The Dominate, also known as the late Roman Empire, is the name sometimes given to the "

despotic Despotism ( el, Δεσποτισμός, ''despotismós'') is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. Normally, that entity is an individual, the despot; but (as in an autocracy) societies which limit respect an ...

" later phase of imperial government in the ancient

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

. It followed the earlier period known as the "

Principate The Principate is the name sometimes given to the first period of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the so-called Dominate. ...

". Until the empire was reunited in 313, this phase is more often called the

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 juniors colleagues and designated successors, the '' caesares'' ...

.Menne, I., ''Power and Status in the Roman Empire, AD 193–284'' (2011) p. 21 It may begin with the commencement of the reign of Diocletian in AD 284, following the

Third Century Crisis The Crisis of the Third Century, also known as the Military Anarchy or the Imperial Crisis (AD 235–284), was a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed. The crisis ended due to the military victories of Aurelian and with the ascensi ...

of AD 235–284, and to end in the west with the

fall of the Western Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vas ...

in AD 476, while in the

east East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

its end is disputed, as either occurring at the close of the reign of

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renova ...

(AD 565) or of Heraclius (AD 641). In form, the Dominate is considered to have been more authoritarian, less collegial and more bureaucratic than the Principate from which it emerged.

Etymology

The modern term ''dominate'' is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''dominus'', which translates into English as ''

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

'' or ''master.'' ''Dominus'', traditionally used by Roman slaves to address their masters, was sporadically used in addressing

emperors An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

throughout the Principate, usually in the form of excessive flattery (or political invective) when referring to the emperor.

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

actively discouraged the practice, and

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

in particular is said to have reviled it as sycophancy.

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Fl ...

encouraged its use, but none of the emperors used the term in any semi-official capacity until the reign of Aurelian in AD 274, where coins were issued bearing the inscription ''deus et dominus natus''. However, it was only under Diocletian that the term ''dominus'' was adopted as part of the emperor's official titulature, forming part of Diocletian's radical reforms.

Transition from the Principate

The Dominate system of government emerged as a response to the 50 years of chaos that is referred to as the

Crisis of the Third Century The Crisis of the Third Century, also known as the Military Anarchy or the Imperial Crisis (AD 235–284), was a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed. The crisis ended due to the military victories of Aurelian and with the ascensio ...

. The stresses and strains of those years (chronic usurpations, military insurrections, simultaneous military conflicts across multiple frontiers) exposed the weaknesses in the Roman state under the Principate, and saw a gradual movement from the collegiate model of government that existed prior to AD 235 to a more formally autocratic version that begins after AD 285. In broad terms, it saw the gradual exclusion of the senatorial elite from high military commands and the parallel elevation of the equestrian orders, the reorganisation of the armed forces and the creation of mobile field armies, changes in imperial dress and ceremonial displays, a religious policy aiming at religious unity, large scale monetary reforms, and the creation of an empire-wide civil bureaucracy. Although Diocletian is commonly thought of as creator of the Dominate, its origins lie in the innovations of earlier emperors, principally those undertaken by Aurelian (AD 270–275). Some reforms stretch back to the reigns of

Gallienus Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; c. 218 – September 268) was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that nearly caused the collapse of the empi ...

(AD 253–268) and

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

(AD 98–117), during whose reign " knights were given an escalating importance in the administration of Rome and the empire." Not all the changes that produced the 'Dominate' were completed by the time of Diocletian's abdication in AD 305; many changes were either introduced or modified by

Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

. Consequently, just as the Principate emerged over the period 31 BC through to 14 AD, it is only by AD 337 that the reforms that resulted in the Dominate were largely complete. In the opinion of the historian John Bagnall Bury, the system of government,

constructed with the most careful attention to details, was a solution of the formidable problem of holding together a huge heterogeneous empire, threatened with dissolution and bankruptcy, an empire which was far from being geographically compact and had four long, as well as several smaller, frontiers to defend. To govern a large state by two independent but perfectly similar machines, controlled not from one centre but from two foci, without sacrificing its unity was an interesting and entirely new experiment. These bureaucratic machines worked moderately well, and their success might have been extraordinary if the monarchs who directed them had always been men of superior ability. Blots of course and defects there were, especially in the fields of economy and finance. The political creation of the Illyrian Emperors was not unworthy of the genius of Rome.

Characteristics

Multiple emperors

Under the

, the position of emperor saw the concentration of various civil and military offices within a single

magistracy A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cou ...

. Augustus and his successors usually took great care to disguise the autocratic nature of the office by hiding behind the institutions of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

and the fiction that the emperor was simply the ''

princeps ''Princeps'' (plural: ''principes'') is a Latin word meaning "first in time or order; the first, foremost, chief, the most eminent, distinguished, or noble; the first man, first person". As a title, ''princeps'' originated in the Roman Republic w ...

