Western Thrace or West Thrace ( Greek : [Δυτική] Θράκη , [Dytikí] Thráki [ˈθraci] ) also known as Greek Thrace or Aegean Thrace , is a geographic and historical region of Greece , between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country; East Thrace , which lies east of the river Evros, forms the European part of Turkey , and the area to the north, in Bulgaria , is known as Northern Thrace .
190-519: Inhabited since paleolithic times , it has been under the political , cultural and linguistic influence of the Greek world since the classical era ; Greeks from the Aegean islands extensively colonized the region (especially the coastal part) and built prosperous cities such as Abdera (home of Democritus , the 5th-century B.C. philosopher who developed an atomic particle theory, and of Protagoras ,
380-428: A nomadic lifestyle. In addition, even a large area of land could not support many people without being actively farmed - food was difficult to come by and so groups were prevented from growing too large by the amount of food they could gather. Like contemporary hunter-gatherers, Paleolithic humans enjoyed an abundance of leisure time unparalleled in both Neolithic farming societies and modern industrial societies. At
570-620: 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
760-550: 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,
950-694: A group of early humans, frequently called Homo heidelbergensis , came to Europe from Africa and eventually evolved into Homo neanderthalensis ( Neanderthals ). In the Middle Paleolithic, Neanderthals were present in the region now occupied by Poland. Both Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis became extinct by the start of the Upper Paleolithic. Descended from Homo sapiens , the anatomically modern Homo sapiens sapiens emerged in eastern Africa c. 300,000 BP, left Africa around 50,000 BP, and expanded throughout
1140-793: A herd of animals at a waterhole so as to stun one of them. There are no indications of hafting , and some artifacts are far too large for that. Thus, a thrown hand axe would not usually have penetrated deeply enough to cause very serious injuries. Nevertheless, it could have been an effective weapon for defense against predators. Choppers and scrapers were likely used for skinning and butchering scavenged animals and sharp-ended sticks were often obtained for digging up edible roots. Presumably, early humans used wooden spears as early as 5 million years ago to hunt small animals, much as their relatives, chimpanzees , have been observed to do in Senegal , Africa. Lower Paleolithic humans constructed shelters, such as
1330-498: A key entering point for illegal immigrants trying to enter European Union territory; Greek security forces, working together with Frontex , are also extensively deployed in the Greco-Turkish land border. The approximate area of Western Thrace is 8,578 km with a population of 371,208 according to the 2011 census . It is estimated that two-thirds (67%) of the population are Orthodox Christian Greeks , while about
1520-662: A leading sophist ) and Sale (near present-day Alexandroupolis). Under the Byzantine Empire , Western Thrace benefited from its position close to the imperial heartland and became a center of medieval Greek commerce and culture; later, under the Ottoman Empire , a number of Muslims settled there, marking the birth of the Muslim minority of Greece . Topographically, Thrace alternates between mountain-enclosed basins of varying size and deeply cut river valleys. It
1710-559: 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
1900-582: 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
2090-505: A need to distribute resources such as food and meat equally to avoid famine and ensure a stable food supply. Raymond C. Kelly speculates that the relative peacefulness of Middle and Upper Paleolithic societies resulted from a low population density, cooperative relationships between groups such as reciprocal exchange of commodities and collaboration on hunting expeditions, and because the invention of projectile weapons such as throwing spears provided less incentive for war, because they increased
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#17327660233842280-540: A number of ways by modern archaeologists. The earliest explanation, by the prehistorian Abbe Breuil , interpreted the paintings as a form of magic designed to ensure a successful hunt. However, this hypothesis fails to explain the existence of animals such as saber-toothed cats and lions , which were not hunted for food, and the existence of half-human, half-animal beings in cave paintings. The anthropologist David Lewis-Williams has suggested that Paleolithic cave paintings were indications of shamanistic practices, because
2470-531: A pronounced hierarchy and a somewhat formal division of labor ) and may have engaged in endemic warfare . Some argue that there was no formal leadership during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. Like contemporary egalitarian hunter-gatherers such as the Mbuti pygmies, societies may have made decisions by communal consensus decision making rather than by appointing permanent rulers such as chiefs and monarchs . Nor
2660-608: 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
2850-412: 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
3040-592: 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
3230-493: 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
3420-404: 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,
3610-461: A third (33%) are Muslims who are an officially recognised minority of Greece. Of these, about a quarter are of Turkish origin , while another quarter are Pomaks who mainly inhabit the mountainous parts of the region. The rest are Muslim Greeks or Romani. The Romani of Thrace are also mainly Muslim, unlike their ethnic kin in other parts of the country who generally profess the Orthodox faith of
3800-426: 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
3990-703: 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 ,
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#17327660233844180-632: 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
