A History of Rome to 565 A. D.

by Arthur E. R. Boak

I. Diocletian: 285–305 a. d.

The epoch-making character of Diocletian’s reign. Upon Diocletian devolved the task of bringing order out of chaos, of rebuilding the shattered fabric of the Roman empire, of reëstablishing the civil administration and taking effective measures to secure an enduring peace. Like many of the emperors of the third century, Diocletian was an Illyrian of humble origin who by sheer ability and force of character had won his way up from the ranks to the imperial throne. In attacking the problem of imperial restoration he displayed restless energy and versatility, a thorough-going radicalism which knew little respect for traditions, and a supreme confidence in his ability to restore the economic welfare of the empire by legislative means. In his administrative reforms he gave expression to the tendencies which had been at work in the later principate and with him begins the period of undisguised autocracy, in which the emperor, supported by the army and the bureaucracy, is the sole source of authority in the state. Like Augustus, Diocletian was the founder of a new régime; one in which the absolutist ideal of Julius Caesar finally attained realization.

Maximian co-emperor, 286 A. D. One of the first acts of Diocletian was to coöpt as his associate in the imperium, with the rank of Caesar, a Pannonian officer named Valerius Maximianus. In 286 Maximian received the title of Augustus and equal authority with Diocletian. However, the latter always dominated his younger colleague, and really determined the imperial policy. In conformity with the undisguised absolutism of his rule, Diocletian assumed the divine title of Jovius, and that of Herculius was bestowed upon Maximian. Diocletian’s choice of a co-emperor was determined [pg 318]largely by the conviction that the burden of empire was too heavy to be borne by one man. He therefore entrusted the defense of the western provinces to Maximian, while he devoted his attention to the Danubian and eastern frontiers. Maximian’s first task was to quell a serious revolt of the Gallic peasants, called Bagaudae, occasioned by the exactions of the state and the landholders. After crushing this outbreak (285 A. D.), he successfully defended the Rhine frontier against the attacks of Franks, Alamanni and Burgundians (286–88 A. D.). However, in the meantime a usurper had arisen in Carausius, an officer entrusted with the defense of the Gallic coast against the North Sea pirates, who made himself master of Britain and proclaimed himself Augustus (286 A. D.). Maximian was unable to subdue him, and the two emperors were forced against their will to acknowledge him as their colleague.

Regulation of the succession. Diocletian saw in the absence of a strict regulation of the succession a fertile cause of civil strife. To do away with this, and to discourage the rise of usurpers, as well as to relieve the Augusti of a part of their military and administrative burdens, he determined to appoint two Caesars as the assistants and destined successors of Maximian and himself. His choice fell upon Gaius Galerius and Flavius Valerius Constantius, both Illyrian officers of tried military capacity. They received the title of Caesar on 1 March, 293 A. D. To cement the tie between the Caesars and the Augusti, Diocletian adopted Galerius and gave him his daughter in marriage, while Maximian bound Constantius to himself in the same way. It was the plan of Diocletian that the Augusti should voluntarily abdicate after a definite period, and be succeeded by the Caesars, who in turn should then nominate and adopt their successors.

The division of the empire. To each of the four rulers there was assigned a part of the empire as his particular administrative sphere. Diocletian took Thrace, Egypt and the Asiatic provinces, fixing his headquarters at Nicomedia. Maximian received Italy, Raetia, Spain and Africa, and took up his residence at Milan. To Galerius were allotted the Danubian provinces and the remainder of the Balkan peninsula, with Sirmium as his residence; while Constantius, to whose lot fell the provinces of Gaul, established himself at Trèves. However, this arrangement was not a fourfold division of the empire, for the Caesars were subject to the authority of [pg 319]the Augusti, and imperial edicts were issued in the name of all four rulers. Additional unity was given to the government by the personal ascendancy which Diocletian continued to maintain over his associates. One result of this arrangement was that Rome ceased to be the permanent imperial residence and capital of the empire, Milan and later Ravenna being preferred as the seat of government for the West. This change was largely the result of the exclusion of the Senate from all active participation in the government, and the fact that Rome retained traditions of republican and senatorial rule incompatible with the spirit of the new order. Yet, in spite of its loss of prestige, the Eternal City continued to hold a privileged status, and its citizens were fed and amused at the expense of the empire.

