Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Museum Notebook: Diocletian: From Emperor to gardener

By Rachael Mildenhall
Whanganui Chronicle·
14 Mar, 2021 04:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

View from within the palace of Diocletian in Split, Croatia. Photo / : Kathy Greensides, 2015

View from within the palace of Diocletian in Split, Croatia. Photo / : Kathy Greensides, 2015

It is not every day in Ancient Rome that a Roman Emperor voluntarily abdicates his position, but Emperor Diocletian was the first to do so on 1 May 305 AD. This was his final act in what had been a long and astounding career.

Diocletian, full name Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, was born on December 22 in around 244 AD to a family of low status in Dalmatia. He joined the military where he rose to the rank of Cavalry Commander under Emperor Carus. Diocletian was proclaimed Emperor, aged 42, on April 1, 286 AD after the deaths of Carus and his son Numerian during a campaign in Persia.

Diocletian ruled the Roman Empire for 19 years, running many campaigns against the Sarmatians, Carpi, Alamanni, usurpers in Egypt and others. Diocletian was not only a strong military commander, but he also helped institute the largest and most bureaucratic government in the history of the Roman Empire.

He instituted the Tetrarchy (rule of four), standardised imperial taxation, reformed the autocracy and changed the imperial coinage from three coins to five. He was a man who strived to return the Empire to peace and stability following the Crisis of the Third Century.

Antoninianus coin, around 290-295 AD
On the head is the bust of Diocletian and on the tail is Diocletian receiving "Victory" from Jupiter. Photo / Whanganui Regional Museum Collection
Antoninianus coin, around 290-295 AD On the head is the bust of Diocletian and on the tail is Diocletian receiving "Victory" from Jupiter. Photo / Whanganui Regional Museum Collection
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But all good things must come to an end. Following a bout of severe sickness, Diocletian voluntarily abdicated, on the same hill on which he was proclaimed Emperor.

He retired to his palace in Dalmatia, which in modern times makes up the historic core in Split, Croatia. Here he tended to his gardens, and even when asked to return, proclaimed, "if you could show the cabbage that I planted with my own hands to your Emperor, he definitely wouldn't dare suggest that I replace the peace and happiness of this place with the storms of never-satisfied greed".

Museum Notebook
Museum Notebook

Remnants of Diocletian's reign can still be found around the world today, from his palace in Croatia, to the many coins minted and dispersed around the Empire.

One such coin, of silver, is in the collection of the Whanganui Regional Museum. It shows Diocletian in all his regalia on one side, and both he and his patron deity, Jupiter, on the other. The reverse side with Jupiter is the most important, as Jupiter can be seen handing "Victory" to Diocletian. This may be referring to Diocletian's earlier victories over Sarmatia and Persia in 285-287 AD. The inscription Concordia militum, or "harmony of the soldiers", emphasises the relationship that Diocletian had with the military and the great reverence that they had for him.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Identifying Roman coins, however, is not always so easy. In relation to this coin specifically, there is uncertainty of the area of Roman Empire it was minted in. Mint marks are often one of the first things to degrade on a coin of this age, making full identification extremely difficult. This coin may have been minted in Heraclea, Siscia or even Antioch. Without the mint mark, we will never know the full story behind it.

• Rachael Mildenhall is the photograph collection researcher at Whanganui Regional Museum.

Subscribe to Premium

Discover more

Let's Talk Law: Health and safety on farms

10 Mar 08:00 PM

Life-savers: Whanganui community gifted two new AEDs

10 Mar 04:00 PM

Vintage cars to take over Whanganui

10 Mar 04:00 PM

What to do about sand on our beach

10 Mar 04:00 AM
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

'S*** happens': Injured motorcyclist's gracious response to being hit by car

11 Jul 08:00 AM
Whanganui Chronicle

Why Ruapehu voted against bigger water model

11 Jul 05:02 AM
Whanganui Chronicle

Search for missing man continues after car pulled from river

10 Jul 11:09 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

'S*** happens': Injured motorcyclist's gracious response to being hit by car

'S*** happens': Injured motorcyclist's gracious response to being hit by car

11 Jul 08:00 AM

A moment’s inattention by a driver at an intersection led to severe consequences.

Why Ruapehu voted against bigger water model

Why Ruapehu voted against bigger water model

11 Jul 05:02 AM
Search for missing man continues after car pulled from river

Search for missing man continues after car pulled from river

10 Jul 11:09 PM
Community group seeks to manage historic reserve

Community group seeks to manage historic reserve

10 Jul 06:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP