The Dominate , also known as the late Roman Empire , is the despotic form of imperial government of the late Roman Empire . It followed the earlier period known as the Principate . Until the empire was reunited in 313, this phase is more often called the Tetrarchy .
170-730: It may begin with the commencement of the reign of Diocletian in AD 284, following the Third Century Crisis of AD 235–284, and end in the west with the fall of the Western Roman Empire in AD 476, while in the Eastern Roman Empire its end is disputed, with the majority of opinions placing it around the transition between the Justinian and Heraclian dynasties, between the years 565 and 641. In form,
340-526: A praetorship . The office of Praetor had also lost much of its influence, as it had been stripped of its legal functions, so that during the Dominate its purpose was primarily to organise the Ludi Romani . The most prestigious post that a senator could hold under the Dominate was that of Praefectus urbi ; during this period the office gained in effective power, as the imperial court was removed from
510-620: A ceremony in the Temple of Jupiter . From Ravenna, Diocletian left for the Danube. There, possibly in Galerius's company, he took part in a campaign against the Carpi. He contracted a minor illness while on campaign, but his condition quickly worsened and he chose to travel in a litter . In the late summer, he left for Nicomedia. On 20 November 304, he appeared in public to dedicate the opening of
680-521: A continuous imperial presence, placed his eastern capital in the city of Nicomedia . Meanwhile, the Caesars also had imperial residences – Constantius Chlorus was based at Augusta Treverorum , while Galerius sited his residence at Sirmium . After the collapse of the Tetrachy, Constantine I at first placed his imperial capital at Ulpia Serdica before erecting a new imperial capital on the site of
850-513: A court of individuals who, only due to the favor and proximity of the Emperor, attained the highest honorific titles and bureaucratic functions. In fact, many offices associated with the palatine life and that suggested intimate relationship with royalty eventually developed connotations of power, such as the offices of Chamberlain and Constable . The titles of Senator and Consul , after the loss of every residue of political power they had had in
1020-550: A cruel and oppressive tyrant. Julianus' forces were weak, and were handily dispersed when Carinus' armies moved from Britain to northern Italy. As the leader of the united East, Diocletian was clearly the greater threat. Over the winter of 284–85, Diocletian advanced west across the Balkans . In the spring, some time before the end of May, his armies met Carinus' across the river Margus ( Great Morava ) in Moesia . In modern accounts,
1190-580: A key. The history of the Empire would have been profoundly different if the Church had remained as independent of the State as it had been before Constantine. But heresies and schisms and religious intolerance on one side, and the despotic instinct to control all social forces on the other, brought about a close union between State and Church which altered the character and spirit of the State, and constituted perhaps
1360-559: A lieutenant. According to Eutropius , Diocletian raised his fellow-officer Maximian to the office of Caesar , making him his heir and effective co-ruler. The concept of dual rulership was not new to the Roman Empire. Augustus , the first emperor, had nominally shared power with his colleagues, and a formal office of co-emperor (co- Augustus ) had existed from Marcus Aurelius onward. Most recently, Emperor Carus and his sons had ruled together, albeit unsuccessfully. Diocletian
1530-478: A limited form of senatorial career , basing the magistracies on previous offices but with changed functions. Beginning with the quaestorship , a role which had acted as a form of apprenticeship for an ambitious senator during the Principate, it was downgraded during the Dominate and assigned to the sons of senators, with the legal qualifying age lowered to sixteen. This was followed by a suffect consulship and/or
1700-582: A line of succession. Galerius and Constantius would become Augusti after the departure of Diocletian and Maximian. Maximian's son Maxentius and Constantius's son Constantine would then become Caesars. In preparation for their future roles, Constantine and Maxentius were taken to Diocletian's court in Nicomedia. Diocletian spent the spring of 293 travelling with Galerius from Sirmium ( Sremska Mitrovica , Serbia ) to Byzantium ( Istanbul , Turkey ). Diocletian then returned to Sirmium, where he remained for
1870-556: A more professional military leadership. The Masters were all ranked as illustres . To support the Masters of the Soldiers, the Empire established several Military Counts (" Comes rei militaris "). There were six such Military Counts throughout the Empire. The Military Counts were all ranked as spectabiles . The various Frontier Troops were under the command of Dukes (" duces limitis " or "border commanders"). These commanders were
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#17327661064502040-454: A permanent feature of the empire in AD 364 with the accession of Valentinian I , who shared the imperial office with his brother Valens . Barring the 3-year period of solitary rule by Theodosius I from AD 392–395, this approach would last until the overthrow of the last western emperor in AD 476. While each augustus was autonomous within each portion of the empire they managed, all laws that were introduced by any emperor were valid across
2210-553: A public ceremony at Antioch , the official version of events was clear: Galerius was responsible for the defeat; Diocletian was not. Diocletian publicly humiliated Galerius, forcing him to walk for a mile at the head of the Imperial caravan, still clad in the purple robes of the Emperor. Galerius was reinforced, probably in the spring of 298, by a new contingent collected from the empire's Danubian holdings. Narseh did not advance from Armenia and Mesopotamia, leaving Galerius to lead
2380-412: A restorer, a figure of authority whose duty it was to return the empire to peace, to recreate stability and justice where barbarian hordes had destroyed it. He arrogated, regimented and centralized political authority on a massive scale. In his policies, he enforced an Imperial system of values on diverse and often unreceptive provincial audiences. In the Imperial propaganda from the period, recent history
2550-592: A revolt swept the region after Galerius's departure. The usurper Domitius Domitianus declared himself Augustus in July or August 297. Much of Egypt, including Alexandria , recognized his rule. Diocletian moved into Egypt to suppress him, first putting down rebels in the Thebaid in the autumn of 297, then moving on to besiege Alexandria. Domitianus died in December 297, by which time Diocletian had secured control of
2720-493: A statement that he was aged 68 at death (alongside other evidence). His parents were of low status; Eutropius records "that he is said by most writers to have been the son of a scribe, but by some to have been a freedman of a senator called Anulinus." The first forty years of his life are mostly obscure. Diocletian was considered an Illyricianus ( Illyrian ) who had been schooled and promoted by Aurelian . The 12th-century Byzantine chronicler Joannes Zonaras states that he
2890-404: A statue of Jupiter, his patron deity, Diocletian addressed the crowd. With tears in his eyes, he told them of his weakness, his need for rest, and his will to resign. He declared that he needed to pass the duty of empire on to someone stronger. He thus became the first (and arguably only) Roman emperor to voluntarily abdicate his title. Most in the crowd believed that Constantine and Maxentius,
3060-482: A style in which the emperor was seen to be distinct from all other mortals. His house could no longer be a grander version of houses that other people might live in: it, like him, had to be different. The adoption of Dominus as a formal title reflected the divine status ( divus ) that has come to be a prerogative of the Imperial position. Originally an exceptional honour awarded by the Senate to an Emperor posthumously,
3230-625: A system called the Tetrarchy , which originally consisted of two co-emperors ( augusti ) and two respectively subordinate junior emperors ( caesars ), each of whom shared in the imperial power. This original power sharing model lasted from AD 289 through to AD 324, being undone during the Civil wars of the Tetrarchy . With Constantine I 's death in AD 337, the empire was again shared between multiple augusti , lasting until AD 350. The model became
3400-487: A third) consulate. Prior to achieving the consulate, these individuals already had a significant career behind them, and would expect to continue serving the state, filling in the post upon which the state functioned. Under the Dominate, the loss of many pre-consular functions and the encroachment of the equites into the traditional senatorial administrative and military functions meant that senatorial careers virtually vanished prior to their appointment as consuls. This had
3570-426: A time of civil war, savage despotism, and imperial collapse. In those inscriptions that bear their names, Diocletian, the "founder of eternal peace", and his companions are referred to as "restorers of the whole world", men who succeeded in "defeating the nations of the barbarians, and confirming the tranquility of their world". The theme of restoration was conjoined to an emphasis on the uniqueness and accomplishments of
