Imperial Representation Under Diocletian and the Tetrarchy (A.D. 284-305)

Imperial Representation Under Diocletian and the Tetrarchy (A.D. 284-305)
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2003
Genre:
ISBN:

The emperor Diocletian (A.D 284-305) established an entirely new system of governing the Roman world, which is known today as the "Tetrarchy." Diocletian's system saw four men, twoAugusti and two Caesars, sharing control of the Roman Empire and basing themselves in different geographical locations. As such, the Tetrarchs were able to deal with threats to the Empire's borders much more efficiently than one emperor. In order to contrast the Tetrarchs from the civil wars and usurpations of the fifty years that had preceded them, a new system ofimperial representation was developed. This thesis examines surviving examples of Tetrarchic imperial representation. This includes coins and medals of the Tetrarchs, porphyry statue groups, a monument of five columns in the Forum Romanum (the F nfs(ulendenkmal), the Arch of Galerius in Thessalonike, wall paintings at Luxor, and the so-called Arcus Novus in Rome. Onall of these monuments, the Tetrarchs are consistently shown as four equal emperors, but a single ruling unit. The new portraiture, costume and attributes of the Tetrarchs are thought to beintended to show the Tetrarchs as identical and equal. This concept, termed similitudo, was used to underscore the ideal of Tetrarchic harmony (concordia). Jupiter and Hercules find a specialplace in Tetrarchic representation as the patrons of the two Tetrarchic houses. The use of other personifications and divinities in Tetrarchic representation showed the divine prerogative, legitimacy and the universality of the Tetrarchic system. It is argued that Tetrarchic art and monuments do not represent a decline in Roman art as was once commonly thought. Instead, itseems that the Tetrarchy marks the beginning of a move towards more symbolic representation. The overall effect of these changes was to represent the Tetrarchs as a cohesive and powerfulruling unit.

The Empire of the Tetrarchs

The Empire of the Tetrarchs
Author: Simon Corcoran
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 454
Release: 2000
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780198153047

The era of Diocletian and Constantine is a significant period for the Roman empire, with far-reaching administrative changes that established the structure of government for three hundred years a time when the Christian church passed from persecution to imperial favour. It is also a complexperiod of co-operation and rivalry between a number of co-emperors, the result of Diocletian's experiment of government by four rulers (the tetrarchs). This book examines imperial government at this crucial but often neglected period of transition, through a study of the pronouncements that theemperors and their officials produced, drawing together material from a wide variety of sources: the law codes, Christian authors, inscriptions, and papyri. The study covers the format, composition, and promulgation of documents, and includes chronological catalogues of imperial letters and edicts,as well as extended discussions of the Gregorian and Hermogenian Codes, and the ambitious Prices Edict. Much of this has had little detailed coverage in English before. There is also a chapter that elucidates the relative powers of the members of the imperial college. Finally, Dr Corcoran assesseshow effectively the machinery of government really matched the ambitions of the emperors. The additional notes in this revised edition of the hardback contain details of recent epigraphic work and discoveries, especially from Ephesus, as well as an account of a long ignored rescript ofDiocletian.

The Tetrarchy as Ideology

The Tetrarchy as Ideology
Author: Filippo Carla-Uhink
Publisher: Franz Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden GmbH
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023-02-02
Genre:
ISBN: 9783515134002

The 'Tetrarchy', the modern name assigned to the period of Roman history that started with the emperor Diocletian and ended with Constantine I, has been a much-studied and much-debated field of the Roman Empire. Debate, however, has focused primarily on whether it was a true 'system' of government, or rather a collection of ad-hoc measures undertaken to stabilise the empire after the troubled period of the 3rd century CE. The papers collected here aim to go beyond this question and to present an innovative approach to a fascinating period of Roman history by understanding the Tetrarchy not as a system of government, but primarily as a political language. Their focus thus lies on the language and ideology of the imperial college and court, on the performance of power in imperial ceremonies, the representation of the emperors and their enemies in the provinces of the Roman world, as well as on the afterlife of Tetrarchic power in the Constantinian period.

Emperors and Bishops in Late Roman Invective

Emperors and Bishops in Late Roman Invective
Author: Richard Flower
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 311
Release: 2013-05-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 1107031729

Praise and blame in the Roman world -- Constructing a Christian tyrant -- Writing auto-hagiography -- Living up to the past.

Imperial Rome AD 284 to 363

Imperial Rome AD 284 to 363
Author: Jill Harries
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2012-03-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 0748653953

This book is about the reinvention of the Roman Empire during the eighty years between the accession of Diocletian and the death of Julian.

Imagining Emperors in the Later Roman Empire

Imagining Emperors in the Later Roman Empire
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 365
Release: 2018-07-10
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9004370927

Imagining Emperors in the Later Roman Empire offers new critical analysis of the textual depictions of a series of emperors in the fourth century within overlapping historical, religious and literary contexts.

Galerius and the Will of Diocletian

Galerius and the Will of Diocletian
Author: William Lewis Leadbetter
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2009-12-04
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1135261326

Drawing from a variety of sources - literary, visual, archaeological; papyri, inscriptions and coins – the author studies the nature of Diocletian’s imperial strategy, his wars, his religious views and his abdication. The author also examines Galerius’ endeavour to take control of Diocletian’s empire, his failures and successes, against the backdrop of Constantine’s remorseless drive to power. The first comprehensive study of the Emperor Galerius, this book offers an innovative analysis of his reign as both Caesar and Augustus, using his changing relationship with Diocletian as the principal key to unlock the complex imperial politics of the period.