Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • Emperor of Rome (284–305) who divided the empire into east and west (286) in an attempt to rule the territory more effectively. His desire to revive the old religion of Rome led to the last major persecution of the Christians (303).

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun Roman cognomen, particularly borne by the Roman emperor Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus (245 - 313).

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun Roman Emperor who when faced with military problems decided in 286 to divide the Roman Empire between himself in the east and Maximian in the west; he initiated the last persecution of the Christians in 303 (245-313)

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin Dioclētiānus, Latinate form of Ancient Greek name Διοκλῆς (Dioklēs). The Roman emperor was named so after his home town of Dioclea in Illyricum.

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Examples

  • So yep Warren hit the nail on the head – Diocletian is just an obscure enough reference so you can daydream using his name in way you couldn’t using say Mussolini or Mao (well I guess you could use Mao if you were Anita Dunn)

    Coyote Blog » Blog Archive » What’s Next — Dreaming of Mussolini? 2009

  • I will not call Diocletian a persecutor, for he protected the

    A Philosophical Dictionary 2007

  • He alleges that the original writers used what is called the Diocletian Era or the "Era of the Martyrs" as the 'terminus a quo' of their chronological system and, in support of his position, he adduces the fact that this, which was the most ancient of all ecclesiastical eras, was the era used by the schismatics in Britain and that it was introduced by St. Patrick.

    Life of St. Declan of Ardmore and Life of St. Mochuda of Lismore Anonymous

  • He alleges that the original writers used what is called the Diocletian Era or the “Era of the Martyrs” as the 'terminus a quo' of their chronological system and, in support of his position, he adduces the fact that this, which was the most ancient of all ecclesiastical eras, was the era used by the schismatics in Britain and that it was introduced by St. Patrick.

    Lives of SS Declan and Mochuda Anonymous 1914

  • Thus it will be seen that the so-called Diocletian persecution should be attributed to the influence of Galerius; it continued for seven years after

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 5: Diocese-Fathers of Mercy 1840-1916 1913

  • But here now: If I'm a shun for "Diocletian," why aren't I a shum for "consortium"?

    National Review Online 2008

  • The rule of the imperialists, such as Diocletian (who, like Gibbon, would have preferred Julian the Apostate on this account), was, that the great mass of the human population, if permitted to exist at all, must live in dutiful submission to the rule that the ordinary man and woman must not seek to rise above his and her given station, but must adhere to the profession of his father.

    LaRouche's Latest 2008

  • Suidas in Diocletian.] 51 See a short history and confutation of Alchemy, in the works of that philosophical compiler, La Mothe le Vayer, tom.i. p. 32 — 353.]

    The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire 1206

  • Ss. Cosmas and Damian are thought to have been physicians who were martyred in Cyr, Syria, around A.D. 287 during the Diocletian persecutions.

    Saints of the Roman Canon - Part 1: The Communicantes 2009

  • It depicts the moment when the third-century Roman soldier Sebastian, having refused to renounce his Christianity, has been sentenced to death by emperor Diocletian, tied to a tree and shot by archers.

    At National Gallery, two paintings by one Dutch master add up to a sublime exhibition 2011

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