Anti trust and spinoffs are instruments that get used when companies become too big. But what happens when countries become too big to rule. This is the story of one such spinoff and though the spinoff was a failure it would live on in another form.
Story in the evening ...
Story in the evening ...
https://twitter.com/Arby_K/status/1323097360788959233
Gaius Valerius Diocles was born in Dalmatia around 245. A career soldier, he was part of the inner circle of Emperor Carus who died in 283. Carus was succeeded by his sons Carinus and Numerian, but with Numerian's death in 284, the troops would proclaim Diocles as Emperor. 1/10 
Having reached its greatest extent in 117, the Roman Empire enjoyed a period of stability till 180. After brief civil wars, Septimius Severus and the Severi dynasty would take the power in 193 and would maintain stability with varying success till 235. 2/10
After the assassination of Emperor Severus Alexander, Rome would collapse into a period of instability, civil wars, rebellions and assassinations. It was only under Aurelian in 273 that some semblance of unity would reach the Empire, but he too was assassinated in 275. 3/10
When Diocles came to the throne (as Diocletian), he still had to deal with another Emperor; Carinus. But after defeating Carinus in 284, Diocletian would become the sole ruler. Recognizing the difficulty in running the Empire on his own, he would go on to divide it. 4/10
Taking the eastern half of the Empire, he would appoint Maximian as the Caesar (Junior Emperor) in 285 (Later Augustus of the West in 286). In 293, he would appoint two more Caesars - Constantius Chlorus in the West and Galerius in the East. The Tetrarchy had been created. 5/10
It was expected that the Caesars will become Augustus after them and the sons of Maximian and Constantantius succeed as the new Caesars. Both were sent to Diocletian's court in Nicomedia for their formal education. The bond was solidified with marital alliances. 6/10
In 305, Diocletian did something unique for a Roman Emperor till then. He would abdicate along with his imperial colleague Maximian, handing over the realm to their Caesars. He would name to new Caesars in their stead though - Flavius Severus and Maximinus Daia. 7/10
The ensuing civil war would lead to the collapse of the Tetrarchy. By 313, it would again stabilize with Licinius in the East and Constantine in the West. Though Constantine would become sole ruler in 324, the idea of a divided empire lingered. A new capital had to be built. 8/10
With the building of a new city over the ancient city of Byzantium to rival Rome, Constantine would set in motion the re-division of the Empire. By 395, the division was more or less set in stone, with Constantinople as the capital of the Eastern half. 9/10
The retired Diocletian would return to Dalmatia were he would die in 311, watching his life's work collapse. Many of his administrative reforms would be retained though, as he was instrumental in codifying many laws and introducing bureaucracy. 10/10
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