Diocletian

Diocletian (c. 244–311 CE), born of humble origins at Salona in Dalmatia (near modern Split, Croatia), rose through the army to become emperor in 284, ending the Third-Century Crisis through sweeping administrative, military, and fiscal reforms and the creation of the Tetrarchy, a power-sharing system of four co-rulers. In 303 he and his colleagues launched the Diocletianic ("Great") Persecution, the last and most severe Roman persecution of Christians, ordering the destruction of churches, the burning of scriptures, and sacrifice to the traditional gods; Jews, whose ancient faith retained imperial toleration, were exempt from the universal-sacrifice requirement, and the persecution produced many of the martyrs later venerated in Christian tradition. He abdicated in 305, the only Roman emperor to voluntarily relinquish the throne, and retired to his palace on the Dalmatian coast, where he died in 311.