305

By place

Roman Empire

• May 1 - Emperor Diocletian abdicates at age 60, and retires to his palace at Salona on the Adriatic coast, after a reign of nearly 21 years, in which the last vestiges of republican government have disappeared.
• Maximian retires from office, and leaves for Campania, to live a life of ease in his luxury villas.
• Constantius Chlorus and Galerius are declared Augusti; Flavius Valerius Severus and Maximinus II Daia are appointed Caesars.
• In the Western Empire, the capital is moved from Rome to Milan. Constantius Chlorus requests leave for his son Constantine I, who remains at Galerius's court in Nicomedia, as a virtual hostage.
• Summer - Constantine I joins his father in Gaul, from Bononia ; they cross the Channel to Britain and make their way to Eboracum, capital of Britannia Secunda and home to a large military base, in order to deal with a rebellion by the Picts.
• Maximinus II persecutes the Christians of Egypt, many of whom take refuge in the desert. In time, this refuge leads to the monastic life. In these monasteries, Coptic writing develops, supporting the propagation of Christian texts.
• Patron of Pozzuoli, Saint Proculus, and patron of Naples, Saint Januarius are thrown to wild beasts in Pozzuoli's Flavian Amphitheater, then beheaded at Solfatara.

  Asia

• The Daysan River floods Edessa.

  By topic

Commerce

• Landowners dominate the Roman Empire, and enjoy the title of senator, which exempts them from the crushing taxes imposed on the rest of the population. The Senate has lost all its power and the landowners almost never attend Senate sessions. Members of municipal senates are charged with the responsibility of collecting taxes and paying arrears; smaller landowners are held responsible for providing recruits for the Roman army, and with keeping wastelands under cultivation.

  Religion

• Catherine makes a public confession of the Christian gospel at a sacrificial feast ordered by Maximinus II at Alexandria. A virgin of royal descent, she is tortured on a spiked wheel and beheaded; her remains are spirited to Mount Sinai.
• The Council of Illiberis decrees that priests must be celibate. Additionally, it condemns visiting the homes of Jews and prohibits Christian women from marrying Jews, unless they have converted.