'' or first citizen, whose authority was granted by the Senate. This role was almost always filled by a single individual, and the date that the ''

Potestas tribunicia Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power of ...

'' was conferred onto that person was the point when imperial authority could be exercised. Over the course of the Principate, it became common for the emperor (or ''

'') to nominate an heir (referred to as the ''

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

''), but the ''caesar'' did not have access to the powers of the emperor, nor was he delegated any official authority. It was during the

that the traditional imperial approach of a single imperial magistrate based at

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

became unable to cope with multiple and simultaneous invasions and usurpations that required the emperor to be everywhere at once. Further, it was their absence which caused usurpations to occur in response to a local or provincial crisis that traditionally would have been dealt with by the emperor. Under the Dominate, the burden of the imperial position was increasingly shared between colleagues, referred to as the ''

Consortium imperii ''Consortium imperii'' is a Latin term dating from the Roman Dominate, denoting the sharing of imperial authority between two or more emperors, each hence designated as ''consors imperii'', i.e., "partner in (exercising) ''imperium''", either as ...

''. It was Diocletian who introduced this form of government, under a system called the

, which originally consisted of two co-emperors ('' augusti'') and two respectively subordinate junior emperors ('' caesars''), each of whom shared in the imperial power. This original power sharing model lasted from AD 289 through to AD 324, being undone during the

Civil wars of the Tetrarchy The Civil Wars of the Tetrarchy were a series of conflicts between the Tetrarchy, co-emperors of the Roman Empire, starting in 306 AD with the usurpation of Maxentius and the defeat of Flavius Valerius Severus, Severus and ending with the def ...

. With

's death in AD 337, the empire was again shared between multiple ''augusti'', lasting until AD 350. The model became a permanent feature of the empire in AD 364 with the accession of

Valentinian I Valentinian I ( la, Valentinianus; 32117 November 375), sometimes called Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor, he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces. Val ...

, who shared the imperial office with his brother

Valens Valens ( grc-gre, Ουάλης, Ouálēs; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the eastern half of ...

. Barring the 3-year period of solitary rule by

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

from AD 392–395, this approach would last until the overthrow of the last western emperor in AD 476. While each ''augustus'' was autonomous within each portion of the empire they managed, all laws that were introduced by any emperor were valid across the entirety of the empire.

Devaluation of the Consulate

During the

, the office of

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

was the highest elected magistracy in the Roman state, with two consuls elected annually. With the arrival of the Principate, although all real power was invested in the emperor, the consuls were still in theory the head of state, and the calendar year was identified by the two ''ordinary'' consuls who began in office at the start of the year. Throughout the Principate, the imperial consulate was an important position, albeit as the method through which the Roman aristocracy could progress through to the higher levels of imperial administration – only former consuls could become consular legates, the proconsuls of Africa and Asia, or the urban prefect of Rome. Consequently, the high regard placed upon the ordinary consulate remained intact, as it was one of the few offices that one could share with the emperor, and during this period it was filled mostly by patricians or by individuals who had consular ancestors. It was a post that would be occupied by a man halfway through his career, in his early thirties for a patrician, or in his early forties for most others. If they were especially skilled or valued, they may even have achieved a second (or rarely, a third) consulate. Prior to achieving the consulate, these individuals already had a significant career behind them, and would expect to continue serving the state, filling in the post upon which the state functioned.Bagnall, R. S.; Cameron, A.; Schwartz, S. R.; Worp, K. A., ''Consuls of the later Roman Empire'' (1987) p.2 Under the Dominate, the loss of many pre-consular functions and the encroachment of the '' equites'' into the traditional senatorial administrative and military functions meant that senatorial careers virtually vanished prior to their appointment as consuls. This had the effect of seeing a suffect consulship granted at an earlier age, to the point that by the 4th century, it was being held by men in their early twenties, and possibly younger. As time progressed, second consulates, usually ordinary, became far more common than had been the case during the first two centuries, while the first consulship was usually a suffect consulate. Also, the consulate during this period was no longer just the province of senators – the automatic awarding of a suffect consulship to the equestrian praetorian prefects (who were given the ''ornamenta consularia'' upon achieving their office) allowed them to style themselves ''cos. II'' when they were later granted an ordinary consulship by the emperor. All this had the effect of further devaluing the office of consul, to the point that by time of the Dominate, holding an ordinary consulate was occasionally left out of the cursus inscriptions, while suffect consulships were hardly ever recorded.

