How did diocletian's division of the roman empire in ad 285 affect the empire?

Answer 1

Diocletian did not divide the empire. No one ever did. Note that the terms Western and Eastern Roman Empire are terms which have been coined by historians. The Romans did not use them. They only said Roman Empire.

Diocletian created a co-emperorship with his fellow general Maximian in which he took charge of the east, while Maximian took charge of the west. However, this was a co-emperorship, a sharing of power between two men, or diarchy (rule by two), not a splitting of the empire, which, Diocletian stressed, was indivisible. Co-emperorship was nothing new. Previously, some emperors had shared rule with their sons by making them co-emperors, with one of them in charge of the east and the other in charge of the east. The difference now was that Diocletian did not share power with a relative because he had no sons. He had to rely on a fellow military man.

Diocletian soon developed the diarchy into a tetrarchy (rule by four). He subdivided the empire into four main administrative units, called dioceses (two in the east and two in the west). The appointed two junior emperors (Caesars) and put them in charge of two of the dioceses. Himself and Maximian became senior emperors (Augusti) and took charge of the other two dioceses.

The tetrarchy soon fell apart. Constantine the Great, who ended the tetrarchy, retained Diocletian's administrative reforms. He retained the four dioceses and a bureaucracy which Diocletian had doubled and which was a drain on imperial finance. Diocletian managed to reassert imperial control over the provinces which could often be rebellious and to improve the defence of the vast frontiers of the empire. However, the empire remained unstable to a degree and invasions across the frontiers resumed later.

Answer 2

Emperor Diocletian created the tetrarchy (rule by four) in 286. He appointed fellow general Maximian as co-emperor who took charge of the western part of the empire, while he took charge of the eastern part. These two men became senior emperors (Augusti) when Diocletian appointed two junior emperors (Caesars) who were subordinate to the senior emperors and took charge of areas of the frontiers which were under the greatest pressure from attacks from outside, the river Rhine in the west and the river Danube in the east.

This created four administrative units. Diocletian took charge of the territories in Asia and of Egypt. Maximilian took charge of Italy and northwestern Africa. One junior emperor took charge of Britain, Gaul and Spain in the west and the other took charge of the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe. Thepurposeof the reform was to improve the efficiency of the defence of the vast frontiers of the empire which were constantly under attack.

It is sometimes erroneously said that Diocletian divided the empire. He did not. The tetrarchy was an administrative arrangement designed to improve the defence of the frontiers of one single empire. Diocletian stressed that the empire was indivisible Co-emperorship was not new. Previously emperors had made their sons co-emperors with one of them in charge of the east and the other in charge of the east. The purpose was the same, improving the defence of the frontiers. After the tetrarchy, there was an alternation of periods of co-emperorship and periods with a sole emperor. This clearly shows that the empire was not divided.

The tetrarchy was short lived. When Diocletian abdicated (one of the very few emperors to do so) the tetrarchy collapsed. The tetrarchs started fighting each other and the empire fell into civil wars.

Diocletian also turned Nicomedia (in northwestern Turkey) into the imperial capital for the eastern part of the Roman Empire and Milan into the imperial capital for the western part. He also turned two cities into imperial capitals for the Caesars: Augusta Trevorum (triers) in Germany, near the river Rhine, and Sirmium (near Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia) near the river Danube. The latter two ceased to be imperial capitals after the tetrarchy and became only provincial capitals. Constantine the Great then moved the capital of the eastern part of the empire to Byzantium, which he redeveloped and renamed Constantinople in 330. Milan remained the imperial capital of the western part until this capital was moved to Ravenna in 402.

Answer 3

The tetrarchy created by Diocletian succeeded in its purpose of improving the defence of the empire. It decreased the importance of Rome because he designated two new imperial capitals which were closer to the frontiers of the empire, cementing the existing trend which had seen the frontier areas becoming increasingly more important because they were constantly under attack and needed great military efforts. Diocletian also introduced a more autocratic style of rule. He doubled the size of the imperial bureaucracy and controlled everything tightly through its machinery. The tetrarchy was short lived and was followed by civil wars.