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#17327661064503740-703: A victory in the ongoing conflict with Persia , and Diocletian was hailed as the "founder of eternal peace". The events might have represented a formal end to Carus's eastern campaign, which probably ended without an acknowledged peace. At the conclusion of discussions with the Persians, Diocletian re-organized the Mesopotamian frontier and fortified the city of Circesium (Buseire, Syria) on the Euphrates . Maximian's campaigns were not proceeding as smoothly. The Bagaudae had been easily suppressed, but Carausius ,
3910-632: A way military power and dynastic claims could not. After his acclamation, Maximian was dispatched to fight the rebel Bagaudae , insurgent peasants of Gaul. Diocletian returned to the East, progressing slowly. By 2 November, he had only reached Civitas Iovia (Botivo, near Ptuj , Slovenia ). In the Balkans during the autumn of 285, he encountered a tribe of Sarmatians who demanded assistance. The Sarmatians requested that Diocletian either help them recover their lost lands or grant them pasturage rights within
4080-402: Is unclear. At the conclusion of the peace, Tiridates regained both his throne and the entirety of his ancestral claim. Rome secured a wide zone of cultural influence, which led to a wide diffusion of Syriac Christianity from a center at Nisibis in later decades, and the eventual Christianization of Armenia. To strengthen the defence of the east Diocletian had a fortified road constructed at
4250-521: The fasces in place of Carinus and Numerian. Bassus was a member of a senatorial family from Campania , a former consul and proconsul of Africa, chosen by Probus for signal distinction. He was skilled in areas of government where Diocletian presumably had no experience. Diocletian's elevation of Bassus symbolized his rejection of Carinus' government in Rome, his refusal to accept second-tier status to any other emperor, and his willingness to continue
4420-498: The illustres , spectabiles and clarissimi , all of whom were automatically members of the senatorial order. The heads of the great central civil ministries, the magistri militum and other high level military commanders as well as the Praepositus sacri cubiculi were all graded as illustres , the highest of the new senatorial ranks. The second class ( spectabiles ) was assigned to a large group of civil servants, including
4590-532: The Alamanni . Diocletian invaded Germania through Raetia while Maximian progressed from Mainz. Each burned crops and food supplies as he went, destroying the Germans' means of sustenance. The two men added territory to the empire and allowed Maximian to continue preparations against Carausius without further disturbance. On his return to the East, Diocletian managed what was probably another rapid campaign against
4760-525: The Masters of the Soldiers for military affairs and the Imperial Chancellor for central civilian administration. These reforms were the result of both the lack of officials suitable for the prefect's wide-ranging tasks, and of the desire to reduce the potential challenge to the Emperor's authority posed by a powerful Prefect. The next reforms were undertaken by Constantine I, who reorganised
4930-514: The Proconsuls , vicarii , the military governors in the provinces and the magistri scriniorum . The entry level class, clarissimus , was the minimum qualification for membership of the Senate. It was automatically awarded as part of the governorship of a province, and to a myriad of other lesser officers. It was held by a large number of junior imperial public servants, as well as being awarded to them after their retirement. The generosity of
5100-557: The Quadi and Marcomanni immediately after the Battle of the Margus. He eventually made his way to northern Italy and made an imperial government, but it is not known whether he visited Rome at this time. There is a contemporary issue of coins suggestive of an imperial adventus (arrival) for the city, but some modern historians state that Diocletian avoided the city, to demonstrate that
5270-489: The Sarmatians . Diocletian replaced the prefect of Rome with his consular colleague Bassus. Most officials who had served under Carinus, however, retained their offices under Diocletian. In an act of clementia denoted by the epitomator of Aurelius Victor as unusual, Diocletian did not kill or depose Carinus's traitorous praetorian prefect and consul Aristobulus , but confirmed him in both roles. He later gave him
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5440-403: The Tetrarchy , from a Greek term meaning "rulership by four". The Tetrarchs were more or less sovereign in their own lands, and they travelled with their own imperial courts, administrators, secretaries, and armies. They were joined by blood and marriage; Diocletian and Maximian now styled themselves as brothers, and formally adopted Galerius and Constantius as sons. These relationships implied
5610-643: The illustres , all of the highest state officials were regraded to this rank. Under the Principate, provinces that contained legions were under the proconsular authority of the emperor, who managed those provinces through designated legates ( Legatus Augusti pro praetore ), while the units stationed at Rome were under the authority of the Praetorian Prefect . During the Crisis of the Third Century, greater authority over imperial military matters
5780-577: The second encounter , Roman forces seized Narseh's camp, his treasury, his harem, and his wife. Galerius continued down the Tigris, and took the Persian capital Ctesiphon before returning to Roman territory along the Euphrates. Narseh sent an ambassador to Galerius to plead for the return of his wives and children in the course of the war, but Galerius dismissed him. Serious peace negotiations began in
5950-521: The usurper Postumus as well as defending Italy from the ravages of the Alamanni . Rome was increasingly seen to be too distant a residence for the emperor when troubles could erupt along any of the borders of the empire. In the west, Mediolanum was seen to be a much better strategic city for the emperor to be based at, as it gave good access through the Alps northwards to both the Danubian provinces in
6120-649: The "Aurelius Valerius" family. The relationship between Diocletian and Maximian was quickly couched in religious terms. Around 287 Diocletian assumed the title Iovius (Jovius), and Maximian assumed the title Herculius (Hercules). The titles were probably meant to convey certain characteristics of their associated leaders. Diocletian, in Jovian style, would take on the dominating roles of planning and commanding; Maximian, in Herculian mode, would act as Jupiter's heroic subordinate. For all their religious connotations,
6290-600: The Australian Capital Territory Magistrates court (Northern Territory) Magistrates Court of Queensland Magistrates Court of South Australia Magistrates Court of Tasmania Magistrates' Court of Victoria Magistrates Court of Western Australia Local Court of New South Wales Federal Circuit Court of Australia (initially the Federal Magistrate's Court of Australia. The title Federal Magistrate
6460-470: The Dominate is considered to have been more authoritarian, less collegial and more bureaucratic than the Principate from which it emerged. The modern term dominate is derived from the Latin dominus , which translates into English as lord or master . Dominus , traditionally used by Roman slaves to address their masters, was sporadically used in addressing emperors throughout the Principate, usually in
6630-445: The Dominate, holding an ordinary consulate was occasionally left out of the cursus inscriptions, while suffect consulships were hardly ever recorded. One of the key changes in the management of the empire during the Dominate was the large scale removal of old-style senatorial participation in administrative and military functions. The process began with the reforms of Gallienus, who removed senators from military commands, placing them in
6800-659: The Eastern provinces soon thereafter. He returned with haste to the West, reaching Emesa by 10 May 290, and Sirmium on the Danube by 1 July 290. Diocletian met Maximian in Milan either in late December 290 or January 291. The meeting was undertaken with a sense of solemn pageantry. The emperors spent most of their time in public appearances. It has been surmised that the ceremonies were arranged to demonstrate Diocletian's continuing support for his faltering colleague. A deputation from
6970-535: The Egyptian countryside. Alexandria, whose defense was organized under Domitianus's former corrector Aurelius Achilleus , held out probably until March 298. Later in 298, the triumphal column now known as Pompey's Pillar was erected in Alexandria to honor Diocletian. Bureaucratic affairs were completed during Diocletian's stay: a census took place, and Alexandria, in punishment for its rebellion, lost
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7140-540: The Emperor's approval. The only civilian officials not under the direct oversight of the Praetorian Prefects were the proconsular governors of Africa , Achaea and Asia , along with the Urban Prefects . The increasing administrative machinery surrounding the emperor resulted in an explosion of bureaucratic offices. These state officials were paid originally both in food and with money, but over
