Diocletian. Reorganization of the empire of Diocletian

Diocletian is a famous Roman Emperor who occurred at an important place in the history of Christianity for his persecutions. Also, he is renowned for restoring the anarchy of the government of the Roman Empire after the near chaos in the third century. The Roman Empire was the residence of that dreaded oppressor of Christians, Emperor Diocletian.

Diocletian was born in Salona, in the nowadays Croatia; his parents were Annulinus and Valeria. His thread of life was about 63 years old. Also, he is famous for his reign from 20 November 0284 AD until 1st Maypersecution 0305 AD.

He became so crucial for his great persecution of Christians. And he issued his famous edict ordering the destruction of churches throughout the empire. Diocletian’s relentless goal throughout his 21-year reign was to consolidate his vast territories under a central imperial authority.

Table of Contents

Reorganization of the empire of Diocletian.

Born in 244 in a low-income family, he was a Roman emperor who ruled for 21 years. At the end of the battle with Margus, Carinus disappeared, and Diocletian became the only emperor. From a political and military point of view, he managed to become the most crucial emperor, as he ensured the continuity of the empire for another thousand years in the east. He was accompanied by Alexandra’s wife, also known as Prisca.

Diocletian divided the empire into 90 territories which he united into 12 dioceses. After this, he first established diarrhea, which means leadership in 2, and then showed tetrarchy, which means leadership in 4. All these settlements took place because he realized that the empire was too big to be ruled by a single emperor.

All these measures had a massive political and administrative contribution to the Roman Empire.

What was Emperor Diocletian known for?

Even though he didn’t perform well in the general position as an emperor, he showed a native intelligence to highlight the administrative opportunities of the Roman Empire.

According to sources, Diocletian went down in history for the tremendous persecution of Christians in the entire history of this empire. Through this war, he tried to remake the old tradition. So, people had to sacrifice to the gods and worship the temple statues.

The fight against this religion started after his four decrees in 303-304. Although her husband had started the war against Christianity, Alexandra chose to sacrifice her life for the Christian faith. This emperor had condemned Alexandra and George to the slaughter, but finding out all this, the woman prayed to God and gave her last breath in prison.

Biography of Diocletian

Full name:	Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus
Date of birth:	22 December 242 AD
Death day:	305 AD
The thread of life:	63 years old
Place of birth:	Salona, Croatia
Father's name:	Anullinus
Mother's name:	Valeria
Spouse:	Prisca, Alexandra
Children:	Valeria II
Physical appearance:	average height, dark blonde hair, attractive features
Nationality:	Croatian
Summary of life:	Diocletian (284/285-305) with Emperor Diocletian, a new period in the history of the Roman Empire begins. The political system of the principality, inaugurated by August, became dominated. Diocletian shared the office of emperor with Maximian, calling him first "Caesar" on 1 March 286, then "August" on 19 September 286.
Life lessons:	The lesson Diocletian learned is that one man can never win. Diocletian, kept the initiative and took over the East; Maximian got the West. The Empire was considered unitary; laws were passed in the names of both Augustus.
Life accomplishments:	Diocletian, brought stability and introduced reforms in 284 that would prolong the survival of the Roman Empire for a while longer.
Death cause:	Normal Causes- His Illness

Key Verse related to Diocletian

„In 302, the Roman emperor Diocletian commanded:” Therefore, there should be cheapness,” declaring „Unprincipled greed appears wherever our armies…march…Our law shall fix a measure and a limit to this greed.” So the predictable results of Diocletian’s food price controls were black markets, hunger, and food confiscation by his soldiers.

Despite the disastrous history of price controls, politicians never resist tampering with prices that are not a flattering observation of their learning abilities.”

Walter E. Wiliams

What did Diocletian do?

Both internally and externally, during his reign, the empire overcame the crisis of the third century. All the administrative and military framework proclamations remained on the emperor’s shoulders, so the two powers, the army and the civil, were separated.

According to history, in 297- 298, Diocletian fought a battle with Sassanid Persia, from which he emerged victoriously. As a result, the Roman border on the Tigris River was finalized.

Immense importance was given to strengthening the borders, so many access roads and man fortresses were built that transformed some simple boundaries into fortified walls.

What did Diocletian do that was bad?

Although he was initially lenient with Christians, he later called for a revision of the oracle at Miletus, which was categorically against Christians.

In February 303, Diocletian proclaimed the first proclamation calling for the destruction of churches and banning assemblies. This decree was followed by three other orders, finally declaring an uncontrolled war on Christianity, which brought severe punishments.

Finally, after all the fierce fighting against Christians, Christianity became the state religion in the fourth century.

Why did Diocletian split the Roman empire?

Over time, the Roman empire went through several periods of crisis and decline.

Diocletian divided the empire into two imperial courts in his attempt to establish the kingdom. One was in eastern Greece, and the other was in western Latin.

This division proved beneficial in stabilizing the empire, which was falling apart in the wake of the empire’s revolts.

How did Diocletian divide the Roman Empire?

According to sources, in 293, this great emperor established a tetrarchy, and the Empire was divided into four territories.

Following the division, Diocletian took over the eastern provinces and Egypt, Galerius took over the Balkan regions, Maximian took care of Italy, North Africa, and Hispanic, and Costanzo Cloro took over Galia and Britain.

This division eventually led to celebrating 20 years of rule, which has not been seen for a long time.

Primary Takeaways

He is called emperor, a position in which he showed his intelligence, And also brought the empire out of a great collapse and succeeded in passing over the crisis of the third century.
To overcome all the revolts within the empire, Diocletian decided to divide the kingdom into four large territories, which were due to be very beneficial for it. In the final, he could celebrate 20 years of rule.
Emperor Diocletian proclaims four edicts against Christianity and restores the old cults, finally triggering the most significant persecution in history.

Conclusion

In the desire to install a new constitutional system, Diocletian and Maximian both abdicate on the same day (May 1, 305). They are leaving space for another tetrarchy and returning to their particular personalities.

If we look at the situation, Diocletian was lenient with Christians at the beginning of his reign. Although confused, Diocletian sought an answer from the Oracle of Apollo, where he found guidance and saw the answer as support for Galerius’ idea.

All this situation made Diocletian believe that his desire for an activist government and his attempt to restore the greatness of the Roman Empire’s past would have beneficial consequences on all fronts, so on February 24, 303, he began the persecution of Diocletian.

Bibliography

Rees, R. (2004). Diocletian and the Tetrarchy. In Diocletian and the Tetrarchy. Edinburgh University Press.
Williams, S. (1996). The Roman Recovery. Routledge.
Barnes, T. D. (2013). The new empire of Constantine. In The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine. Harvard University Press.
Wallace, S. L. (2015). Taxation in Egypt from Augustus to Diocletian (Vol. 2382). Princeton University Press.
Crook, J. A. (1955). Consilium principis: imperial councils and counselors from Augustus. CUP Archive.