinces and population within a diocese. Provincial and diocesan paid
officials (there were unpaid supernumeraries) numbered about 13–15,000
based on their staff establishments as set by law. The other 50% were
with the emperor(s) in his or their Comitatus, with the praetorian
prefects, with the grain supply officials in the capital (later, the
capitals, Rome and Constantinople), Alexandria, and Carthage and
officials from the central offices located in the provinces.
To avoid the possibility of local usurpations, to facilitate a more
efficient collection of taxes and supplies, and to ease the enforcement
of the law, Diocletian doubled the number ofprovinces
from fifty to almost one hundred. The provinces were grouped into twelvedioceses
, each governed by an appointed official called a
vicarius
, or "deputy of the praetorian prefects". Some of the provincial
divisions required revision, and were modified either soon after 293 or
early in the fourth century. Rome herself (including her environs, as
defined by a 100 miles (160 km)-radius
perimeter
around the City itself) was not under the authority of the praetorian
prefect, as she was to be administered by a City Prefect of senatorial
rank – the sole prestigious post with actual power reserved exclusively
for senators, except for some governors in Italy with the titles of
corrector and the proconsuls of Asia and Africa. The dissemination of
imperial law to the provinces was facilitated under Diocletian's reign,
because Diocletian's reform of the Empire's provincial structure meant
that there were now a greater number of governors (praesides )
ruling over smaller regions and smaller populations. Diocletian's
reforms shifted the governors' main function to that of the presiding
official in the lower courts: whereas in the early Empire military and
judicial functions were the function of governor, andprocurators
had supervised taxation; under the new system vicarii and governors were responsible for justice and taxation, and a new class of
duces ("dukes"), acting
independently of the civil service, had military command. These dukes
sometimes administered two or three of the new provinces created by
Diocletian, and had forces ranging from two thousand to more than twenty
thousand men. In addition to their roles as judges and tax collectors,
governors were expected to maintain the postal service (cursus publicus ) and ensure that town councils fulfilled their duties.
This curtailment of governors' powers as the Emperors'
representatives may have lessened the political dangers of an
all-too-powerful class of Imperial delegates, but it also severely
limited governors' ability to oppose local landed elites. On one
occasion, Diocletian had to exhort a proconsul of Africa not to fear the
consequences of treading on the toes of the local magnates of
senatorial rank. If a governor of senatorial rank himself felt these
pressures, one can imagine the difficulties faced by a mere praeses .
Legal
As with most Emperors, much of Diocletian's daily routine rotated
around legal affairs—responding to appeals and petitions, and delivering
decisions on disputed matters. Rescripts, authoritative interpretations
issued by the Emperor in response to demands from disputants in both
public and private cases, were a common duty of second- and
third-century Emperors. Diocletian was awash in paperwork, and was
nearly incapable of delegating his duties. It would have been seen as a
dereliction of duty to ignore them. Diocletian's praetorian
prefects—Afranius Hannibalianus, Julius Asclepiodotus, andAurelius Hermogenianus
—aided in regulating the flow and presentation of such paperwork, but
the deep legalism of Roman culture kept the workload heavy. Emperors in
the forty years preceding Diocletian's reign had not managed these
duties so effectively, and their output in attested rescripts is low.
Diocletian, by contrast, was prodigious in his affairs: there are around
1,200 rescripts in his name still surviving, and these probably
represent only a small portion of the total issue. The sharp increase in
the number of edicts and rescripts produced under Diocletian's rule has
been read as evidence of an ongoing effort to realign the whole Empire
on terms dictated by the imperial center.
Under the governance of thejurists
Gregorius, Aurelius Arcadius Charisius, and Hermogenianus, the imperial government began issuing official books ofprecedent
, collecting and listing all the rescripts that had been issued from the reign ofHadrian
(r. 117–38) to the reign of Diocletian. TheCodex Gregorianus
includes rescripts up to 292, which theCodex Hermogenianus
updated with a comprehensive collection of rescripts issued by
Diocletian in 293 and 294. Although the very act of codification was a
radical innovation, given the precedent-based design of the Roman legal
system, the jurists were generally conservative, and constantly looked
to past Roman practice and theory for guidance. They were probably given
more free rein over their codes than the later compilers of the
Codex Theodosianus
(438) and
Codex Justinianus
(529) would have. Gregorius and Hermogenianus' codices lack the
rigid structuring of later codes, and were not published in the name of
the emperor, but in the names of their compilers.