4370-453: Is a general glacial excursion, termed a "glacial". Glacials are separated by "interglacials". During a glacial, the glacier experiences minor advances and retreats. The minor excursion is a "stadial"; times between stadials are "interstadials". Each glacial advance tied up huge volumes of water in continental ice sheets 1,500–3,000 m (4,900–9,800 ft ) deep, resulting in temporary sea level drops of 100 m (330 ft) or more over
4560-412: Is characterized by the use of knapped stone tools, although at the time humans also used wood and bone tools. Other organic commodities were adapted for use as tools, including leather and vegetable fibers ; however, due to rapid decomposition, these have not survived to any great degree. About 50,000 years ago, a marked increase in the diversity of artifacts occurred. In Africa, bone artifacts and
4750-629: Is divided into the three regional units (former prefectures ): Xanthi , Rhodope and Evros , which together with the Macedonian regional units of Drama , Kavala and Thasos form the Region of East Macedonia and Thrace . The Fourth Army Corps of the Hellenic Army has its headquarters in Xanthi ; in recent years, the region has attracted international media attention after becoming
4940-583: Is more pronounced in Lower Paleolithic humans such as Homo erectus than in modern humans, who are less polygynous than other primates, which suggests that Lower Paleolithic humans had a largely polygynous lifestyle, because species that have the most pronounced sexual dimorphism tend more likely to be polygynous. Human societies from the Paleolithic to the early Neolithic farming tribes lived without states and organized governments. For most of
5130-543: Is no evidence of hominins in America, Australia, or almost anywhere in Oceania during this time period. Fates of these early colonists, and their relationships to modern humans, are still subject to debate. According to current archaeological and genetic models, there were at least two notable expansion events subsequent to peopling of Eurasia c. 2,000,000 – c. 1,500,000 BP. Around 500,000 BP
5320-402: 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
5510-521: 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
5700-506: The !Kung San who live similarly to their Paleolithic predecessors. The economy of a typical Paleolithic society was a hunter-gatherer economy. Humans hunted wild animals for meat and gathered food, firewood, and materials for their tools, clothes, or shelters. The population density was very low, around only 0.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (1/sq mi). This was most likely due to low body fat, infanticide , high levels of physical activity among women, late weaning of infants, and
5890-532: 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
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6080-489: The Altai Mountains and Indonesia, were radiocarbon dated to c. 30,000 – c. 40,000 BP and c. 17,000 BP respectively. For the duration of the Paleolithic, human populations remained low, especially outside the equatorial region. The entire population of Europe between 16,000 and 11,000 BP likely averaged some 30,000 individuals, and between 40,000 and 16,000 BP, it
6270-722: The Arctic Circle . By the end of the Upper Paleolithic Age humans had crossed Beringia and expanded throughout the Americas continents. The term " Palaeolithic " was coined by archaeologist John Lubbock in 1865. It derives from Greek: παλαιός , palaios , "old"; and λίθος , lithos , "stone", meaning "old age of the stone" or "Old Stone Age ". The Paleolithic overlaps with the Pleistocene epoch of geologic time. Both ended 12,000 years ago although
6460-582: The Hadza people and the Aboriginal Australians suggest that the sexual division of labor in the Paleolithic was relatively flexible. Men may have participated in gathering plants, firewood and insects, and women may have procured small game animals for consumption and assisted men in driving herds of large game animals (such as woolly mammoths and deer) off cliffs. Additionally, recent research by anthropologist and archaeologist Steven Kuhn from
6650-510: The Isthmus of Panama , bringing a nearly complete end to South America's distinctive marsupial fauna. The formation of the isthmus had major consequences on global temperatures, because warm equatorial ocean currents were cut off, and the cold Arctic and Antarctic waters lowered temperatures in the now-isolated Atlantic Ocean. Most of Central America formed during the Pliocene to connect
6840-646: The Mousterian and the Aterian industries. Lower Paleolithic humans used a variety of stone tools, including hand axes and choppers. Although they appear to have used hand axes often, there is disagreement about their use. Interpretations range from cutting and chopping tools, to digging implements, to flaking cores, to the use in traps, and as a purely ritual significance, perhaps in courting behavior . William H. Calvin has suggested that some hand axes could have served as "killer frisbees " meant to be thrown at
7030-510: The Old Stone Age (from Ancient Greek παλαιός ( palaiós ) 'old' and λίθος ( líthos ) 'stone'), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools , and which represents almost the entire period of human prehistoric technology . It extends from the earliest known use of stone tools by hominins , c. 3.3 million years ago, to
7220-533: The Oldowan , began around 2.6 million years ago. It produced tools such as choppers , burins , and stitching awls . It was completely replaced around 250,000 years ago by the more complex Acheulean industry, which was first conceived by Homo ergaster around 1.8–1.65 million years ago. The Acheulean implements completely vanish from the archaeological record around 100,000 years ago and were replaced by more complex Middle Paleolithic tool kits such as
7410-513: The Pleistocene epoch, our ancestors relied on simple food processing techniques such as roasting . The Upper Palaeolithic saw the emergence of boiling, an advance in food processing technology which rendered plant foods more digestible, decreased their toxicity, and maximised their nutritional value. Thermally altered rock (heated stones) are easily identifiable in the archaeological record. Stone-boiling and pit-baking were common techniques which involved heating large pebbles then transferring
7600-557: 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