Transformation of the traditional Senatorial order

One of the key changes in the management of the empire during the Dominate was the large scale removal of old-style senatorial participation in administrative and military functions. The process began with the reforms of Gallienus, who removed senators from military commands, placing them in the hands of the '' Equites''. Under Diocletian, the military equestrian transformation was taken a stage further, with the removal of hereditary senators from most administrative, as well as military, posts (such as the

Legatus legionis A ''legatus'' (; anglicised as legate) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman Army, equivalent to a modern high-ranking general officer. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the office ...

). Hereditary senators were limited to administrative jobs in Italy and a few neighbouring provinces (Sicily, Africa, Achaea and Asia), despite the fact that senior administrative posts had been greatly multiplied by the tripling of the number of provinces and the establishment of

dioceses In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

(or super-provinces). The exclusion of the old Italian aristocracy, both senatorial and equestrian, from the political and military power that they had monopolised for many centuries was largely complete. The Senate became politically insignificant, although it retained great prestige. Constantine I, however, re-introduced a limited form of senatorial career, basing the magistracies on previous offices but with changed functions.Southern, P. ''The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine'' (2001) p. 255 Beginning with the quaestorship, a role which had acted as a form of apprenticeship for an ambitious senator during the Principate, it was downgraded during the Dominate and assigned to the sons of senators, with the legal qualifying age lowered to sixteen. This was followed by a suffect consulship and/or a

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...

ship. The office of Praetor had also lost much of its influence, as it had been stripped of its legal functions, so that during the Dominate its purpose was primarily to organise the ''

Ludi Romani The ''Ludi Romani'' ("Roman Games"; see '' ludi'') was a religious festival in ancient Rome. Usually including multiple ceremonies called '' ludi''. They were held annually starting in 366 BC from September 12 to September 14, later extended to ...

''. The most prestigious post that a senator could hold under the Dominate was that of ''

Praefectus urbi The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, an ...

''; during this period the office gained in effective power, as the imperial court was removed from the city of Rome, meaning that the prefects were no longer under the emperor's direct supervision. The most significant change was the return of

provincial government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, ...

to the senatorial order, with the larger or more important provinces handed over to those senators who had held an ordinary consulship. However, unlike the time of the Principate, the role of governor was much reduced, being a purely civil magistrate with no military functions, and with provinces greatly reduced in size, and the number increasing from the roughly fifty pre-existing provinces to approximately one hundred. The decline in the functions carried out by the old aristocratic senatorial families acting collegially with the emperor in the running of the empire was offset by the rise of an expanded imperial bureaucracy who served the emperor in a subordinate role. Interposed between the governors and the emperors was the ''

Vicarius ''Vicarius'' is a Latin word, meaning ''substitute'' or ''deputy''. It is the root of the English word "vicar". History Originally, in ancient Rome, this office was equivalent to the later English " vice-" (as in "deputy"), used as part of th ...

'' and, above him, the

Praetorian Prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders be ...

, both of which were civilian (non-military) roles. Gone was the division between provinces under the jurisdiction of the Senate and those under the authority of the emperor during the Principate. Now all

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

, and the Praetorian prefecture were under the authority of the emperor. The Praetorian Prefects had wide-ranging administrative, financial, judicial and legislative powers. The provincial governors were appointed at his recommendation, and with him rested their dismissal, subject to the Emperor's approval. The only civilian officials not under the direct oversight of the Praetorian Prefects were the

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ...

ar governors of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, Achaea and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, along with the

Urban Prefect The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, and ...

s. The increasing administrative machinery surrounding the emperor resulted in an explosion of bureaucratic offices. These state officials were paid originally both in food and with money, but over the course of the Dominate, the '' annona'' (or food ration) was converted into money. Their salaries therefore consumed a considerable chunk of the imperial budget. Although precise numbers are not available, it has been speculated that the state bureaucracy in the

Praetorian prefecture of the East The praetorian prefecture of the East, or of the Orient ( la, praefectura praetorio Orientis, el, ἐπαρχότης/ὑπαρχία τῶν πραιτωρίων τῆς ἀνατολῆς) was one of four large praetorian prefectures into whic ...

and the

Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum The praetorian prefecture of Illyricum ( la, praefectura praetorio per Illyricum; el, ἐπαρχότης/ὑπαρχία �ῶν πραιτωρίωντοῦ Ἰλλυρικοῦ, also termed simply the Prefecture of Illyricum) was one of four ...

