the diocletion social experiment
The story of Diocletian -- Roman Emperor from 285 to his abdication in 303 -- is particularly relevant for our present times.
In a period of Roman history marked by regicide, military usurpers and lack of respect for the position of emperor -- as well as an incredible growth in the new Jewish cult of Christianity among the rabble -- one man, Diocletian, stood out as the last hope for saving the traditions upon which the Roman Empire was built. By imposing upon everyone the duty to observe Roman traditions -- to be a Roman first and foremost -- Diocletian tried to turn the tide, succeeded, and then he was betrayed and his social experiment was undone by yet another usurping general (Constantine).
Like his predecessor Emperor Carus, Diocletian was a peasant from the Danube area who was more 'Roman' than the Romans themselves. He was the proud commander of the Imperial Bodyguard when Carus died mysteriously in a campaign against the Persians.
Carus's sons, Numerian and Carinus succeeded him, but suspected of murdering their father Diocletian met Carinus in battle in Serbia, defeated him and become emperor himself -- not from burning ambition, far from it, but from a heartfelt desire to restore order to the Empire.
Diocletian appointed Maximian as co-emperor, but the threats from all parts of the empire were such that in 293 he appointed Galerius (married to his daughter) to rule the east, and Constantius (married to Maximian's daughter) to rule the west.
In 293 the Persian throne had been seized by a new king who drove the Romans out of Armenia. In 298 Galerius defeated the Persians and wanted to advance further, but Diocletian checked him and negotiated a stronger Roman position with the Persians which gave Rome full control of Armenia and northern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq).
By the late 290s, with peace restored to the Empire, Diocletian paid attention to administrative affairs - particularly the murder of emperors by soldiers. He proclaimed that emperors were ordained by the gods to rule, and introduced an elaborate ceremonial intended to mark the emperor as being superior to normal human beings, requiring prostration before the emperor by commoners and kneeling and kissing the hem of the robe by higher ranks (a ceremony later taken up by the Roman Pope). He also created rules for imperial appearances whereby emperors were not allowed to act like normal human beings.
He then reformed the structure of provincial government, by increasing the number of provinces by dividing them into smaller units, and then each province into twelve dioceses. He also stripped the governors of command over the armies and initiated a capitation system of taxation, requiring regular censuses (which later led to extensive legislation prohibiting peasants from leaving the land under which they had been entered into the census).
Then he attempted a policy of SOCIAL UNIFORMITY by which everyone was duty bound to observe Roman traditions. This is the period that Christians call their Great Persecution, but in was also the period that Romans called their last ditched attempt to remain 'Roman' in the face of multicultural practices that were destroying their culture. Rome itself was overcrowded with immigrants, especially from Africa and Greece, who brought with them customs and religions that were alien to the Roman way of life.
Diocletian outlawed marriage with close female relatives (a Roman custom that had not been applied previously to non-Romans); and banned the Manichean religion (founded in 240 by Mani, a resident of Persian controlled Mesopotamia, inspired by Gnosticism and Zoroastrianism, by which believers gained salvation through him - very similar to Christianity).
Starting with his own household, Diocletion threatened to dismiss anyone who refused to act like a Roman, and in 303, faced with defiant refusal to comply by the Christian rabble, he was forced to prohibit Christian religious assemblies, demolish churches, burn liturgical books and arrest church leaders who refused to act like a Roman.
In 303, having achieved his goals, Diocletian abdicated - persuading Maximian to do likewise - and gave power to Constantius in the west and Galerius in the east who appointed their own co-rulers.
Galerius appointed his nephew Maximinus as his co-ruler in the east, and Constantius appointed the able general Severus as his co-ruler in the west. Within a year, in 306, Constantius died, precipitating his ambitious son, Constantine, to pronounce himself Emperor of the West -- but acting as senior emperor Galerius coerced him to be Severus' co-ruler.
