Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

L'évolution politique du règne de Dioclétien (284-305)

1994; Brepols; Volume: 2; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1484/j.at.2.301151

2295-9718

André Chastagnol,

Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History

We have asked A. Chastagnol to open this historical section with a general discussion, which has its origins in the manuscript he prepared several years ago for the Staria di Roma (ed. Mondadori), and later revised and expanded. After describing the seizure of power and the creation of the diarchy (with Maximian as Caesar, then Augustus), the author stresses Rome's abandonment as a permanent center of power and the separation of the two emperors, who were without fixed residence and rarely saw each other. The ideological and religious substratum, frequently discussed following the research of A. Alföldi, J. Straub and W. Seston, is marked by the absence of solar references, which had been prevalent until then, and by the selection in 285 of Jupiter as the protector of Diocletian and Hercules as the divine « parent» of Maximian. This reinvestiture of traditional deities appears conservative. « Birth» within the divine order is commemorated by the natalis imperii. The imperial cult and the increasingly strict court etiquette underscore the notion of divinized imperial authority, perhaps reflecting Persian influence. According to the autor, the creation of the tetrarchy by the nomination of two Caesars resulted in part from continuing difficulties, especially the rebellion of Carausius in Britain. It occurred by means of a "single" ceremony, held simultaneously near Milan and Nicomedia. Constantius and Galerius (most often called Maximian) were stationed in the West and East respectively, and were linked by divine and family ties to the senior emperors (both married daughters of the Augusti). They were thus the heirs apparent. The peace which followed the Persian wars stabilized the regime and allowed Diocleatian to make major reforms influencing the future. The central administration, focused upon the princes residing in Asia, Illyricum, Italy and Gaul, and the regional administration, reorganised in smaller provinces grouped as dioceses, strengthened the decision-making process and facilitated communication. The public order was more coercive and taxes were heavier, although enforcement varied by region. Apotheosis occurred in the Vicennalia of 303, consecrating the regime and celebrated by the emperors' visit to Rome. In order to survive, the regime had to withstand the first succession in 305, caused by the voluntary retirement of Diocletian and his colleague Maximian, and then a second succession on the occasion of the Vicennalia of the former Caesars in 312. The choice of Maximin Daia and Severus as the new Caesars in 305 was unexpected, but recalled the Antonine system of adopting the « best ». However, heredity, initially denied to Constantine and Maxentius, soon asserted itself. [N. D., traduction David Parrish]