After Diocletian's reform of the provinces, governors were called iudex , or judge
. The governor became responsible for his decisions first to his
immediate superiors, as well as to the more distant office of the
Emperor. It was most likely at this time that judicial records became
verbatim accounts of what was said in trial, making it easier to
determine bias or improper conduct on the part of the governor. With
these records and the Empire's universal right ofappeal
, Imperial authorities probably had a great deal of power to enforce
behavior standards for their judges. In spite of Diocletian's attempts
at reform, the provincial restructuring was far from clear, especially
when citizens appealed the decisions of their governors. Proconsuls, for
example, were often both judges of first instance and appeal, and the
governors of some provinces took appellant cases from their neighbors.
It soon became impossible to avoid taking some cases to the Emperor for
arbitration and judgment. Diocletian's reign marks the end of the
classical period of Roman law. Where Diocletian's system of rescripts
shows an adherence to classical tradition, Constantine's law is full of
Greek and eastern influences.
Military
It is archaeologically difficult to distinguish Diocletian's
fortifications from those of his successors and predecessors. The
Devil's Dyke, for example, the Danubian earthworks traditionally
attributed to Diocletian, cannot even be securely dated to a particular
century. The most that can be said about built structures under
Diocletian's reign is that he rebuilt and strengthened forts at the
Upper Rhine frontier (where he followed the works made underProbus
's reign, both along theLake Constance
-Basel
as well as along the Rhine–Iller–Danube
line), in Egypt, and on the frontier with Persia. Beyond that, much
discussion is speculative, and reliant on the broad generalizations of
written sources. Diocletian and the Tetrarchs had no consistent plan for
frontier advancement, and records of raids and forts built across the
frontier are likely to indicate only temporary claims. The
Strata Diocletiana
, which ran from the Euphrates to Palmyra and northeast Arabia, is
the classic Diocletianic frontier system, consisting of an outer road
followed by tightly spaced forts followed by further fortifications in
the rear. In an attempt to resolve the difficulty and slowness of
transmitting orders to the frontier, the new capitals of the Tetrarchic
era were all much closer to the Empire's frontiers than Rome had been:
Trier sat on the Rhine, Sirmium and Serdica were close to the Danube,
Thessaloniki was on the route leading eastward, and Nicomedia and
Antioch were important points in dealings with Persia.
Lactantius criticized Diocletian for an excessive increase in troop
sizes, declaring that "each of the four [Tetrarchs] strove to have a far
larger number of troops than previous emperors had when they were
governing the state alone". The fifth-century paganZosimus
, by contrast, praised Diocletian for keeping troops on the borders,
rather than keeping them in the cities, as Constantine was held to have
done. Both these views had some truth to them, despite the biases of
their authors: Diocletian and the Tetrarchs did greatly expand the army,
and the growth was mostly in frontier regions, although it is difficult
to establish the precise details of these shifts given the weakness of
the sources. The army expanded to about 580,000 men from a 285 strength
of 390,000, of which 310,000 men were stationed in the East, most of
whom manned the Persian frontier. The navy's forces increased from
approximately 45,000 men to approximately 65,000 men.
Diocletian's expansion of the army and civil service meant that the
Empire's tax burden grew. Since military upkeep took the largest portion
of the imperial budget, any reforms here would be especially costly.
The proportion of the adult male population, excluding slaves, serving
in the army increased from roughly 1 in 25 to 1 in 15, an increase
judged excessive by some modern commentators. Official troop allowances
were kept to low levels, and the mass of troops often resorted to
extortion or the taking of civilian jobs. Arrears became the norm for
most troops. Many were even given payment in kind in place of their
salaries. Were he unable to pay for his enlarged army, there would
likely be civil conflict, potentially open revolt. Diocletian was led to
devise a new system of taxation.
Economic
Taxation
In the early Empire (30 BC- AD 235) the Roman government paid for
what it needed in gold and silver. The coinage was stable. Requisition,
forced purchase, was used to supply armies on the march. During the
third century crisis (235–285), the government resorted to requisition
rather than payment in debased coinage, since it could never be sure of
the value of money. Requisition was nothing more or less than seizure.
