When was diocletian born

Roman emperor from to CE. Established the tetrarchy and instituted economic and tax reforms to stabilize the Roman Empire. Diocletian was Roman emperor from to CE. Born to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia, Diocletian rose through the ranks of the military to become cavalry commander to the Emperor Carus. After the deaths of Carus and his son Numerian on campaign in Persia, Diocletian was proclaimed emperor.

He appointed fellow officer, Maximian, as Augustus, co-emperor, in Diocletian delegated further in , appointing Galerius and Constantius as caesars, junior co-emperors. From at least on, imperial taxation was standardized, made more equitable, and levied at generally higher rates.

In , the senior emperors jointly abdicated and retired, allowing Constantius and Galerius to be elevated in rank to Augusti. They in turn appointed two new Caesars—Severus II in the west under Constantius, and Maximinus in the east under Galerius—thereby creating the second tetrarchy. The four tetrarchs based themselves not at Rome but in other cities closer to the frontiers, mainly intended as headquarters for the defense of the empire against bordering rivals.

Although Rome ceased to be an operational capital, it continued to be the nominal capital of the entire Roman Empire, not reduced to the status of a province, but under its own, unique Prefect of the City praefectus urbis. Zones of Influence in the Roman Tetrarchy. In terms of regional jurisdiction, there was no precise division between the four tetrarchs, and this period did not see the Roman state actually split up into four distinct sub-empires.

He introduced his own new system of coinage, and issued the Edictum De Pretiis Rerum Venalium Edict on Maximum Prices , which fixed prices of over 1, goods and services including wheat and wine, in an attempt to stave off rising inflation. As alluded to earlier, like all attempts to meddle in the free market, it was not a success.

What made things worse was that Diocletian only really had a basic grasp of economics and why prices went up. According to him, rising prices were simply the result of greedy and unscrupulous traders seeking to take advantage of the good Roman citizen, and not through other factors such as currency supply and debasement, product availability, fluctuating demand, transportation costs etc.

With a maximum price limit in place, it made items in some regions simply unprofitable to sell, which meant they either disappeared entirely in terms of availability, or they were bought and sold in secret in a black market at prices over the new limits. Although it was supposed to be good for the people in terms of fixing a maximum price, it simply caused more trouble than it was worth.

Emperor Gallienus issued the first official declaration of tolerance with regard to the Christians in AD. This had restored Christian places of worship and cemeteries and rescinded the decree of his father, Valerian, who had largely tried to force Christians to switch their faith back to the traditional Roman gods.

For over 40 years things were, for the most part, peaceful between Christians and those worshipping the Roman deities, so much so that many Christians occupied prominent positions in places such as the army and educational institutions. Then things changed when, in February AD, Diocletian tried to do the same thing as Valerian before him. He posted an edict at Nicomedia commanding all Christians in the Empire to worship the traditional Roman gods.

Their property was seized, and those who refused to comply and recant their faith faced the loss of their civil rights and even death. Diocletian was a man who was conservative in matters of religion, and had a strong belief in the traditional Roman gods and goddesses. As such, he no doubt saw other religions, especially those that were rapidly gaining in popularity, as a threat and a challenge to his beliefs.

Shortly before his persecution of Christians, Diocletian went after followers of Mani, a prophet who was born in the 3rd century AD in modern day Iran. His treatment of the followers of Manichaeism was brutal. He seized their property for the Imperial coffers, executed many through the blade or by burning them alive, while sending others off as slaves to work in nearby quarries and mines. After this merciless suppression of Manichaeism, his next target was Christianity.

On 24th February AD, Diocletian introduced his edict against the Christians, which ordered the destruction of Christian places of worship and forbade Christians assembling for worship. Executions of prominent members of the clergy took place, which only served to further the resolve of their fellow Christians to resist the persecution. Although Diocletian obviously had his own beliefs and reasons for engaging in the persecution of Christians, and was all too willing to do so, many historians believe that it was actually his co-emperor Galerius who was the main driver behind the brutal persecution of the Christians.

It may have been political, insofar as removing bishops and clergy who were influential and held much sway with a large number of people which could prove problematic in the future, rather than any true hatred of the Christian faith or its followers specifically. After 40 years of relatively peaceful co-existence, these actions were neither popular nor supported by everyone, however.

Many ordinary citizens were unsympathetic to the cruel killings and treatment of those who followed the Christian faith, people who were now so woven into the fabric of society that they were friends, work colleagues etc. Even the other two members of the Tetrarchy — Emperor Maximian and his deputy Constantius in the west — largely ignored the edict, leaving the Christians in the western side of the Empire relatively untouched.

But it would be another 17 years after this, in AD, until the Christian emperor Constantine would finally return all of the confiscated property to the Christians. He also made Christianity the primary religion of the Empire, which would no doubt have been an unimaginable event for Diocletian to witness, but he would not be alive to see it.

At the beginning of the 4th century AD, Diocletian was now a man in his sixties. Unlike many previous emperors who would never even consider relinquishing power whilst they still drew breath, Diocletian had different ideas. He had constructed a grand, fortified palace in his homeland of Dalmatia much of which can still be visited and seen today in the present-day city of Split, Croatia for his retirement. His final 12 months in power saw instances of ill-health, which no doubt made up his mind that the time to pass on the demands and responsibilities of being a Roman emperor was fast approaching.

At the beginning of AD he contracted a mild illness while on campaign against the Carpi an ancient people who lived in an area that today is eastern Romania , but his condition worsened to such an extent that he had to carried in a litter. Later that year, he collapsed shortly after a public ceremony to open a circus beside his residence, and spent the whole of the winter inside hidden away, so much so that rumours quickly spread that he had died, sending the whole city into mourning.

When he did finally reappear in March of the following year, he looked so ill and worn out that he was barely recognizable. On 1st May AD, Diocletian called his generals and legionary representatives from far and wide to the same hill near Nicomedia where he had been proclaimed emperor over two decades ago in AD. Here, with tears in his eyes, he told them that it was time for him to resign and pass on the responsibilities of Empire to someone younger and stronger.

He had also decided that Maximian was to abdicate on the same day. After relinquishing power, Diocletian now retired to his new fortified palace in Dalmatia, tending to his gardens and growing vegetables. His tetrarchy form of government soon began to collapse, torn apart by the ambition and power struggles of those now in place. Member of the The Tetrarchy dynasty. Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus was born ca. He came from humble origins and rose through the military to serve as commander at Moesia.

Diocletian may have played some part in the deaths of Carus and Numerian; his troops proclaimed him emperor and he marched against Carinus in Rome. Carinus met him in battle and was ultimately killed, and Diocletian gained the support of his troops. In , Diocletian appointed his colleague Maximian as Caesar and gave him control of the Western provinces; the emperor had no sons on whom to rely. In Maximian was raised to Augustus, and propaganda tended to identify Diocletian with Jove and Maximian with Hercules.

Diocletian spent five years campaigning against the Danube tribes and unsuccessfully dealing with the upstart Carausius.