7790-585: The Roman province of Thracia founded in 46 AD. At the beginning of the 2nd AD century Roman emperor Trajan founded here, as a part of the provincial policy, two cities of Greek type (i.e. city-states), Traianoupolis and Plotinopolis . From this region passed the famous Via Egnatia , which ensured the communication between East and West, while its ramifications were connecting the Aegean world with Thracian hinterland (i.e. upper and middle valley of Evros river). From
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7980-721: The Ruwenzori Range in east and central Africa were larger. Glaciers existed in the mountains of Ethiopia and to the west in the Atlas Mountains . In the northern hemisphere, many glaciers fused into one. The Cordilleran Ice Sheet covered the North American northwest; the Laurentide covered the east. The Fenno-Scandian ice sheet covered northern Europe, including Great Britain; the Alpine ice sheet covered
8170-756: The San Remo conference which gathered the leaders of the main allies of the Entente powers (except the US), Western Thrace was given to Greece. Throughout the Balkan Wars and World War I , Bulgaria , Greece and Turkey each forced respective minority populations in the Thrace region out of areas they controlled. A large population of Greeks in Eastern Thrace , and Black Sea coastal and southern Bulgaria,
8360-489: 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
8550-459: 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
8740-561: The Treaty of Lausanne . Western Thrace was ceded to the Entente in December 1919, after which many Bulgarians left the region, while many Greeks moved in. The Government of the Entente (led by French general Sharpe) held its own census in 1920, according to which Western Thrace had a population of 204,700, of whom: Turks 36.5% (74,720 Muslims), Bulgarians 32.2% (65,927 = 54,079 Christians and 11,848 Muslims), Greeks 27.4% (56,114 Christians), Jews 1.5% (2,985) Armenians 0.9% (1,880), others 3,066. At
8930-577: 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
9120-649: 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,
9310-621: The 1912-1920 period gave the following results about the ethnic distribution of the area that would become known as Western Thrace: The Pomak population depending on the source was sometimes counted together with the Turks (Muslims) following the Ottoman system of classifying people according to religion, while in other occasions was specified separately. According to the Bulgarian view, they are considered "Bulgarian Muslims" and an integral part of
9500-726: The Alps. Scattered domes stretched across Siberia and the Arctic shelf. The northern seas were frozen. During the late Upper Paleolithic (Latest Pleistocene) c. 18,000 BP, the Beringia land bridge between Asia and North America was blocked by ice, which may have prevented early Paleo-Indians such as the Clovis culture from directly crossing Beringia to reach the Americas. According to Mark Lynas (through collected data),
9690-451: The Bulgarian nation. By the Bulgarian census in 1919, held on the request of the Entente, of the population of Western Thrace was 219,723 of whom: Turks 35.4% (77,726 Muslims), Bulgarians 46.3% (101,766 - 81,457 Christians and 20 309 Muslims), Greeks 14.8% (32,553 Christians), Jews 1.4% (3,066) Armenians 1.5% (2,369), others 0,9% (1,243). The area ceded to the Entente also included Karaagach and its environs, which became part of Turkey after
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#17327660233849880-659: 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
10070-535: 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
10260-564: The Greek majority. Thrace is bordered by Bulgaria to the north, Turkey to the east, the Aegean Sea (Greece) to the south and the Greek region of Macedonia to the west. Alexandroupolis is the largest city , with a municipal population of 72,959 according to the 2011 census. Below is a table of the five largest Thracian cities: After the Roman conquest, Western Thrace further belonged to
10450-470: 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
10640-584: 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
10830-571: The Lower Paleolithic ( c. 1.9 million years ago) or at the latest in the early Middle Paleolithic ( c. 250,000 years ago). Some scientists have hypothesized that hominins began cooking food to defrost frozen meat, which would help ensure their survival in cold regions. Archaeologists cite morphological shifts in cranial anatomy as evidence for emergence of cooking and food processing technologies. These morphological changes include decreases in molar and jaw size, thinner tooth enamel , and decrease in gut volume. During much of
11020-837: The Lower Paleolithic, human societies were possibly more hierarchical than their Middle and Upper Paleolithic descendants, and probably were not grouped into bands , though during the end of the Lower Paleolithic, the latest populations of the hominin Homo erectus may have begun living in small-scale (possibly egalitarian) bands similar to both Middle and Upper Paleolithic societies and modern hunter-gatherers. Middle Paleolithic societies, unlike Lower Paleolithic and early Neolithic ones, consisted of bands that ranged from 20–30 or 25–100 members and were usually nomadic. These bands were formed by several families. Bands sometimes joined together into larger "macrobands" for activities such as acquiring mates and celebrations or where resources were abundant. By
11210-563: The Mediterranean Sea, such as Coa de sa Multa ( c. 300,000 BP), has also indicated that both Middle and Upper Paleolithic humans used rafts to travel over large bodies of water (i.e. the Mediterranean Sea) for the purpose of colonizing other bodies of land. By around 200,000 BP, Middle Paleolithic stone tool manufacturing spawned a tool-making technique known as the prepared-core technique , which
11400-406: The Middle Paleolithic because trade between bands would have helped ensure their survival by allowing them to exchange resources and commodities such as raw materials during times of relative scarcity (i.e. famine, drought). Like in modern hunter-gatherer societies, individuals in Paleolithic societies may have been subordinate to the band as a whole. Both Neanderthals and modern humans took care of
