Tristan Hughes

He's a fan favourite as well.

He is the interviewee we had for one of our most popular episodes of 2025.

That was the origins of the fall of Rome back in May.

He's a fantastic speaker, really eloquent and gets the points across so well.

And I know you're going to absolutely love it.

So without further ado, let's get into the episode.

He's the emperor who brought one of the most turbulent periods in Roman history to its end.

A man who came from humble Balkan beginnings and rose through the ranks of the Roman army to ultimately seize the purple.

That man's name was Diocles.

We know him better by his official imperial name, Diocletian.

In today's episode we're covering Diocletian's story from beginning to end.

We'll explore how he transformed the Roman Empire in the late 3rd and early 4th century AD, bringing it out of its 3rd century crisis.

We'll explore the imperial reforms he oversaw, including how he ended up splitting power between four leaders, himself included.

We know this ruler for today as the Tetrarchy.

But we'll also explore the part of Diocletian's story that has greatly tarnished his legacy, the great persecution of Christians that happened during the later stages of his reign.

This is the story of Emperor Diocletian with our returning guest, Dr. David Gwynne.

He's such a fascinating figure, isn't he, Diocletian?

Because he also comes right at the end of this turbulent period and it feels like he's central to the reforming, the transformation of the Roman Empire at that time.

He is very much right at the top there, isn't he?

And in regards to the sources that we have for him, how many sources, what types of sources do we have?