Constantine acquiesced, but distinguished himself by establishing his authority over Britain, Gaul and Spain. Constantine was smart enough to know that most foot soldiers were poverty-stricken immigrant Christians, and by gaining their trust they would support him in his rise to power. In his new capacity as co-ruler of the western empire, he rescinded his father's edicts against the Christians and became their savior. There is no evidence that Constantine was a 'believer'. He simply used the Christians as a support base.
Meanwhile Maximian's son, Maxentius, followed Constantine's lead and took advantage of dissent in Rome to have himself declared as Emperor in 306. Galerius refused him recognition and ordered Severus to remove him by force, but faced with Maximian suddenly re-claiming the emperorship from his son, Maxentius, Severus was forced to abdicate (and was eventually killed).
Galerius finally invaded Italy in 307, wanting the reinstatement of Severus, but was defeated and had to withdraw. Then Maxentius argued with his father about who was the rightful emperor.
In the meantime, Constantine remained neutral as the co-ruler of the west - despite the fact that he had married Maxentius' sister and was therefore involved in the family struggle whether he liked it or not. When the army sided with Maxentius, Maximian fled to Constantine's court in the west.
Maximian -- the Western emperor -- was forced to abdicate, and his son, Maxentius, was denied any status. A new emperor for the west was appointed - Licinius, a general - and Constantine remained as his co-ruler.
Maximian still yearned for power and was forced to commit suicide after an attempt to overthrow his son-in-law, Constantine, in 310. In that year, too, the Carnuntum Conference was convened by the Eastern Roman Emperor, Galerius, to restore order among those contending to be the western emperor. This conference was attended by Diocletian.
To complicate matters, Galerius' co-ruler, Maximinus, resented the elevation of Licinius and to keep peace, Galerius made him his co-emperor.
In 311 Galerius died and Maximinus, implacably against the strange Jewish cult of Christianity, took over. To secure his shaky position, Constantine offered the marriage of his sister, Constantia, to Licinius, Emperor of the West.
Maximinus, now Emperor of the East, promised Maxentius, living in Rome, the emperorship of the west, causing Constantine to invade Italy in 312. At the Battle of the Mulvian Bridge outside Rome Maxentius met Constantine (who used a Christian symbol on his shield) and Maxentius was defeated.
In the following year 313, while Licinius was in Rome marrying Constantine's sister, Maximinus marched across Asia Minor, taking Byzantium and crossed into Europe. The armies of the east and west met, Maximinus fled, abandoning his army, and Licinius pursued him to Tarsus in Asia Minor, besieged him and finally he committed suicide.
Licinius kept his promise to Constantine about restoring church property taken by Maximinus, and was ruthless in eradicating all members - including women and children - of the families involved in persecuting Christians (he far more ruthless than any previous emperors had been against members of the new Jewish sect called Christianity).
Amazingly, after Licinius had exterminated all of Constantine's rivals, and done much of his dirty work for him, Constantine then feared Licinius in his position as new Emperor of the East - with a male heir, Constantine's own nephew - and declared war on him in 316, got as far as Byzantium but was outsmarted by Licinius and retreated.
Previously sympathetic to Christians, Licinius now saw them as treacherous and protected himself by dismissing them from his service.
By 321 the empire was split, and wanting total control Constantine amassed a huge force of mainly Christian soldiers and invaded Licinius's territory northwest of Thessalonica, northern Greece, and in 324 the two armies did battle. Licinius fell back and was finally defeated near Chalcedon. Licinius's life was spared when his wife (Constantine's sister) and the Bishop of Nicomedia interceded.
With Licinius's abdication, Constantine became the first emperor in 40 years to rule the empire on his own and, while rewarding his Christian followers with political power within the state -- performing many of its functions -- he very wisely did not impose a Diocletian-type policy of social uniformity on all Roman citizens.
Constantine, like Diocletian, realized that multiculturalism was destroying the Empire.
He actually achieved the lasting social uniformity that Diocletian wanted -- but it was not based on the traditional Roman culture that Diocletian had wanted to save.
By bestowing money, honor and prestigious positions on those who converted, large numbers of high-class Romans happily converted to Christianity. In doing so, the Roman Empire changed to a very early version of western civilization.