11590-473: The Neanderthals hunted large game animals mostly by ambushing them and attacking them with handheld weapons such as thrusting spears rather than attacking them from a distance with projectiles. During the Upper Paleolithic , further inventions were made, such as the net ( c. 22,000 or c. 29,000 BP) bolas , the spear thrower ( c. 30,000 BP), the bow and arrow ( c. 25,000 or c. 30,000 BP) and
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#173276602338411780-417: The Neolithic. Upper Paleolithic cultures were probably able to time the migration of game animals such as wild horses and deer. This ability allowed humans to become efficient hunters and to exploit a wide variety of game animals. Recent research indicates that the Neanderthals timed their hunts and the migrations of game animals long before the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic. The social organization of
11970-436: The Ottoman army. On 15 November 1912, on the right bank of the river Maritza , Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps captured the Turkish corps of Yaver Paha, which defended Eastern Rhodopes and Western Thrace from invading Bulgarians. The victors quickly fell into dispute on how to divide the newly conquered lands, resulting in the Second Balkan War . In August 1913, Bulgaria was defeated, but kept Western Thrace under
12160-466: The Paleolithic Age went through a set of glacial and interglacial periods in which the climate periodically fluctuated between warm and cool temperatures. By c. 50,000 – c. 40,000 BP, the first humans set foot in Australia . By c. 45,000 BP, humans lived at 61°N latitude in Europe . By c. 30,000 BP, Japan was reached, and by c. 27,000 BP humans were present in Siberia , above
12350-471: The Pleistocene started 2.6 million years ago, 700,000 years after the Paleolithic's start. This epoch experienced important geographic and climatic changes that affected human societies. During the preceding Pliocene , continents had continued to drift from possibly as far as 250 km (160 mi ) from their present locations to positions only 70 km (43 mi) from their current location. South America became linked to North America through
12540-473: The Pleistocene's overall climate could be characterized as a continuous El Niño with trade winds in the south Pacific weakening or heading east, warm air rising near Peru , warm water spreading from the west Pacific and the Indian Ocean to the east Pacific, and other El Niño markers. The Paleolithic is often held to finish at the end of the ice age (the end of the Pleistocene epoch), and Earth's climate became warmer. This may have caused or contributed to
12730-447: 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
12920-433: The University of Arizona is argued to support that this division of labor did not exist prior to the Upper Paleolithic and was invented relatively recently in human pre-history. Sexual division of labor may have been developed to allow humans to acquire food and other resources more efficiently. Possibly there was approximate parity between men and women during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, and that period may have been
13110-466: The Western Thracian Muslim minority. Before World War 2 Western Thrace was home to a Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jewish population. After Greece was occupied by Axis forces, around 4,075 Jews living in Western Thrace and Macedonia were sent to Treblinka extermination camp and were murdered. The last censuses which asked about ethnicity were held in the transitional period before the region became part of Greece. A number of estimates and censuses during
13300-450: 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
13490-410: The adoption of agriculture because women in farming societies typically have more pregnancies and are expected to do more demanding work than women in hunter-gatherer societies. Like most modern hunter-gatherer societies, Paleolithic and Mesolithic groups probably followed a largely ambilineal approach. At the same time, depending on the society, the residence could be virilocal, uxorilocal, and sometimes
13680-653: 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
13870-558: 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
14060-507: 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
14250-479: The beginning of the period. Climates during the Pliocene became cooler and drier, and seasonal, similar to modern climates. Ice sheets grew on Antarctica . The formation of an Arctic ice cap around 3 million years ago is signaled by an abrupt shift in oxygen isotope ratios and ice-rafted cobbles in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Ocean beds. Mid-latitude glaciation probably began before
14440-639: 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
14630-454: 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
14820-422: 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
15010-493: 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
15200-535: The coast also passed the sea route Troad–Macedonia, which the Apostle Paul had used in his journeys in Greece. During the great crisis of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century AD, Western Thrace suffered from the frequent incursions of the barbarians until the reign of Diocletian , when it managed to prosper again thanks to its administrative reforms. The region had been under the rule of the Byzantine Empire from
15390-564: The continents of North and South America, allowing fauna from these continents to leave their native habitats and colonize new areas. Africa's collision with Asia created the Mediterranean, cutting off the remnants of the Tethys Ocean . During the Pleistocene , the continents were essentially at their modern positions; the tectonic plates on which they sit have probably moved at most 100 km (62 mi) from each other since
15580-488: 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
15770-692: The damage done to the attacker and decreased the relative amount of territory attackers could gain. However, other sources claim that most Paleolithic groups may have been larger, more complex, sedentary and warlike than most contemporary hunter-gatherer societies, due to occupying more resource-abundant areas than most modern hunter-gatherers who have been pushed into more marginal habitats by agricultural societies. Anthropologists have typically assumed that in Paleolithic societies, women were responsible for gathering wild plants and firewood, and men were responsible for hunting and scavenging dead animals. However, analogies to existent hunter-gatherer societies such as
