A Smaller History of Rome / from the Earliest Times to the Establishment of the Empire

by William Smith; Eugene Lawrence

CHAPTER XLIII.

FROM DIOCLETIAN, A.D. 284, TO CONSTANTINE'S DEATH, A.D. 337.

Diocletian began to reign A.D. 284, and once more revived the vigor of the declining empire, which now seemed more than ever to depend for its existence upon the qualities of a single ruler. It seems, indeed, to have required an intellect of no common order to preserve the unity of the empire, composed of so many different nations, of territories separated by such vast distances, and threatened on every side by innumerable foes; but, of all his contemporaries, Diocletian was best suited to this task. His parents had been the slaves of a Roman Senator, and he had himself risen from this low station to the highest positions in the army. He acted with generosity toward the servants of the former emperor, not only suffering them to remain in safety under his rule, but even to retain their offices. Finding the empire too large to be governed by a single ruler, he selected as his colleague Maximian, a brave, but fierce and ignorant soldier, who, like himself, had risen to a high rank in the army. Maximian, however, always admitted the intellectual superiority of Diocletian. The emperor assumed the title of Jovius, and Maximian that of Herculius. Diocletian also appointed two Cæsars, Constantius and Galerius, to aid him in the defense of the empire, which was divided between the four princes. Gaul, Spain, and Britain were intrusted to the care of Constantius, Italy and Africa to Maximian, Galerius commanded the legions on the Danube, while Diocletian reserved for himself Thrace, Egypt, and Asia. The four rulers seemed to have labored together in harmony, but the establishment of four courts in different parts of the empire obliged them to increase the taxes, and every province suffered under new impositions. Even Italy, which had always been favored in this particular, was now heavily burdened, and every where lands were abandoned and left uncultivated because their owners could not pay the taxes and impositions. In A.D. 287 a rebellion occurred in Gaul, which was suppressed by Maximian; soon after, Carausius, having become master of Britain, and possessing a considerable fleet, defied the power of the emperor; but when Constantius was appointed Cæsar he prepared to reduce the island to subjection. In A.D. 294 Carausius was put to death by Allectus, a new usurper. Constantius now crossed the Channel and recovered the island, which, after a separation of ten years, was once more reunited to the empire. During this reign the Goths, Vandals, and other northern barbarians wasted their strength in destructive contests with each other; but whenever, in intervals of peace, they invaded the Roman territory, they were driven back by the valor of the two Cæsars. Maximian, in the mean time, subdued a revolt in Africa; and Diocletian himself suppressed one of those seditions to which Egypt was constantly exposed. The emperor besieged Alexandria for eight months, cut off the aqueducts which conveyed water to the city, and, having taken it, put many thousands of its citizens to death. One remarkable edict which he now published forbade the study of alchemy in Egypt, and ordered all books upon that subject to be burned. He also made a treaty with the Nubians, in order to protect the frontiers of Egypt.

It gives us, indeed, a clear view of the immense extent of the Roman power when we reflect that its commanders were, almost at the same moment, struggling successfully against its enemies in Africa, Britain, Germany, and the East. A war with Persia now arose, in which Galerius was at first defeated, A.D. 296. But the next year he passed through the mountains of Armenia at the head of twenty-five thousand chosen men, and, having surprised the Persian army in the night, slaughtered great numbers of them; the booty, too, was immense. A barbarian soldier, finding a bag of shining leather filled with pearls, threw away the contents and preserved the bag; and the uncultivated savages gathered a vast spoil from the tents of the Persians. Galerius, having taken prisoners several of the wives and children of the Persian monarch Narses, treated them with such tenderness and respect that Narses made peace. Mesopotamia was now added to the empire, being taken from the King of Armenia, who received in its place a considerable Persian province.

The two emperors returned to Rome and celebrated their triumph November 20, A.D. 303, the last spectacle of that kind which the world has witnessed. Romulus, more than a thousand years before, had ascended the Capitoline Mount on foot, bearing in his arms the spoil of Acron, and his example had been followed by a long line of Roman heroes. In the last triumph, the two emperors were attended by the spoils of Africa and Britain, of the East and the West.

During this reign also occurred the last persecution of the Christians, who were soon to become the masters of the empire. It began A.D. 303, and continued for ten years; and such multitudes of the Christians perished that the emperors boasted that they had wholly extirpated the sect!

Diocletian introduced an Eastern pomp into his court, assumed the titles of "Lord and Emperor," and wore a diadem set with pearls. His robes were of silk and gold. He required his subjects to prostrate themselves before him, and to adore him as a divinity.

In A.D. 305, like Charles V., he resolved to abdicate his power, having persuaded his colleague Maximian to do the same: he lived in retirement for nine years, and amused himself cultivating his garden. "I wish you would come to Salona" (Spalatro), he wrote to Maximian, who sought to draw him from his retirement, "and see the cabbages I have planted: you would never again mention to me the name of empire." But the close of his life was embittered by the ingratitude of Constantine and Licinius, and the dangers of the empire. It is not known whether he died by disease or by his own hand.

Upon the abdication of Diocletian and his colleague, the two Cæsars, Constantius and Galerius, assumed the title of Augustus. Constantius retained his former provinces, Gaul, Spain, and Britain. He was moderate, amiable, and lived with Roman simplicity. Galerius, on the other hand, was haughty, severe, and ambitious. He had married a daughter of Diocletian, and hoped that the death of Constantius would soon leave him the sole emperor of Rome. The two emperors now appointed two Cæsars, Maximin and Severus, the first nephew to Galerius, and the latter devoted to his interests. Constantius died at York, in Britain, A.D. 306, and his son Constantine was proclaimed Augustus by the soldiers.