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Diocletianus










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DIOCLETIANUS (Caius Valerianus), at first named Diocles, a native of Diocles, in Dalmatia, the town from which he took his surname.--Born A.D. 254, of an obscure family, that circumstance did not, when he had obtained the empire, deter him from pretending to have descended from Claudius II. He had become an able general, and commanded the legions in Maesia, under Probus. Having risen to the highest military dignities, he followed Carus, in that emperor's Persian campaign, A.D. 283; and was made consul suffectus, the same year. After the death of Carus, he was of the number of those who attached themselves to Numerianus. In 284 he was declared Augustus at Chalcedon, by the army of the East, after the assasination of Numerianus; and he slew with his own hand Arrius Aper, prefect of the pretorians, who had taken part in the murder of that good young prince, which happened the following year. In possesion of the purple, he immediately created Maximianus Caesar; and towards the close of the year, set out for the East. [Here commences the celebrated era of Diocletian, also called the era of martyrs].--The same year he prepared to wage war against Carinus.--A.D. 285, Diocletian was consul for the second time; same year he gave battle to Carinus, near Widdin, in Bulgaria (Viminacium, in upper Maesia).  At the first encounter, Diocletian had the worst of it; but Carinus having been killed by his own people, Diocletian gained a victory, thus become, and found himself sole master of the Roman world.--In 286 of aera, being at Nicomedia, in Bythina, he proclaimed as Augustus, and associated with himself in the empire, Maximianus, afterwards surnamed Herculius, to whom he assigned the government of the Wastern provinces, reserving for himself the administration of affairs in the East.


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Diocletianus










Please |help| us convert the |Dictionary of Roman Coins| from scans to text by typing the original text here. Please add updates or make corrections to the NumisWiki text version as appropriate.

DIOCLETIANUS (Caius Valerianus), at first named Diocles, a native of Diocles, in Dalmatia, the town from which he took his surname.--Born A.D. 254, of an obscure family, that circumstance did not, when he had obtained the empire, deter him from pretending to have descended from Claudius II. He had become an able general, and commanded the legions in Maesia, under Probus. Having risen to the highest military dignities, he followed Carus, in that emperor's Persian campaign, A.D. 283; and was made consul suffectus, the same year. After the death of Carus, he was of the number of those who attached themselves to Numerianus. In 284 he was declared Augustus at Chalcedon, by the army of the East, after the assasination of Numerianus; and he slew with his own hand Arrius Aper, prefect of the pretorians, who had taken part in the murder of that good young prince, which happened the following year. In possesion of the purple, he immediately created Maximianus Caesar; and towards the close of the year, set out for the East. [Here commences the celebrated era of Diocletian, also called the era of martyrs].--The same year he prepared to wage war against Carinus.--A.D. 285, Diocletian was consul for the second time; same year he gave battle to Carinus, near Widdin, in Bulgaria (Viminacium, in upper Maesia).  At the first encounter, Diocletian had the worst of it; but Carinus having been killed by his own people, Diocletian gained a victory, thus become, and found himself sole master of the Roman world.--In 286 of aera, being at Nicomedia, in Bythina, he proclaimed as Augustus, and associated with himself in the empire, Maximianus, afterwards surnamed Herculius, to whom he assigned the government of the Wastern provinces, reserving for himself the administration of affairs in the East.  The new Augustus entered actively upon his duties, by proceeding into Gaul, and suppressing an insurrection raised there by AElianus and Amandus--Diocletian served the consulate for the third time, 287.


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