15960-399: 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
16150-555: The earliest Paleolithic ( Lower Paleolithic ) societies remains largely unknown to scientists, though Lower Paleolithic hominins such as Homo habilis and Homo erectus are likely to have had more complex social structures than chimpanzee societies. Late Oldowan/Early Acheulean humans such as Homo ergaster / Homo erectus may have been the first people to invent central campsites or home bases and incorporate them into their foraging and hunting strategies like contemporary hunter-gatherers, possibly as early as 1.7 million years ago; however,
16340-543: The earliest solid evidence for the existence of home bases or central campsites (hearths and shelters) among humans only dates back to 500,000 years ago. Similarly, scientists disagree whether Lower Paleolithic humans were largely monogamous or polygynous . In particular, the Provisional model suggests that bipedalism arose in pre-Paleolithic australopithecine societies as an adaptation to monogamous lifestyles; however, other researchers note that sexual dimorphism
16530-537: The elderly members of their societies during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. Some sources claim that most Middle and Upper Paleolithic societies were possibly fundamentally egalitarian and may have rarely or never engaged in organized violence between groups (i.e. war). Some Upper Paleolithic societies in resource-rich environments (such as societies in Sungir , in what is now Russia) may have had more complex and hierarchical organization (such as tribes with
16720-485: 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
16910-526: 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
17100-450: 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
17290-412: 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
17480-551: 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
17670-591: 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
17860-584: The end of the Pleistocene , c. 11,650 cal BP . The Paleolithic Age in Europe preceded the Mesolithic Age , although the date of the transition varies geographically by several thousand years. During the Paleolithic Age, hominins grouped together in small societies such as bands and subsisted by gathering plants, fishing, and hunting or scavenging wild animals. The Paleolithic Age
18050-480: The end of the Paleolithic era ( c. 10,000 BP), people began to settle down into permanent locations, and began to rely on agriculture for sustenance in many locations. Much evidence exists that humans took part in long-distance trade between bands for rare commodities (such as ochre , which was often used for religious purposes such as ritual ) and raw materials, as early as 120,000 years ago in Middle Paleolithic. Inter-band trade may have appeared during
18240-794: The end of the Paleolithic, specifically the Middle or Upper Paleolithic, people began to produce works of art such as cave paintings , rock art and jewellery and began to engage in religious behavior such as burials and rituals. At the beginning of the Paleolithic, hominins were found primarily in eastern Africa, east of the Great Rift Valley . Most known hominin fossils dating earlier than one million years before present are found in this area, particularly in Kenya , Tanzania , and Ethiopia . By c. 2,000,000 – c. 1,500,000 BP, groups of hominins began leaving Africa, settling southern Europe and Asia. The South Caucasus
18430-740: The end of the Pleistocene caused the mammoths' habitat to shrink, resulting in a drop in population. The small populations were then hunted out by Paleolithic humans. The global warming that occurred during the end of the Pleistocene and the beginning of the Holocene may have made it easier for humans to reach mammoth habitats that were previously frozen and inaccessible. Small populations of woolly mammoths survived on isolated Arctic islands, Saint Paul Island and Wrangel Island , until c. 3700 BP and c. 1700 BP respectively. The Wrangel Island population became extinct around
18620-430: The end of the epoch. The global cooling that occurred during the Pliocene may have spurred on the disappearance of forests and the spread of grasslands and savannas . The Pleistocene climate was characterized by repeated glacial cycles during which continental glaciers pushed to the 40th parallel in some places. Four major glacial events have been identified, as well as many minor intervening events. A major event
18810-400: 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
19000-632: The entire surface of the Earth. During interglacial times, drowned coastlines were common, mitigated by isostatic or other emergent motion of some regions. The effects of glaciation were global. Antarctica was ice-bound throughout the Pleistocene and the preceding Pliocene. The Andes were covered in the south by the Patagonian ice cap. There were glaciers in New Zealand and Tasmania . The decaying glaciers of Mount Kenya , Mount Kilimanjaro , and
19190-403: The extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna , although it is also possible that the late Pleistocene extinctions were (at least in part) caused by other factors such as disease and overhunting by humans. New research suggests that the extinction of the woolly mammoth may have been caused by the combined effect of climatic change and human hunting. Scientists suggest that climate change during
19380-480: 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
19570-400: The figurines as representations of goddesses , pornographic imagery, apotropaic amulets used for sympathetic magic, and even as self-portraits of women themselves. R. Dale Guthrie has studied not only the most artistic and publicized paintings, but also a variety of lower-quality art and figurines, and he identifies a wide range of skill and ages among the artists. He also points out that