, including the diocesan and provincial governor's staffs, would have consisted of somewhere around 10,000 individuals. This figure did not include the staff of the military commanders, or the financial and other central ministries, and contrasts with the estimated 300 state bureaucrats that were employed across all the provinces during the period of the Julio-Claudian emperors. Among the most important offices under the Dominate were the: * ''

Quaestor sacri palatii The ''quaestor sacri palatii'' ( gr, κοιαίστωρ/κυαίστωρ τοῦ ἱεροῦ παλατίου, usually simply ), in English: Quaestor of the Sacred Palace, was the senior legal authority in the late Roman Empire and early Byzant ...

'' (the officer responsible for drafting the laws, and the Imperial rescripts responding to petitions) * ''

Magister officiorum The ''magister officiorum'' (Latin literally for "Master of Offices", in gr, μάγιστρος τῶν ὀφφικίων, magistros tōn offikiōn) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early cent ...

'' (officer responsible for managing the secretarial departments in the palace, the conduct of court ceremonies, and controlling the special department which dealt with ceremonial arrangements and Imperial audiences) * ''Magistri scriniorum'' (the emperor's secretaries, belonging to the ''memoriae'', ''epistularum'', and ''libellorum'' bureaus) * ''

Praepositus sacri cubiculi The ''praepositus sacri cubiculi'' (Latin: "provost of the sacred bedchamber", in gr, πραιπόσιτος τοῦ εὐσεβεστάτου κοιτῶνος, praipositos tou eusebestatou koitōnos) was one of the senior palace offices in the L ...

'' (the emperor's chamberlain, who exercised a general authority over all officers associated with the imperial court). All important offices automatically carried with them admission into the Senate, thereby further eroding the standing of the traditional aristocratic Senatorial families of the Principate under the Dominate. This resulted in a senatorial body of around 2,000 members during the reign of Constantine, and these numbers only increased when there were two senatorial bodies in existence, one at Rome and one at Constantinople. All the higher officials in the imperial bureaucracy belonged to one of the three classes or ranks introduced by Constantine I – the '' illustres'', ''spectabiles'' and ''clarissimi'', all of whom were automatically members of the senatorial order. The heads of the great central civil ministries, the ''

magistri militum ( Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander ...

'' and other high level military commanders as well as the ''Praepositus sacri cubiculi'' were all graded as ''illustres'', the highest of the new senatorial ranks. The second class (''spectabiles'') was assigned to a large group of civil servants, including the

Proconsuls A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

, ''vicarii'', the military governors in the provinces and the ''magistri scriniorum''. The entry level class, ''

clarissimus The constitution of the late Roman Empire was an unwritten set of guidelines and principles passed down, mainly through precedent, which defined the manner in which the late Roman Empire was governed. As a matter of historical convention, the late ...

'', was the minimum qualification for membership of the Senate. It was automatically awarded as part of the governorship of a province, and to a myriad of other lesser officers. It was held by a large number of junior imperial public servants, as well as being awarded to them after their retirement. The generosity of the emperors in bestowing the ''clarissimus'' witnessed the gradual erosion in its value. As a consequence, the emperors began to raise many ''clarissimi'' graded officials to the rank of ''spectabiles'', which in turn cheapened the highest rank of ''illustres''. This inflationary pressure resulted in the creation of a new senatorial rank before the middle of the 6th century, that of '' gloriosi''. Higher in grading than the ''illustres'', all of the highest state officials were regraded to this rank.

Military reforms

Under the Principate, provinces that contained legions were under the proconsular authority of the emperor, who managed those provinces through designated legates (''

Legatus Augusti pro praetore A ''legatus Augusti pro praetore'' (literally: "envoy of the emperor – acting for the praetor") was the official title of the governor or general of some Imperial provincess of the Roman Empire during the Principate era, normally the larger ones ...

''), while the units stationed at Rome were under the authority of the

. During the Crisis of the Third Century, greater authority over imperial military matters was ceded to the Praetorian Prefects, while the imperial legates took advantage of weakened centralised authority to use the troops under their command to rebel against the emperor and claim the imperial title for themselves. It was Diocletian who initially divided the military administrative apparatus and the civil administration in order to mitigate the risk that future imperial governors or Praetorian Prefects might attempt to seize the throne through force, and then he reorganized both of them. During the Tetrarchy, the Praetorian Prefects were the Emperor's top administrators, ranking just below the Emperor himself in dignity. While initially serving as the Emperor's second in command in all matters of imperial administration (military, civil, judicial, taxation, etc.), during the course of the Dominate the Prefects gradually had portions of their authority stripped from them and given to other offices: the Masters of the Soldiers for military affairs and the Imperial Chancellor for central civilian administration. These reforms were the result of both the lack of officials suitable for the prefect's wide-ranging tasks, and of the desire to reduce the potential challenge to the Emperor's authority posed by a powerful Prefect. The next reforms were undertaken by Constantine I, who reorganised the supreme military command. Two significant parts of the reform are apparent: the separation of military commanders from civil administration and the division of the army into two classes: the Field Armies ("''

comitatenses The comitatenses and later the palatini were the units of the field armies of the late Roman Empire. They were the soldiers that replaced the legionaries, who had formed the backbone of the Roman military since the Marian reforms. Organizati ...