7310-607: The Empire's borders (" limes "). Recruited from the ranks of the Field Armies were the Palace Troops units (" Palatini "), who accompanied the Emperor as he travelled around the Empire, functioning as the successor to the Principate's Praetorian Guard . Around the same time, Constantine established the new military roles of the Master of the Soldiers (" Magister Militum "), who were the supreme military commanders of
7480-519: The Empire, and included the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum . The Patriarchate of Constantinople had oversight over the civil dioceses of Thrace, Pontus, and Asia. The Patriarchate of Alexandria corresponded to the Diocese of Egypt. The Patriarchate of Antioch had jurisdiction over the majority of the Praetorian prefecture of the East , while the smaller Patriarchate of Jerusalem dominated
7650-470: The Imperial household. This post earned him the honor of a consulship in 283. Carus's death, amid a successful war with Persia and in mysterious circumstances – he was believed to have been struck by lightning or killed by Persian soldiers – left his sons Numerian and Carinus as the new Augusti . Carinus quickly made his way to Rome from his post in Gaul and arrived there by January 284, becoming
7820-584: The Lower Danube extolled restored tranquility to the region. The defense came at a heavy cost but was a significant achievement in an area difficult to defend. Galerius, meanwhile, was engaged during 291–293 in disputes in Upper Egypt , where he suppressed a regional uprising. He returned to Syria in 295 to fight the revanchist Persian empire. Diocletian's attempts to bring the Egyptian tax system in line with Imperial standards stirred discontent, and
7990-477: The Principate, and it was not introduced into Italy. It was Diocletian who altered this to have the worship of the living emperors as an official part of the religious framework of the entire empire. To facilitate this, Diocletian was linked to the god Jupiter , while his colleague Maximian was associated with Hercules . It was under Constantine I that the religious transformation began to take its late Dominate shape, initially with Constantine officially favouring
8160-452: The Principate, became mere honorifics in the later Empire. Historian David Potter describes the transformation of government under Diocletian when describing the shifts in imagery the Emperor used to display his power (in this case the building of a huge new palace at Sirmium ): The style of Government so memorably described by Marcus, whereby the emperor sought to show himself as a model of correct aristocratic deportment, had given way to
8330-508: The Roman Senate met with the emperors, renewing its infrequent contact with the Imperial office. The choice of Milan over Rome further snubbed the capital's pride. But then it was already a long-established practice that Rome itself was only a ceremonial capital, as the actual seat of the Imperial administration was determined by the needs of defense. Long before Diocletian, Gallienus (r. 253–68) had chosen Milan for his headquarters. If
8500-555: The ability to mint independently. Diocletian's reforms in the region, combined with those of Septimius Severus , brought Egyptian administrative practices much closer to Roman standards. Diocletian travelled south along the Nile the following summer, where he visited Oxyrhynchus and Elephantine . In Nubia, he made peace with the Nobatae and Blemmyes tribes. Under the terms of the peace treaty Rome's borders moved north to Philae and
8670-596: The apocalypse. Diocletian entered the city of Rome in the early winter of 303. On 20 November, he celebrated, with Maximian, the twentieth anniversary of his reign ( vicennalia ), the tenth anniversary of the Tetrarchy ( decennalia ), and a triumph for the war with Persia. Diocletian soon grew impatient with the city, as the Romans acted towards him with what Edward Gibbon , following Lactantius , calls "licentious familiarity". The Roman people did not give enough deference to his supreme authority; they expected him to act
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#17327661064508840-558: The archaeological evidence, is that Carausius had held some important military post in Britain, already had a firm basis of power in Britain and Northern Gaul, and profited from the lack of legitimacy of the central government. Carausius strove to have his legitimacy as a junior emperor acknowledged by Diocletian: in his coinage, he extolled the "concord" between him and the central power. One bronze piece from 290 read PAX AVGGG, "the Peace of
9010-585: The autocratic nature of the office by hiding behind the institutions of the Roman Republic and the fiction that the emperor was simply the princeps or first citizen, whose authority was granted by the Senate . This role was almost always filled by a single individual, and the date that the Potestas tribunicia was conferred onto that person was the point when imperial authority could be exercised. Over
9180-507: The autumn of 302. He ordered that the deacon Romanus of Caesarea have his tongue removed for defying the order of the courts and interrupting official sacrifices. Romanus was then sent to prison, where he was executed on 17 November 303. Diocletian left the city for Nicomedia in the winter, accompanied by Galerius. According to Lactantius, Diocletian and Galerius argued over imperial policy towards Christians while wintering at Nicomedia in 302. Diocletian believed that forbidding Christians from
9350-639: The blade, and high-status Manicheans must be sent to work in the quarries of Proconnesus ( Marmara Island , Turkey) or the mines of Phaeno in southern Palestine . All Manichean property was to be seized and deposited in the imperial treasury . Diocletian found much to be offended by in Manichean religion: its novelty, its alien origins, its perceived corruption of Roman morals, and its inherent opposition to long-standing religious traditions. His reasons for opposing Manichaeanism were also applied to his next target, Christianity. Diocletian returned to Antioch in
9520-454: The bureaucracy and military would be sufficient to appease the gods, but Galerius pushed for extermination. The two men sought the advice of the oracle of Apollo at Didyma . The oracle responded that the impious on Earth hindered Apollo's ability to provide advice. Rhetorically Eusebius records the Oracle as saying "The just on Earth..." These impious, Diocletian was informed by members of
9690-499: The central Italian provinces to the Lombards . Large Roman landowners increasingly relied on Roman freemen, acting as tenant farmers to provide labor. The status of these tenant farmers, eventually known as coloni , steadily eroded. Because the tax system implemented by Diocletian (reigned 284–305) assessed taxes based both on land and on the inhabitants of that land, it became administratively inconvenient for peasants to leave
9860-422: The circus beside his palace. He collapsed soon after the ceremonies. Over the winter of 304–05 he kept within his palace at all times. Rumors spread through the city that Diocletian's death was being kept secret until Galerius could assume power. On 13 December, it was falsely announced that Diocletian had killed himself. The city was sent into mourning from which it recovered after public declarations that Diocletian
10030-440: The city and its Senate were no longer politically relevant to the affairs of the empire. Diocletian dated his reign from his elevation by the army, not his ratification by the Senate, following the practice established by Carus, who had declared the Senate's ratification a useless formality. However, Diocletian offered proof of his deference towards the Senate by retaining Aristobulus as ordinary consul and colleague for 285 (one of
10200-495: The city of Rome, meaning that the prefects were no longer under the emperor's direct supervision. The most significant change was the return of provincial government to the senatorial order, with the larger or more important provinces handed over to those senators who had held an ordinary consulship. However, unlike the time of the Principate, the role of governor was much reduced, being a purely civil magistrate with no military functions, and with provinces greatly reduced in size, and
10370-582: The closest in function to the Imperial Legates of the Principate. Most Dukes were given command of forces in a single province, but a few controlled more than one province. In the East, the Dukes reported to the Master of the Soldiers of their district whereas in the West they reported to their respective Military Count. The Dominate saw enormous changes in the official religion of the empire from its pantheistic Principate origins. Its principal feature
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#173276610645010540-493: The course of the Dominate, the annona (or food ration) was converted into money. Their salaries therefore consumed a considerable chunk of the imperial budget. Although precise numbers are not available, it has been speculated that the state bureaucracy in the Praetorian prefecture of the East and the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum , including the diocesan and provincial governor's staffs, would have consisted of somewhere around 10,000 individuals. This figure did not include
10710-578: The course of the Principate, it became common for the emperor (or Augustus ) to nominate an heir (referred to as the Caesar ), but the caesar did not have access to the powers of the emperor, nor was he delegated any official authority. It was during the Crisis of the Third Century that the traditional imperial approach of a single imperial magistrate based at Rome became unable to cope with multiple and simultaneous invasions and usurpations that required
