Tristan Hughes

So, yeah, he's a bit of a naughty boy in that regards.

However, there's much more to his story than just the persecuting of Christians.

And the actual persecution itself is very interesting to hear about, like why it was such a failure.

That's all to come in today's episode with the one and only Dr. David Gwynn.

David, he's been on the show several times before.

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.