19760-474: The first art appear in the archaeological record. The first evidence of human fishing is also noted, from artifacts in places such as Blombos cave in South Africa . Archaeologists classify artifacts of the last 50,000 years into many different categories, such as projectile points , engraving tools, sharp knife blades, and drilling and piercing tools. Humankind gradually evolved from early members of
19950-513: The first users of stone tools. Excavations in Gona, Ethiopia , have produced thousands of artifacts, and through radioisotopic dating and magnetostratigraphy the sites can be firmly dated to 2.6 million years ago. Evidence shows these early hominins intentionally selected raw stone with good flaking qualities and chose appropriately sized stones for their needs to produce sharp-edged tools for cutting. The earliest Paleolithic stone tool industry,
20140-462: 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
20330-568: 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
20520-466: 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
20710-581: 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
20900-568: 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
21090-472: The further development of the region. Tourism is slowly becoming more and more important as the Aegean coast has a number of beaches, and there is also the potential for winter tourism activities in the Rhodopi mountains , the natural border with Bulgaria, which are covered by dense forest. It's estimated that two-thirds (67%) of the population are Orthodox Christian Greeks while about a third (33%) are part of
21280-499: 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
21470-421: 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
21660-488: The genus Homo —such as Homo habilis , who used simple stone tools—into anatomically modern humans as well as behaviourally modern humans by the Upper Paleolithic . During the end of the Paleolithic Age, specifically the Middle or Upper Paleolithic Age, humans began to produce the earliest works of art and to engage in religious or spiritual behavior such as burial and ritual . Conditions during
21850-452: 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
22040-546: The hot stones into a perishable container to heat the water. This technology is typified in the Middle Palaeolithic example of the Abri Pataud hearths. The Lower Paleolithic Homo erectus possibly invented rafts ( c. 840,000 – c. 800,000 BP) to travel over large bodies of water, which may have allowed a group of Homo erectus to reach the island of Flores and evolve into
22230-524: 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
22420-695: The invention of these devices brought fish into the human diets, which provided a hedge against starvation and a more abundant food supply. Thanks to their technology and their advanced social structures, Paleolithic groups such as the Neanderthals—who had a Middle Paleolithic level of technology—appear to have hunted large game just as well as Upper Paleolithic modern humans, and the Neanderthals in particular may have likewise hunted with projectile weapons. Nonetheless, Neanderthal use of projectile weapons in hunting occurred very rarely (or perhaps never) and
22610-434: The lack of control of fire: studies of cave settlements in Europe indicate no regular use of fire prior to c. 400,000 – c. 300,000 BP. East Asian fossils from this period are typically placed in the genus Homo erectus . Very little fossil evidence is available at known Lower Paleolithic sites in Europe, but it is believed that hominins who inhabited these sites were likewise Homo erectus . There
22800-499: 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
22990-581: The late Middle Paleolithic around 100,000 BP or perhaps even earlier. Archaeological evidence from the Dordogne region of France demonstrates that members of the European early Upper Paleolithic culture known as the Aurignacian used calendars ( c. 30,000 BP). This was a lunar calendar that was used to document the phases of the moon. Genuine solar calendars did not appear until
23180-465: 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
23370-471: 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
23560-447: 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
23750-542: 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
23940-497: The main themes in the paintings and other artifacts (powerful beasts, risky hunting scenes and the over-sexual representation of women) are to be expected in the fantasies of adolescent males during the Upper Paleolithic. 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 ,
24130-567: 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
24320-576: 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
24510-415: The most gender-equal time in human history. Archaeological evidence from art and funerary rituals indicates that a number of individual women enjoyed seemingly high status in their communities, and it is likely that both sexes participated in decision making. The earliest known Paleolithic shaman ( c. 30,000 BP) was female. Jared Diamond suggests that the status of women declined with
24700-757: 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
24890-491: 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
25080-426: 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
25270-402: 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
25460-620: The oldest example of ceramic art, the Venus of Dolní Věstonice ( c. 29,000 – c. 25,000 BP). Kilu Cave at Buku island , Solomon Islands , demonstrates navigation of some 60 km of open ocean at 30,000 BCcal. Early dogs were domesticated sometime between 30,000 and 14,000 BP, presumably to aid in hunting. However, the earliest instances of successful domestication of dogs may be much more ancient than this. Evidence from canine DNA collected by Robert K. Wayne suggests that dogs may have been first domesticated in
25650-403: 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,
25840-555: 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
26030-471: The paintings of half-human, half-animal figures and the remoteness of the caves are reminiscent of modern hunter-gatherer shamanistic practices. Symbol-like images are more common in Paleolithic cave paintings than are depictions of animals or humans, and unique symbolic patterns might have been trademarks that represent different Upper Paleolithic ethnic groups. Venus figurines have evoked similar controversy. Archaeologists and anthropologists have described
