THE GREAT PERSECUTION BY DIOCLETIAN

ABSTRACT

The article examines the personality of the Roman Emperor Diocletian and his views on Christianity. His journey from a low-status family to the rank of Emperor of Rome is also described. Much attention is paid to his reforms in relation to Christians. The main purpose of Satya is to study the personality and activities of the Emperor Diocletian and his policies towards the Christians. The article uses the method of analysis and description. It clearly shows the personality and activities of the Roman Emperor Diocletian and his persecution of Christians.

Keywords: Emperor Diocletian, Roman emperor, politics, Christians, persecution, analysis, description.

The personality of Diocletian is associated with one of the most terrible persecutions of Christians, he was famous for his cruelty. Many historians note this in their works. For example, Professor Lebedev A. P. in his work "The Era of persecution of Christians and the establishment of Christianity in the Greco-Roman world under Constantine the Great" writes: "We are approaching the most severe persecutions, but at the same time the last. It was a terrible trizna, but a trizna celebrated by paganism itself, because it was the eve of the triumph of Christian society over pagan society. We are talking about the persecution of Diocletian. " [1, p. 46].

Diocletian was Roman emperor from 284 to 305. Born into a low-status family in Dalmatia, Diocletian rose through the ranks to become a cavalry commander in the army of Emperor Carus. After the death of Carus and his son Numerian in the campaign in Persia, Diocletian was proclaimed emperor. The title was also claimed by Carus ' surviving son, Carinus, but Diocletian defeated him at the Battle of Margus. Diocletian's reign stabilized the empire and marked the end of the crisis of the third century. In 286, he appointed Maximian's colleague Augustus as co-ruler. Diocletian ruled in the Eastern Empire, and Maximian in the Western. Diocletian delegated authority as early as March 1, 293, appointing Galerius and Constantius as Caesars, junior co-emperors, respectively, under himself and Maximian. Under this "tetrarchy," or "rule of four," each emperor will rule a quarter of the empire. Diocletian guarded the borders of the empire and cleared it of all threats to his power.

The persecution of Diocletian, the last, largest, and bloodiest official persecution of Christianity in the empire, failed to destroy Christianity in the empire; indeed, after 324, Christianity became the preferred religion of the empire under Constantine. The persecution of Diocletian was an unexpected turn in his reign. His cruelty to Christians was shown at the very end of his reign. The time before this turn was quite calm in relation to Christians, it can even be called favorable. This fact really contradicts his time on the throne.

The famous professor Mikhail Emmanuelovich Posnov in his work "The History of the Christian Church (before the division of the churches – 1054)" writes that the persecution was opened by the fact that the magnificent Christian church in Nicomedia, the residence of the emperor, was destroyed to the ground. The next day, the first general edict was also announced, signed by both Augustus and Caesar Galerius. It was ordered to destroy churches, to take away and burn sacred books, and to declare all those who persisted in Christianity disenfranchised. This decree was followed by a fire in the palace in Nicomedia, and two contenders for the imperial crown appeared - in Armenia and Syria. In the same year, 303, two more edicts were issued: one ordered the imprisonment of all the primates of the Christian clergy-bishops, presbyters, deacons, and even readers; 3-according to the edict, as a rule, it was required to torture those who persisted. [2, p. 105].

To fully understand this topic, it is necessary to look at this historical moment through the eyes of the Christian opposition. Then Deocletian appears as the destroyer of the world. Donini A. in his work "At the origins of Christianity (from the beginning to Justinian)" writes that because of his greed and because of his fear, he led the whole world to destruction. He divided the empire into four parts and added to the rule of three princeps, who multiplied the army, and each tried to have more soldiers than their predecessors when they themselves ruled the state. And so there were more tax collectors than payers; the villagers, exhausted by the unbearable burden of taxes, no longer cultivated the land, and the fields were overgrown with forest. [3, p. 160].

In addition, we learn from his work that in order to inspire more fear, Deocletian divided the provinces into smaller territories. So, it turned out that many services in these very areas were engaged in condemnation, insults, etc.

In the same work, A. Donini writes that because of his insatiable greed, he never allowed his treasures to decrease, but always accumulated extraordinary riches and goods in order to keep intact what he possessed. When he caused the greatest food shortages by his various extortions, he tried to stop prices with various laws. Then, under feeble and pathetic pretexts, much blood was shed, and out of fear they stopped selling anything, and the famine grew even greater, until the law itself fell away, having previously caused the ruin of so many people. [3, p. 165].

Despite everything, Diocletian's reforms radically changed the structure of the Roman imperial government and helped to stabilize the empire economically and militarily, allowing the empire to remain virtually intact for another 150 years, despite the fact that in his youth Diocletian was on the verge of collapse.

Weakened by illness, Diocletian left the imperial post on May 1, 305, and became the first Roman emperor to voluntarily relinquish this post. He retired to his palace on the Dalmatian coast, tending his vegetable gardens. His palace eventually became the center of the modern city of Split in Croatia.

References:

1. Lebedev A. P. The Epoch of the Persecution of Christians and the Establishment of Christianity in the Greco-Roman World under Constantine the Great. 2015.
2. Posnov M. The history of the Christian Church (before the division of the churches-1054). - Kiev: Path to Truth, 1991.
3. Donini a. At the origins of Christianity (from its beginnings to Justinian). - Moscow: Politizdat, 1989.