The Tetrarchy was a collegiate form of government when four emperors ruled Rome during the same period of time. Dr Roger Rees, School of Classics, University of St Andrews, joins the show again to explain what the Tetrarchy was, how it functioned, and why it was dissolved.
Some topics explored
- What the Tetrarchy is and why it formed (284-c.312 CE)
- What the geopolitical environment was like in Rome around the time that the Tetrarchy formed
- What the Diarchy is
- Roman Emperor Diocletian
- Roman Emperor Maximian
- The concept of Agusti (plural for Augustus) and Caesars in this context)
- How authority was shared between the Augusti and Caesars
- Scholars belief that Rome wasn’t dynastic around the period of Diocletian’s life
- What’s known about roles and responsibilities of the four emperors
- Diocletian and Maximian’s rare retirements as Roman Emperors
- Major policies created by the Tetrarchy
- The changes of demarcation of Provinces during this period of time for administration purposes and the creation of twelve Dioceses (Dioceses being used secularly in this case)
- Cities of Trier (in present day Germany), Milan (in present day Italy), Nicomedia (in present day Turkey), Sirmium (in present day Serbia), Thessalonika (in present day Greece)
- If contemporaries of this period saw the Roman Empire as a Western Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire
- Successions that occurred in this period of time
- When and why it dissolved
Listen to the episode
The episode can be streamed below and is also available on major podcast apps: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
Show Notes
- Dr Rees is author of the monograph Diocletian and the Tetrarchy (Edinburgh University Press, 2004)
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