''") and the Frontier Troops ("''

limitanei The ''līmitāneī'' (Latin, also called ''rīpēnsēs''), meaning respectively "the soldiers in frontier districts" (from the Latin phrase līmēs, meaning a military district of a frontier province) or "the soldiers on the riverbank" (from the ...

''"). The Field Armies served as the Empire's strategic reserve to respond to crisis where it may arise whereas the Frontier Troops were permanently stationed along the Empire's borders ("''

limes Limes may refer to: * the plural form of lime (disambiguation) * the Latin word for ''limit'' which refers to: ** Limes (Roman Empire) (Latin, singular; plural: ) is a modern term used primarily for the Germanic border defence or delimiting ...

''"). Recruited from the ranks of the Field Armies were the Palace Troops units ("'' Palatini''"), who accompanied the Emperor as he travelled around the Empire, functioning as the successor to the Principate's

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin: ''cohortēs praetōriae'') was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guard were an escort fo ...

. Around the same time, Constantine established the new military roles of the Master of the Soldiers ("''

Magister Militum (Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...

''"), who were the supreme military commanders of the empire. Beginning with the head of the foot troops, the ''magister peditum'' ("Master of the Foot"), and one for the more prestigious horse troops, the ''magister equitum'' ("Master of the Horse"), these were established in each of the four Praetorian Prefectures. Over time, the numbers and types of Masters would vary across the empire. The establishment of solely military officials provided for a more professional military leadership. The Masters were all ranked as ''illustres''. *Within the East, by the late 4th century, there were Masters of the Soldiers, '' per Illyricum'', '' per Thracias '', and '' per Orientem''. Each of these three Masters exercised independent command over one of the three Field Armies of the Eastern Empire. There were also two Masters of the Soldiers in the Presence (''in praesenti'') who accompanied the Eastern Emperor and who each commanded half of the Palace Troops. Each of the five Masters were of equal rank.Bury, J. B. ''History of the Later Roman Empire From the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian'' Vol I (1958), p. 36 *Within the West, there were originally four Masters of the Soldiers; foot and horse '' per Gallias'' and '' per Italiam''. Over time, it became more common for the offices (foot and horse) to be combined under a single person, then styled ''magister equitum et peditum'' or ''magister utriusquae militiae'' ("master of both forces"). By the time of

Stilicho Flavius Stilicho (; c. 359 – 22 August 408) was a military commander in the Roman army who, for a time, became the most powerful man in the Western Roman Empire. He was of Vandal origins and married to Serena, the niece of emperor Theodosiu ...

, the Master of Both Services was the supreme military commander of the West, ranking only below the Emperor and above all other military commanders, and commander of half the Palace Troops. The Master of the Horse held command over half the Palace Troops and the Field Army of Gaul, but still under the command of the Master of Both Services. To support the Masters of the Soldiers, the Empire established several Military Counts ("''

Comes rei militaris ''Comes'' ( ), plural ''comites'' ( ), was a Roman title or office, and the origin Latin form of the medieval and modern title "count". Before becoming a word for various types of title or office, the word originally meant "companion", either i ...

''"). There were six such Military Counts throughout the Empire. The Military Counts were all ranked as ''spectabiles''. *Within the East, there was only one Military Count: the Military Count of Egypt ("''Comes rei militaris Aegypti''"). Unlike the Military Counts of the West, this Count commanded the Frontier Troops stationed in Egypt and reported directly to the Eastern Emperor. *Within the West, there were six such Military Counts, one for each of the five Field Armies in Illyria, Africa, Tingitania, Hispania, and Britannia. The sixth military count, the Count of the Saxon Shore ("'' comes littoris Saxonici per Britanniam''"), commanded Frontier Troops along both sides of the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

and reported to the Count of Britannia. The five regular Military Counts reported to the Master of Both Services. The various Frontier Troops were under the command of Dukes ("'' duces limitis''" or "border commanders"). These commanders were the closest in function to the Imperial Legates of the Principate. Most Dukes were given command of forces in a single province, but a few controlled more than one province. In the East, the Dukes reported to the Master of the Soldiers of their district whereas in the West they reported to their respective Military Count.

Religious reforms

The Dominate saw enormous changes in the official religion of the empire from its

pantheistic Pantheism is the belief that reality, the universe and the cosmos are identical with divinity and a supreme supernatural being or entity, pointing to the universe as being an immanent creator deity still expanding and creating, which has ...