26220-555: 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
26410-631: 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
26600-606: 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
26790-695: The pigment ochre from late Lower Paleolithic Acheulean archaeological sites suggests that Acheulean societies, like later Upper Paleolithic societies, collected and used ochre to create rock art. Nevertheless, it is also possible that the ochre traces found at Lower Paleolithic sites is naturally occurring. Upper Paleolithic humans produced works of art such as cave paintings, Venus figurines, animal carvings, and rock paintings. Upper Paleolithic art can be divided into two broad categories: figurative art such as cave paintings that clearly depicts animals (or more rarely humans); and nonfigurative, which consists of shapes and symbols. Cave paintings have been interpreted in
26980-486: The planet. Multiple hominid groups coexisted for some time in certain locations. Homo neanderthalensis were still found in parts of Eurasia c. 40,000 BP years, and engaged in an unknown degree of interbreeding with Homo sapiens sapiens . DNA studies also suggest an unknown degree of interbreeding between Homo sapiens sapiens and Homo sapiens denisova . Hominin fossils not belonging either to Homo neanderthalensis or to Homo sapiens species, found in
27170-585: The population exchange). The population of the region, according to the official census of 1928 and 1951 conducted by the local authorities, per mother tongue, was as follows: 41°06′00″N 25°25′00″E / 41.1000°N 25.4167°E / 41.1000; 25.4167 Paleolithic Fertile Crescent : Europe : Africa : Siberia : The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( c. 3.3 million – c. 11,700 BC ) ( / ˌ p eɪ l i oʊ ˈ l ɪ θ ɪ k , ˌ p æ l i -/ PAY -lee-oh- LITH -ik, PAL -ee- ), also called
27360-647: The possible wood hut at Terra Amata . Fire was used by the Lower Paleolithic hominins Homo erectus and Homo ergaster as early as 300,000 to 1.5 million years ago and possibly even earlier by the early Lower Paleolithic (Oldowan) hominin Homo habilis or by robust Australopithecines such as Paranthropus . However, the use of fire only became common in the societies of the following Middle Stone Age and Middle Paleolithic . Use of fire reduced mortality rates and provided protection against predators. Early hominins may have begun to cook their food as early as
27550-419: 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
27740-534: The recognized Muslim minority of Greece. Of the Muslim minority: Turkey, a signatory state of the Lausanne Treaty, initially claimed the whole of the Muslim minority to be strictly an ethnic Turkish minority even though it actually consists of multiple ethnic groups. In his 7 December 2017 visit to Greece Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , acknowledged for the first time the multi-ethnic nature of
27930-448: 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
28120-608: The region. At 1821, several parts of Western Thrace, such as Lavara , Maroneia , and Samothraki rebelled and participated in the Greek War of Independence . During the First Balkan War , the Balkan League ( Serbia , Greece , Bulgaria and Montenegro ) fought against the Ottoman Empire and annexed most of its European territory, including Thrace. Western Thrace was occupied by Bulgarian troops who defeated
28310-400: 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
28500-415: 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
28690-520: 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
28880-408: The same time the island was settled by prehistoric humans. There is no evidence of prehistoric human presence on Saint Paul island (though early human settlements dating as far back as 6500 BP were found on the nearby Aleutian Islands ). Nearly all of our knowledge of Paleolithic people and way of life comes from archaeology and ethnographic comparisons to modern hunter-gatherer cultures such as
29070-420: 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
29260-488: 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
29450-423: The small hominin Homo floresiensis . However, this hypothesis is disputed within the anthropological community. The possible use of rafts during the Lower Paleolithic may indicate that Lower Paleolithic hominins such as Homo erectus were more advanced than previously believed, and may have even spoken an early form of modern language. Supplementary evidence from Neanderthal and modern human sites located around
29640-535: 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
29830-481: The spouses could live with neither the husband's relatives nor the wife's relatives at all. Taken together, most likely, the lifestyle of hunter-gatherers can be characterized as multilocal. Early examples of artistic expression, such as the Venus of Tan-Tan and the patterns found on elephant bones from Bilzingsleben in Thuringia , may have been produced by Acheulean tool users such as Homo erectus prior to
30020-485: 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
30210-754: The start of the Middle Paleolithic period. However, the earliest undisputed evidence of art during the Paleolithic comes from Middle Paleolithic / Middle Stone Age sites such as Blombos Cave –South Africa–in the form of bracelets , beads , rock art , and ochre used as body paint and perhaps in ritual. Undisputed evidence of art only becomes common in the Upper Paleolithic. Lower Paleolithic Acheulean tool users, according to Robert G. Bednarik, began to engage in symbolic behavior such as art around 850,000 BP. They decorated themselves with beads and collected exotic stones for aesthetic, rather than utilitarian qualities. According to him, traces of
30400-635: The status of a minority to the Muslims in Western Thrace, in exchange for a similar status for the ethnic Greek minority in Istanbul and the Aegean islands of Imbros and Tenedos . After the German invasion (April 1941), the area was occupied by Bulgarian troops, as part of the triple Axis occupation of Greece , during World War II. During this period (1941–1944) the demographic distribution
30590-466: 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
