Constantine I, also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first emperor to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterranea, he was the son of Flavius Constantius, a Roman army officer of Illyrian origin who had been one of the four rulers of the Tetrarchy. His mother, Helena, was a Greek woman of low birth and a Christian. Later canonised as a saint, she is traditionally credited for the conversion of her son. Constantine served with distinction under the Roman emperors Diocletian and Galerius. He began his career by campaigning in the eastern provinces before being recalled in the west to fight alongside his father in the province of Britannia. After his father's death in 306, Constantine was acclaimed as augustus (emperor) by his army at Eboracum. He eventually emerged victorious in the civil wars against emperors Maxentius and Licinius to become the sole ruler of the Roman Empire by 324.
Diocletian, nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia. Diocles rose through the ranks of the military early in his career, eventually becoming a cavalry commander for the army of Emperor Carus. After the deaths of Carus and his son Numerian on a campaign in Persia, Diocles was proclaimed emperor by the troops, taking the name Diocletianus. The title was also claimed by Carus's surviving son, Carinus, but Diocletian defeated him in the Battle of the Margus.
Marcus Claudius Tacitus was Roman emperor from 275 to 276. During his short reign he campaigned against the Goths and the Heruli, for which he received the title Gothicus Maximus.
The 280's decade ran from January 1, 280, to December 31, 289.
Year 283 (CCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Carus and Carinus. The denomination 283 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Flavius Valerius Constantius, also called Constantius I, was a Roman emperor from 305 to 306. He was one of the four original members of the Tetrarchy established by Diocletian, first serving as caesar from 293 to 305 and then ruling as augustus until his death. Constantius was also father of Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor of Rome. The nickname Chlorus was first popularized by Byzantine-era historians and not used during the emperor's lifetime.
Galerius Valerius Maximianus was Roman emperor from 305 to 311. During his reign he campaigned, aided by Diocletian, against the Sasanian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 299. He also campaigned across the Danube against the Carpi, defeating them in 297 and 300. Although he was a staunch opponent of Christianity, Galerius ended the Diocletianic Persecution when he issued the Edict of Toleration in Serdica (Sofia) in 311.
Marcus Aurelius Probus was Roman emperor from 276 to 282. Probus was an active and successful general as well as a conscientious administrator, and in his reign of six years he secured prosperity for the inner provinces while withstanding repeated invasions of barbarian tribes on almost every sector of the frontier.
Maximian, nicknamed Herculius, was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was Caesar from 285 to 286, then Augustus from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocletian, whose political brain complemented Maximian's military brawn. Maximian established his residence at Trier but spent most of his time on campaign. In late 285, he suppressed rebels in Gaul known as the Bagaudae. From 285 to 288, he fought against Germanic tribes along the Rhine frontier. Together with Diocletian, he launched a scorched earth campaign deep into Alamannic territory in 288, refortifying the frontier.
Galerius Valerius Maximinus, born as Daza, was Roman emperor from 310 to 313. He became embroiled in the civil wars of the Tetrarchy between rival claimants for control of the empire, in which he was defeated by Licinius. A committed pagan, he engaged in one of the last persecutions of Christians, before issuing an edict of tolerance near his death.
Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 306 until his death in 312. Despite ruling in Italy and North Africa, and having the recognition of the Senate in Rome, he was not recognized as a legitimate emperor by his fellow emperors.
Marcus Aurelius Carinus was Roman Emperor from 283 to 285. The eldest son of the Emperor Carus, he was first appointed Caesar in late 282, then given the title of Augustus in early 283, and made co-emperor of the western part of the Empire by his father. Official accounts of his character and career, which portray him as dissolute and incompetent, have been filtered through the propaganda of his successful opponent Diocletian.
Marcus Aurelius Carus was Roman emperor from 282 to 283. During his short reign, Carus fought the Germanic tribes and Sarmatians along the Danube frontier with success.
The Diocletianic or Great Persecution was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In 303, the emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights and demanding that they comply with traditional religious practices. Later edicts targeted the clergy and demanded universal sacrifice, ordering all inhabitants to sacrifice to the gods. The persecution varied in intensity across the empire—weakest in Gaul and Britain, where only the first edict was applied, and strongest in the Eastern provinces. Persecutory laws were nullified by different emperors at different times, but Constantine and Licinius' Edict of Milan in 313 has traditionally marked the end of the persecution.
Marcus Aurelius Sabinus Julianus, known in English as Julian of Pannonia was a Roman usurper against Emperor Carinus or Maximian. It is possible that up to four usurpers with a similar name rebelled in a timeframe of a decade, but at least one of them is known by numismatic evidence.
Aper was a Roman citizen of the third century AD. First known to history as a professional soldier, he went on to serve as an acting provincial governor and finally became Praetorian prefect, under the Emperor Carus - in effect "vice principis". This rendered him hugely influential in the government of the empire - not excepting in matters of peace and war.
The civil wars of the Tetrarchy were a series of conflicts between the co-emperors of the Roman Empire, starting from 306 AD with the usurpation of Maxentius and the defeat of Severus to the defeat of Licinius at the hands of Constantine I in 324 AD.
Titus Claudius Aurelius Aristobulus was a Roman soldier and politician who served as consul in 285 AD. He served two emperors, Carinus and Diocletian.
Marcus Aurelius was a name used by men from the Roman Empire and afterwards. The earliest so called was the emperor Marcus Aurelius. It became widely spread following the Constitutio Antoniniana issued by emperor Caracalla in 212.
The Conference of Carnuntum was a military conference held on November 11, 308, in the city of Carnuntum, which at the time was located in the province of Pannonia Prima. It was convened by the Augustus in the East Galerius as a way to settle the dispute over the title of Augustus in the West, and consequently, to cease the ongoing conflicts since the previous year when he, and before that Severus II, invaded the Italy of Maxentius and Maximian. Present at the conference were Diocletian, who had been retired since 305, and his former colleague, Maximian.
