Diocletian

  • Diocletian (284-305 CE) was the Roman Emperor who ended the Crisis of the Third Century (235-284 CE) and is credited with saving the Roman Empire for another 100 years.
  • He became the first Roman Emperor to abdicate and retire voluntarily.

1. BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS

  • NAME:
    • Born as Diocles, known as Diocletian.
    • Reigned as: Caesar Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus Augustus
  • DIOCLETIAN’S DATES OF REIGN AS EMPEROR:
    • 20 November 285 CE – 1 April 286 CE:
    • 1 April 286 CE – 1 May 305 CE:
      • as co-Emperor in the East, with Maximian as co-Emperor in the West.
  • FAMILY DYNASTY:
    • None.
  • DIOCLETIAN’S DATE OF BIRTH AND DEATH:
    • c. 22 December 244 CE – 3 December 311 CE
  • PLACE OF BIRTH AND DEATH:
  • DIOCLETIAN’S PREDECESSOR:
  • DIOCLETIAN’S SUCCESSOR:
  • DIOCLETIAN’S RIGHT HAND MAN:
  • HEIR TO THE THRONE BECAUSE:
    • Diocletian was Cavalry Commander to the Emperor Carus, and held the loyalty of the eastern Legions. When the Emperor Carus was killed in battle against the Persians, he left his two sons as his Heirs, Numerian and Carinus.
    • After the Battle, the Roman army withdrew to Nicomedia. During the return journey, Numerian, who had accompanied his father Carus into Persia, died in his carriage. On arrival in Nicomedia, the Legions acclaimed their Commander Diocles (Diocletian) as Emperor, at a ceremony on a hill nearby, instead of Carinus.
    • Diocletian immediately accused the Prefect of the Praetorian Guard, Aper (who was about to declare himself Emperor) of assassinating Numerian, and killed him on the spot with his sword.
    • Diocletian then defeated Carus‘ other son, Carinus at the Battle of the Margus in July 285 CE.
    • He was then acclaimed Emperor by both the Legions of the East and the Legions of the West.
  • DIOCLETIAN’S FATHER:
    • Ancient sources uncertain.
  • DIOCLETIAN’S MOTHER:
    • Ancient sources uncertain.
  • DIOCLETIAN’S WIVES AND CHILDREN:
    • Prisca (eliminated by Licinius c. August 313 CE)
      • Galeria Valeria (eliminated by Licinius c. August 313 CE)
  • DIED PEACEFULLY OR ASSASSINATED:
    • Diocletian was one of the few Emperors to die of natural causes. He died in retirement, of old age and illness at Diocletian's Palace in Split.
  • WHERE BURIED:

2. GOOD OR BAD EMPEROR

  • DIOCLETIAN’S CHARACTER:
    • Although Diocletian was a ruthless man who did not tolerate any opposition, his Reforms saved and preserved the Roman Empire for another hundred years.
  • DIOCLETIAN’S POPULARITY:
    • Diocletian’s main task was to re-establish control over the Roman Empire after the Crisis of the Third Century, had led to Civil Wars tearing the Empire apart, and Emperors being assassinated. He did this by eliminating political and religious opposition, and imposing a new, more effective Tax System, along with a new currency system. Each Province continued to be a potential source of unrest. To avoid the risk of a power vacuum in the event of his assassination, Diocletian first divided the Empire into two, then four, creating four co-Rulers.
  • DIOCLETIAN WAS FAMOUS BECAUSE:
    • Crisis of the Third Century was ended by Diocletian.
      • This was a period of civil wars between 235-284 CE, that had threatened to destroy the Roman Empire.
    • Tetrarchy
    • Dominate
      • Diocletian introduced the Dominate. This was a change to the Roman constitution recognising Monarchy as the supreme source of Power, not the Roman Senate. However the Roman Republic was never officially abolished.
    • Praetorian Guard
      • Diocletian curbed their power by creating a new Palace Guard, the Sacer Comitatus, effectively relegating the Praetorian Guard to a minor role as they now no longer guarded the Emperor’s Person. This prevented them from deciding who would become the next Emperor. Constantine I finally disbanded them in 312 CE.
    • Diocletianic Persecution (303-311 CE)
      • Diocletian was responsible for the last of the ten great persecutions of the early Christian Church.
    • Diocletian’s Reform of the Roman Currency:
    • Diocletian's Price List
      • In 301 CE Diocletian unsuccessfully attempted to freeze Prices and Wages.
    • Diocletian’s Abdication:
      • 1 May 305 CE Diocletian became the first Roman Emperor to abdicate and retire voluntarily.
  • FAMOUS QUOTES BY DIOCLETIAN
    • ‘Four or five ministers are better served by joining together to outwit their King. Distanced from his People by his position above them, the truth can be hidden from him. He must see the world through their eyes, hear through their lies. Award promotion to those subjects who are weak, and dishonour those who are virtuous. The great and wisest Princes are by these methods corrupted by their ministers.’

3. DIOCLETIAN’S EARLY LIFE

    • Although his early life is unknown, Diocletian rose through the ranks of the Roman Army as a soldier.
    • ‘Duke of Moesia’ (on the Danube), is how he first appears on the record.
    • 282 CE Count of the Domestics, Commander of the Cavalry in the Imperial Bodyguard under Carus.
    • 283 CE Consul.