In a period of Roman history marked by regicide, military usurpers and lack of respect for the position of emperor -- as well as an incredible growth in the new Jewish cult of Christianity among the rabble -- one man, Diocletian, stood out as the last hope for saving the traditions upon which the Roman Empire was built. By imposing upon everyone the duty to observe Roman traditions -- to be a Roman first and foremost -- Diocletian tried to turn the tide, succeeded, and then he was betrayed and his social experiment was undone by yet another usurping general (Constantine).
Like his predecessor Emperor Carus, Diocletian was a peasant from the Danube area who was more 'Roman' than the Romans themselves. He was the proud commander of the Imperial Bodyguard when Carus died mysteriously in a campaign against the Persians.
Carus's sons, Numerian and Carinus succeeded him, but suspected of murdering their father Diocletian met Carinus in battle in Serbia, defeated him and become emperor himself -- not from burning ambition, far from it, but from a heartfelt desire to restore order to the Empire.
Diocletian appointed Maximian as co-emperor, but the threats from all parts of the empire were such that in 293 he appointed Galerius (married to his daughter) to rule the east, and Constantius (married to Maximian's daughter) to rule the west.
In 293 the Persian throne had been seized by a new king who drove the Romans out of Armenia. In 298 Galerius defeated the Persians and wanted to advance further, but Diocletian checked him and negotiated a stronger Roman position with the Persians which gave Rome full control of Armenia and northern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq).
By the late 290s, with peace restored to the Empire, Diocletian paid attention to administrative affairs - particularly the murder of emperors by soldiers. He proclaimed that emperors were ordained by the gods to rule, and introduced an elaborate ceremonial intended to mark the emperor as being superior to normal human beings, requiring prostration before the emperor by commoners and kneeling and kissing the hem of the robe by higher ranks (a ceremony later taken up by the Roman Pope). He also created rules for imperial appearances whereby emperors were not allowed to act like normal human beings.
He then reformed the structure of provincial government, by increasing the number of provinces by dividing them into smaller units, and then each province into twelve dioceses. He also stripped the governors of command over the armies and initiated a capitation system of taxation, requiring regular censuses (which later led to extensive legislation prohibiting peasants from leaving the land under which they had been entered into the census).
Then he attempted a policy of SOCIAL UNIFORMITY by which everyone was duty bound to observe Roman traditions. This is the period that Christians call their Great Persecution, but in was also the period that Romans called their last ditched attempt to remain 'Roman' in the face of multicultural practices that were destroying their culture. Rome itself was overcrowded with immigrants, especially from Africa and Greece, who brought with them customs and religions that were alien to the Roman way of life.
Diocletian outlawed marriage with close female relatives (a Roman custom that had not been applied previously to non-Romans); and banned the Manichean religion (founded in 240 by Mani, a resident of Persian controlled Mesopotamia, inspired by Gnosticism and Zoroastrianism, by which believers gained salvation through him - very similar to Christianity).
Starting with his own household, Diocletion threatened to dismiss anyone who refused to act like a Roman, and in 303, faced with defiant refusal to comply by the Christian rabble, he was forced to prohibit Christian religious assemblies, demolish churches, burn liturgical books and arrest church leaders who refused to act like a Roman.
In 303, having achieved his goals, Diocletian abdicated - persuading Maximian to do likewise - and gave power to Constantius in the west and Galerius in the east who appointed their own co-rulers.
Galerius appointed his nephew Maximinus as his co-ruler in the east, and Constantius appointed the able general Severus as his co-ruler in the west. Within a year, in 306, Constantius died, precipitating his ambitious son, Constantine, to pronounce himself Emperor of the West -- but acting as senior emperor Galerius coerced him to be Severus' co-ruler.
Constantine acquiesced, but distinguished himself by establishing his authority over Britain, Gaul and Spain. Constantine was smart enough to know that most foot soldiers were poverty-stricken immigrant Christians, and by gaining their trust they would support him in his rise to power. In his new capacity as co-ruler of the western empire, he rescinded his father's edicts against the Christians and became their savior. There is no evidence that Constantine was a 'believer'. He simply used the Christians as a support base.