Diocletian did not divide the Roman Empire. Western Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire are terms which have been coined by historians. The Romans did not have them and used only one term: Roman Empire. Historian use the terms to indicate the western and eastern part of the Roman Empire not two separate empires.

Emperor Diocletian created the tetrarchy (rule by four) in 286. He appointed fellow general Maximian as co-emperor who took charge of the western part of the empire, while he took charge of the eastern part. These two men became senior emperors (Augusti) when Diocletian appointed two junior emperors (Caesars) who were subordinate to the senior emperors and took charge of areas of the frontiers which were under the greatest pressure from attacks from outside, the river Rhine in the west and the river Danube in the east.

This created four administrative units. Diocletian took charge of the territories in Asia and of Egypt. Maximilian took charge of Italy and northwestern Africa. One junior emperor took charge of Britain, Gaul and Spain in the west and the other took charge of the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe. The purpose of the reform was to improve the efficiency of the defence of the vast frontiers of the empire which were constantly under attack.

The tetrarchy was an administrative arrangement designed to improve the defence of the frontiers of one single empire. Diocletian stressed that the empire was indivisible. Co-emperorship was not new. Previously emperors had made their sons co-emperors with one of them in charge of the east and the other in charge of the east. The purpose was the same, improving the defence of the frontiers. After the tetrarchy, there was an alternation of periods of co-emperorship and periods with a sole emperor. This clearly shows that the empire was not divided.

The tetrarchy was short lived. When Diocletian abdicated (one of the very few emperors to do so) the tetrarchy collapsed. The tetrarchs started fighting each other and the empire fell into civil wars.

Diocletian also turned Nicomedia (in northwestern Turkey) into the imperial capital for the eastern part of the Roman Empire and Milan into the imperial capital for the western part. He also turned two cities into imperial capitals for the Caesars: Augusta Trevorum (triers) in Germany, near the river Rhine, and Sirmium (near Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia) near the river Danube. The latter two ceased to be imperial capitals after the tetrarchy and became only provincial capitals. Constantine the Great then moved the capital of the eastern part of the empire to Byzantium, which he redeveloped and renamed Constantinople in 330. Milan remained the imperial capital of the western part until this capital was moved to Ravenna in 402.

Answer 4

Diocletian subdivided the Empire into four administrative units, not two. He created the four praetorian prefectures of Galliae, Italia et Africa, Illyricum and Oriens as part of his creation of the tetrarchy (rule by four). He appointed fellow general Maximian as co-emperor. Maximian took overall control of the western part of the empire, while Diocletian took overall control of the eastern part. Then these two men became senior emperors (Augusti) with the creation of two junior emperors (Caesars) who were subordinates of the Augusti. The Caesars Constantius and Galerius took charge of Galliae and Illyricum respectively. Their task was to defend the troubled frontiers along the rivers Rhine and Danube respectively, which were under constant attack from outside. Maximian took charge of Italia et Africa and Diocletian took charge of Oriens.

This reform had several aims: 1) The bad experience of recent sole emperors suggested to Diocletian that sole emperors were vulnerable and that co-emperorship made power more secure.1) Diocletian was hairless; he had a daughter and no sons. Therefore he needed a trusted co-ruler from outside the family 3) There was a need to improve imperial control over the empire. There had been conflict between powerful men in every province of the empire. Diocletian shared controlling the provinces. 4) There was also a need to improve the efficiency of the defence of the vast frontiers of the empire from constant attacks from outside.

The creation of these four units was not a partition of the empire which, as Diocletian stressed, was indivisible. It was an administrative arrangement.

Co-emperorship was not new. Previously emperors had made their sons co-emperors with one in charge of the east and the other in charge of the east. The purpose was the same, improving the defence of the frontiers. After the tetrarchy, there was an alternation of periods of co-emperorship and periods with a sole emperor. This clearly shows that the empire was not divided.

Answer 5

Diocletian divided the empire to make it easier to rule and therefore easier to control and keep secure.