The restoration of the frontiers. The division of the military authority among four able commanders enabled the government to deal energetically with all frontier wars or internal revolts. In 296 Constantius recovered Britain from Allectus, who three years previously had overthrown Carausius and proclaimed himself Augustus. In 297 Maximian was forced to appear in person in Africa to suppress a revolt of the Quinquegentiani. Meanwhile, Diocletian crushed a usurper named Achilles in Egypt and repulsed the invading Blemyes. Galerius, under the orders of Diocletian, after repelling attacks of the Iazyges (294 A. D.) and Carpi (296 A. D.), was called upon to meet a Persian invasion of Armenia and Mesopotamia. He was at first severely defeated, but, after being reinforced, won a decisive victory over Narses, the Persian king, and recovered Armenia. Diocletian himself won back Mesopotamia and the Persians were forced to acknowledge the Roman suzerainty over Armenia, while the Roman frontier in Mesopotamia was advanced to the upper Tigris. In all parts of the empire the border defenses were repaired and strengthened.

Army reforms; provincial organization. The military reforms of Diocletian aimed to correct the weakness revealed in the previous system by the wars of the third century. He created a powerful mobile force—the comitatenses; while organizing the permanent garrison along the frontier in the form of a border militia—the limitanei. At the same time, the military and civil authority in the provinces was sharply divided to prevent a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of any one official. And the same motive is to be traced in the subdivision of the province, the number of which [pg 320]was raised to 101. These were grouped in thirteen dioceses, administered by vicarii (vicars), who were subordinate to the praetorian prefects.

The edict of prices, 301 A. D. Diocletian also made a thorough revision of the system of taxation, and tried, but without success, to establish a satisfactory monetary standard. A more conspicuous failure, however, was his attempt to stabilize economic conditions by government regulation. By the Edict of Prices issued in 301, he fixed a uniform price for each commodity and every form of labor or professional service throughout the empire. The penalty of death was provided for all who demanded or offered more than the legal price. The law proved impossible to enforce. It took no account of the variations of supply and demand in the various parts of the empire, of the difference between wholesale and retail trade, or in the quality of articles of the same kind. In spite of the severe penalty prescribed, the provisions of the law were so generally disregarded that the government abandoned the attempt to carry them into effect.

Persecution of the Christians, 302 A. D. Equally unsuccessful were his measures for the suppression of Christianity. For nearly half a century following Valerian’s persecution the Christians had enjoyed immunity from repressive legislation. They had continued to increase rapidly in numbers and it has been estimated that at this time perhaps two-fifths of the population of the empire were adherents of the Christian faith. The reason for the revival of persecution by Diocletian is uncertain, although it may possibly have been at the instigation of Galerius, who displayed the greatest zeal in carrying it into effect. In 302 Diocletian issued three edicts, ordering the confiscation of church property, the dismissal of Christians from civil offices, the abrogation of their judicial rights, the enslavement of Christians of plebeian status, the arrest and imprisonment of the heads of the church, and heavy penalties for those who refused to offer sacrifice to the state gods, while granting liberty to all who did so. In 304, a fourth edict ordered all citizens without exception to make public sacrifice and libation to the gods. The degree to which these edicts were enforced varied in the different parts of the empire. The most energetic persecutors were Maximian and Galerius, while in Gaul Constantius made little or no effort to molest the Christians. The persecution lasted with interruptions till 313 A. D. Many leading Christians met a martyr’s death, but the church emerged from the [pg 321]ordeal more strongly organized and aggressive than before. Its victory made it a political force of supreme importance.