Name: ________________________________ Date: __________________________ Period: ______

Diocletian ___/50 Directions: (1) Use context clues, your background knowledge, the word bank, and the process of elimination to fill in the blanks below. (2) Answer the questions as they occur. (3) Complete the flow map below to make clear what happened after “Diocletian was born with the name Diocles on December 22 nd of 245 A.D. ” Use the highlighted references to time as a guide. (4) Write a one paragraph summary of the reading. Your paragraph must include four sentences, including at least two appositives and two adjectives.

WORD birthplace battle avenge slaveBANK

Diocletian was born with the name Diocles on December 22nd of 245 A.D. He was the son of a poor family in Dalmatia, near Split in modern-day Croatia. His father, apparently the scribe of a wealthy senator, might have been a former (1) _______________. Diocles rose through the ranks of the military. Through the 270’s he was a military commander in the Roman province of Moesia, in modern Romania,

not far from his(2) _______________. From 283 onwards, under Emperor Carus and his son and successor Numerian, he acted as commander of the imperial bodyguard. He is suspected of having played a part in the deaths of both of those emperors. In November of 284, near Nicomedia, he was chosen by Numerian’s soldiers to(3) _______________ their leader’s death. He did this by charging a rival, Arrius Aper, with the crime.

He personally executed Aper in front of his troops. Hailed emperor later that month, he assumed a new name, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletian. Next he crossed the Bosporus into Europe. He met the forces of Carinus, Numerian’s brother and co-emperor, at Margum on April 1 st of 285 . Diocletian was losing the (4) _______________ when Carinus was assassinated by one of his own officers. Without their leader, Carinus’ army surrendered and accepted Diocletian as emperor.

5 Draw the outline of the Roman province of Moesia on the map above.

6 Circle Diocletian’s birthplace on the map above.

7-8 Provide two adjectives that describe Diocletian based upon the information in the paragraph above.

_______________ _______________WORD appointed east four Maximian

1

BANK

In November of 285, Diocletian appointed his comrade Maximian as Caesar and granted him control over the western provinces. Diocletian urgently needed to give the problems on the Danubian borders his full attention. He needed (9) _______________ in Rome to take care of the government. Several months later, on April 1 st of 286 , Diocletian promoted Maximian to the rank of Augustus. Diocletian remained the senior ruler. Diocletian then embarked on several years of hard campaigning, mostly along the Danubian frontier, although one expedition took him as far as Syria.

10-11 Provide two descriptions of Maximian’s relationship to Diocletian.

_________________________________ _________________________________

12-13 Use your two descriptions from above to create two appositives. For example, the text describes Maximian as Diocletian’s friend. An appositive based upon that description would be:

“Maximian, Diocletian’s friend…”

(12) ___________________________________________________________________________

(13) ___________________________________________________________________________

By this time, late in the history of the Roman Empire, the eastern portion of the empire was far wealthier than the Roman west. Diocletian made his capital in the (14) _______________, at Nicomedia, in 286. In 293 Diocletian took another huge step into the unknown by founding the “Tetrarchy;” the rule of four. Under the tetrarchy two Augusti would rule as major emperors, one in the east, the other in the west. Each Augustus would adopt a junior emperor, a Caesar, who would help rule his half of the empire and be (15) _______________ successor. The two men who were appointed to these positions were Constantius and Galerius. The idea was to create a system by which heirs to the throne were appointed by merit and would rule as Caesars long before the place of Augustus became vacant. The Caesars would be the automatic heirs to the throne. In theory at least, this system assured that the best men led the empire. The empire remained one unit, but it was ruled by (16) _______________ men. This system of government showed some merit in 296 when the Persians attacked the empire. Their successes inspired a revolt in Egypt. While Diocletian put down the revolt in Egypt, Galerius successfully campaigned against the Persians.WORD clergy Hercules cults borders unrecognizableBANK Romania

2

Under Diocletian the emperor became a god-like creature detached from worldly affairs. Diocletian and Maximian declared themselves the sons of Jupiter and (17) _______________ respectively. People were required to kneel before them, kissing the hems of their robes. While he elevated his own status, Diocletian reduced the power of the provincial governors by doubling the number of provinces to one hundred. Governors controlled such small areas that it became almost impossible for them to launch rebellions. Diocletian continued his reforms. Next he reintroduce conscription, forced military service, for Roman citizens. He also divided the army into two parts. One part, the frontier troops, was assigned to guard the empire’s(18) _______________. The other part was trained to rush to trouble spots within the empire. Diocletian also expanded the Roman fleet.

19 Provide an adjective that accurately describes Diocletian based upon the information provided in the paragraph above.

_______________

Late in his rule Diocletian became known for his very harsh persecution of the Christians. In his effort to strengthen Roman traditions Diocletian revived the worship of the old Roman gods. He had little tolerance for religious (20) _______________ from foreign lands. On February 23 rd of 303 , Diocletian ordered the destruction of the newly built church at Nicomedia. The next day he ordered the destruction of Christian scriptures and places of worship across the empire. Soon after a fire destroyed part of the Imperial palace. Galerius convinced Diocletian that the culprits were Christians. Executions followed and continued through April of 303. Later that year Diocletian ordered all Christian(21) _______________ to be thrown in prison.

In 304 Diocletian left Rome to take part in a campaign against one of Rome’s most persistent enemies, the Carpi of modern-day eastern(22) _______________. While suppressing a rebellion there he contracted a minor illness. His condition quickly worsened. That summer he left for Nicomedia. Later that year he appeared in public to dedicate the opening of the circus beside his palace. He collapsed soon after the ceremonies. When Diocletian reappeared in public in March of 305, he was emaciated and (23) _______________ recognizable. Then, after a serious illness in 304, he took a step unimaginable to Romans. He abdicated

the throne and retired to Split on May 1 st of 305 . He died there on December 3 rd of 311 .

Diocletian ___/50

3

Directions: (1) Complete the flow map below to make clear what happened after “Diocletian was born with the name Diocles on December 22 nd of 245 A.D. ” Use the highlighted references to time as a guide. Be sure to keep your events in chronological order. (2) Write a one paragraph summary of the reading. Your paragraph must include four sentences, including at least two appositives and two adjectives. UNDERLINE YOUR APPOSITIVES AND YOUR ADJECTIVES.

______________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________PTS IDEAS AND CONTENT PTS ORGANIZATION PTS READABILITY PTS LANGUAGE CONVENTIONS

NOTES: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4

“Diocletian was born with the

name Diocles on December 22nd

of 245 A.D.”

2 3 4

5 6 7 8