Rule of Four
E36824
The Rule of Four refers to the system of government established by the Roman emperor Diocletian in which the empire was jointly ruled by two senior emperors (Augusti) and two junior emperors (Caesares).
Statements (45)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Roman imperial administrative system
ⓘ
system of government ⓘ |
| administrativeFeature |
regional military commands
ⓘ
separate imperial courts ⓘ territorial division of authority ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs |
Diocletian's Tetrarchy
ⓘ
surface form:
Tetrarchy
|
| appliesTo | Roman Empire ⓘ |
| coreIdea |
collegial rule
ⓘ
orderly imperial succession ⓘ |
| dividesEmpireInto |
Byzantine Empire
ⓘ
surface form:
Eastern Roman Empire
Western Roman Empire ⓘ |
| firstCaesarInEast | Galerius ⓘ |
| firstCaesarInWest | Constantius Chlorus ⓘ |
| firstCoAugustus | Maximian ⓘ |
| firstSeniorEmperor | Diocletian ⓘ |
| followedBy |
Constantinian dynasty
ⓘ
civil wars of the early 4th century ⓘ |
| geopoliticalContext |
internal instability of the 3rd century crisis
ⓘ
threats on multiple frontiers ⓘ |
| governanceModel |
regionalized rule under unified empire
ⓘ
shared imperial authority ⓘ |
| governingPrinciple |
hierarchical senior-junior relationship
ⓘ
power-sharing among four emperors ⓘ |
| hasComponentOffice |
Augustus
ⓘ
Caesar ⓘ |
| hasJuniorTitle | Caesar ⓘ |
| hasLanguageOrigin | Greek term "tetrarchia" ⓘ |
| hasNumberOfAugusti | 2 ⓘ |
| hasNumberOfCaesares | 2 ⓘ |
| hasNumberOfRulers | 4 ⓘ |
| hasPurpose |
defense of multiple frontiers
ⓘ
more efficient administration of the Roman Empire ⓘ stabilization of imperial succession ⓘ |
| hasSeniorTitle | Augustus ⓘ |
| historicalPeriod |
Late Antiquity
ⓘ
surface form:
Late Roman Empire
|
| introducedBy | Diocletian ⓘ |
| legalStatus | imperial reform ⓘ |
| partOf |
Diocletian's Tetrarchy
ⓘ
surface form:
Diocletianic reforms
|
| politicalSystemType |
autocratic monarchy
ⓘ
collegial emperorship ⓘ |
| precededBy | principate ⓘ |
| startTime | 293 ⓘ |
| successionPlan | Caesares succeed Augusti ⓘ |
| timePeriod |
early 4th century
ⓘ
late 3rd century ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.