Editing Diocletian (section)

===Early persecutions===
At the conclusion of the [[Peace of Nisibis (299)|Peace of Nisibis]], Diocletian and Galerius returned to [[Antioch]].{{sfn|Southern|2001|p=151}} At some time in 299, the emperors took part in a ceremony of [[sacrifice]] and [[divination]] in an attempt to predict the future. The [[haruspex|haruspices]] were unable to read the entrails of the sacrificed animals and blamed Christians in the Imperial household. The emperors ordered all members of the court to perform a sacrifice to purify the palace. The emperors sent letters to the military command, demanding the entire army perform the required sacrifices or face discharge.{{sfnm|1a1=Lactantius|1loc=10.1–5|2a1=Barnes|2y=1981|2pp=18–19|3a1=Burgess|3y=1996|3pp=157–158|4a1=Helgeland|4y=1974|4p=159|5a1=Liebeschuetz|5y=1979|5pp=246–248|6a1=Odahl|6y=2004|6p=65}}<ref>{{cite journal|last=Barnes|first=Timothy D.|year=1976|title=Sossianus Hierocles and the Antecedents of the "Great Persecution"|journal=[[Harvard Studies in Classical Philology]]|volume=80|pages=239–252|doi=10.2307/311244|jstor=311244 }}</ref> Diocletian was conservative in matters of religion, faithful to the traditional Roman pantheon and understanding of demands for religious purification,{{sfnm|1a1=Barnes|1y=1981|1p=20|2a1=Corcoran|2y=2006|2p=51|3a1=Odahl|3y=2004|3pp=54–56|3p=62}} but [[Eusebius]], [[Lactantius]] and [[Constantine I|Constantine]] state that it was [[Galerius]], not Diocletian, who was the prime supporter of the purge.{{sfnm|1a1=Lactantius|1loc=10.6, 31.1|2a1=Eusebius|2loc=8, a1, 3; [[Constantine I]], ''[https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2503.htm Oratio ad Sanctum]'' 22}}{{sfn|Barnes|1981|pp=19, 294}} Galerius, even more devoted and passionate than Diocletian, saw political advantage in the persecution. He was willing to break with a government policy of inaction on the issue.{{sfn|Barnes|1981|p=19}}

Antioch was Diocletian's primary residence from 299 to 302, while Galerius swapped places with his Augustus on the Middle and Lower Danube.{{sfnm|1a1=Barnes|1y=1982|1p=49|2a1=Carrié|2a2=Rousselle|2y=1999|2pp=163–164}} Diocletian visited Egypt once, over the winter of 301–2, and issued a grain dole in Alexandria.{{sfn|Barnes|1981|p=19}} Following some public disputes with [[Manichaeism|Manicheans]], Diocletian ordered that the leading followers of [[Mani (prophet)|Mani]] be burnt alive along with their scriptures. In a 31 March 302 rescript from Alexandria, he declared that low-status Manicheans must be executed by the blade, and high-status Manicheans must be sent to work in the quarries of Proconnesus ([[Marmara Island]], Turkey) or the mines of [[Khirbat Faynan|Phaeno]] in southern [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]. All Manichean property was to be seized and deposited in the [[fiscus|imperial treasury]].{{sfn|Barnes|1981|p=20; ''[[Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae]]'' 660}} Diocletian found much to be offended by in Manichean religion: its novelty, its alien origins, its perceived corruption of Roman morals, and its inherent opposition to long-standing religious traditions.{{sfnm|1a1=Lactantius|1loc=33.1.|2a1=Williams|2y=1985|2pp=83–84}} His reasons for opposing Manichaeanism were also applied to his next target, Christianity.{{sfn|Barnes|1981|p=20}}