An article from the Catholic Encyclopedia ...

The Emperor Diocletian GAIUS AURELIUS VALERIUS DIOCLETANIUS (c 243-316) is the Latinized name of an ordinary soldier with a Greek name - Diokles - born in the nearest vicinity of the then capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia Salona. He was pronounced emperor on November 20, 284 AD. In order to restore order in Gaul and to prevent usurpation of the throne, he named his friend Maximian as ...

Roman Empire Home Page The Decline Chapter The Decline Portrait Gallery Roman Empire Children's Section Diocletian, Capitoline Museums, Rome Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus (AD 240 - AD 311) Born probably near Spalatum (Split) with the name Diocles on 22 December AD 240 or 245, Diocletian was the son of a poor family in Dalmatia. It is said, that his father, apparently a scribe of a wealthy ...

The Emperor Diocletian 284-305 Much of the evidence on the early life of Diocletian has been regarded with skepticism because of the poor credibility of early sources, and because of the false teachings presented by various historians. a What we do know about this Roman Emperor was that he spent much of his life in military camps and rose in the ranks of the Roman Army until he was connected ...