Then he took Numerian's army and killed Carinus...
So now, let's us take a closer look at Diocletian, the man who brought about the end of the Third Century Crisis.
DIOCLETIAN 284-305
He was a man of humble origin, rising through the military ranks and distinguishing himself as a capable soldier and leader of men. Most emperors of third century Rome religiously followed the tradition of grabbing all power and killing anyone who supported the previous regime. Diocletian bucked tradition by reconciling with Carinus' minions and shocked the known world by appointing a co-emperor and giving that co-emperor authority over half of the empire. That man was named Maximian.
MAXIMIAN 286-310
Maximian, like Diocletian, was also a man of lowly birth who rose above his original station by means of military service. The men styled themselves after Zues and Hercules; Diocletian was Zues, king of the gods, and Maximian was Hercules, the semi-divine son of (re: subservient to) Zeus. Diocletian held sway in the east and fought against the Sarmatians and the Persians while Maximian controlled the west (ever granting Diocletian final authority) and fought against the Alemanni and the roving bands of marauding peasants known as the Bagaudae.
Diocletian took the free hand afforded him by the appointment of a co-ruler and used it to reorganize the administration of the empire. The Senate was further weakened under his reign and taxes were increased and taken from a larger portion of the population.
Diocletian is remembered mostly for his vigorous persecution of Christians. During the Third Century, the worship of the sun was encouraged as a way to unite the disparate groups of people who made up the Roman empire. Under Diocletian, the traditional worship of a pantheon of gods was brought back into official practice. In 297, a refusal to offer sacrifice to the gods would get a person kicked out of the military. In 304, that same refusal would lead to execution. Churches were destroyed, scriptures were burned, and church leaders were imprisoned and tortured and killed. In the west, however, under Maximian, the anti-Christian edicts were largely ignored.
But, all in all, the co-emperorship of Diocletian and Maximian was a resounding success. The most worrisome problem was that of succession. How could they ensure that their successful joint rule would be mimicked by the rulers who followed them? How could they keep Rome from falling back into the constant Roman on Roman conflicts that had brought the empire into near ruin?
The answer: a tetrarchy.
Each of the two men would adopt a successor to take his place if he died or retired. Diocletian chose a distinguished soldier (and adamant anti-Christian) named Galerius and Maximian chose Constantius, the commander of his praetorian guard.
Now, before our next class period, I want each of you to write a one to two page paper about how you think this tetrarchal arrangement worked out. Did it go well? Did the empire fall back into civil war? Did Galerius end up dying of some kind of horrible disease that ate him alive from the inside out? Stay tuned!
Class dismissed.
Cheers.
Great pics. I really admire their diversity and looking forward to see further ones. I guess it might be a bit harder to differentiate them since now, as tetrarchic and constantinian portraits are more schematic and similar. I am sure you will be able to create some variation and hope to see following parts soon. :)
ReplyDelete...Holt... is that you..?
DeleteSorry, I don't know who is Holt :)
DeleteSomehow I wasn't able to register,
remaining random passer-by,
but I'll try to do it in a proper way :)
Great job!
Well, welcome to my eclectic blog!
DeleteAnd by the way, Tetrarchy seems a bit like an attempt to recover II century system (Nerva-Aurelius) in empire exhausted after III century crisis. A specific mixture of adoptive succession and barracks emperors.
ReplyDeleteI'm confused, which one was east and which was west? First maximian was west, but then he was east during the persecutions?
ReplyDelete..typo... my apologies.
DeleteMaximianus ruled western part. In the east during presecutions it was Maximinus (similar names) :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome Work man, once again! So happy you didn't give up on the project. Been waiting so long for the latest batch of Roman Emperors.
ReplyDeleteSo in answer to your question, I think that the Tetrarchic system which Diocletian adopted was crucial to the preservation of the empire which had just been bled dry by almost 50 years of endless civil war. However in my opinion this system relied heavily on the personal charisma of Diocletian himself in order to function properly. A fact which can clearly be seen by the rapid collapse of the system immediately following Diocletian's resignation. Unlike all his predecessors Diocletian was the first Roman who declined the responsibility of sole rule of the empire and appointed a co-Augustus. Although there had been examples of co-emperors in the past such as that of Marcus Aurelius + Lucius Verus, Caracalla + Geta, or Valerian + Gallienus, those relationships had always been one of unequal status with one member always holding the senior position over the other. This time both Diocletian and Maximian were imbued with equal status and titles. Each holding seniority in their respective section of the empire, Diocletian in the East and Maximian in the West. In addition to this each appointed a Caesar as his junior college and successor in order to alleviate the uncertainty within the empire that always accompanied the death of an Emperor. And so Galerius was appointed Caesar to Diocletian in the East and Constantius I to Maximian in the West. Now, after nearly 50 years of uncertainty the Roman Empire looked like it was back on its feet. Where once emperors had come and gone on an almost yearly basis, there were now 4 emperors divided amongst the provinces to deal with any internal of external threat the Romans may face. For 20 years they helped rebuild and restrengthen the empire which for so long seemed on the verge of complete and total collapse. Yet what kept these 4 men from taking their armies and just turning on one another and claiming the entire empire for themselves? Well the answer was simple... Diocletian. A man whose prestige and personal persona had united the empire following the crisis of the 3rd century, but who ultimately lacked the overall ambition of sole rule and opted rather to share his imperial power. Diocletian even went one step farther by becoming the first and only emperor in the history of the empire to retire and live out his days as a private citizen. Yet these final days were no happy time for Diocletian I'm sure, shortly after retiring the system he helped create crumbled before his eyes and slowly he drifted into madness, perhaps even taking his own life in the end. Tragic tale.
Also would like to add how I really like the way you depicted the Emperors murdering each other. I know this period is an extremely difficult in keeping track of who is Emperor where and when. Again Great job!!
ReplyDeleteHolt! Welcome back. Your comments are always much appreciated.
DeleteI hope to have the next batch done before the month's end...
I'm greatly looking forward to it. History seems to be a lost subject in today's modern culture. Glad to see you're still keeping it alive and interesting.
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