Diocletian (Caius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus) (dī`əklē`shən), 245–313, Roman emperor (284–305), b. near Salona, Dalmatia (the modern Split, Croatia). Of humble birth, he obtained high military command under Probus and Aurelian and fought under Carus in Persia. The army proclaimed him emperor after the death of Numerian, and he became sole ruler when Carinus Carinus (Marcus Aurelius Carinus) (kərī`nəs), d. 285, Roman emperor (283–85).
..... Click the link for more information. , joint emperor with Numerian, was murdered by his own officers. In order to repel the Germans he appointed Maximian Maximian (Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus) (măksĭm`ēən), d. 310, Roman emperor, with Diocletian (286–305).
..... Click the link for more information. augustus (286) and Constantius I Constantius I (Constantius Chlorus) (kənstăn`shəs), c.250–306, Roman emperor (305–6).
..... Click the link for more information. and Galerius Galerius (Caius Galerius Valerius Maximinianus) (gəlēr`ēəs), d. 310, Roman emperor (305–10).
..... Click the link for more information. caesars (293). The four rulers had their respective capitals at Nicomedia, Mediolanum (modern Milan), Treveri (modern Trier), and Sirmium. In Diocletian's reign Britain was restored (296) to the empire, the Persians were subjugated (298), and the Marcomanni were expelled from the empire. Diocletian was the first to divide the empire formally and to set up a genuine autocracy with no theoretical checks. The Roman senate became a municipal council and all vestiges of Republican institutions disappeared. His economic reforms included an attempt to restore the gold standard and the Edict of Diocletian (301), an economic measure to regulate prices and wages. Its effects, however, proved ruinous to agriculture and the markets. The persecution of the Christians in the latter part of his reign was a course to which he had been instigated by Galerius. Diocletian abdicated (305), and Maximian resigned at the same time. Diocletian retired to his castle at Salona, from which he saw his system fail as his successors began to quarrel among themselves.
(born AD 245, Salonae?, Dalmatia—died 316, Salonae) Roman emperor (284–305). He was serving under the emperor Carinus (r. 283–285) when the co-emperor, Carinus's brother Numerian, was killed. Diocletian's army declared him emperor, but his domain was restricted to Asia Minor and possibly Syria. Carinus attacked Diocletian (285) but was assassinated before achieving victory, allowing Diocletian to become sole emperor. He sought to remove the military from politics and established a tetrarchy (four-ruler system) to spread his influence and combat rebellions throughout the empire. Proclaiming himself and his corulers as gods, he added the trappings of a theocracy to the reign. His fiscal, administrative, and military reorganization laid the foundation for the Byzantine empire in the east and briefly strengthened the fading empire in the west. In 303–304 he issued four edicts decreeing the last great persecution of Christians. He abdicated in 305.
Diocletian
..... Click the link for more information. , joint emperor with Numerian, was murdered by his own officers. In order to repel the Germans he appointed Maximian Maximian (Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus) (măksĭm`ēən), d. 310, Roman emperor, with Diocletian (286–305).
..... Click the link for more information. augustus (286) and Constantius I Constantius I (Constantius Chlorus) (kənstăn`shəs), c.250–306, Roman emperor (305–6).
..... Click the link for more information. and Galerius Galerius (Caius Galerius Valerius Maximinianus) (gəlēr`ēəs), d. 310, Roman emperor (305–10).
..... Click the link for more information. caesars (293). The four rulers had their respective capitals at Nicomedia, Mediolanum (modern Milan), Treveri (modern Trier), and Sirmium. In Diocletian's reign Britain was restored (296) to the empire, the Persians were subjugated (298), and the Marcomanni were expelled from the empire. Diocletian was the first to divide the empire formally and to set up a genuine autocracy with no theoretical checks. The Roman senate became a municipal council and all vestiges of Republican institutions disappeared. His economic reforms included an attempt to restore the gold standard and the Edict of Diocletian (301), an economic measure to regulate prices and wages. Its effects, however, proved ruinous to agriculture and the markets. The persecution of the Christians in the latter part of his reign was a course to which he had been instigated by Galerius. Diocletian abdicated (305), and Maximian resigned at the same time. Diocletian retired to his castle at Salona, from which he saw his system fail as his successors began to quarrel among themselves.
Diocletian
Latin Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus orig. Diocles)
Diocletian, detail of a bust in the Capitoline Museum, Rome.
(credit: Alinari/Art Resource, New York)
Diocletian
full name Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus. 245--313 ad, Roman emperor (284--305), who divided the empire into four administrative units (293) and instigated the last severe persecution of the Christians (303)
Diocletian
Roman emperor (284–305); instituted general persecutions of Christians. [Rom. Hist.: EB, 5: 805–807]
See : Cruelty
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