Tristan Hughes

He really sees divisions as the way forward.

Is this also contradicting, though, one of those old supposed ideas of the Roman emperors of before him, that a Roman emperor should be available for anyone?

I mean, obviously...

realistically that's not going to happen, but this idea that actually a Roman emperor could be addressed by an everyday person if he was passing through kind of thing.

Is that almost a transformation in that by, even though I said realistically that was never going to happen anyway, but is Diocletian making it almost official now saying that if you've got a problem...

You don't always have to raise it with me.

There are these people who I've given enough power to, to sort it for you instead of me.

So it's a nice way, a nice communication, as you say, to get a sense of what's it like on the ground, outside the palace and so on.

One last thing on those reforms.

With those administrative reforms and to tax and to the division of these provinces, you mentioned how the army is still able to function.

I mean, was there, although Diocletian himself wasn't at the forefront of the army as they were doing their campaigns...

Do you see military reforms in this period?

And is that part of Diocletian's legacy?

Absolutely is a different scale.

And I didn't realise, actually, that the army increased at the time of Diocletian, as well as that kind of difference in the composition.

I feel we need to move on now, though, to that...

I think it's, I'd say, sometimes overarching, infamous part of Diocletian's story, which of course is his approach to Christianity.

Now, can you set the scene for us here, David?

Christianity, let's say in 284, at the beginning of Diocletian's reign, how big is it in the Roman Empire?

And so when does Diocletian go from having misgivings about the Christians and his fellow Tetrarchs to ultimately deciding, right, we're going to do a great persecution of the Christians?