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Diocletian (244-312) was born as Diocles to a family of low status from Dalmatia. He rose through the ranks of the military to become a cavalry commander under Emperor Carus, and after the deaths of Carus and his son Numerian in 284, Diocletian was proclaimed emperor, defeating Carus' other surviving son Carinus to sanctify his claim.<br/><br/> Diocletian's rule would stabilise the Roman Empire after the Crisis of the Third Century, and he made fellow officer Maximian co-emperor in 286 to help rule. He further appointed Galerius and Constantius as junior co-emperors in 293, establishing a tetrarchy (rule of four) which saw the quarter-division of the empire. He defeated many threats to Rome and secured the empire's borders. He sacked Ctesiphon, capital of the Sassanid Empire, before negotiating a lasting peace arrangement.<br/><br/> Diocletian's rule saw the establishment of the largest and most bureaucratic government in the empire's history, as well as overseeing the Docletianic Persecution (303-311), the largest and bloodiest official persecution of Christianity in the empire's history. He eventually abdicated in 305 after falling sick, becoming the first emperor to voluntarily abdicate his throne, living the rest of his years in his private palace on the Dalmatian coast.
Diocletian (244-312) was born as Diocles to a family of low status from Dalmatia. He rose through the ranks of the military to become a cavalry commander under Emperor Carus, and after the deaths of Carus and his son Numerian in 284, Diocletian was proclaimed emperor, defeating Carus' other surviving son Carinus to sanctify his claim.<br/><br/> Diocletian's rule would stabilise the Roman Empire after the Crisis of the Third Century, and he made fellow officer Maximian co-emperor in 286 to help rule. He further appointed Galerius and Constantius as junior co-emperors in 293, establishing a tetrarchy (rule of four) which saw the quarter-division of the empire. He defeated many threats to Rome and secured the empire's borders. He sacked Ctesiphon, capital of the Sassanid Empire, before negotiating a lasting peace arrangement.<br/><br/> Diocletian's rule saw the establishment of the largest and most bureaucratic government in the empire's history, as well as overseeing the Docletianic Persecution (303-311), the largest and bloodiest official persecution of Christianity in the empire's history. He eventually abdicated in 305 after falling sick, becoming the first emperor to voluntarily abdicate his throne, living the rest of his years in his private palace on the Dalmatian coast.
Born as Lucius Septimius Bassianus (188-217 CE) but renamed Marcus Aurelius Antoninus after his father's union with the families of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty, he gained his agnomen Caracalla from a Gallic hooded tunic which he often wore. Eldest son of Emperor Septimius Severus, he reigned jointly with his father from 198 CE until his father's death in 211 CE. He then became joint emperor with his younger brother Geta, but he quickly murdered his brother less than a year into their joint rule.<br/><br/> Caracalla's reign was marked by continued assaults from the Germanic peoples as well as constant domestic instability. Caracalla was famed for enacting the Edict of Caracalla, also known as the Antonine Constitution, which granted Roman citizenship to almost all the freemen living throughout the Empire. He was also known for his establishment of a new Roman currency, the <i>antoninianus</i>, as well as building the Baths of Caracalla, the second largest in Rome. In terms of infamy, Caracalla was known for his massacres against the Roman people and other citizens of the Empire.<br/><br/> Caracalla's reign ended in 217 CE, after he had instigated a new campaign against the Parthian Empire. Caracalla had stopped briefly to urinate when a soldier approached him and stabbed him to death, incensed by Caracalla's refusal to grant him the position of Centurion. Caracalla would be posthumously known for his savage cruelty and treachery, as well as for murdering his own brother and his brother's supporters.