Diocletian

1. Diocletian Reformer and Persecutor

2. The Coming of Diocletian • In 282 the Praetorian Prefect Marcus Aurelius Carus was declared emperor by several armies, and never bothered to seek senate confirmation. • Upon accession, he conferred the rank of Caesar on his two sons, but died in 284 from a bolt of lightning, according to ancients. • More likely, he was killed by his father-in-law, who was Praetorian Prefect, who also killed his older son and heir. • The army in the East proclaimed Diocles emperor, but Carus’ other son Carinus, who was now Augustus in the West opposed him. • The two claimants fought a devastating battle for supremacy in what later became known as Moravia in 285. Diocletian LOST the battle, but became emperor anyway when Carinus was stabbed in the heart by a soldier whose wife had been seduced by Carinus!

3. The turning point • Diocletian’s “victory” was the turning point, because the natural, political, and military disasters abated enough for him to introduce reforms. • Diocletian marked his reign from his initial accession in 284. With him, the chaotic half-century ended, and so did the Principate. • Henceforth the administration would be called the Dominate, because under Diocletian absolute rule had come to pass under semi-divine rulers. • Diocletian reorganized the administration of the empire from the top down. By dint of his powerful personality, he transformed the imperial rule to a tetrarchy, rule by four men, himself included. • Nevertheless, Diocletian clearly “dominated” the other three. • His agenda included (1) strengthening the power and authority of the central government, (2) getting back seceding provinces, (3) eliminating conditions in which rebellion fermented.

4. The Tetrarchy • Diocletian’s first order was to find an able and trusted person to defend the West, allowing him to concentrate on the East. • He appointed Maximian who became Caesar. He quickly secured Gaul and drove the Germans out, but appointed a naval commander who parlayed his victories into seizing Britain. • Diocletian rewarded Maximian with the title of Augustus and in 293, Diocletian used the opportunity to establish a four-man ruling committee known as the Tetrarchy. • Diocletian became an Augustus, and the two Augusti each appointed a Caesar to be junior emperors and sucessors with very real responsibilities. • Diocletian selected Gaius Galerius as his Caesar, and Maximian chose Flavius Julius Constantius, known as Chlorus for his pale face. • Each Caesar was the adopted heir and son-in-law of their respective Augustus. • Laws were promulgated in the names of all four. Any triumphs were acclaimed in the name of all four, but each had their own court, bodyguard, and coinage.

5. Tetrarchy at work • This tetrarchy foreshadowed the eventual division of the empire into east and west, and Constantine’s later move of the capital. • Maximian ruled the Upper Rhine and Danube from Milan; Constantius Chlorus protected the lower Rhine, Gaul, and Britain from Trier; Galerius ruled from Thessalonica; and Diocletian from Anticoh and Nicomedia. • The arrangement seemed to decentralize, but actually initiated stable rule at a crucial time for twenty years, allowing time for the empire to repair defenses and rebuild the army. • Diocletian initiated other reforms that propelled the empire increasingly toward absolute monarchy.

7. The Dominate • Diocletian established an aura of divine mystery around the position of emperor. He assumed the title of Jovius—Jupiter’s earthly representative, and declared Maximian Herculius—helper of Jupiter. • All the trappings of government became sacred, their residences became holy places. Their portraits showed a nimbus, or halo, to show the divinity flowing out of them. • Along with this aura came elaborate court ritual: emperor wore diadem and carried scepter, wore purple and gold and jewels, granted audience to kneeling, hem-of-the-robe kissing subjects. • He established a Sacred Consistory (“to stand together,” because they were required to stand in the emperor’s presence) of advisors who observed the ettiquette.

8. Reforms • Diocletian increased the total number of provinces from 40 to 105 to weaken potential rebellions and make administration more responsive and efficient. • The new provinces were distributed into twelve administrative districts known as dioceses (“administration”)each governed by an equestrian vicar who ruled twelve governors. • Dioceses were grouped into four prefectures in which a prefect oversaw the vicars and answered directly to an Augustus or Caesar who operated in the same captial city. • Armies were subject to civilians who controlled their supplies. Command was given in each province to professional military men called dukes (duces—“leader”) several of whom were subject to counts (comes—“imperial companion”) who were accountable to prefects and the tetrarch. Provincial armies were smaller. • Frontier defenses were rebuilt and the size of the army increased by 25%. On the frontier, armies barracked in fortified cities and in forts in forward areas along main roads. • Increasing the military and number of administrators fueled the disastrous inflation of the time. Diocletian’s monetary reforms failed.

9. The Edict on Maximum Prices • One of the failed policies was an effort at price freezing. • In 301, Diocletian issued an edict that set a ceiling on the prices of over a thousand everyday items. • Diocletian was probably motivated by the complaints of soldiers, who were particularly hard hit by inflation, and had nothing to barter. • Aimed at speculators and profiteers, it threatened violators who overcharged with the death penalty. • The result was that farmers and factories refused to produce new crops and goods, goods were sold on the black market, or bartered. • It was a complete failure, and Diocletian abandoned it within four years. • Diocletian also tried to impose a uniform taxation system based on amount of land and number of people (capita-”heads”) that worked it. It was unfair to farmers, unequally applied, and let merchants fall into the cracks. But, it provided a predictable tax and source of income.

10. Persecutor extraordinaire • Diocletian wrecked his legacy by enacting a cruel and poorly-thought-through persecution of Christians. • It began in 299 at a public sacrifice attended by Diocletian to determine the will of the gods. • Augurs inspected animal entrails and reported the presence of hostile influences that hindered the public sacrifice. • Diocletian blamed Christians in his household and forced them all, including Prisca, to sacrifce to traditional gods or be beaten, or killed. • In 303, he expanded this persecution empire-wide, and kicked off the persecution by sending the secret police to ransack a house where Christians met across from his residence in Nicomedia. • In the next two weeks, two mysterious fires broke out in the palace and Christians were blamed. Galerius then took the ball of persecution fueled by his own bigotry and required Christians to renounce their faith or die in the mines. The persecution continued until 311.

11. Abdication and Self-exile • Diocletian, was old, sick and disillusioned when he abdicated in May, 305 and forced Maximian to abdicate as well. He retired to a fortress-palace he made for himself on the Dalmatian coast. • Constantius Chlorus and Galerius became the new Augusti. Maximinus Daia became Galerius’ Caesar and Flavius Valerius Severus became Chlorus’ Caesar. • Galerius died in 311 and Diocletian in 312. Maximinus exiled Prisca and Galerius’ widow, and they were later beheaded. • Besides the persecution, Diocletian provided a stabilizing influence, but his attempts at reform failed. His administration was an albatross on the economy. Without him, the tetrarchy would not work. • It would take the reign of Constantine to set things straight for a time.