Band of Brothers: Diocletian and Maximian, Virtutibus Fratres

In 285 Diocletian co-opted his general Maximian as co-emperor, but the emperors were not related by blood, and Diocletian did not alleviate this issue by forging a familial bond through marriage or adoption. Rather, the relationship of Diocletian and Maximian was articulated in fraternal terms. This chapter uses various evidence, including the Panegyrici Latini, nomenclature, and images of the Dioscuri, to argue that the emperors themselves promoted the idea that they were brothers, and that the fraternal presentation was designed to appeal to a restless soldiery. The concept of frater defined the close relationships of certain soldiers to one another, and it carried legal weight. In advertising their relationship as a brotherhood, the emperors expressed their close bond to one another and their military background and credentials. The Augusti were not brothers in blood, but commilitones.The presentation also carried with it the notion of equality, which accorded with other representations of parity, and emphasised the imperial message of collegial concordia. The fact that this image of fraternity co-existed and was sometimes even combined with representations of Diocletian’s seniority demonstrates the fluidity of images employed by the Tetrarchs and their subjects in promoting imperial unity.