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Tetrarchs
The Tetrarchy was the system instituted by Roman emperor Diocletian in 293 AD to govern the ancient Roman Empire by dividing it between two emperors, the ''augusti'', and their junior colleagues and designated successors, the ''caesares''. Initially Diocletian chose Maximian as his ''caesar'' in 285, raising him to co-''augustus'' the following year; Maximian was to govern the western provinces and Diocletian would administer the eastern ones. The role of the ''augustus'' was likened to Jupiter, while his ''caesar'' was akin to Jupiter's son Hercules. Galerius and Constantius were appointed ''caesares'' in March 293. Diocletian and Maximian retired on 1 May 305, raising Galerius and Constantius to the rank of ''augustus''. Their places as ''caesares'' were in turn taken by Valerius Severus and Maximinus Daza. The orderly system of two senior and two junior rulers endured until Constantius died in July 306, and his son Constantine was unilaterally acclaimed ''augustus'' and ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portrait Of The Four Tetrarchs
The Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs is a porphyry sculpture group of four Roman emperors dating from around 300 AD. The sculptural group has been fixed to a corner of the façade of St Mark's Basilica in Venice, Italy since the Middle Ages. It probably formed part of the decorations of the Philadelphion in Constantinople, and was removed to Venice in 1204 or soon after. '' Spolia'' from the Fourth Crusade, the statues were originally designed as two separate sculptures, each consisting of a pair of armoured late Roman emperors embracing one another. The paired statues stand on plinths supported by a console of the same stone, and their backs are engaged in the remains of large porphyry columns to which the statues were once attached, carved all of a piece. The columns no longer exist, and one emperor pair is missing part of the plinth and an emperor's foot, which has been found in Istanbul. One statue pair has been sliced vertically and is missing a large portion of the right- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tetrarchy
The Tetrarchy was the system instituted by Roman emperor Diocletian in 293 AD to govern the ancient Roman Empire by dividing it between two emperors, the ''augusti'', and their junior colleagues and designated successors, the ''caesares''. Initially Diocletian chose Maximian as his ''caesar'' in 285, raising him to co-''augustus'' the following year; Maximian was to govern the western provinces and Diocletian would administer the eastern ones. The role of the ''augustus'' was likened to Jupiter (mythology), Jupiter, while his ''caesar'' was akin to Jupiter's son Hercules. Galerius and Constantius Chlorus, Constantius were appointed ''caesares'' in March 293. Diocletian and Maximian retired on 1 May 305, raising Galerius and Constantius to the rank of ''augustus''. Their places as ''caesares'' were in turn taken by Valerius Severus and Maximinus Daza. The orderly system of two senior and two junior rulers endured until Constantius died in July 306, and his son Constantine the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St Mark's Basilica
The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark (), commonly known as St Mark's Basilica (; ), is the cathedral church of the Patriarchate of Venice; it became the episcopal seat of the Patriarch of Venice in 1807, replacing the earlier cathedral of San Pietro di Castello. It is dedicated to and holds the relics of Saint Mark the Evangelist, the patron saint of the city. The church is located on the eastern end of Saint Mark's Square, the former political and religious centre of the Republic of Venice, and is attached to the Doge's Palace. Prior to the fall of the republic in 1797, it was the chapel of the Doge and was subject to his jurisdiction, with the concurrence of the procurators of Saint Mark for administrative and financial affairs. The present structure is the third church, begun probably in 1063 to express Venice's growing civic consciousness and pride. Like the two earlier churches, its model was the sixth-century Church of the Holy Apostles in Constanti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Galerius
Galerius Valerius Maximianus (; Greek: Γαλέριος; 258 – May 311) was Roman emperor from 305 to 311. He participated in the system of government later known as the Tetrarchy, first acting as '' caesar'' under Emperor Diocletian. In this period Galerius obtained victory warring against the Persian Sassanian Empire, defeating Narseh at the battle of Satala in 298 and possibly sacking the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon in 299. He also campaigned across the Danube against the Carpi, defeating them in 297 and 300. Galerius was promoted to ''augustus'' upon the abdication of Diocletian in 305, but had to contend with multiple usurpers as the Tetrarchic system broke down. Although he was a staunch opponent of Christianity, he ended the Diocletianic Persecution by issuing the Edict of Serdica in 311. Early life Galerius was born in the Danube provinces, either near Serdica or at the place where he later built his palace named after his mother – Felix Romuliana ( Gamzigr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Porphyry (geology)