Principate origins. Its principal feature was the elevation of a supreme deity that all peoples in the empire were to worship. According to John Bagnall Bury,

"while in all ancient monarchies religion and sacerdotalism were a political as well as a social power, the position of the Christian Church in the Roman Empire was a new thing in the world, presenting problems of a kind with which no ruler had hitherto been confronted and to which no past experience offered a key. The history of the Empire would have been profoundly different if the Church had remained as independent of the State as it had been before Constantine. But heresies and schisms and religious intolerance on one side, and the despotic instinct to control all social forces on the other, brought about a close union between State and Church which altered the character and spirit of the State, and constituted perhaps the most striking difference between the early and the later Empire."

The origins of the change began in the reign of Aurelian, who promoted the worship of

Sol Invictus Sol Invictus (, "Unconquered Sun"), sometimes simply known as Helios, was long considered to be the official sun god of the later Roman Empire. In recent years, however, the scholarly community has become divided on Sol between traditionalists a ...

as the supreme deity of the empire.Körner, C., ''Aurelian (A.D. 270–275)'',
De Imperatoribus Romanis
' (2001) Although the worship of Sol Invictus did not remove the veneration towards the traditional Roman gods, it was seen as a mark of imperial favouritism, and the emperors linked his cult to the well-being of the state and on-going military victories of the empire. Next, it was during Diocletian's reign that emperor worship was fully adopted by the emperors, as a method of expressing loyalty to the state. Previously, deceased emperors had been worshiped as ''

divus The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...

'' across the empire. Living emperors had been worshiped as gods in the eastern half of the empire since the time of

, but this was not officially encouraged during the Principate, and it was not introduced into Italy. It was Diocletian who altered this to have the worship of the living emperors as an official part of the religious framework of the entire empire. To facilitate this, Diocletian was linked to the god

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...

, while his colleague

Maximian Maximian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus; c. 250 – c. July 310), nicknamed ''Herculius'', was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his ...

was associated with

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

. It was under Constantine I that the religious transformation began to take its late Dominate shape, initially with Constantine officially favouring the worship of a single deity in the shape of Sol Invictus. During the course of his reign, the identification of Sol Invictus as the principal god began to merge with the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

god. To avoid offending Christians, Constantine abandoned the emperor's formal claim to divinity and ceased to demand sacrifices to the emperor that formed part of the imperial cult. In an attempt to appeal to both Christians and pagans, Constantine adopted two new religious symbols into the imperial iconography, in the form of the Chi Rho and the Labarum.Southern, P. ''The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine'' (2001) p. 281 By the time of Constantine's death in AD 337, this process was largely complete, with Constantine being baptized on his deathbed. At the Imperial court, Christians began indiscernibly to rise in favour, to the detriment of pagans. This did not begin to immediately hamper the advancement of pagan courtiers after the defeat of

Maxentius Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius (c. 283 – 28 October 312) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 306 until his death in 312. Despite ruling in Italy and North Africa, and having the recognition of the Senate in Rome, he was not recognized ...

in 312, as the full effects were not visible until paganism was prohibited at the end of the 4th century. Ultimately, however, as a result of the imperial patronage of Constantine and especially his sons, Christianity rapidly emerged as the official religion of the empire, although many vestiges of the imperial cult took some time to pass (such as the Emperors still assuming the role of Pontifex Maximus, chief priest of the pagan cults, until AD 381). By the time of

, the organisation of the

Imperial Church An imperial church is a church associated with an empire. The first such church was the state church of the Roman Empire, as patronized and largely controlled by the Roman Emperors from the time of the transfer of the seat of government to Constant ...

had aligned to the civil administration of the empire. Every city had a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, every

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

had a metropolitan, and every

civil diocese In the Late Roman Empire, usually dated 284 AD to 602 AD, the regional governance district known as the Roman or civil diocese was made up of a grouping of provinces each headed by a ''Vicarius'', who were the representatives of praet ...

had an

exarch An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'', meaning “leader”) was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and ea ...

. At the level of the Praetorian Prefectures sat the five

Patriarchates Patriarchate ( grc, πατριαρχεῖον, ''patriarcheîon'') is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, designating the office and jurisdiction of an ecclesiastical patriarch. According to Christian tradition three patriarchates were esta ...

