Diocletian and Constantine

... Diocletian and Constantine Around the year AD300, the Roman Empire was huge; it stretched from Northumberland to the Red Sea. However, the population was not evenly spread. There was a sign of decrease. There are many reasons for this: natural disasters (e.g. plague, famine). Civil wars broke out, barbarians were attacking, there was a constant need for money for imperial uses and the emperors were frequently changing. During these years, the two most important and successful emperors that attempted to solve these problems were Diocletian and Constantine. What was unusual about Diocletian was that he remained securely in power for 21 years. Diocletian' s first move was to exalt the person of the emperor (himself), hoping that the throne would be safer. He wanted himself to be worshiped and praised like a god. He recruited barbarians into the army; this solved some of the problems caused by them. Diocletian was a very

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