The Beginnings of Rome

Gallienus was murdered at Milan in 268, and after the brief reign of Claudius II. (A.D. 268-27o), who checked the advance of the Goths, Aurelian (27o-275) restored unity to the distracted empire. Palmyra was destroyed and Zenobia led a prisoner to Rome (273) and in the next year the Gallic empire came to an end by the surrender of Tetricus. Aurelian, it is true, abandoned the province of Dacia, but the defences of the Danube were strengthened, and in 276 Probus repulsed the Franks and Alamanni, who had been pressing on the Rhine frontier for some 4o years. Finally, Carus (282) recovered Armenia and Mesopotamia from the Persians and restored the frontier fixed by Septimius Severus.

The Empire at the Close of the 3rd Century.—Although any serious loss of territory had been avoided, the storms of the 3rd century had told with fatal effect upon the general condition of the empire. The "Roman peace" had vanished; not only the frontier territories, but the central districts of Greece, Asia Minor, and even Italy itself, had suffered from the ravages of war, and the fortification of Rome by Aurelian was a significant testimony to the altered condition of affairs. War, plague and famine had thinned the population and crippled the resources of the provinces.

On all sides land was running waste, cities and towns were decay ing and commerce was paralysed. Only with the greatest difficulty were sufficient funds squeezed from the exhausted taxpayers to meet the increasing cost of the defence of the frontiers. The old established culture and civilization of the Mediterranean world rapidly declined, and the mixture of barbaric rudeness with Oriental pomp and luxury which marked the court, even of the better emperors, such as Aurelian, was typical of the general deterioration, which was accelerated by the growing practice of settling barbarians on lands within the empire and of admitting them freely to service in the Roman army.

Period II.: The Dominate, A.D. 284-476. (a) From the Accession of Diocletian to the Death of Theodosius (A.D.

284-395).

The work of fortifying the empire alike against internal sedition and foreign invasion, begun by Aurelian and Probus, was completed by Diocletian and Constantine the Great.

whose system of government, novel as it appears at first sight, was in reality the natural and inevitable outcome of the history of the previous century. Its object was two-fold, to give increased stability to the imperial authority itself and to organize effi cient administrative machinery throughout the empire. In the second year of his reign Diocletian associated Maximian with himself as colleague, and six years later (293) the hands of the two "Augusti" were further strengthened by the proclamation of Constantius and Galerius as "Caesares." Precedents for such an arrangement were to be found in the earlier history of the princi pate ; and it divided the burdens and responsibilities of govern ment without sacrificing the unity of the empire ; for, although to each of the Augusti and Caesars a separate sphere was assigned, the Caesars were subordinate to the higher authority of the Augusti, and over all his three colleagues Diocletian claimed to exercise a paramount control. It also reduced the risk of a dis

puted succession by establishing in the two Caesars the natural successors to the Augusti, and it satisfied the jealous pride of the rival armies by giving them imperatores of their own. The distri bution of power between Diocletian and his colleagues followed those lines of division which the feuds of the previous century had marked out. The armies of the Rhine, the Danube and of Syria fell to the lot respectively of Constantius, Galerius and Diocletian, the central districts of Italy and Africa to Maximian.

Diocletian's Reforms.

In the new system the imperial authority was finally emancipated from all constitutional limi tation and control and the last traces of its republican origin disappeared. The emperors from Diocletian onwards were auto crats in theory as well as in practice. This avowed despotism Diocletian, following in the steps of Aurelian, hedged round with all the pomp and majesty of Oriental monarchy. The final adop tion of the title dominus, the diadem on the head, the robes of silk and gold, the replacement of the republican salutation of a fellow-citizen by the adoring prostration even of the highest in rank before their lord and master, were all significant marks of the new regime. In the hands of this absolute ruler was placed the entire control of an elaborate administrative machinery. Most of the old local and national distinctions, privileges and liberties which had once flourished within the empire had already disap peared under the levelling influence of imperial rule, and the process was now completed. Roman citizenship had, since the edict of Caracalla, ceased to be the privilege of a minority. Diocletian finally reduced Italy and Rome to the level of the provinces : the provincial land-tax and provincial government were introduced into Italy, while Rome ceased to be even in name the seat of imperial authority.' Throughout the whole area of the empire a uniform system of administration was established, the control of which was centred in the imperial palace. Between the civil and military departments the separation was complete. At the head of the former were the praetorian prefects, next below them the vicarii, who had charge of the dioceses; below these again the governors of the separate provinces (praesides, correc tores, con,sulares), under each of whom was a host of minor officials. Parallel with this civil hierarchy was the series of mili tary officers, from the magistri inilitum, the duces and comites downwards. In both there is the utmost possible subordination and division of authority. The subdivision of provinces, begun by the emperors of the 2nd century, was systematically carried out by Diocletian, and each official, civil or military, was placed directly under the orders of a superior ; thus a continuous chain of author ity connected the emperor with the meanest official in his service. Finally, the various grades in these two imperial services were carefully marked by the appropriation to each of distinctive titles, the highest being that of illustris, which was confined to the pre fects and to the military magistri and comites, and to the chief ministers.