Diocletian's Reforms — The Dominate and the Tetrarchy
Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus was the son of a Dalmatian freedman who rose through the ranks to command the imperial bodyguard. When the emperor Numerian died under suspicious circumstances in 284 CE, the army acclaimed Diocletian emperor. His response to fifty years of near-collapse was methodical. He divided the empire administratively, ruling the richer East himself from Nicomedia (near modern Istanbul) while entrusting the West to his old comrade Maximian. In 293 CE he formalised this into the Tetrarchy: two senior Augusti (himself and Maximian) each with a junior Caesar (Galerius and Constantius Chlorus), with clear succession planned. His army reform tripled the legions — though each was now smaller. The bureaucracy expanded enormously to manage a heavier tax burden. His Edict on Maximum Prices (301 CE) attempted to cap inflation by fixing prices for thousands of goods and services — it failed, as merchants simply refused to sell. His Great Persecution of Christians (303-313 CE) was systematic: churches destroyed, scriptures burned, clergy arrested. In the East under Galerius it was brutal; in Constantius Chlorus's West, relatively mild. In 305 CE Diocletian abdicated — the only emperor ever voluntarily to do so. He retired to his enormous palace at Split on the Dalmatian coast, grew cabbages, and reportedly told Maximian that if Maximian could see what fine cabbages he had grown he would not bother him to return to power.
- Year: 284 CE
- Category: Political