10880-410: The course of which the bishop could bring cases of illegality directly to the emperor. One of the most visible signs of the changes brought about by the Dominate was the downgrading of Rome from its status as the official residence of the emperor . This precedent had already been established by Gallienus in 260, who moved the imperial court to Mediolanum in response to a suspected future attack by
11050-488: The court, could only refer to the Christians of the empire. At the behest of his court, Diocletian acceded to demands for universal persecution. On 23 February 303, Diocletian ordered that the newly built church at Nicomedia be razed. He demanded that its scriptures be burned, and seized its precious stores for the treasury. The next day, Diocletian's first "Edict against the Christians" was published. The edict ordered
11220-430: The creation of mobile field armies, changes in imperial dress and ceremonial displays, a religious policy aiming at religious unity, large scale monetary reforms, and the creation of an empire-wide civil bureaucracy. Although Diocletian is commonly thought of as creator of the Dominate, its origins lie in the innovations of earlier emperors, principally those undertaken by Aurelian (AD 270–275). Some reforms stretch back to
11390-399: The destruction of Christian scriptures and places of worship across the empire, and prohibited Christians from assembling for worship. Before the end of February, a fire destroyed part of the Imperial palace. Galerius convinced Diocletian that the culprits were Christians, conspirators who had plotted with the eunuchs of the palace. An investigation was commissioned, but no responsible party
11560-524: The east as well as the Rhine provinces and Gaul to the west. Further, it was well positioned to guard against incursions through the alpine passes. This decision was confirmed when Diocletian established the Tetrarchy, and his colleague Maximian informally established Mediolanum as the senior western emperor's official residence. Diocletian, conscious that the Persian threat to the eastern provinces required
11730-414: The effect of seeing a suffect consulship granted at an earlier age, to the point that by the 4th century, it was being held by men in their early twenties, and possibly younger. As time progressed, second consulates, usually ordinary, became far more common than had been the case during the first two centuries, while the first consulship was usually a suffect consulate. Also, the consulate during this period
11900-576: The elevation had devolved to an expected convention for still-living Caesars. To dissuade the rebellions and usurpations of the Crisis of the Third Century , the Emperors sought the kind of divine legitimacy invoked by Eastern monarchies . Diocletian Diocletian ( / ˌ d aɪ . ə ˈ k l iː ʃ ən / DYE -ə- KLEE -shən ; Latin : Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus ; Ancient Greek : Διοκλητιανός , romanized : Diokletianós ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius ,
12070-473: The emperor to be everywhere at once. Further, it was their absence which caused usurpations to occur in response to a local or provincial crisis that traditionally would have been dealt with by the emperor. Under the Dominate, the burden of the imperial position was increasingly shared between colleagues, referred to as the Consortium imperii . It was Diocletian who introduced this form of government, under
12240-415: The emperors in bestowing the clarissimus witnessed the gradual erosion in its value. As a consequence, the emperors began to raise many clarissimi graded officials to the rank of spectabiles , which in turn cheapened the highest rank of illustres . This inflationary pressure resulted in the creation of a new senatorial rank before the middle of the 6th century, that of gloriosi . Higher in grading than
12410-485: The emperors were not "gods" in the tradition of the Imperial cult – although they may have been hailed as such in Imperial panegyrics . Instead, they were seen as the gods' representatives, effecting their will on earth. The shift from military acclamation to divine sanctification took the power to appoint emperors away from the army. Religious legitimization elevated Diocletian and Maximian above potential rivals in
12580-526: The empire to remain essentially intact for another 150 years despite being near the brink of collapse in Diocletian's youth. Weakened by illness, Diocletian left the imperial office on 1 May 305, becoming the first Roman emperor to abdicate the position voluntarily. He lived out his retirement in his palace on the Dalmatian coast , tending to his vegetable gardens. His palace eventually became the core of
12750-450: The empire's frontiers than the traditional capital at Rome. Building on third-century trends towards absolutism , he styled himself an autocrat, elevating himself above the empire's masses with imposing forms of court ceremonies and architecture. Bureaucratic and military growth, constant campaigning, and construction projects increased the state's expenditures and necessitated a comprehensive tax reform. From at least 297 on, imperial taxation
12920-464: The empire's last, largest, and bloodiest official persecution of Christianity , failed to eliminate Christianity in the empire. After 324, Christianity became the empire's preferred religion under Constantine . Despite these failures and challenges, Diocletian's reforms fundamentally changed the structure of the Roman imperial government and helped stabilize the empire economically and militarily, enabling
13090-551: The empire's traditional enemy, and in 299, he sacked their capital, Ctesiphon . Diocletian led the subsequent negotiations and achieved a lasting and favorable peace. Diocletian separated and enlarged the empire's civil and military services and reorganized the empire's provincial divisions, establishing the largest and most bureaucratic government in the history of the empire. He established new administrative centers in Nicomedia , Mediolanum , Sirmium , and Trevorum , closer to
13260-503: The empire. Beginning with the head of the foot troops, the magister peditum ("Master of the Foot"), and one for the more prestigious horse troops, the magister equitum ("Master of the Horse"), these were established in each of the four Praetorian Prefectures . Over time, the numbers and types of Masters would vary across the empire. The establishment of solely military officials provided for
13430-643: The empire. Diocletian refused and fought a battle with them, but was unable to secure a complete victory. The nomadic pressures of the European Plain remained and could not be solved by a single war; soon the Sarmatians would have to be fought again. Diocletian wintered in Nicomedia . There may have been a revolt in the eastern provinces at this time, as he brought settlers from Asia to populate emptied farmlands in Thrace . He visited Syria Palaestina
13600-400: The entire crowd turned to face Constantine. It was not to be: Severus II and Maximinus II were declared caesars. Maximinus appeared and took Diocletian's robes. On the same day, Severus received his robes from Maximian in Milan. Constantius succeeded Maximian as Augustus of the West, but Constantine and Maxentius were entirely ignored in the transition of power. This did not bode well for
13770-402: The entirety of the empire. During the Roman Republic , the office of Consul was the highest elected magistracy in the Roman state, with two consuls elected annually. With the arrival of the Principate, although all real power was invested in the emperor, the consuls were still in theory the head of state, and the calendar year was identified by the two ordinary consuls who began in office at
13940-480: The few instances during the Late Empire in which an emperor admitted a privatus as his colleague) and by creating senior senators Vettius Aquilinus and Junius Maximus ordinary consuls for the following year – for Maximus, it was his second consulship. If Diocletian did enter Rome shortly after his accession, he did not stay long; he is attested back in the Balkans by 2 November 285, on campaign against
14110-462: The first. Galerius left the city for Rome, declaring Nicomedia unsafe. Diocletian would soon follow. Although further persecutory edicts followed, compelling the arrest of the Christian clergy and universal acts of sacrifice, they were ultimately unsuccessful; most Christians escaped punishment, and pagans too were generally unsympathetic to the persecution. The martyrs ' sufferings strengthened
14280-568: The five satrapies between the Tigris and Armenia: Ingilene , Sophanene ( Sophene ), Arzanene ( Aghdznik ), Corduene (Carduene), and Zabdicene (near modern Hakkâri , Turkey). These regions included the passage of the Tigris through the Anti-Taurus range; the Bitlis pass, the quickest southerly route into Persian Armenia; and access to the Tur Abdin plateau. A stretch of land containing
14450-413: The following spring, His stay in the East saw diplomatic success in the conflict with Persia: in 287, Bahram II granted him precious gifts, declared open friendship with the Empire, and invited Diocletian to visit him. Roman sources insist that the act was entirely voluntary. Around the same time, perhaps in 287, Persia relinquished claims on Armenia and recognized Roman authority over territory to