30780-555: The terms of the Treaty of Bucharest . In the following years, the Central Powers ( Germany , Austria-Hungary , and the Ottoman Empire ), with which Bulgaria had sided, lost World War I , and as a result, Bulgaria had to surrender Western Thrace under the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Neuilly . Western Thrace was under temporary management of the Entente led by French General Charles Antoine Charpy. In late April 1920, as per
30970-593: 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
31160-575: The time of the division of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western empires in the early fourth century AD. The Ottoman Empire conquered most of the region in the 14th century and ruled it until the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913. During Ottoman rule, Thrace had a mixed population of Turks and Bulgarians , with a strong Greek element in the cities and the Aegean Sea littoral . A smaller number of Pomaks, Jews, Armenians and Romani also lived in
31350-689: The time this census was conducted, a part of the Greek population of Xanthi, who left massively the Xanthi district after the Balkan wars (1913), returned. According to the Turkish researches the population of Western Thrace in 1923 was 191,699, of whom 129,120 (67%) were Turks/Muslims (also includes the Pomaks ) and 33,910 (18%) were Greeks ; the remaining 28,669 (15%) were mostly (Christian) Bulgarians , along with small numbers of Jews and Armenians (before
31540-531: 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 ,
31730-467: 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
31920-422: The tools themselves that allowed access to a wider variety and amount of food sources. For example, microliths or small stone tools or points were invented around 70,000–65,000 BP and were essential to the invention of bows and atlatls (spear throwers) in the following Upper Paleolithic. Harpoons were invented and used for the first time during the late Middle Paleolithic ( c. 90,000 BP);
32110-415: 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
32300-768: 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
32490-404: 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
32680-576: 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
32870-429: 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
33060-416: 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
33250-482: 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
33440-599: 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
33630-419: 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
33820-418: Was even lower at 4,000–6,000 individuals. However, remains of thousands of butchered animals and tools made by Palaeolithic humans were found in Lapa do Picareiro , a cave in Portugal , dating back between 41,000 and 38,000 years ago. Some researchers have noted that science, limited in that age to some early ideas about astronomy (or cosmology ), had limited impact on Paleolithic technology. Making fire
34010-400: Was expelled south and west into Greek-controlled Thrace. Concurrently, a large population of Bulgarians was forced from the region into Bulgaria by Greek and Turkish actions. Turkish populations in the area were also targeted by Bulgarian and Greek forces and pushed eastward. As part of the Treaty of Neuilly and subsequent agreements, the status of the expelled populations was legitimized. This
34200-434: Was followed by a further population exchange which radically changed the demographics of the region toward increased ethnic homogenization within the territories each respective country was ultimately awarded. This was followed by the large-scale Greek-Turkish population exchanges of 1923 ( Treaty of Lausanne ), which finalized the reversal of Western and Eastern Thrace region's pre-Balkan War demography. The treaty granted
34390-446: 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
34580-448: Was further changed, with the arrest of the region's approximately 4,500 Jews by the Bulgarian police and their deportation to death camps administered by Germany. None of them survived. The economy of Thrace in recent years has become less dependent on agriculture. A number of Greek-owned high-tech telecommunications companies have settled in the area. The A2 motorway (Egnatia Odos) motorway which passes through Thrace has contributed to
34770-619: 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
34960-429: Was more elaborate than previous Acheulean techniques. This technique increased efficiency by allowing the creation of more controlled and consistent flakes . It allowed Middle Paleolithic humans to create stone-tipped spears , which were the earliest composite tools, by hafting sharp pointy stone flakes onto wooden shafts. In addition to improving tool-making methods, the Middle Paleolithic also saw an improvement of
35150-402: Was occupied by c. 1,700,000 BP, and northern China was reached by c. 1,660,000 BP. By the end of the Lower Paleolithic, members of the hominin family were living in what is now China, western Indonesia, and, in Europe, around the Mediterranean and as far north as England, France, southern Germany, and Bulgaria. Their further northward expansion may have been limited by
35340-411: 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
35530-513: 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),
35720-464: 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
35910-405: Was there a formal division of labor during the Paleolithic. Each member of the group was skilled at all tasks essential to survival, regardless of individual abilities. Theories to explain the apparent egalitarianism have arisen, notably the Marxist concept of primitive communism . Christopher Boehm (1999) has hypothesized that egalitarianism may have evolved in Paleolithic societies because of
36100-433: Was widespread knowledge, and it was possible without an understanding of chemical processes, These types of practical skills are sometimes called crafts. Religion, superstitution or appeals to the supernatural may have played a part in the cultural explanations of phenomena like combustion . Paleolithic humans made tools of stone, bone (primarily of deer), and wood. The early paleolithic hominins, Australopithecus , were
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