Meanwhile Maximian's son, Maxentius, followed Constantine's lead and took advantage of dissent in Rome to have himself declared as Emperor in 306. Galerius refused him recognition and ordered Severus to remove him by force, but faced with Maximian suddenly re-claiming the emperorship from his son, Maxentius, Severus was forced to abdicate (and was eventually killed).
Galerius finally invaded Italy in 307, wanting the reinstatement of Severus, but was defeated and had to withdraw. Then Maxentius argued with his father about who was the rightful emperor.
In the meantime, Constantine remained neutral as the co-ruler of the west - despite the fact that he had married Maxentius' sister and was therefore involved in the family struggle whether he liked it or not. When the army sided with Maxentius, Maximian fled to Constantine's court in the west.
Maximian -- the Western emperor -- was forced to abdicate, and his son, Maxentius, was denied any status. A new emperor for the west was appointed - Licinius, a general - and Constantine remained as his co-ruler.
Maximian still yearned for power and was forced to commit suicide after an attempt to overthrow his son-in-law, Constantine, in 310. In that year, too, the Carnuntum Conference was convened by the Eastern Roman Emperor, Galerius, to restore order among those contending to be the western emperor. This conference was attended by Diocletian.
To complicate matters, Galerius' co-ruler, Maximinus, resented the elevation of Licinius and to keep peace, Galerius made him his co-emperor.
In 311 Galerius died and Maximinus, implacably against the strange Jewish cult of Christianity, took over. To secure his shaky position, Constantine offered the marriage of his sister, Constantia, to Licinius, Emperor of the West.
Maximinus, now Emperor of the East, promised Maxentius, living in Rome, the emperorship of the west, causing Constantine to invade Italy in 312. At the Battle of the Mulvian Bridge outside Rome Maxentius met Constantine (who used a Christian symbol on his shield) and Maxentius was defeated.
In the following year 313, while Licinius was in Rome marrying Constantine's sister, Maximinus marched across Asia Minor, taking Byzantium and crossed into Europe. The armies of the east and west met, Maximinus fled, abandoning his army, and Licinius pursued him to Tarsus in Asia Minor, besieged him and finally he committed suicide.
Licinius kept his promise to Constantine about restoring church property taken by Maximinus, and was ruthless in eradicating all members - including women and children - of the families involved in persecuting Christians (he far more ruthless than any previous emperors had been against members of the new Jewish sect called Christianity).
Amazingly, after Licinius had exterminated all of Constantine's rivals, and done much of his dirty work for him, Constantine then feared Licinius in his position as new Emperor of the East - with a male heir, Constantine's own nephew - and declared war on him in 316, got as far as Byzantium but was outsmarted by Licinius and retreated.
Previously sympathetic to Christians, Licinius now saw them as treacherous and protected himself by dismissing them from his service.
By 321 the empire was split, and wanting total control Constantine amassed a huge force of mainly Christian soldiers and invaded Licinius's territory northwest of Thessalonica, northern Greece, and in 324 the two armies did battle. Licinius fell back and was finally defeated near Chalcedon. Licinius's life was spared when his wife (Constantine's sister) and the Bishop of Nicomedia interceded.
With Licinius's abdication, Constantine became the first emperor in 40 years to rule the empire on his own and, while rewarding his Christian followers with political power within the state -- performing many of its functions -- he very wisely did not impose a Diocletian-type policy of social uniformity on all Roman citizens.
Constantine, like Diocletian, realized that multiculturalism was destroying the Empire.
He actually achieved the lasting social uniformity that Diocletian wanted -- but it was not based on the traditional Roman culture that Diocletian had wanted to save.
By bestowing money, honor and prestigious positions on those who converted, large numbers of high-class Romans happily converted to Christianity. In doing so, the Roman Empire changed to a very early version of western civilization.
Labels: constantius, diocletian, galerius, manichean, maximian, roman, social experiment
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