Roman Emperor Diocletian Affected The Catholic Church

1025 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Conversion of Constantine to Christianity

In our daily lives, we all want to live like saints and don’t really want to pay attention to or learn about the bad people. Emperor Diocletian was not one of the people in history that did great things, and surely learning about his wrongdoings might make us think about his decisions and avoid the evil choices in our own lives. This essay will cover a short portion of his life, the challenges he faced, and how he affected the Catholic Church. Although this article won’t cover every details about Diocletian’s life, it will mainly focus on the period during his reign as emperor that made him what sort of a man he is. Diocletian was born Diocles in 245 CE to an Illyrian family of modest status. Like many Illyrians, he proved to be brave soldier, …show more content…

In 293, Diocletian established a government system called the tetrarchy and gave the title of caesars to two generals: Galerius and Constantius I (Byers 19). “He reserved for his own portion Thrace, Egypt, and Asia ; Italy and Africa were Maximian's provinces, while Galerius was stationed on the Danube, and Constantius had charge of Gaul, Spain, and Britain. But the supreme control remained in Diocletian's hands” (Scannell). At first, Diocletian had a tolerance for Christians but later on wanted to enhance the ancient pagan religion. By the influence of one of his caesars, …show more content…

He wanted to exterminate the fifty years of military anarchy and form a new system of the government.. Having pressure of being emperor, Diocletian had to develop a system that would keep the empire in control because it was too much for him to rule. This challenge was probably started by the praetorian prefect Aper, who murdered Emperor Numerianus and his successor in the first place. During most of his rule as emperor, he permitted the worship of Christianity because of his wife and daughter taking on the religion, but later his conscience was subdued by his caesar Galerius to start persecuting Christians and giving them one of the most troublesome era to live in. It can be said that this challenge was commenced by

Show More
Related

  • Byzantine Empire Dbq Essay

    1153 Words  | 3 Pages

    Did Justinian impact life as we know it because he is such a great ruler, or is he just a follower who keeps trying to hold on to the loose threads of a fallen empire? Some might say that without Justinian, humanity is a step further back. Others may argue evermore that Justinian is a two-faced liar who you cannot trust (Doc. 2). Contrary to many beliefs, Justinian creates a new Byzantine Empire after the fall of Rome that is influential to many different cultures, more advanced and educated than Rome, and more economically thriving than the Roman Empire.

    Read More

  • King Henry VIII: The Unlikely Reformer

    856 Words  | 2 Pages

    After many failed attempts to obtain a divorce from his first wife Catherine of Aragon, King Henry VIII took momentous steps that led to "The Reformation," a significant occurrence in the history of religion. Prior to the reformation, all of England's inhabitants including King Henry VIII prescribed to Catholicism. In fact, King Henry VIII was such a strong supporter that he was given the title "Defender of the Faith" by the pope for his efforts in protecting Catholicism against the Protestants. However, all these changed upon the pope's denial of Henry's request for a divorce.

    Read More

  • Chapter Summary Of Francis Of Assisi

    1375 Words  | 3 Pages

    Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential personalities in the entire world. In the book ‘Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life,’ Cunningham recounts the life of this humble monk who lived in the medieval times, and shaped the Christian life, which spread in Western culture throughout the rest of history. I believe Cunningham accurately accounts for the life of Francis of Assisi, and in doing so; he provides a trajectory of the Christian faith from its early and historical proponents through its fusion with western culture, and its subsequent spread throughout the world.

    Read More

  • The Influence of Pope Urban II

    1114 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is amazing how much political and military supremacy the papacy position gained when the Crusades began. The First Crusade (1096-1099) was a military expedition initiated by Pope Urban the II to regain the Holy Lands in Jerusalem from the Muslim conquest. The Pope gave a speech requesting military action against Muslim takeover to the French people of Clermont. The speech eventually propagated to other nations for further recruitment. Urban’s political and military involvement helped regain the Holy Lands and save the Christian Crusaders souls. His famous speech changed the course of history in part because its dissemination was overly successful, and assembled over 40,000 Crusaders to do the will of God. Why was Pope Urban II so victorious in recruiting people for the First Crusade, and why was his influence so important?

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar

    877 Words  | 2 Pages

    For thousands of years people have been talking about the great powerful Caesar. He is one of the greatest known dictators known to people today mostly because of all of the things he was able to accomplish during his rein as emperor. After reading primary sources about Caesar, it has given me a better understanding of what other people thought of him during this time period. It’s safe to say that Caesar was obsessed with power and respect from other people that would explain his thirst for war and land, which is one of his greatest strengths and helped in making Rome a great empire.

    Read More

  • Irenaeus of Lyons

    1483 Words  | 3 Pages

    I invite you to consider the life of an interesting human being with me in this paper. Let us investigate together the man known as Irenaeus of Lyons. We will endeavor to gain an overall verbal portrait of the man who is considered the most significant ecclesiastical witness before Eusebius and the leading theologian in the second century A. D. The Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church both consider Irenaeus to be one of their “holy saints“. The name Irenaeus means a “‘man of peace,’ and the early Christian historian Eusebius honored Irenaeus as a peacemaker in keeping with his name.”