. The

Bishop of Rome A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

's authority extended over the whole western or Latin half of the Empire, and included the

. The

Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...

had oversight over the civil dioceses of Thrace, Pontus, and Asia. The

Patriarchate of Alexandria The Patriarch of Alexandria is the archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation "pope" (etymologically "Father", like "Abbot"). The Alexandrian episcopate was revered as one of the three major episco ...

corresponded to the Diocese of Egypt. The

Patriarchate of Antioch Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (ἐπίσκοπος, ''episkopos'', from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian c ...

had jurisdiction over the majority of the

, while the smaller Patriarchate of Jerusalem dominated the three Palestinian provinces. The emperors had, over time, conceded many privileges to the clergy and the churches. Firstly, all clergy, like the holders of the pagan religious offices, were exempted from taxation. There were no restrictions placed on churches receiving bequests through wills, and they were given the same rights as the pagan temples had in granting asylum to any who requested it. Bishops were permitted to act as judges in civil cases when both parties had agreed, and no appeal was permitted once the Bishop had made their ruling. The state made increasing use of the ecclesiastical authorities in local administration due to the decline in the civic life of the urban communities, which coincided with the increasing local influence of the bishops. Finally, bishops were given the same role as the '' defensor civitatis'', who was responsible for protecting the poor against exploitation by government officials and defending them from other powerful individuals, during the course of which the bishop could bring cases of illegality directly to the emperor.

Downgrading of Rome as capital of the empire

One of the most visible signs of the changes brought about by the Dominate was the downgrading of

from its status as the official residence of the

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

. This precedent had already been established by Gallienus in 260, who moved the imperial court to

Mediolanum Mediolanum, the ancient city where Milan now stands, was originally an Insubrian city, but afterwards became an important Roman city in northern Italy. The city was settled by the Insubres around 600 BC, conquered by the Romans in 222 BC, and ...

in response to a suspected future attack by the

usurper A usurper is an illegitimate or controversial claimant to power, often but not always in a monarchy. In other words, one who takes the power of a country, city, or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it as ...

Postumus Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus was a Roman commander of Batavian origin, who ruled as Emperor of the splinter state of the Roman Empire known to modern historians as the Gallic Empire. The Roman army in Gaul threw off its allegiance to G ...

as well as defending Italy from the ravages of the

Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...

. Rome was increasingly seen to be too distant a residence for the emperor when troubles could erupt along any of the borders of the empire. In the west, Mediolanum was seen to be a much better strategic city for the emperor to be based at, as it gave good access through the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

northwards to both the Danubian provinces in the east as well as the Rhine provinces and

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

to the west. Further, it was well positioned to guard against incursions through the alpine passes. This decision was confirmed when Diocletian established the Tetrarchy, and his colleague

informally established Mediolanum as the senior western emperor's official residence. Diocletian, conscious that the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

threat to the eastern provinces required a continuous imperial presence, placed his eastern capital in the city of

Nicomedia Nicomedia (; el, Νικομήδεια, ''Nikomedeia''; modern İzmit) was an ancient Greek city located in what is now Turkey. In 286, Nicomedia became the eastern and most senior capital city of the Roman Empire (chosen by the emperor Diocleti ...

. Meanwhile, the Caesars also had imperial residences –

Constantius Chlorus Flavius Valerius Constantius "Chlorus" ( – 25 July 306), also called Constantius I, was 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 t ...

was based at

Augusta Treverorum Trier in Rhineland-Palatinate, whose history dates to the Roman Empire, is often claimed to be the oldest city in Germany. Traditionally it was known in English by its French name of Treves. Prehistory The first traces of human settlement in ...

, while

Galerius Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus (; 258 – May 311) was Roman emperor from 305 to 311. During his reign he campaigned, aided by Diocletian, against the Sasanian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 299. He also campaigned across th ...

sited his residence at

Sirmium Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous provice of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyrians an ...

. After the collapse of the Tetrachy, Constantine I at first placed his imperial capital at

Ulpia Serdica Ulpia may refer to: People * Ulpia gens, ancient Roman family which produced the emperor Trajan (98–117) Places A number of Roman settlements, mostly named in honour of the Emperoro Trajan: * Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa, the capital of Roman Dac ...

before erecting a new imperial capital on the site of the old Greek city of

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...

. Naming it

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, it finally replaced Nicomedia as the site of the emperor's residence in the east in 330. Constantinople would remain the capital of the eastern provinces throughout the period of the Dominate. In the west, Mediolanum continued to be the imperial residence until the repeated invasions by Alaric I forced the western emperor Honorius to relocate to the strongly fortified city of

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

in 402. Ravenna remained the western imperial capital until the loss of Italy in 476. Although Rome was reincorporated into the empire by

in 540, it was Ravenna which was selected as the official residence of the

Exarch An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'', meaning “leader”) was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and ea ...

, the governor who represented the emperor in Italy. Ravenna would retain this position until 751, when the Byzantine Empire finally lost the central Italian provinces to the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...

