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Diocletian and the establishment of the Tetrarchy Diocletian Diocletian was a Roman emperor from 284 to 305 AD. He was born to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia. Diocletian became the cavalry commander to the Emperor Carus. After the deaths of Carus and his son Numerian on campaign in Persia, Diocletian was proclaimed emperor. Diocletian battled Carus’s son Carinus for the title, eventually defeating him. Diocletian's reign stabilized the empire. In 303 AD, Diocletian, along with the other rulers of the Roman Empire, issued edicts rescinding the rights of Christians and mandating that they comply with traditional Roman cult practices. At first, the edict was non violent, but subsequent edicts ordered noncompliant Christians to be executed. The persecution ended with Constantine in 313 AD. The Tetrarchy, or "rule of four" was established by Diocletian as a means to more effectively administrate the empire. The four men chosen by Diocletian were given the title of “Augustus” for a senior emperor or “Caesar” to designate a junior emperor. The Tetrarchy consisted of four emperors reigning over two halves of the empire. Each pair of emperors was given control over either the eastern or western portion of the empire. This allowed Diocletian and his fellow emperors to better organize the administration of the provinces. Diocletian continued to rule in the east. He made Maximian co-emperor in the west. They were each called “Augustus”. The two “Caesars” were: Galerius, in the east, and Constantius in the west. This method of creating emperors and their successors bypassed the need for approval of emperors by the Senate. The reforms of Diocletian came after a period when many emperors had been assassinated. Thus the Tetrarchy was seen as a more stable form of government. Diocletian and the Tetrarchy Caesar Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus Augustus Diocletian reigned from 284 to 305 AD both as an individual emperor and as a member of the Tetrarchy. Statue of the Tetrarchy The statue of the Tetrarchs depicts the four Tetrarchs together. It symbolizes the concept of co-rule and cohesiveness instead of the power of the individual. The idea of the Tetrarchy, which is apparent in the statue, is based on the idea of four men working together to establish peace and stability throughout the empire. This sculpture of the Tetrarchs, originally from the city of Constantinople, now resides in Venice at St. Marks. The rulers in the statue Palace of Diocletian Diocletian abdicated power in 305 AD and left the rule of the Tetrarchy to his co-emperors. Diocletian then moved to his palace in Dalmatia, which lies in modern day Croatia. Diocletian's palace was built using limestone and marble as a fortress- half of the palace was for Diocletian’s personal use; the other was for military purposes. Diocletian's palace nicely illustrates the Roman use of barrel vaults in the substructure and the use of columns, peristyles, and entablatures to create monumental spaces. In addition, the central court leading up to the other rooms and to the peristyle was sunken into the floor. This difference in elevation emphasized the power of Diocletian, as members of the court would have to stand several steps below.