14620-581: The following winter and spring. He campaigned successfully against the Sarmatians in 294, probably in the autumn. The Sarmatians' defeat kept them from the Danube provinces for a long time. Meanwhile, Diocletian built forts north of the Danube, part of a new defensive line called the Ripa Samartica , at Aquincum ( Budapest , Hungary ), Bononia ( Vidin , Bulgaria), Ulcisia Vetera, Castra Florentium, Intercisa ( Dunaújváros , Hungary), and Onagrinum ( Begeč , Serbia). In 295 and 296 Diocletian campaigned in
14790-446: The form of excessive flattery (or political invective) when referring to the emperor. Augustus actively discouraged the practice, and Tiberius in particular is said to have reviled it as sycophancy . Domitian encouraged its use, but none of the emperors used the term in any semi-official capacity until the reign of Aurelian in AD 274, where coins were issued bearing the inscription deus et dominus natus ('born god and master'). It
14960-568: The frequency of their incursions. No details survive for these events. Some of the princes of these states were Persian client kings, a disturbing fact for the Romans in light of increasing tensions with the Sassanids. In the West, Maximian lost the fleet built in 288 and 289, probably in the early spring of 290. The panegyrist who refers to the loss suggests that its cause was a storm, but this might have been an attempt to conceal an embarrassing military defeat. Diocletian broke off his tour of
15130-414: The full effects were not visible until paganism was prohibited at the end of the 4th century. Ultimately, however, as a result of the imperial patronage of Constantine and especially his sons, Christianity rapidly emerged as the official religion of the empire, although many vestiges of the imperial cult took some time to pass (such as the Emperors still assuming the role of Pontifex Maximus , chief priest of
15300-499: The future security of the tetrarchic system. Diocletian retired to his homeland, Dalmatia . He moved into the expansive Diocletian's Palace , a heavily fortified compound located by the small town of Spalatum on the shores of the Adriatic Sea , and near the large provincial administrative center of Salona . The palace is preserved in great part to this day and forms the historic core of Split , modern-day Croatia , where it
15470-421: The future. The haruspices were unable to read the entrails of the sacrificed animals and blamed Christians in the Imperial household. The emperors ordered all members of the court to perform a sacrifice to purify the palace. The emperors sent letters to the military command, demanding the entire army perform the required sacrifices or face discharge. Diocletian was conservative in matters of religion, faithful to
15640-452: The hands of Maxentius. He ordered Maximian, who had attempted to return to power after his retirement, to step down permanently. At Carnuntum people begged Diocletian to return to the throne, to resolve the conflicts that had arisen through Constantine's rise to power and Maxentius's usurpation. Diocletian's reply: "If you could show the cabbage that I planted with my own hands to your emperor, he definitely wouldn't dare suggest that I replace
15810-615: The hands of the Equites . Under Diocletian, the military equestrian transformation was taken a stage further, with the removal of hereditary senators from most administrative, as well as military, posts (such as the Legatus legionis ). Hereditary senators were limited to administrative jobs in Italy and a few neighbouring provinces (Sicily, Africa, Achaea and Asia), despite the fact that senior administrative posts had been greatly multiplied by
15980-524: The household guard, had already defected to Diocletian in the early spring. When the Battle of the Margus began, Carinus' prefect Aristobulus also defected. In the course of the battle, Carinus was killed by his own men. Following Diocletian's victory, both the western and the eastern armies acclaimed him as Emperor. Diocletian exacted an oath of allegiance from the defeated army and departed for Italy. Diocletian may have become involved in battles against
16150-533: The imperial iconography, in the form of the Chi Rho and the Labarum . By the time of Constantine's death in AD 337, this process was largely complete, with Constantine being baptized on his deathbed. At the Imperial court, Christians began indiscernibly to rise in favour, to the detriment of pagans. This did not begin to immediately hamper the advancement of pagan courtiers after the defeat of Maxentius in 312, as
16320-521: The land where the census counted them. Starting in 332 AD, Emperor Constantine issued legislation that greatly restricted the rights of the coloni and tied them to the land. Coloni and lower-ranking plebeians were no longer allowed to change their occupation. Ultimately, with the Fall of Rome , non-Patrician Roman citizens themselves would find themselves displaced and would become serfs. Diocletian and his augusti colleagues and successors openly displayed
16490-499: The lands delivered to Tiridates in the peace of 287. He moved south into Roman Mesopotamia in 297, where he inflicted a severe defeat on Galerius in the region between Carrhae ( Harran , Turkey) and Callinicum ( Raqqa , Syria), suggested by the historian Fergus Millar to have been somewhere on the Balikh River . Diocletian may or may not have been present at the battle, but he quickly divested himself of all responsibility. In
16660-465: The later strategic strongholds of Amida ( Diyarbakır , Turkey) and Bezabde came under firm Roman military occupation. With these territories, Rome would have an advance station north of Ctesiphon, and would be able to slow any future advance of Persian forces through the region. Many cities east of the Tigris came under Roman control, including Tigranokert , Saird , Martyropolis , Balalesa , Moxos , Daudia , and Arzan – though under what status
16830-471: The legitimate Emperor in the West. Numerian lingered in the East. The Roman withdrawal from Persia was orderly and unopposed. The Sassanid king Bahram II could not field an army against them as he was still struggling to establish his authority. By March 284, Numerian had only reached Emesa (Homs) in Syria ; by November, only Asia Minor. In Emesa he was apparently still alive and in good health: he issued
17000-447: The light of the sun and swore an oath disclaiming responsibility for Numerian's death. He asserted that Aper had killed Numerian and concealed it. In full view of the army, Diocles drew his sword and killed Aper. Soon after Aper's death, Diocles changed his name to the more Latinate "Diocletianus" – in full, Gaius Valerius Diocletianus. After his accession, Diocletian and Lucius Caesonius Bassus were named as consuls and assumed
17170-542: The long-standing collaboration between the empire's senatorial and military aristocracies. It also tied his success to that of the Senate, whose support he would need in his advance on Rome. Diocletian was not the only challenger to Carinus' rule; the usurper Julianus , Carinus' corrector Venetiae , took control of northern Italy and Pannonia after Diocletian's accession. Julianus minted coins from Siscia ( Sisak , Croatia) declaring himself emperor and promising freedom. This aided Diocletian in his portrayal of Carinus as
17340-504: The main court of summary jurisdiction in Ireland Magistrate's courts of Israel Magistrate's Court of Jersey Magistrates' Court (Kenya) District Court (New Zealand) , replaced magistrate's courts in 1980 Magistrate's court (Russia) Magistrate's court (South Africa) Magistrate's court (Sri Lanka) Magistrate court (West Virginia) Australian courts [ edit ] Magistrates Court of
17510-567: The man he had put in charge of operations against Saxon and Frankish pirates on the Saxon Shore , had, according to literary sources, begun keeping the goods seized from the pirates for himself. Maximian issued a death warrant for his larcenous subordinate. Carausius fled the Continent, proclaimed himself emperor, and agitated Britain and northwestern Gaul into open revolt against Maximian and Diocletian. Far more probable, according to
17680-576: The modern-day city of Split in Croatia. Diocletian was born in Dalmatia , probably at or near the town of Salona (modern Solin , Croatia ), to which he retired later in life. His original name was Diocles (in full, Gaius Valerius Diocles), possibly derived from Dioclea, the name of both his mother and her supposed place of birth . Diocletian's official birthday was 22 December, and his year of birth has been estimated at between 242 and 245 based on
17850-577: The monarchs who directed them had always been men of superior ability. Blots of course and defects there were, especially in the fields of economy and finance. The political creation of the Illyrian Emperors was not unworthy of the genius of Rome. Under the Principate , the position of emperor saw the concentration of various civil and military offices within a single magistracy . Augustus and his successors usually took great care to disguise
18020-412: The most striking difference between the early and the later Empire. The origins of the change began in the reign of Aurelian , who promoted the worship of Sol Invictus as the supreme deity of the empire. Although the worship of Sol Invictus did not remove the veneration towards the traditional Roman gods, it was seen as a mark of imperial favouritism, and the emperors linked his cult to the well-being of
18190-463: The naked face of Imperial power. They ceased using the more modest title of princeps ; they adopted the veneration of the potentates of ancient Egypt and Persia ; and, they started wearing jeweled robes and shoes in contrast to the simple toga praetexta used by Emperors of the Principate. Emperors inhabited luxurious palaces (the ruins of Diocletian's enormous palace in Dalmatia survive to this day; see Diocletian's Palace ) and were surrounded by