Diocletian made requisition into tax. He introduced an extensive new tax
system based on heads (capita ) and land (iuga ) and tied
to a new, regular census of the Empire's population and wealth. Census
officials traveled throughout the Empire, assessed the value of labor
and land for each landowner, and joined the landowners' totals together
to make city-wide totals of capita and iuga . The iugum
was not a consistent measure of land, but varied according to the type
of land and crop, and the amount of labor necessary for sustenance. The caput was not consistent either: women, for instance, were often valued at half a caput , and sometimes at other values. Cities provided animals, money, and manpower in proportion to its capita , and grain in proportion to its iuga .
Most taxes were due on each year on 1 September, and levied from individual landowners by
decuriones
(decurions). These decurions, analogous to city councilors, were
responsible for paying from their own pocket what they failed to
collect. Diocletian's reforms also increased the number of financial
officials in the provinces: more rationales and magistri privatae
are attested under Diocletian's reign than before. These officials
managed represented the interests of the fisc, which collected taxes in
gold, and the Imperial properties. Fluctuations in the value of the
currency made collection of taxes in kind the norm, although these could
be converted into coin. Rates shifted to take inflation into account.
In 296, Diocletian issued an edict reforming census procedures. This
edict introduced a general five-year census for the whole Empire,
replacing prior censuses that had operated at different speeds
throughout the Empire. The new censuses would keep up with changes in
the values of capita and iuga .
Italy, which had long been exempt from taxes, was included in the tax
system from 290/291 as other provinces. The city of Rome itself and the
surroundingSuburbicarian diocese
(where Roman senators held the bulk of their landed property), however, remained exempt.
Diocletian's edicts emphasized the common liability of all taxpayers.
Public records of all taxes were made public. The position of decurion ,
member of the city council, had been an honor sought by wealthy
aristocrats and the middle classes who displayed their wealth by paying
for city amenities and public works. Decurions were made liable for any
shortfall in the amount of tax collected. Many tried to find ways to
escape the obligation.
Currency and inflation
Aurelian's attempt to reform the currency had failed; the denarius
was dead. Diocletian restored the three-metal coinage and issued better
quality pieces. The new system consisted of five coins: the aureus /solidus , a gold coin weighing, like its predecessors, one-sixtieth of a pound; the
argenteus
, a coin weighing one ninety-sixth of a pound and containing ninety-five percent pure silver; the
follis
, sometimes referred to as the
laureatus A, which is a copper coin with added silver struck at the rate of thirty-two to the pound; the radiatus , a small copper coin struck at the rate of 108 to the pound, with no added silver; and a coin known today as the
laureatus B, a smaller copper coin struck at the rate of 192 to the
pound. Since the nominal values of these new issues were lower than
their intrinsic worth as metals, the state was minting these coins at a
loss. This practice could be sustained only by requisitioning precious
metals from private citizens in exchange for state-minted coin (of a far
lower value than the price of the precious metals requisitioned).
By 301, however, the system was in trouble, strained by a new bout of inflation. Diocletian therefore issued his Edict on Coinage , an act re-tariffing all debts so that the
nummus
, the most common coin in circulation, would be worth half as much. In the edict, preserved in an inscription from the city ofAphrodisias
inCaria
(nearGeyre
, Turkey), it was declared that all debts contracted before 1 September
301 must be repaid at the old standards, while all debts contracted
after that date would be repaid at the new standards. It appears that
the edict was made in an attempt to preserve the current price of gold
and to keep the Empire's coinage on silver, Rome's traditional metal
currency. This edict risked giving further momentum to inflationary
trends, as had happened after Aurelian's currency reforms. The
government's response was to issue a price freeze.
The
Edict on Maximum Prices
(Edictum De Pretiis Rerum Venalium ) was issued two to three
months after the coinage edict, somewhere between 20 November and 10
December 301. The best-preserved Latin inscription surviving from theGreek East
,[
the edict survives in many versions, on materials as varied as wood,
papyrus, and stone. In the edict, Diocletian declared that the current
pricing crisis resulted from the unchecked greed of merchants, and had
resulted in turmoil for the mass of common citizens. The language of the
edict calls on the people's memory of their benevolent leaders, and
exhorts them to enforce the provisions of the edict, and thereby restore
perfection to the world. The edict goes on to list in detail over one
thousand goods and accompanying retail prices not to be exceeded.
Penalties are laid out for various pricing transgressions.
In the most basic terms, the edict was ignorant of the law ofsupply and demand
: it ignored the fact that prices might vary from region to region
according to product availability, and it ignored the impact of
transportation costs in the retail price of goods. In the judgment of
the historian David Potter, the edict was "an act of economic lunacy".
