Details about Emperor Diocletian The Roman

About Emperor Diocletian The Roman

Diocletian reigned as the Roman emperor in the years 284 to 305 CE. In 249 CE, Roman emperor Philip the Arab was defeated and killed, and after this event the Roman Empire had to endure about thirty years of really weak rulers. The times of Augustus, Vespasian and Trajan were gone for good, and the greatest Empire, which once ruled the old world, was collapsing both economically and militarily. There were incessant raids on the Danube and in the eastern territories. At long last in the year 284 CE, a man came to the throne with a mission to transform the empire beyond recognition. His name was Diocletian.

Diocletian family

On December 22, in the year of our Lord 245, Diocles—more well known in history as Diocletian—was born in the Balkan Province of Dalmatia. Like many of his forebears, he rose swiftly through the military ranks and became a member of an elite Illyrian army unit. He was later awarded for his talents by being appointed the Moesian Army General in command of a northern Balkan region that lies to the northwest of the Black Sea. In 283, he accompanied his master the Roman Emperor Carus to Persian dominions where he served as a member of the protectores domesticus or the Imperial Guards, a title he retained even under Carus' son and successor, Numerian - unlike many of his predecessors, Carus perished in 283 due to illness.

The beginning of his life

It was certain that the new emperor would abdicate his position as soon as possible. Even though some believe Diocletian may have been engaged in the events that resulted in Numerian's death in 284, it was Arrius Aper who made the accusation against her ex-son-in-law, Numerian's husband and the commander of the Praetorian Guard. He was awaiting the opportunity to take the throne of the emperor after having already witnessed his daughter's husband's weakness.

In retaliation for the assassination of the Emperor, Diocletian killed Aper before the latter's own soldiers. After declaring himself emperor in the month of November in the year 284, Diocletian traversed the Bosporus Strait into Europe, where he clashed with Carinus, the co-emperor and brother of Numerian, at the arena known as the Battle of Margus—historians believe that the young emperor was assassinated by his own soldiers. Following this achievement, Diocletian held undisputed power over the restructured empire, and he took on the name Caius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus.

Diocletian recognized that one of the primary challenges in administering a vast stretch of land like the Roman Empire, was its vastness. It is for this reason, therefore, that the first actions of the newly crowned emperor was the division of the empire into two. With no successor, in November of 285 C.E, albeit newly enthroned, he enlisted as his western caesar an Illyrian officer (rather his son-in-law), Maximian.
Diocletian achievements

The new Caesar, who would be promoted to Augustus a year later, immediately took the name Marcus Aurelius Valerius. In the East, Diocletian remained emperor despite his distaste for the metropolis of Rome. Maximian's appointment gave Diocletian time to deal with the continuing problems in the East. However, despite Maximian's position as co-emperor, Diocletian considered himself the senior emperor (which Maximian accepted), retaining the right to veto all Maximian's decisions. The principate of Augustus disappeared; it was replaced by the dominate.

It was unfortunate for Diocletian and Maximian that peace in the empire could only be enjoyed for a short while. The unresolved challenges that confronted the empire over the last few decades were still around. And also as in the case of his predecessors, issues soon surfaced in the danube, this time around moesia and pannonia. For the next five years, Diocletian turned out to be more often engaged in Eastern Wars. The victory of 286 did not reward him only with the peace that he craved for most of his life but with the status of Germanicus Maximus. Diocletian proved to be quite able in Persia as well, defeating the Sarmats in 289 and the Saracens in 292.

Maximian faced similar problems in the West. Carausius, the commander of the Roman North Sea fleet, declared himself emperor and seized control of Britain and a portion of northern Gaul. He had received his command after helping Maximian defeat the renegade Bagaudes in Gaul. Later, when it was revealed that he was keeping much of the “spoils of war” for himself, he was declared an outlaw and Maximian issued a warrant for his arrest. But, like many men who dared to proclaim themselves emperors, he met his death at the hands of one of his own commanders, in this case his finance minister, Allectus.

Why Diocletian's reign was called the Age of Martyrs

When Emperor Diocletien ascended the throne of Rome in 284 AD, he persecuted the Christians (Copts) for about twenty years, during which time Egypt suffered hardships and horrors, and thousands of Egyptian Christians (Copts) were martyred. Diocletian is the one who erected the column known as the Pillar of Sawari, or what is mistakenly called the Pompeii Pillar, which stands today in Alexandria.

Diocletian's reign is known for persecuting Christians (Copts) from the late third century AD, more so than anything that had happened before. His reign was called the “Age of Martyrs” due to the large number of Egyptian converts to Christianity who were martyred during his reign.

The Copts chose to call that period the Age of Martyrs because they marked the beginning of their calendar in 284 AD, the year Diocletian ascended to the kingdom. Because of the intensity of this persecution, they decided to start their calendar's chronology at the beginning. Simply maintaining their beliefs and customs throughout the Roman captivity was a crucial act of defiance and national resistance for the Copts, or Egyptian Christians.