There is a popular question many ask “were there any Roman emperors who started from nothing and made it all the way to being emperor?”. The answer is yes.
People often wonder who were the worst Roman emperors or who were the most famous Roman emperors, but others wonder which ones came from nothing and became emperor.
From Nobody to Emperor
245 AD Diocletian was born in Dalmatia which today is Croatia.
The idea that any Roman citizen could become emperor at least during this period of the empire was pretty close to being true. Granted Diocletian was a decorated Roman military officer, but his humble origin story was certainly unique.
In Roman culture the Roman citizen was above all others socially, and legally. Power was also important. It was the Roman citizen’s chief objective to gain power for his family. Power even affected sex in Roman culture.
Born into a low status family in the province of Dalmatia Diocletian rose though Roman military ranks to cavalry commander to the Emperor Carus. Upon the death of Carus Diocletian became emperor.
The Dalmatian the dog breed can be traced back to its early origins in Dalmatia.
Crisis of the Third Century
Prior to Diocletian becoming emperor Rome was enduring the Crisis of the Third Century a period in which the empire was in great turmoil. The instability of this time AD 235–284 was caused by competing powers for the emperor’s throne, barbarian invasions, and peasant rebellions.
Roman currency valuation was threatened by hyperinflation. Economic trade was severely limited by in diminished trade routes as they no were no longer safe for merchants to travel on.
Diocletian’s Restoring Rule
The hardships of the Roman empire during the period preceding Diocletian’s rule as emperor were severe and would shape the world at large profoundly. The Middle Ages period’s roots can be traced back to the conditions created during the Crisis of the Third Century.
Diocletian was emperor from 284 to 305 CE. His rule was a stabilizing period in which major construction projects, prolonged campaigning, and formal government services were created and even expanded. All of these public expansions came at the price of higher taxation which led to a standardization of the tax code.
An Empire Divided
In 286 AD Diocletian declared his old military friend Maximian co-emperor.
Maximian ruled the western empire while Diocletian reigned over the eastern empire.
The Rule of Four – Tetrarchy
The two co emperors each named a Caesar under themselves, Maximian and Diocletian named Constantius and Galerius. The four of them effectively created the Roman tetrarchy or the rule of four.
Diocletian thus divided the empire again wherein each of the tetrarchy ruled a quarter division of land.
Trouble in the Empire
Diocletian’s rule stabilized the Roman empire and ended the Crisis of the Third Century. Despite this adversity he introduced formal changes to the Roman military and economy that preserved the empire for years to come.
All good things must come to end though, and soon enough the competing claims to the emperorship would end the peaceful and prosperous times of the Roman empire.
The sons of Maximian and Diocletian’s Caesars Galerius and Constantius did not like sharing and threatened to end the situation that Diocletian has created and run successfully.
An Emperor’s Abdication
Diocletian abdicated his position as emperor voluntarily in May 305 becoming the first to do so in Roman history. He lived out his last years in his Dalmatian palace.
His legacy as a great stabilizer to the Roman empire were justified however not all of his policies worked. Artificial price controls to battle hyperinflation did not work. Other policies Diocletian pushed earned him a special characterization in Serbian mythology.
Diocletian is referred to as the “adversary of God” for his part in the Roman persecution of Christians. The Christian emperor Constantine, under whom the empire’s major religion became Christianity, reversed many of the edicts issued by Diocletian that persecuted Roman Christians.
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