Coins of the 1st Tetrarchy..

My understanding is that under the first Tetrarchy, the geographic responsibilities of the Tetrarchs have been overstated. This is understandable because even near-contemporaries didn't understand what Diocletian was trying to do.

The Tetrarch's roles were more ad hoc - more task or mission based - rather then geographic. For instance Constantius was appointed Caesar specifically to deal with the usurpers in Britain, Galerius was tasked with dealing with the frontier defenses on the Danube, and so on. The geographic division was incidental and not the point of the system.

If Diocletian happened to be in Italy he wouldn't have refused to weigh in on a legal matter because it was Maximian's "turf". One of the reasons Diocletian raised colleagues was that there were huge legal and administrative demands that could only be dealt with by "the emperor". Diocletian's solution was to make more emperors, thus lessening the burden on any one of them. Some specific examples of this are that Diocletian issued a ton of edicts from Sirmium and brought Galerius to fight with him in Persia, both of which were cutting across geographic lines.

Obviously this all required a lot of trust and consultation among the emperors and after Diocletian's abdication they probably did start to think more in terms of turf and territory.

Source is Williams, S. Diocletian and the Roman Recovery. 2000 ed.

 

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I've posted this coin here before but this is a new photograph. It's challenging trying to capture what the green patina looks like.


Galerius. As Caesar, circa 300-301 CE. AE Follis. 27.5mm, 11.35g. Thessalonica mint, first officina. Obverse: GAL VAL MAXIMIANVS NOB CAES, laureate head right. Reverse: GENIO POPVLI ROMANI, Genius standing left, nude but for chlamys over shoulders and left arm, holding patera and cornucopia. •TSA• in exergue. RIC VI Thessalonica 22b. Green patina. Ex Phil Peck (Morris) Collection.

 

Excellent coin and I really like the patina. Very attractive.

 

Diocletian Ar Argenteus Nicomedia RIC 25a Rv Camp gate with open door and four turrets VICTOTIAE SARMATICAE 295-296 A.D. 3.39 grms 18 mm

 

Fantastic coins, @Clavdivs (and everyone else).

Mine are a little more pedestrian – not my usual collecting area:

Diocletian:

Diocletian, Roman Empire, AE1 ("follis"), 302–303 AD, Antioch mint. Obv: IMP C DIOCLETIANVS P F AVG; head of Diocletian, laureate, r. Rev: GENIO POPVLI ROMANI; Genius, wearing modius, nude, chlamys draped over l. shoulder, standing l., holding patera in r. hand and holding cornucopiae in l. hand; in field r., B; in exergue, ANT*. 27mm, 9.61g. Ref: RIC VI Antioch 56a.

Maximian:

Maximian, Roman Empire, AE1 (“follis”), 296–297 AD, Trier mint. Obv: IMP MAXIMIANVS P AVG; bust of Maximianus, laureate, r. Rev: GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI; Genius standing l., holding patera and cornucopia, modius on head; in fields, A–Γ; in exergue, TR. 25mm, 9.30g. Ref: RIC VI Trier 181b.

Galerius. From his later days:

Galerius Maximianus, Roman Empire, AE1, 308–311 AD, Nicomedia mint. Obv: IMP C GAL VAL MAXIMIANVS P F AVG; head of Galerius, laureate, r. Rev: GENIO AVGVSTI CMH (ligated); Genius, wearing modius, nude, chlamys draped over l. shoulder, standing l., pouring liquid from patera in r. hand and holding cornucopiae in l. hand; in exergue, SMNA. 26mm, 7.52g. Ref: RIC VI Nicomedia 54a or 66a.

Constantius Chlorus. This one has almost all silver remaining – alas, that doesn't make it prettier:

Constantius Chlorus, Roman Empire, AE1 ("follis"), 296 AD, Siscia mint. Obv: CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES; head of Constantius Chlorus, laureate, r. Rev: GENIO POPVLI ROMANI; Genius, wearing modius, nude, chlamys draped over left shoulder, standing l., holding patera in r. hand and cornucopiae in l. hand. 27mm, 9.91g. RIC VI Siscia 98a.