On this date in 305AD, Diocletian, in ill health, resigned from his office as Emperor of Rome. He retired to a life of gardening and contemplation in a palace in what is now Croatia.
The fifty-first man to claim the title of Emperor, he was the first to leave office in any manner other than feet-first. Un-poisoned, his head still attached to his shoulders, and no Praetorian cutlery inadvertently left in his ribcage, he left an Empire to his successors that was currently free of revolts, coups, and barbarian incursions.
Of course they dropped the ball in less than a year.
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Regrettably, the tax burden created from some of his reforms made dropping the ball even easier for his successors.
True. And wage and price freezes worked about as well as they always have, historically. Which is to say "not at all".
"Of course they dropped the ball in less than a year."
Sounds like a newly-elected Congress.
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