FEBRUARY 1:  THIRD-CENTURY CRISIS, DIOCLETIAN, AND PERSECUTION

Where things start to go wrong:  Commodus, 180-192 AD

Commodus Hercules.jpg (124804 bytes)

 

 

A "bad emperor":  Caracalla, 211-217 AD.

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Caracalla again:  did I mention he was one of the "bad" ones?

Caracalla Glare.jpg (11104 bytes)

 

Damnatio Memoriae:  Caracalla "erases" his brother Geta

CaracallaGeta.jpg (382531 bytes)

 

First of the "barracks emperors":  Maximinus Thrax, former professional wrestler

Max Thrax.jpg (11664 bytes)

 

 

Third Century Emperors at De Imperatoribus Romanis.  There were quite a lot of them...

Philip the Arab:  244-249

Philip the Arab.jpg (12621 bytes)

 

Decius (249-251):  Persecutor of Christians

decius.jpg (18608 bytes)

 

It doesn't get much worse than this:

The Persian King Shapur captures the Roman Emperor Valerian, without even unsheathing his sword (260 AD):

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The Roman Empire in the middle of the third century

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Order Restored:  Diocletian

DiocletianBust.jpg (254122 bytes)

 

"Jove and Hercules":  (Diocletian and Maximian as co-emperors):

DiocletianMaximian.jpg (372887 bytes)

 

"Teamwork, Teamwork, Teamwork":  The Tetrarchs

tetrarchs02.jpg (33385 bytes)

 

A Roman Emperor's Retirement Villa:  Diocletian's Palace in Split (Croatia)

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Diocletian, retired from public life, tends his cabbages:

DiocletianCartoon.gif (34595 bytes)

 

The Christians:  Martyrdom and Persecution

Adbestias.jpg (22990 bytes)

 

 

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SebastianMartyr.bmp (1205362 bytes)

 

 

 

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But things are going to change...

Constantine:

ConstantineHead.jpg (17229 bytes)