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An Illyrian of low birth, Diocles rose through the ranks to the consulship. He was chosen by the Army on November 20, 284 to replace Numerian and after the assassination of Carinus in July, 285 became sole ruler of the Roman Empire. He changed his name to Diocletian upon his ascension.

Diocletian felt that the system of Roman imperial government was unsustainable in the face of internal pressures and a military threat on two fronts. He gave Maximian the title of CaesarCaesar (p. Caesares is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Gaius Iulius Caesar ("Julius Caesar"), the Roman dictator who was famously murdered on the Ides of March, 44 BC. The change from being a familial name to an imperial tit, which was the traditional form in which an emperor ( AugustusAugustus (plural Augusti is Latin for "majestic" or "venerable". Although the use of the cognomen "Augustus" as part of one's name is generally understood to identify the Roman Emperor, this is somewhat misleading; "Augustus" was the most significant name) designated a successor. However, Diocletian soon made Maximian an Augustus as well. The imperial power was now divided between two people. Diocletian's sphere of influenceA sphere of influence is a metaphorical region of political influences surrounding a country. It is also known as an SOI. When a country falls into another's "sphere of influence" that country frequently becomes subsidiary to the more powerful one, operat was the east, and Maximian's the west.

The two men established separate capitals, neither of which was at Rome. The ancient capital was too far removed from the places where the empire's fate was decided by force of arms. While improving the ability of the two emperors to rule the empire, the division of power further marginalized the SenateThe Roman Senate (Lat. Senatus was a deliberative body which was important in the government of both the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. The word Senatus is derived from the Latin word senex ("old man" or "elder"); literally, "Senate" is understood t, which remained in Rome.

In 292Events Constantius Chlorus divorces Helena, mother of Constantine the Great (approximate date). Narseh becomes co-ruler of Persia. Births Deaths 292., Diocletian and Maximian each appointed a Caesar ( GaleriusGalerius Maximianus formally Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus Roman emperor from 305 to 311, was born near Sardica in Thrace. He originally followed his father's occupation, that of a herdsman, where he got his surname of Armentarius (Lat. armentum herd and ConstantiusGaius Flavius Valerius Constantius ( March 31, 250 July 25, 306) was an emperor of the Western Roman Empire ( 305 306). He was commonly called Chlorus (the Pale), an epithet given to him by Byzantine historians. He was the father of Constantine the Great., respectively). However, these were not merely successors - each was given authority over roughly a quarter of the empire. This form of government is known to historians as the Tetrarchy.

Considering that during the half-century preceding Diocletian's ascension the empire had been in a constant state of simmering civil war, with (according to one scholar) a new emperor every two and a half years on average, it is remarkable that the Tetrarchy did not immediately fall apart due to the greed of any one of the four emperors. The opportunistic nature of Roman imperial politics did eventually cause the disintegration of the Tetrarchy and the reinstitution of one-man rule, but this was not until the 320s.

In 301, Diocletian attempted to curb the rampant inflation of the 3rd century, and issued his Edict on Maximum Prices. This Edict fixed prices for over a thousand goods, fixed wages, and threatened the death penalty to merchants who overcharged. It was unable to stop the inflation and was eventually ignored, but it is an important document for an understanding of Roman economics.

In 303, the last and greatest persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire began, although Galerius carried it out more avidly than Diocletian himself. This wave of persecution lasted until 311.

In 305, Diocletian retired to his palace near the administrative center of Salona on the Adriatic Sea. The palace later became the seed of modern Split, Croatia. He was the only Roman emperor to remove himself from office; all of the others either died of natural causes or were removed by force.