4. REIGN OF DIOCLETIAN

  • DIOCLETIAN’S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ROMAN SENATE:
    • Diocletian only went to Rome once, after his victory at the Battle of the Margus. He spent most of his time at Nicomedia, in the East. His co-Emperor Maximian, spent his time based at Milan. Both avoided and ignored the Roman Senate.
    • The Senate was deprived of all power by the office of Emperor being reconstituted as an Absolute Monarchy.
    • In the Greek speaking East, from an early period, the Emperors were referred to as ‘Basileus’, meaning King. In Rome, the Emperor’s authority and legitimacy was derived from the Roman Senate with him being ‘first amongst equals’. Diocletian changed his Title from ‘Princeps’ (First Citizen), to ‘Dominus Noster’ (Lord and Master).
    • Diocletian modelled himself on the system used by Persian Rulers:
    • Diocletian declared his authority to be derived from Jupiter in Heaven, not from the Roman Senate, and that he was Jupiter, on earth. He wore a Diadem (crown), not a Laurel Wreath.
    • His entourage consisted of ministers, courtiers and eunuchs, not Senators. It became very difficult to make an appointment to see Diocletian. Even if successful, the visitor had to lie face down on the floor until invited to speak. Diocletian avoided Rome, ruling from Nicomedia.
  • DIOCLETIAN’S MILITARY CAMPAIGNS/ REFORMS:
    • The Army was expanded and concentrated on the Frontiers. Over half the Army was in the East, opposing the Parthian Empire.
    • Diocletian began the separation of military and civilian careers.
  • Persia:
  • Britannia:
  • DIOCLETIAN’S DOMESTIC POLICY: TAXATION
    • The Roman Empire’s traditional currency was silver, based on the price of Gold.
  • Reform of the Currency:
    • 301 CE, Diocletian issued the Edict on Coinage, introducing five new coins, and eliminating the completely worthless Denarius.
    • The Gold Aureus was replaced by the Gold Solidus, but the currency was greatly devalued, which led to galloping inflation, a problem only solved later by Constantine I. See Roman Coin List.
  • Diocletian's Price List
    • As a result of this inflation, Diocletian issued an Edict of maximum Prices, in an attempt to curb rising prices.
  • Reform of the Taxation System:
    • As a result of expanding the Army and Civil Service, Taxation had to increase. Between 30 BCE and 235 CE the Roman Government paid its invoices in gold and silver. During the Crisis of the Third Century, the Government seized what it needed, calling it Requisition, as the value of money could not be determined.
    • Diocletian reformed Requisition into a new Tax system based on Heads (Capita), and Land (Iuga), the assessed value of the land varied according to the crop and type of land. A city in the Empire would send an amount of grain, calculated by its ownership of lands – and an amount of money, men and animals, calculated on its Head count.
    • Taxes were due on 1 September, and collected from each landowner by Decurions. The Decurions were members of the city Council, who were required to make up the difference if they failed to collect all the Taxes.
    • In 290-291 CE, Italia, which had been Tax exempt, was included for the first time in the Tax system. However, Rome and its surrounding area controlled by the Senators, remained exempt.
    • In 296 CE Diocletian issued an Edict to enforce the Census every five years, in order to stay current with inflation.
  • DIOCLETIAN AND THE PROVINCES:
  • Diocletian's Praetorian Prefectures
    • The 50 Provinces were subdivided into approximately 100 more manageable provinces, to prevent too much power falling into the hands of one man.
    • Each Province was grouped with several others into a Diocese, and the 12 Dioceses were grouped into 4 Praetorian Prefectures, 2 in the Eastern Empire under one Co-Emperor, Diocletian, and 2 in the Western Empire under the other Co-Emperor, Maximian.
    • The Civil Service was doubled from 15,000 men to 30,000 men, approximately.
  • DIOCLETIAN’S RELIGIOUS REFORMS:
  • Diocletianic Persecution (303-313 CE).
    • The Christian Church was persecuted and its Bishops either tortured or executed.
  • NOTABLE EVENTS DURING DIOCLETIAN’S REIGN:

5. DIOCLETIAN’s PERSONAL LIFE

  • CHILDHOOD:
  • PERSONAL INTERESTS:
  • LANGUAGES SPOKEN:

6. CONSEQUENCES OF DIOCLETIAN’S REIGN

  • EXPANSION OR CONTRACTION OF THE EMPIRE:
    • As a result of Diocletian’s Reforms, the Empire was preserved for another one hundred years.
  • ENRICHMENT OR BANKRUPTCY OF THE STATE:
    • Inflation was the price to pay for the restoration of the Empire, but the stability Diocletian imposed, meant that the economy was able to return to normal by the time Constantine I came to power.
  • DIOCLETIAN’S MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS:
    • Diocletian is credited with having saved the Roman Empire for another 100 years.
    • He did this by reform of the Coinage, Taxation System, Army, Civil Service, and the Provinces.
    • His Edicts reforming the Christian Church almost ended its existence, but ironically, his successor Constantine I, went on to adopt Christianity as the State Religion of the Roman Empire.
    • He reduced the power of the Praetorian Guard, by removing the Administration from Rome and creating two new units of palace Bodyguards. This prevented the Praetorian Guard from deciding who would be the next Emperor by assassination.

7. THE SUCCESSION

    • On the 1 May 305 CE Diocletian called a meeting of his Generals outside Nicomedia to announce his retirement and his successor.
    • Everybody present expected it to be Constantine I and Maxentius, but instead he appointed Flavius Valerius Severus II and Maximinus Daia as co-Emperors.
    • The Tetrarchy was doomed from that moment onwards.
    • On the 19 September 325 CE, after a period of coups and civil wars, Constantine I finally became undisputed Emperor of both Eastern and Western Empires.

8. BUILDINGS AND MONUMENTS TO VISIT

9. BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

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285 CE
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