Crisis of the 3rd Century - Diocletian & Saint George Bonus Episode

12/14/24 • 74 min

With the unexpected death of Aurelian and no designated heirs to the empire Rome suffers a number of emperors in quick succession with several only lasting months to a few short years. Looking like the Roman Empire might fracture yet again except for a shrewd officer named Diocletian who through good fortune and good planning is able to wrest the control of the empire and enforce stability upon it once more.

Diocletian establishes what is known as the Tetrarchy, a rule of four emperors (two senior and two juniors), and though there is no clear Eastern or Western Roman Empires, Diocletian and his co-emperor Maximianus set the base upon which Rome will continue to endure for hundreds of years. First they must finally come to terms with the Franks and other Germanic tribes that have been decimating the Rhine frontiers for 30 years, and then jointly deal with yet another revolt in the form of breakaway claimant Carausius and his Britannic North Sea Empire before returning jointly to the east again and dealing with yet more revolts in Egypt.

This is the era Saint George lived through. The reformation and reimagining of what the Roman Empire could be. Being fortunate enough to take advantage of the reforms of Gallienus only a couple of decades ago as enabled Christians to seek advancement in Roman society, and have career prospects in the Roman legions as Maximian and Diocletian work to enforce peace across the Roman borders.

As 303 comes around, Saint George’s fortunes were to take a turn for the worse. With peace at last across the empire Maximian, Diocletian, and Diocletian’s jr emperor Galerius look to stamp out the Manichean Christian faith in the east, widely believed to be behind the most recent revolt in Egypt, before taking a broader anti-Christian stance to the rest of the empire.

Saint George, caught up in the famous Christian persecutions under Diocletian in the east suffers martyrdom possibly at the hands of Galerius while a now old Diocletian looks to retire and leave the empire in the hands of the next generation.

This bonus episode of Grimdark History Podcast winds down with a look across Season 1 of the podcast and a preview of Season 2 starting in January 2025.

Sources Used in this episode

Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine - Patricia Southern

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This bonus episode of Grimdark History Podcast winds down with a look across Season 1 of the podcast and a preview of Season 2 starting in January 2025.

Sources Used in this episode

Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine - Patricia Southern

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Crisis of the 3rd Century - Rome Reforged

In 260 CE the fortunes of the Roman Empire are at the worst they could ever be. In a matter of months the Empire has shrunk to a third the size, the senior Emperor Valerian is a prisoner of the Persians, and most of the treasury has been lost during Valerian’s defeat and the subsequent declaration of one of Valerian’s generals (Macrianus) of his own candidacy as new Emperor.

Macrianus raises the Roman eastern provinces into revolt, securing the regions of modern day Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Israel, only to be usurped by Odenathus, and local non-citizen Palmyran.

In the west the governor of Gaul (Postumus) fearing that Emperor Gallienus will pull legions away from Gaul to retake the eastern provinces and attack the Persians to free Valerian instead opts to declare himself as Emperor and vows to defend Rhine frontiers against the near constant raiding of the Franks, Alemanni and various Germanic tribes. Britannia and Spain declare for Postumus setting up a rival Roman Empire in the west centered in Gaul.

Gallienus, the now senior Emperor is forced to radically transform what was left of the Roman Empire in order to ensure his survival. The loyalty of what legions he had left to him was paramount, and his reforms transformed what was left of Rome into an empire that was entirely subordinated to the legions.

Left with a motley crew of legionaries who had been fighting with Gallienus for a decade, he’s also forced to radically reimagine what it means to be a legionary, how the army should fight. Under Gallienus the core of Rome is transformed back into the apex predator it had been under the likes Pompey and Vespasian.

Setting the state of a nobody Roman plebian named Aurelian to eventually take the reigns and perform what must have at the time seemed the unthinkable, and that was to crush Postumus, retaking Gaul, Britannia, and Spain and then to retake the vasty wealth of the eastern provinces by now under the control of one of history’s most badass women, Zenobia.

Sources Used in this episode

Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine - Patricia Southern

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Sex, Jazz & Ax Murders - 1900's New Orleans

The history of Storyville, and jazz has its roots in New Orleans, and America’s struggle for virtue and racial division. Post Reconstruction New Orleans is a city of corrupt officials, poorly managed government, and the virtues and ideas of Spanish/French identities clashing with the incoming protestant elites of the Temprance Movement.

This episode goes into the era that Vampire Chronicles Louis de Pointe du Lac of the recent AMC TV series Interview with the Vampire takes place in. Louis grew up in the 1880-1890’s Post Reconstruction New Orleans and his formative teen years saw major events reshape the direction of the leadership in New Orleans. From increased racial segregation, temperance laws, and the haphazard reconstruction efforts of the post civil war era saw a New Orleans leadership battling long term corruption, the spread of sinful bordellos, high crime, corrupt cops, and the Italian Mafia.

A major shift in the city comes in the late 1800’s as the Young Men’s Democratic Association (YMDA) bands together a political opposition and armed militia to take on the Old-World establishment. What follows is the story of increased segregation laws, temperance laws, assassinations of police chiefs, and a riot and lynching that will rock a generation of Italians and blacks living within the city.

The results will create the scenario in which a city government, faced with no good choices and forced to deal with the growing anger of both the Temperance Movement and Old-World elites makes a law that will result in the creation of the famed area of New Orleans known as Storyville from which the birth of jazz traces its roots.

Though Thomas C. Anderson will become a name synonymous with crime, sex, and vice during the early 1900’s, during the 1880’s-1890’s he was a close and personal friend of famed teetotaler and chief of police David Hennesy who’s efforts to stamp out corruption and battle the Italian Mafia will result in his brazen assassination and set off the first domino that will lead to the creation of Storyville and the epic location from which Season 1 of AMC’s Interview with the Vampire takes place.

Sources Used: Empire of Sin, a Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder and the battle for Modern New Orleans

Author: Gary Krist

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.