18360-642: The name Diocletianus. The title was also claimed by Carus's surviving son, Carinus , but Diocletian defeated him in the Battle of the Margus . Diocletian's reign stabilized the empire and ended the Crisis of the Third Century . He appointed fellow officer Maximian as Augustus , co-emperor, in 286. Diocletian reigned in the Eastern Empire , and Maximian reigned in the Western Empire . Diocletian delegated further on 1 March 293, appointing Galerius and Constantius as junior colleagues (each with
18530-491: The news in Nicomedia ( İzmit ) in November. Numerian's generals and tribunes called a council for the succession, and chose Diocles as Emperor, in spite of Aper's attempts to garner support. On 20 November 284, the army of the east gathered on a hill 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) outside Nicomedia. The army unanimously saluted Diocles as their new Augustus , and he accepted the purple imperial vestments. He raised his sword to
18700-404: The number increasing from the roughly fifty pre-existing provinces to approximately one hundred. The decline in the functions carried out by the old aristocratic senatorial families acting collegially with the emperor in the running of the empire was offset by the rise of an expanded imperial bureaucracy who served the emperor in a subordinate role. Interposed between the governors and the emperors
18870-426: The offensive in 298 with an attack on northern Mesopotamia via Armenia. It is unclear if Diocletian was present to assist the campaign; he might have returned to Egypt or Syria. Narseh retreated to Armenia to fight Galerius's force, putting himself at a disadvantage; the rugged Armenian terrain was favorable to Roman infantry, but not to Sassanid cavalry. In two battles, Galerius won major victories over Narseh. During
19040-402: The office of caesar. The same day, in either Philippopolis ( Plovdiv , Bulgaria ) or Sirmium, Diocletian did the same for Galerius , husband to Diocletian's daughter Valeria, and perhaps Diocletian's praetorian prefect. Constantius was assigned Gaul and Britain. Galerius was initially assigned Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and responsibility for the eastern borderlands. This arrangement is called
19210-416: The old Greek city of Byzantium . Naming it Constantinople , it finally replaced Nicomedia as the site of the emperor's residence in the east in 330. Constantinople would remain the capital of the eastern provinces throughout the period of the Dominate. In the west, Mediolanum continued to be the imperial residence until the repeated invasions by Alaric I forced the western emperor Honorius to relocate to
19380-403: The only adult sons of reigning emperors, who had long been preparing to succeed their fathers, would be granted the title of Caesar . Constantine had travelled through Palestine at the right hand of Diocletian, and was present at the palace in Nicomedia in 303 and 305. It is likely that Maxentius received the same treatment. In Lactantius's account, when Diocletian announced that he was to resign,
19550-555: The only extant rescript in his name there, but after he left the city, his staff, including the prefect (Numerian's father-in-law and the dominant influence in his entourage) Aper , reported that he suffered from an inflammation of the eyes. He traveled in a closed coach from then on. When the army reached Bithynia , some of the soldiers smelled an odor emanating from the coach. They opened its curtains and found Numerian dead. Both Eutropius and Aurelius Victor describe Numerian's death as an assassination. Aper officially broke
19720-565: The pagan cults, until AD 381). By the time of Theodosius I , the organisation of the Imperial Church had aligned to the civil administration of the empire. Every city had a bishop , every province had a metropolitan , and every civil diocese had an exarch . At the level of the Praetorian Prefectures sat the five Patriarchates . The Bishop of Rome 's authority extended over the whole western or Latin half of
19890-555: The panegyric detailing the ceremony implied that the true center of the empire was not Rome, but where the emperor sat ("...the capital of the empire appeared to be there, where the two emperors met"), it simply echoed what had already been stated by the historian Herodian in the early third century: "Rome is where the emperor is". During the meeting, decisions on matters of politics and war were probably made in secret. The Augusti would not meet again until 303. Some time after his return, and before 293, Diocletian transferred command of
20060-631: The part of an aristocratic ruler, not a monarchic one. On 20 December 303, Diocletian cut short his stay in Rome and left for the north. He did not even perform the ceremonies investing him with his ninth consulate; he did them in Ravenna on 1 January 304 instead. There are suggestions in the Panegyrici Latini and Lactantius's account that Diocletian arranged plans for his and Maximian's future retirement of power in Rome. Maximian, according to these accounts, swore to uphold Diocletian's plan in
20230-606: The peace and happiness of this place with the storms of a never-satisfied greed." Diocletian lived for four more years, spending his days in his palace gardens. He saw his tetrarchic system fail, torn apart by the civil wars of his successors . He heard of Maximian's third claim to the throne, his forced suicide, and his damnatio memoriae . In his own palace, statues and portraits of his former companion emperor were torn down and destroyed. After an illness, Diocletian died on 3 December 311, with some proposing that he took his own life in despair. Diocletian saw his work as that of
20400-413: The period 31 BC through to 14 AD, it is only by AD 337 that the reforms that resulted in the Dominate were largely complete. In the opinion of the historian John Bagnall Bury , the system of government constructed with the most careful attention to details, was a solution of the formidable problem of holding together a huge heterogeneous empire, threatened with dissolution and bankruptcy, an empire which
20570-419: The proconsulate of Africa and the post of urban prefect for 295. The other figures who retained their offices might have also betrayed Carinus. The assassinations of Aurelian and Probus demonstrated that sole rulership was dangerous to the stability of the empire. Conflict boiled in every province, from Gaul to Syria, Egypt to the lower Danube. It was too much for one person to control, and Diocletian needed
20740-448: The region again, and won a victory over the Carpi in the summer of 296. Later during both 299 and 302, as Diocletian was residing in the East, it was Galerius's turn to campaign victoriously on the Danube. By the end of his reign, Diocletian had secured the entire length of the Danube, provided it with forts, bridgeheads, highways, and walled towns, and sent fifteen or more legions to patrol the region; an inscription at Sexaginta Prista on
20910-409: The reigns of Gallienus (AD 253–268) and Trajan (AD 98–117), during whose reign " knights were given an escalating importance in the administration of Rome and the empire." Not all the changes that produced the 'Dominate' were completed by the time of Diocletian's abdication in AD 305; many changes were either introduced or modified by Constantine I . Consequently, just as the Principate emerged over
21080-400: The resolve of their fellow Christians. Constantius and Maximian did not apply the later edicts, and left the Christians of the West unharmed. Galerius rescinded the edict in 311, announcing that the persecution had failed to bring Christians back to traditional religion. The temporary apostasy of some Christians, and the surrendering of scriptures, during the persecution played a major role in
21250-415: The resurgent Sarmatians. No details survive, but surviving inscriptions indicate that Diocletian took the title Sarmaticus Maximus after 289. In the East, Diocletian engaged in diplomacy with desert tribes in the regions between Rome and Persia. He might have been attempting to persuade them to ally themselves with Rome, thus reviving the old, Rome-friendly, Palmyrene sphere of influence , or to reduce
21420-520: The rogue commander, so in 287 he campaigned against tribes beyond the Rhine instead. As Carausius was allied to the Franks, Maximian's campaigns could be seen as an effort to deny him a basis of support on the mainland. The following spring, as Maximian prepared a fleet for an expedition against Carausius, Diocletian returned from the East to meet Maximian. The two emperors agreed on a joint campaign against
21590-491: The same name This set index article includes a list of related items that share the same name (or similar names). If an internal link incorrectly led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Magistrates%27_court&oldid=1259058842 " Categories : Set index articles Courts Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description
21760-420: The same to Maximian at Sirmium. Scholars doubt Lactantius' account, since he had a strong bias against Galerius and probably attempted to villainize him. On 1 May 305, Diocletian called an assembly of his generals, traditional companion troops, and representatives from distant legions. They met at the same hill, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) out of Nicomedia, where Diocletian had been proclaimed emperor. In front of
