The Evolution of the Imperial Image during the Reign of Diocletian

Abstract

The reign of Diocletian was long and varied. Between his proclamation as emperor on 20 November 284 and his retirement on 1 May 305, the Roman world would undergo significant changes. The most emblematic of these changes is his division of imperial power, first between himself and his fellow soldier emperor, Maximian, as joint augusti in 285, and then between himself and Maximian as augusti, and Constantius and Galerius, who were also soldier emperors, as caesares. Although power sharing arrangements had precedent in Roman history, this division between four initially unrelated men was unprecedented. To accompany this change in power dynamics came changes to how power was projected and received by the people of the empire. Diocletian and his co-emperors presented an image of unity and harmonious cooperation. This image is present on imperially issued documents, the most abundant of which is their imperial coinage. The unity of the emperors can clearly be seen in the minting of coins in the names of each other, as well as the titles that they used, and did not use. Moreover, coins provide us with a multitude of portraits of the emperors. Portraits also survive in various statues, such as the famous group of tetrarchs in Venice, allowing us to compare imperially controlled portraits across media. References to the emperors in inscriptions come in a variety of contexts which offer a glimpse into how the emperors were perceived by the everyday people of the empire, the military, and other groups, as well how the emperors wished to be perceived. Comparing the image of the emperors who preceded Diocletian with those who succeeded him allows us to discern what changes occurred under Diocletian. These changes underpin the image of Diocletian’s many successors, while they variously continued and dropped certain aspects of this image. Constantine, the son of Diocletian’s junior co-emperor Constantius, would wield the image created under Diocletian in order to project his own image of power.