    Read More

  • Medieval Society and the Roman Catholic Church's Influence

    1188 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Roman Catholic Church greatly influenced the lives of many people during the medieval times. At the head of the Roman Catholic Church was the pope. Followers believed that the pope was the representative of Jesus on earth. The spiritual classes below the pope were the cardinals, the archbishops, the bishops, and finally the local priests. This was a very efficient system where each class ruled, and directed each class below them. Peasants, of course, were all the way at the bottom of the social class system, but took up 95% of the population. Their lives were very closely tied to their local churches. The main responsibility of the Roman Catholic Church was to serve the spiritual needs of medieval society, and to get people to heaven. This slowly started to change as soon as the Church turned to their corrupt ways to control the people. The Church owned everything from land, to even peoples souls! Going against the Roman Catholic Church was absolutely unacceptable. Not only would you be

    Read More

  • The Influence of the Pope

    886 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dante lived in a time of intense political strife and competition over land, resources, and people. Many factions competed for power in the region, including the Holy Roman Emperors, an organization of “german aristocrats who claimed an ancient right to rule Christendom” (Moss, Wilson p. 174), the Papal authorities in Rome, lead by the controversial and power hungry Pope Boniface VIII, and smaller groups in city-states such as Florence, Tuscany and Rome. These groups were often made up of noblemen and other aristocracy in the cities that desired to consolidate local power under a “small, select group” (Moss, Wilson p. 174) that would allow them to exercise their will on the cities’ populace. Another class that emerged in the period was the merchant class, impelled by the increasing move towards urban centers and the lessening control of local feudal lords and vassals, in favor of more overarching rule by kings over a wider area. This rise in consumerism and capitalism lead to a desire for power by the merchant class to “establish a system of rule that would protect their newly acquired wealth.” (Moss, Wilson p. 174)

    Read More

  • Biography On Julius Caesar

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    Julius Caesar was born on the 13th day of the month Quintilis (now July) in the year of 100 B.C. His full name was Gaius Julius Caesar, the same as his father's name. Gaius was his given name and Julius was his surname. Caesar was the name of one branch of the Julian family. Its original meaning was "hairy.” Caesar's family was not prominent, but they claimed to be descended from Venus as well as the kings of Alba Langa. In spite of that fiction, Caesar was well connected through his relatives and received some important government assignments during his youth. Julius Caesar was the dictator of Rome from 61-44 BC. At the time of his birth, Rome was still a republic and the empire was only beginning. Caesar made his way to be considered a head of Rome by 62 BC, but many of the senate felt him a dangerous, ambitious man. The senate did their best to keep him out of consulship. He finally became consul in 59 BC. In Caesar, they saw only the threat of a king, a word that was linked with the word “tyrant” that is cruel or unjust rule.

    Read More

  • The Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty

    1585 Words  | 4 Pages

    The creation of the Roman Empire ultimately occurred as a result of Julius Caesar appointing himself the first dic...

    Read More

  • Assassination of Julius Caesar

    1181 Words  | 3 Pages

    Caesar’s power in Rome was growing, and people were afraid he was going to turn Rome into a monarchy. However, Caesar did not want to be known as a king, but he was appointed dictator for life.

    Read More

  • The Life of Emperor Nero

    1750 Words  | 4 Pages

    Emperor Nero, infamously known as one of the most malevolent, oppressive, and tyrannical leader throughout history, was the last ruler of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty. He was born outside Rome in Antium and his mother married his great uncle, Emperor Claudius, in order for her son to be the next Emperor of Rome. It wasn’t apparent that her son was to become one of the most feared and cruel leaders in Roman history from 54 CE to 68 CE. By examining his achievements and failures as an emperor, his influences and changes over the entire economic, political and social spectrum are revealed.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of The Imperial Cult In The Roman Empire

    753 Words  | 2 Pages

    This was necessasy, as after Julius Caesar’s death, a period of civil wars ensued, where Augustus aimed to avenge Caesar’s death and consolidate his own role as principate. After this volatile period, Augustus implemented various reforms that brought peace and ‘good government’ to provinces. Eastern citizens showed their gratitude and loyalty in “a manner appropriate to local custom” (Hennessey, 1990). Henry Burton (1912), a credible historian, describes how the East had pre-established practices of placing divine honours onto living individuals that had syncretised from Hellenistic monarchs, including Alexander the Great, and Egyptian pharaohs. Through this, heroes of Rome such as Romulus, founder of the nation, were honoured as deities and considered of divine descent. It was therefore fitting for Augustus, who had founded a new and greater Rome, be “regarded as a god and accorded the same homage” (Burton, 1912). Thus, Augustus did not need to establish the cult, rather, enhance

    Read More

  • The Importance Of The Roman Empire

    1413 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most importantly, the Roman Empire began to be seen as an earthly imitation of heaven, where the emperor acted as God’s regent (Maas, 1). The head of the state now became a leading figure in the Church as well. This new role meant that the emperor was allowed to mediate issues concerning Christian ideology (Maas, 110). Of course this created tension with the clergy, who felt that matters of the Church should be dealt with internally rather by imperial decree. Later emperors, like Justinian, tried to placate the priesthood by echoing the sentiment that it was best “When the clergy shows a proper spirt and devotes itself entirely to God, and the emperor governs the state which is entrusted to him” (Maas, 9). This did not mean that these emperors did not also try to influence matters of the Church. Even Justinian was reprimanded for attempts to solve the Three Chapters Controversy (Maas, 9). So while the emperor gained influence as God’s chosen regent, he had to contend with the desires of the priesthood just as earlier emperors had to contend with the

    Read More

  • The Influence of the Roman Catholic Church

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Roman Catholic Church had complete influence over the lives of everyone in medieval society including their beliefs and values. The Church’s fame in power and wealth had provided them with the ability to make their own laws and follow their own social hierarchy. With strong political strength in hand, the Church could even determine holidays and festivals. It gained significant force in the arts, education, religion, politics as well as their capability to alter the feudal structure through their wealth and power.

    Read More

More about Roman Emperor Diocletian Affected The Catholic Church

Open Document