21930-488: The site has been located between the Mons Aureus (Seone, west of Smederevo ) and Viminacium , near modern Belgrade , Serbia. Despite having a stronger, more powerful army, Carinus held the weaker position. His rule was unpopular, and it was later alleged that he had mistreated the Senate and seduced his officers' wives. It is possible that Flavius Constantius , the governor of Dalmatia and Diocletian's associate in
22100-535: The southern border, where the empire bordered the Arabs, in the year 300. This road would remain in use for centuries but proved ineffective in defending the border as conventional armies could not operate in the region. At the conclusion of the Peace of Nisibis , Diocletian and Galerius returned to Antioch . At some time in 299, the emperors took part in a ceremony of sacrifice and divination in an attempt to predict
22270-485: The spring of 299. The magister memoriae (secretary) of Diocletian and Galerius, Sicorius Probus, was sent to Narseh to present terms. The conditions of the resulting Peace of Nisibis were heavy: Armenia returned to Roman domination, with the fort of Ziatha as its border; Caucasian Iberia would pay allegiance to Rome under a Roman appointee; Nisibis, now under Roman rule, would become the sole conduit for trade between Persia and Rome; and Rome would exercise control over
22440-514: The staff of the military commanders, or the financial and other central ministries, and contrasts with the estimated 300 state bureaucrats that were employed across all the provinces during the period of the Julio-Claudian emperors. Among the most important offices under the Dominate were the All important offices automatically carried with them admission into the Senate, thereby further eroding
22610-449: The standing of the traditional aristocratic Senatorial families of the Principate under the Dominate. This resulted in a senatorial body of around 2,000 members during the reign of Constantine, and these numbers only increased when there were two senatorial bodies in existence, one at Rome and one at Constantinople. All the higher officials in the imperial bureaucracy belonged to one of the three classes or ranks introduced by Constantine I –
22780-435: The start of the year. Throughout the Principate, the imperial consulate was an important position, albeit as the method through which the Roman aristocracy could progress through to the higher levels of imperial administration – only former consuls could become consular legates, the proconsuls of Africa and Asia, or the urban prefect of Rome. Consequently, the high regard placed upon the ordinary consulate remained intact, as it
22950-435: The state and on-going military victories of the empire. Next, it was during Diocletian's reign that emperor worship was fully adopted by the emperors, as a method of expressing loyalty to the state. Previously, deceased emperors had been worshiped as divus across the empire. Living emperors had been worshiped as gods in the eastern half of the empire since the time of Augustus , but this was not officially encouraged during
23120-532: The strongly fortified city of Ravenna in 402. Ravenna remained the western imperial capital until the loss of Italy in 476. Although Rome was reincorporated into the empire by Justinian I in 540, it was Ravenna which was selected as the official residence of the Exarch , the governor who represented the emperor in Italy. Ravenna would retain this position until 751, when the Byzantine Empire finally lost
23290-466: The subsequent Donatist controversy. Within twenty-five years of the persecution's inauguration, the Christian emperor Constantine would rule the empire alone. He would reverse the consequences of the edicts, and return all confiscated property to Christians. Under Constantine's rule, Christianity would become the empire's preferred religion. Diocletian was demonized by his Christian successors: Lactantius intimated that Diocletian's ascendancy heralded
23460-496: The supreme military command. Two significant parts of the reform are apparent: the separation of military commanders from civil administration and the division of the army into two classes: the Field Armies (" comitatenses ") and the Frontier Troops (" limitanei "). The Field Armies served as the Empire's strategic reserve to respond to crisis where it may arise whereas the Frontier Troops were permanently stationed along
23630-626: The tetrarchs themselves. Magistracy (Redirected from Magistracy ) [REDACTED] The Melbourne Magistrates' Court , the principal venue of the Magistrates' Court of Victoria A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions , all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts [ edit ] Magistrates' court (England and Wales) Magistrates' court (Hong Kong) District Court (Ireland) ,
23800-593: The three Augusti"; on the other side, it showed Carausius together with Diocletian and Maximian, with the caption CARAVSIVS ET FRATRES SVI, "Carausius & his brothers". However, Diocletian could not allow a breakaway regional usurper following in Postumus 's footprints to enter, of his own accord, the imperial college. Spurred by the crisis, on 1 April 286, Maximian took up the title of Augustus (emperor). Unusually, Diocletian could not have been present to witness it. It has even been suggested that Maximian usurped
23970-503: The three Palestinian provinces. The emperors had, over time, conceded many privileges to the clergy and the churches. Firstly, all clergy, like the holders of the pagan religious offices, were exempted from taxation. There were no restrictions placed on churches receiving bequests through wills, and they were given the same rights as the pagan temples had in granting asylum to any who requested it. Bishops were permitted to act as judges in civil cases when both parties had agreed, and no appeal
24140-538: The throne through force, and then he reorganized both of them. During the Tetrarchy, the Praetorian Prefects were the Emperor's top administrators, ranking just below the Emperor himself in dignity. While initially serving as the Emperor's second in command in all matters of imperial administration (military, civil, judicial, taxation, etc.), during the course of the Dominate the Prefects gradually had portions of their authority stripped from them and given to other offices:
24310-531: The title Caesar ), under himself and Maximian respectively. Under the Tetrarchy , or "rule of four", each tetrarch would rule over a quarter-division of the empire. Diocletian secured the empire's borders and purged it of all threats to his power. He defeated the Sarmatians and Carpi during several campaigns between 285 and 299, the Alamanni in 288, and usurpers in Egypt between 297 and 298. Galerius, aided by Diocletian, campaigned successfully against Persia ,
24480-467: The title and was only later recognized by Diocletian in hopes of avoiding civil war. This suggestion is unpopular, as it is clear that Diocletian meant for Maximian to act with a certain amount of independence. It may be posited that Diocletian felt the need to bind Maximian closer to him, by making him his empowered associate, to avoid the possibility of him striking some sort of deal with Carausius. Maximian realized that he could not immediately suppress
24650-415: The traditional Roman pantheon and understanding of demands for religious purification, but Eusebius , Lactantius and Constantine state that it was Galerius , not Diocletian, who was the prime supporter of the purge. Galerius, even more devoted and passionate than Diocletian, saw political advantage in the persecution. He was willing to break with a government policy of inaction on the issue. Antioch
24820-402: The tripling of the number of provinces and the establishment of dioceses (or super-provinces). The exclusion of the old Italian aristocracy, both senatorial and equestrian, from the political and military power that they had monopolised for many centuries was largely complete. The Senate became politically insignificant, although it retained great prestige. Constantine I, however, re-introduced
24990-768: The two tribes received an annual gold stipend. Diocletian left Africa quickly after the treaty, moving from Upper Egypt in September 298 to Syria in February 299. He met with Galerius in Mesopotamia. In 294, Narseh , a son of Shapur who had been passed over for the Sassanid succession, came to power in Persia. In early 294, Narseh sent Diocletian the customary package of gifts between the empires, and Diocletian responded with an exchange of ambassadors. Within Persia, Narseh
25160-404: The war against Carausius from Maximian to Flavius Constantius , who concluded it successfully in 296. Constantius was a former governor of Dalmatia and a man of military experience stretching back to Aurelian 's campaigns against Zenobia (272–73). He was Maximian's praetorian prefect in Gaul, and the husband to Maximian's daughter, Theodora . On 1 March 293 at Milan, Maximian gave Constantius
25330-410: The weaknesses in the Roman state under the Principate, and saw a gradual movement from the collegiate model of government that existed prior to AD 235 to a more formally autocratic version that begins after AD 285. In broad terms, it saw the gradual exclusion of the senatorial elite from high military commands and the parallel elevation of the equestrian orders , the reorganisation of the armed forces and