Intensification of coloni use and the origins of serfdom

Large Roman landowners increasingly relied on Roman freemen, acting as tenant farmers to provide labor. The status of these tenant farmers, eventually known as coloni, steadily eroded. Because the tax system implemented by Diocletian (reigned 284-305) assessed taxes based both on land and on the inhabitants of that land, it became administratively inconvenient for peasants to leave the land where the census counted them. Starting in 332 AD,

Emperor Constantine Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterrane ...

issued legislation that greatly restricted the rights of the coloni and tied them to the land. Coloni and lower-ranking plebeians were no longer allowed to change their occupation. Ultimately, with the

Fall of Rome The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vas ...

, non-Patrician Roman citizens themselves would find themselves displaced and would become serfs.

Stylistic changes

Diocletian and his ''augusti'' colleagues and successors openly displayed the naked face of Imperial power. They ceased using the more modest title of

; they adopted the veneration of the potentates of ancient

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

; and, they started wearing jeweled robes and shoes in contrast to the simple

toga praetexta The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historiography, ...

used by Emperors of the Principate. Emperors inhabited luxurious palaces (the ruins of Diocletian's enormous palace in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

survive to this day; see

Diocletian's Palace Diocletian's Palace ( hr, Dioklecijanova palača, ) is an ancient palace built for the Roman emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD, which today forms about half the old town of Split, Croatia. While it is referred to as a "palac ...

) and were surrounded by a court of individuals who, only due to the favor and proximity of the Emperor, attained the highest honorific titles and bureaucratic functions. In fact, many offices associated with the palatine life and that suggested intimate relationship with royalty eventually developed connotations of power, such as the offices of

Chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

and

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

. The titles of

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and

, after the loss of every residue of political power they had had in the Principate, became mere honorifics in the later Empire. Historian David Potter describes the transformation of government under Diocletian when describing the shifts in imagery the Emperor used to display his power (in this case the building of a huge new palace at

The style of Government so memorably described by Marcus, whereby the emperor sought to show himself as a model of correct aristocratic deportment, had given way to a style in which the emperor was seen to be distinct from all other mortals. His house could no longer be a grander version of houses that other people might live in: it, like him, had to be different.

The adoption of ''Dominus'' as a formal title reflected the divine status (''

'') that has come to be a prerogative of the Imperial position. Originally an exceptional honour awarded by the Senate to an Emperor posthumously, the elevation had devolved to an expected convention for still-living Caesars. To dissuade the rebellions and usurpations of the

, the Emperors sought the kind of divine

legitimacy Legitimacy, from the Latin ''legitimare'' meaning "to make lawful", may refer to: * Legitimacy (criminal law) * Legitimacy (family law) * Legitimacy (political) See also * Bastard (law of England and Wales) * Illegitimacy in fiction * Legit (d ...

invoked by Eastern monarchies. Emperors imported rituals such as kneeling before the Emperor, and kissing of the hem of the Imperial robe (

proskynesis Proskynesis or proscynesis , or proskinesis (Greek , ''proskýnēsis''; Latin adoratio) is a solemn gesture of respect for the gods and people; among the Persians, it referred to a man prostrating himself and kissing the earth, or the limbs ...

). Even some Christian emperors, such as

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

, were venerated after death. In the Eastern Roman Empire after 476 AD, the symbiotic relation between the Imperial Crown in

and the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

led to the distinctive character of the medieval Roman state. Anastasius I was the last emperor known to be consecrated as ''divus'' on his death (518 AD). The title appears to have been abandoned thereafter on grounds of its spiritual impropriety (see

Imperial cult of ancient Rome The Roman imperial cult identified emperors and some members of their families with the divinely sanctioned authority ('' auctoritas'') of the Roman State. Its framework was based on Roman and Greek precedents, and was formulated during the ear ...

for more on the divinity of Roman leaders). The last ruler to use the titles ''Dominus Noster'' was

(died 565), giving place to the title of ''Basileus'' ("King"). In the Eastern half of the Empire, and especially from the time of

, the system of the Dominate evolved into

autocratic Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power over a state is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject neither to external legal restraints nor to regularized mechanisms of popular control (except per ...

absolutism. In contrast to the situation in the Principate, however, emperors in the Dominate could not be deified as it was, excepting the two initial decades and the reign of Julian, the

period of the Roman Empire. Another clear symptom of the upgrading of the imperial status was the notion of the emperor as an incarnation of the

majesty Majesty (abbreviated HM for His Majesty or Her Majesty, oral address Your Majesty; from the Latin ''maiestas'', meaning "greatness") is used as a manner of address by many monarchs, usually kings or queens. Where used, the style outranks the st ...

of Rome; thus '' lèse majesté'' became high treason.