Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 5.djvu/29

 DIOCLEA

DIOCLETIANOPOLIS

Dioclea, a titular see of Phrygia in Asia Minor. Diocleia is mentioned by Ptolemy (V, ii, 23), where the former editions read Dokela; this is probably the native name, which must have been hellenized at a later time; in the same way Doclea in Dalmatia is more commonly called Dioclea. The autonomous rights of Dioclea are proved by its coins struck in the reign of Elagabalus (Head, Hist. Num., 562). It figures in the "Synecdemus" of Hierocles, in Parthey, '' Notitioe Episcopatuum " (III, X,XIII),andinGelzer, "Nova Tactica", i. e. as late as the twelfth or thir- teenth century, as a bishopric in Phrygia Pacatiana, the metropolis of which was Laodicea. Only two bishops are known, in 4.31 and 451 (Lequien, Or. Christ., I, 823). An inscription found near Doghla, or Dola, a village in the vilayet of Smyrna, shows that it must be the site of Dioclea, though there are no ruins.

Ramsay, Hist. Geogr. of Aftia Minor, 139; Idem, Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia, 632, 652, 660, 663.

S. Petrides.

Diocletian (Valerius Diocletianus), Roman Emperor and persecutor of the Church, b. of parents who had been slaves, at Dioclea, near Salona, in Dal- matia, A. D. 245; d. at Salona, a.d. 313. He entered the army and by his marked abilities attained the offices of Governor of Mcesia, consul, and commander of the guards of the palace. In the Persian war, un- der Cams, he especially distinguished himself. When the son and successor of Carus, Nimierian, was mur- dered at Chalcedon, the choice of the army fell upon Diocletian, who immediately slew with his own hand the murderer Aper (17 Sept., 284). His career as em- peror belongs to secular history. Here only a sum- mary will be given. The reign of Diocletian (284- 305) marked an era both in the military and political history of the empire. The triiunph which he cele- brated together with his colleague Maximian (20 Nov., 303) was the last triumph which Rome ever beheld. Britain, the Rhine, the Danube, and the Nile furnished trophies; but the proudest boast of the con- queror was that Persia, the persistent enemy of Rome, had at last been subdued. Soon after his acces- sion to power Diocletian realized that the empire was too unwieldy and too much exposed to attack to be safely ruled by a single head. Accordingly, he asso- ciated with himself Maximian, a bold but rude soldier, at first as Caesar and afterwards as Augustus (286). Later on, he further distributed his power by granting the inferior title of Cssar to two generals, Galerius and Constantius (292). He reserved for his own portion Thrace, Egypt, and Asia; Italy and Africa were Maxi- mian '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. None of the rulers resided in Rome, and thus the way was prepared for the down- fall of the imperial city. Moreover, Diocletian under- mined the authority of the Senate, assumed the dia- dem, and introduced the servile ceremonial of the Per- sian court. After a prosperous reign of nearly twenty- one years, he abdicated the throne and retired to Salona, where he lived in magnificent seclusion until his death.

Diocletian's name is associated with the last and most terrible of all the ten persecutions of the early Church. Nevertheless it is a fact that the Christians enjoyed peace and prosperity during the greater por- tion of his reign. Eusebius, who lived at this time, describes in glowing terms " the glory and the liberty with which the doctrine of piety was honoured", and he extols the clemency of the emperors towards the Christian governors whom they appointed, and towards the Christian members of their households. He tells us that the rulers of the Church " were courted and honoured with the greatest subserviency by all the rulers and governors". He speaks of the vast

multitudes that flocked to the religion of Christ, and of the spacious and splendid churches erected in the place of the humbler buildings of earlier days. At the same time he bewails the falling from ancient fervour "by reason of excessive liberty" (Hist. Eccl., VIII, i). Had Diocletian remained sole emperor, he would probably have allowed this toleration to continue un- disturbed. It was his subordinate Galerius who first induced him to turn persecutor. These two rulers of the East, at a council held at Nicomedia in 302, re- solved to suppress Christianity throughout the em- pire. The cathedral of Nicomedia was demolished (24 Feb., .303). An edict was issued "to tear down the churches to the foundations, and to destroy the Sacred Scriptures by fire; and commaniling also that those who were in honourable sta- tions should be de- graded if they per- severed in their adherence to Chris- tianity" (Euseb., op. cit., VIII, ii). Three further edicts (.30.3-304) marked successive stages in the severity of the persecution : the first ordering that the bishops, pres- byters, and deacons should be impris- oned ; the second that they should be tortured and com- pelled by every means to sacrifice; the third including the laity as well as the clergy. The atrocious cruelty with which these edicts were enforced, and the vast numbers of those who suffered for the Faith are attested by Eusebius and the Acts of the Martyrs. We read even of the massacre of the whole population of a town because they declared themselves Christians (Euseb., loc. cit., xi, xii; Lactant., "Div. Instit.", V, xi). The abdication of Diocletian (1 May, 305) and the subsequent partition of the empire brought relief to many provinces. In the East, however, where Galerius and Maximian held sway, the persecution continued to rage. Thus it will be seen that the so- called Diocletian persecution should be attributed to the influence of Galerius ; it continued for seven years after Diocletian's abdication. (See Persecutions.) Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. in P. G., XX; De Mart. PaliFMnce, P. G., XX. 1457-1520; Lactantius, Divinw Institutiones, V, in P. L.,Vl; De Morlibus Persecutorum, P. L., VII; Gibbon, De- clirw and Pall of the Roman Empire, xiii, xvi; Allard, La per- secution de Diocletien et le triomphe de I'eglise (Paris. 1890); Idem. Le christianisme et I'empire rom.ain (Paris. 1898); Idem, Ten Lectures on the Martyrs, tr. (London, 1907); Duchesne, Histoire ancienne de Viglise (Paris, 1907). II.

T. B. SCANNELL.

Diocletianopolis, a titular see of Palcestina Prima. This city is mentioned by Hierocles (Synec- demus, 719, 2), Georgius Cyprius (ed. Gelzer, 1012), and in some " Notitice Episcopatuum", as a suffragan of CiEsarea. Its native name is unknown, and its site has not been identified. One bishop is known, Eli- sa?us, in 359 (Lequien, Oriens Christianus, III, 646). (2) Another Diocletianopolis was a suffragan see of Philippopolis in Thrace. Its site is unknown. Two bishops are mentioned, Cyriacus in 431, and Epicte- tus in 451 and 458. A third, Elias, in 553, is doubtful (Lequien, op. cit., I, 1161). (3) Still another Dio- cletianopolis was a suffragan of Ptolemais in Thebais Secunda (Parthey, Notit. Episc, I). This city is also mentioned by Hierocles (op. cit., 732, 3), and by

Emperor Dice (Capitoline Museum, Rome)