25500-576: The west and south of the Tigris. The western portion of Armenia was incorporated into the empire and made a province. Tiridates III , the Arsacid claimant to the Armenian throne and a Roman client, had been disinherited and forced to take refuge in the empire after the Persian conquest of 252–53. In 287, he returned to lay claim to the eastern half of his ancestral domain and encountered no opposition. Bahram II's gifts were widely recognized as symbolic of
25670-528: The worship of a single deity in the shape of Sol Invictus. During the course of his reign, the identification of Sol Invictus as the principal god began to merge with the Christian god. To avoid offending Christians, Constantine abandoned the emperor's formal claim to divinity and ceased to demand sacrifices to the emperor that formed part of the imperial cult. In an attempt to appeal to both Christians and pagans, Constantine adopted two new religious symbols into
25840-600: Was Dux Moesiae , a commander of forces on the lower Danube . The often-unreliable Historia Augusta states that he served in Gaul , but this is not corroborated by other sources and is ignored by modern historians. The first time Diocletian's whereabouts are accurately established was in 282 when the Emperor Carus made him commander of the Protectores domestici , the elite cavalry force directly attached to
26010-519: Was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia . Diocles rose through the ranks of the military early in his career, eventually becoming a cavalry commander for the army of Emperor Carus . After the deaths of Carus and his son Numerian on a campaign in Persia , Diocles was proclaimed emperor by the troops, taking
26180-535: Was Diocletian's primary residence from 299 to 302, while Galerius swapped places with his Augustus on the Middle and Lower Danube. Diocletian visited Egypt once, over the winter of 301–2, and issued a grain dole in Alexandria. Following some public disputes with Manicheans , Diocletian ordered that the leading followers of Mani be burnt alive along with their scriptures. In a 31 March 302 rescript from Alexandria, he declared that low-status Manicheans must be executed by
26350-444: Was ceded to the Praetorian Prefects, while the imperial legates took advantage of weakened centralised authority to use the troops under their command to rebel against the emperor and claim the imperial title for themselves. It was Diocletian who initially divided the military administrative apparatus and the civil administration in order to mitigate the risk that future imperial governors or Praetorian Prefects might attempt to seize
26520-662: Was changed to Judge at the same time.) Other [ edit ] Magistrates' Courts Act 1952 of the United Kingdom Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 of the United Kingdom Magistrate's Court (TV series) Liverpool Magistrates' Court , a court building Bow Street Magistrates' Court City of Westminster Magistrates' Court See also [ edit ] Magistrate Lower court Court of summary jurisdiction [REDACTED] Index of articles associated with
26690-654: Was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. Maximian retired to villas in Campania or Lucania . Their homes were distant from political life, but Diocletian and Maximian were close enough to remain in regular contact with each other. Galerius assumed the consular fasces in 308 with Diocletian as his colleague. In the autumn of 308, Galerius again conferred with Diocletian at Carnuntum ( Petronell-Carnuntum , Austria ). Diocletian and Maximian were both present on 11 November 308, to see Galerius appoint Licinius to be Augustus in place of Severus, who had died at
26860-483: Was destroying every trace of his immediate predecessors from public monuments. He sought to identify himself with the warlike kings Ardashir I (r. 226–241) and Shapur I (r. 241–272), who had defeated and imprisoned Emperor Valerian (r. 253–260) following his failed invasion of the Sasanian Empire . Narseh declared war on Rome in 295 or 296. He appears to have first invaded western Armenia, where he seized
27030-415: Was far from being geographically compact and had four long, as well as several smaller, frontiers to defend. To govern a large state by two independent but perfectly similar machines, controlled not from one centre but from two foci, without sacrificing its unity was an interesting and entirely new experiment. These bureaucratic machines worked moderately well, and their success might have been extraordinary if
27200-446: Was found. Executions followed anyway, and the palace eunuchs Dorotheus and Gorgonius were executed. One individual, Peter Cubicularius , was stripped, raised high, and scourged. Salt and vinegar were poured in his wounds, and he was slowly boiled over an open flame. The executions continued until at least 24 April 303, when six individuals, including the bishop Anthimus , were decapitated . A second fire occurred sixteen days after
27370-619: Was in a less comfortable position than most of his predecessors, as he had a daughter, Valeria, but no sons. His co-ruler had to be from outside his family, raising the question of trust. Some historians state that Diocletian adopted Maximian as his filius Augusti , his "Augustan son", upon his appointment to the throne, following the precedent of some previous Emperors. This argument has not been universally accepted. Diocletian and Maximian added each other's nomina (their family name , "Valerius" and "Aurelius", respectively) to their own, thus creating an artificial family link and becoming part of
27540-411: Was no longer just the province of senators – the automatic awarding of a suffect consulship to the equestrian praetorian prefects (who were given the ornamenta consularia upon achieving their office) allowed them to style themselves cos. II when they were later granted an ordinary consulship by the emperor. All this had the effect of further devaluing the office of consul, to the point that by time of
27710-415: Was one of the few offices that one could share with the emperor, and during this period it was filled mostly by patricians or by individuals who had consular ancestors. It was a post that would be occupied by a man halfway through his career, in his early thirties for a patrician, or in his early forties for most others. If they were especially skilled or valued, they may even have achieved a second (or rarely,
27880-449: Was only under Diocletian that the term dominus was adopted as part of the emperor's official titulature, forming part of Diocletian's radical reforms. The Dominate system of government emerged as a response to the 50 years of chaos that is referred to as the Crisis of the Third Century . The stresses and strains of those years (chronic usurpations, military insurrections, simultaneous military conflicts across multiple frontiers) exposed
28050-545: Was permitted once the Bishop had made their ruling. The state made increasing use of the ecclesiastical authorities in local administration due to the decline in the civic life of the urban communities, which coincided with the increasing local influence of the bishops. Finally, bishops were given the same role as the defensor civitatis , who was responsible for protecting the poor against exploitation by government officials and defending them from other powerful individuals, during
28220-469: Was perverted and minimized in the service of the theme of the tetrarchs as "restorers". Aurelian's achievements were ignored, the revolt of Carausius was backdated to the reign of Gallienus, and it was implied that the tetrarchs engineered Aurelian's defeat of the Palmyrenes ; the period between Gallienus and Diocletian was effectively erased. The history of the empire before the tetrarchy was portrayed as
28390-564: Was standardized, made more equitable, and levied at generally higher rates. Not all of Diocletian's plans were successful: the Edict on Maximum Prices (301), his attempt to curb inflation via price controls , was counterproductive and quickly ignored. Although effective while he ruled, Diocletian's tetrarchic system collapsed after his abdication under the competing dynastic claims of Maxentius and Constantine, sons of Maximian and Constantius respectively. The Diocletianic Persecution (303–312),
28560-516: Was still alive. When Diocletian reappeared in public on 1 March 305, he was emaciated and barely recognizable. Galerius arrived in the city later in March. According to Lactantius , he came armed with plans to reconstitute the Tetrarchy, force Diocletian to step down, and fill the Imperial office with men compliant to his will. Through coercion and threats, he eventually convinced Diocletian to comply with his plan. Lactantius also claims that he had done
28730-633: Was the Vicarius and, above him, the Praetorian Prefect , both of which were civilian (non-military) roles. Gone was the division between provinces under the jurisdiction of the Senate and those under the authority of the emperor during the Principate. Now all provinces , dioceses , and the Praetorian prefecture were under the authority of the emperor. The Praetorian Prefects had wide-ranging administrative, financial, judicial and legislative powers. The provincial governors were appointed at his recommendation, and with him rested their dismissal, subject to
28900-495: Was the elevation of a supreme deity that all peoples in the empire were to worship. According to John Bagnall Bury while in all ancient monarchies religion and sacerdotalism were a political as well as a social power, the position of the Christian Church in the Roman Empire was a new thing in the world, presenting problems of a kind with which no ruler had hitherto been confronted and to which no past experience offered
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