It's Who You Know

Having the right drinking buddy can be good for your career.

The third century AD Roman Empire was in trouble. A fifty-year period saw 26 claimants to the Imperial throne, barbarian invasions, economic contraction, plague, natural disasters, and a split of the Empire into three separate territories. Not for nothing was this historical period called “The Crisis of the Third Century.”

Much of this strife was due to the lack of clear-cut Imperial succession. When it came to choosing an emperor, the Senate had a say, the legions had a say, and at one point the Praetorian Guard, the elite bodyguard of the emperor, auctioned the throne off to the highest bidder.

A series of strong military emperors, whose power base was the Roman legions, seized control and were able to fight back against invasions and restore lost territory. But this only served to stop the bleeding; stabilization was needed to get the Empire back on track.

Enter Diocletian. Though he was an able military commander, his heart lay in administration and reform. The bizarre deaths of two emperors—one struck by lightning and another who died in his closed carriage and was discovered dead at the end of the journey by the smell coming from the coach—paved the way for his ascension to the Imperial throne.

Diocletian realized the Empire was too big and complex for one man to rule alone. He was also childless and had seen how easy it had been to remove sole rulers from office. He appointed his drinking buddy and fellow soldier Maximian junior emperor. Then the two went a-conquerin’, subduing the more pesky provinces of the eastern and western empire.

A rebellion arose within Maximian’s dominion, and he used the occasion to take the title of Augustus, or senior co-emperor. It is possible this was done without Diocletian’s approval, but he went along because he and Maximian were pals, and he needed a partner he could trust.

The rebel Carausius set himself up in Britain, declared himself emperor, and resisted all efforts to dislodge him. At the same time, the Empire was facing challenges in Africa and Germany. Emperor Diocletian’s answer to this was to appoint two more junior emperors, Constantius in the West and Galerius in the East. This created the Tetrarchy, or rule of four.

The new arrangement met with success. Britain was subjugated and the Empire gained stability. At the twentieth anniversary of their joint rule, Diocletian and Maximian met in Rome, where Diocletian told Maximian of his intention to retire from the throne and raise cabbages in Dalmatia.

The thing was, he expected Maximian to retire at the same time.

Maximian went along, swearing an oath to Jupiter (Romans took their oaths seriously) but there was trouble at the outset. The two junior emperors, Constantius and Galerius, were made senior emperors (Augustus), but the sons of the emperors Constantius and Maximian were passed over and were not made junior emperors (Caesar). These slighted sons rebelled and declared themselves emperors.

The future Constantine the Great attempted to assume the title of Augustus after his father’s death in 306. Maxentius, Maximinian’s son, sent his father Imperial robes, essentially calling him out of retirement to help his boy out with his rebellion. Maximian worked out an arrangement with Constantine to keep him at bay and rejoined Maxentius in Rome. Before long, Maximian tried to overthrow his son and failed.

Father-son relationships can be complicated.

All this upheaval forced Diocletian to leave his cabbages and come briefly out of retirement. The old emperor was able to work out a deal that resulted in four Augusti ruling the Empire: Constantine, Licinius, Maximinus Daia, and Galerius. Maxentius was declared a usurper. Diocletian urged his old pal Maximian to retire in dignity, telling him about the truly great cabbages he was growing. "If you could show the cabbage that I planted with my own hands to your emperor, he definitely wouldn't dare suggest that I replace the peace and happiness of this place with the storms of a never-satisfied greed."

Having none of that, Maximian rebelled against Constantine. He ended up in Massilia (the future Marseille in France). Despite offering bribes to the people of the city and Constantine’s soldiers, everyone remained loyal to Constantine and turned the renegade former Emperor over to him.

Constantine stripped him of all Imperial titles and suggested, instead of horticultural retirement, that Maximian commit suicide. The old emperor hanged himself in 310. Constantine went on to defeat all his rivals and become the sole ruler of the Empire.

Maximian probably should have gone for the cabbages when he had the chance.