Porphyry ( ) is any of various granites or igneous rocks with coarse-grained crystals such as feldspar or quartz dispersed in a fine-grained silicate-rich, generally aphanitic matrix or groundmass. In its non-geologic, traditional use, the term ''porphyry'' usually refers to the purple-red form of this stone, valued for its appearance, but other colours of decorative porphyry are also used such as "green", "black" and "grey". The term ''porphyry'' is from the Ancient Greek (), meaning " purple". Purple was the colour of royalty, and the Roman "imperial porphyry" was a deep purple igneous rock with large crystals of plagioclase. Some authors claimed the rock was the hardest known in antiquity. Thus porphyry was prized for monuments and building projects in Imperial Rome and thereafter. Subsequently, the name was given to any igneous rocks with large crystals. The adjective ''porphyritic'' now refers to a certain texture of igneous rock regardless of its chemical and miner ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philadelphion
The Philadelphion was a public square located in Constantinople. Location After passing the Forum of Theodosius, the Mese Odos (the main road of Constantinople) branched into two directions. One led to the quarter known today as Yedikule, via the Aksaray and Cerrahpaşa quarters. The other passed through the quarters of Şehzadebaşı and Fatih until reaching the quarter of Edirnekapı (formerly the Gate of Charisius). The space where the road forked was thought to be the physical centre, or ''mesomphalos'', of the city. History According to the 8th-century ''Parastaseis syntomoi chronikai'', the site of the later Philadelphion was originally known as the Proteichisma ("fore-wall"), and the site of a gate in the city wall built by Emperor Carus (r. 282–283). Raymond Janin suggested that this Proteichisma was an outer defensive wall protecting the wall erected by Septimius Severus (r. 193–211) during his rebuilding of Byzantium, possibly indicating that the city had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diocletian
Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), 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 (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyrian emperors, Illyrian soldiers of the period, Diocles rose through the ranks of the military early in his career, serving under Aurelian and Probus (emperor), Probus, and eventually becoming a Roman cavalry, cavalry commander for the army of Emperor Carus. After the deaths of Carus and his son Numerian on a campaign in Sasanian Empire, Persia, Diocles was proclaimed emperor by the troops, taking the name "Diocletianus". The title was also claimed by Carus's surviving son, Carinus, but he was defeated by Diocletian in the Battle of the Margus. Diocletian's reign stabilized the empire and ended the Crisis of the Third Century. He initiated the process of the Roman Empire split and appointed fellow officer Maximian as ''Augustus (title), Augu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantine I
Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a pivotal role in elevating the status of Christianity in Rome, decriminalising Christian practice and ceasing Christian persecution. This was a turning point in the Christianisation of the Roman Empire. He founded the city of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) and made it the capital of the Empire, which it remained for over a millennium. Born in Naissus, a city located in the province of Moesia Superior (now Niš, Serbia), Constantine was the son of Flavius Constantius, a Roman army officer from Moesia Superior, who would become one of the four emperors of the Tetrarchy. His mother, Helena, was a woman of low birth, probably from Bithynia. Later canonised as a saint, she is credited for the conversion of her son in some traditions, though others believe that Constantine conver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maximian
Maximian (; ), nicknamed Herculius, was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus (title), 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. The man he appointed to police the English Channel, Channel shores, Carausius, rebelled in 286, causing the secession of Britain and northwestern Gaul. Maximian failed to oust Carausius, and his invasion fleet was destroyed by storms in 289 or 290. Maximian's subordinate Constantius Chlorus, Constantius campaigned against Cara ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantius I
Flavius Valerius Constantius ( – 25 July 306), 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. As an Illyrian soldier of humble origin, Constantius had a distinguished military career and rose to the top ranks of the army. Around 289, he set aside Helena, Constantine's mother, to marry a daughter of Emperor Maximian, and in 293 was added to the imperial college by Maximian's colleague Diocletian. Assigned to rule Gaul, Constantius defeated the usurper Carausius there and his successor Allectus in Britain, and campaigned extensively along the Rhine frontier, defeating the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Licinius I
Valerius Licinianus Licinius (; Greek: Λικίνιος; c. 265 – 325) was Roman emperor from 308 to 324. For most of his reign, he was the colleague and rival of Constantine I, with whom he co-authored the Edict of Milan that granted official toleration to Christians in the Roman Empire. He was finally defeated at the Battle of Chrysopolis (AD 324), and was later executed on the orders of Constantine. Early reign Born to a Dacian peasant family in Moesia Superior, Licinius accompanied his close childhood friend and future emperor Galerius, on the Persian expedition in 298. He was trusted enough by Galerius that in 307 he was sent as an envoy to Italy, to attempt to reach some sort of agreement with the usurper Maxentius. When Galerius went to deal with Maxentius personally after the death of Severus II, he left the eastern provinces in Licinius' care. Upon his return to the east Galerius elevated Licinius to the rank of ''Augustus'' in the West on 11 November 308, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