Inflation, speculation, and monetary instability continued, and a black
market arose to trade in goods forced out of official markets. The
edict's penalties were applied unevenly across the empire (some scholars
believe they were applied only in Diocletian's domains), widely
resisted, and eventually dropped, perhaps within a year of the edict's
issue. Lactantius has written of the perverse accompaniments to the
edict; of goods withdrawn from the market, of brawls over minute
variations in price, of the deaths that came when its provisions were
enforced. His account may be true, but it seems to modern historians
exaggerated and hyperbolic, and the impact of the law is recorded in no
other ancient source.
Legacy
The historianA.H.M. Jones
observed that "It is perhaps Diocletian's greatest achievement that he
reigned twenty-one years and then abdicated voluntarily, and spent the
remaining years of his life in peaceful retirement." Diocletian was one
of the few Emperors of the third and fourth centuries to die naturally,
and the first in the history of the Empire to retire voluntarily. Once
he retired, however, his Tetrarchic system collapsed. Without the
guiding hand of Diocletian, the Empire fell into civil wars. Stability
emerged after the defeat of Licinius by Constantine in 324. Under the
Christian Constantine, Diocletian was maligned. Constantine's rule,
however, validated Diocletian's achievements and the autocratic
principle he represented: the borders remained secure, in spite of
Constantine's large expenditure of forces during his civil wars; the
bureaucratic transformation of Roman government was completed; and
Constantine took Diocletian's court ceremonies and made them even more
extravagant.
Constantine ignored those parts of Diocletian's rule that did not
suit him. Diocletian's policy of preserving a stable silver coinage was
abandoned, and the gold
solidus
became the Empire's primary currency instead. Diocletian'spersecution of Christians
was repudiated and changed to a policy of toleration and then
favoritism. Christianity eventually became the official religion in 381.
Constantine would claim to have the same close relationship with the
Christian God as Diocletian claimed to have with Jupiter. Most
importantly, Diocletian's tax system and administrative reforms lasted,
with some modifications, until the advent of the Muslims in the 630s.
The combination of state autocracy and state religion was instilled in
much of Europe, particularly in the lands which adopted Orthodox
Christianity.
In addition to his administrative and legal impact on history, the
Emperor Diocletian is considered to be the founder of the city ofSplit
in modern-dayCroatia
. The city itself grew around the heavily fortifiedDiocletian's Palace
the Emperor had built in anticipation of his retirement.
Maximian (Latin : Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius Augustus ; c. 250 – c. July 310) was Roman Emperor from 286 to 305. He was Caesar from 285 to 286, then Augustus from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocletian , whose political brain complemented Maximian's military brawn. Maximian established his residence at Trier but spent most of his time on campaign. In late 285, he suppressed rebels in Gaul known as the Bagaudae . From 285 to 288, he fought against Germanic tribes along the Rhine frontier. Together with Diocletian, he launched a scorched earth campaign deep into Alamannic territory in 288, temporarily relieving the Rhine provinces from the threat of Germanic invasion.
The man he appointed to police the Channel shores, Carausius ,
rebelled in 286, causing the secession of Britain and northwestern
Gaul. Maximian failed to oust Carausius, and his invasion fleet was
destroyed by storms in 289 or 290. Maximian's subordinate, Constantius , campaigned against Carausius' successor, Allectus , while Maximian held the Rhine frontier . The rebel leader was ousted in 296, and Maximian moved south to combat piracy near Hispania and Berber incursions in Mauretania .
When these campaigns concluded in 298, he departed for Italy, where he
lived in comfort until 305. At Diocletian's behest, Maximian abdicated
on May 1, 305, gave the Augustan office to Constantius, and retired to
southern Italy.
In late 306, Maximian took the title of Augustus again and aided his son Maxentius ' rebellion in Italy. In April 307, he attempted to depose his son, but failed and fled to the court of Constantius' successor, Constantine (Maximian's step-grandson and son-in-law), in Trier. At the Council of Carnuntum in November 308, Diocletian and his successor, Galerius ,
forced Maximian to renounce his imperial claim again. In early 310,
Maximian attempted to seize Constantine's title while the emperor was on
campaign on the Rhine. Few supported him, and he was captured by
Constantine in Marseille. Maximian killed himself in mid-310 on
Constantine's orders. During Constantine's war with Maxentius,
Maximian's image was purged from all public places. However, after
Constantine ousted and killed Maxentius, Maximian's image was
rehabilitated, and he was deified.