tetrarchy

Examples of tetrarchy in the following topics:

• Imperial Sculpture under the Tetrarchy

  • Emperor Diocletian institutionalized the Tetrarchy, a co-rule that re-established stability in the empire for the period of Diocletian's reign.
  • Diocletian achieved stability by establishing the Tetrarchy, Greek for "rule by four."
  • The Tetrarchy consisted of four emperors reigning over two halves of the empire.
  • The idea of the Tetrarchy, which is apparent in their portraits, is based on the ideal of four men working together to establish peace and stability throughout the empire.
  • Furthermore, the two pairs of rulers - a Caesar and an Augustus with arms around each other - form a solid, stable block that reinforces the stability the Tetrarchy brought to the Roman Empire.

• Diocletian and the Tetrarchy

  • Facing the pressures of civil war, plague, invasion, and economic depression, Diocletian was able to stabilize the Roman empire for another hundred years through economic reform and the establishment of the Tetrarchy.
  • Under this "tetrarchy," or "rule of four," each emperor would rule over a quarter-division of the empire.
  • They in turn appointed two new Caesars — Severus II in the west under Constantius, and Maximinus in the east under Galerius — thereby creating the second Tetrarchy.
  • These four formed the second tetrarchy.
  • This map shows the four zones of influence under Diocletian's Tetrarchy

• Constantine

  • One of his major political legacy, aside from moving the capital of the Empire to Constantinople, was that, in leaving the empire to his sons, he replaced Diocletian's tetrarchy with the principle of dynastic succession.
  • Constantine won the battle and started on the path that led him to end the Tetrarchy and become the sole ruler of the Roman Empire.

• Architecture under Constantine

  • Unfortunately for Diocletian's legacy and the stability created by the Tetrarchy, a power struggle between the two heirs erupted a year after the former Augustus's abdication.

• The Rise of Christianity

  • The Great Persecution officially ended in April of 311, when Galerius, senior emperor of the Tetrarchy, issued an edict of toleration which granted Christians the right to practice their religion, though it did not restore any property to them.

• The Shift East

  • After defeating Maxentius, Constantine gradually consolidated his military superiority over his rivals in the crumbling Tetrarchy.

• Diocletian's Palace

  • Diocletian abdicated power in 305 CE and left the Tetrarchy to his co-emperors and Severus, the newly inaugurated general.

• The Eastern Roman Empire, Constantine the Great, and Byzantium

  • His more immediate political legacy was that, in leaving the empire to his sons, he replaced Diocletian's tetrarchy (government where power is divided among four individuals) with the principle of dynastic succession.