Editing Diocletian (section)

===Death of Numerian===
Carus's death, amid a successful war with Persia and in mysterious circumstances{{sfn|Williams|1985|p=36}}&nbsp;– he was believed to have been struck by lightning or killed by Persian soldiers<ref>{{cite book |last= Mommsen |first= Theodor |author-link= Theodor Mommsen |others= Barbara Demandt, Alexander Demandt, [[Thomas Ernst Josef Wiedemann|Thomas E. J. Wiedemann]] |title= A History of Rome Under the Emperors |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Dk2FAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA346 |year= 1999 |orig-year= 1856 |location= London |publisher= Routledge |isbn= 978-0-415-20647-1 |pages= 346–348 |quote= Those accounts we do possess stem from outsiders who in fact know nothing. |access-date= 22 December 2022 |archive-date= 22 December 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221222212212/https://books.google.com/books?id=Dk2FAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA346 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Harries |first=Jill |title=Imperial Rome AD 284 to 363: The New Empire |date=2012 |page=27 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=978-0-7486-2052-4 |jstor=10.3366/j.ctt1g0b463 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QNqqBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA26 |access-date=17 February 2023 |archive-date=19 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319112355/https://books.google.com/books?id=QNqqBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA26 |url-status=live }}</ref>&nbsp;– left his sons [[Numerian]] and Carinus as the new ''Augusti''. Carinus quickly made his way to Rome from his post in Gaul and arrived there by January 284, becoming the legitimate Emperor in the West. Numerian lingered in the East.{{sfn|Barnes|1981|p=4}} The Roman withdrawal from Persia was orderly and unopposed.{{sfn|Southern|2001|p=133}} The [[Sassanid]] king [[Bahram II]] could not field an army against them as he was still struggling to establish his authority. By March 284, Numerian had only reached [[Homs|Emesa (Homs)]] in [[Syria]]; by November, only Asia Minor.{{sfn|Barnes|1981|p=4}}{{sfn|Leadbetter|2001a}} In Emesa he was apparently still alive and in good health: he issued the only extant [[rescript]] in his name there,{{sfnm|1a1=Cod. Justinianus|1loc=5.52.2|2a1=Leadbetter|2y=2001a|3a1=Potter|3y=2005|3p=279}}{{refn|Coins were issued in his name in [[Cyzicus]] some time before the end of 284, but it is impossible to know whether he was still in the public eye by that point.<ref>''[[Roman Imperial Coinage]]'' Vol. 5.2, "Numerian" no. 462</ref>{{sfn|Potter|2005|pp=279–280}}|group="Note"}} but after he left the city, his staff, including the prefect [[Aper (praetorian prefect)|Aper]] (Numerian's father-in-law and the dominant influence in his entourage),{{sfn|Williams|1985|p=34}} reported that he suffered from an inflammation of the eyes. He traveled in a closed coach from then on.{{sfn|Leadbetter|2001a}} When the army reached [[Bithynia]],{{sfn|Barnes|1981|p=4}} some of the soldiers smelled an odor emanating from the coach.{{sfn|Southern|2001|p=133}} They opened its curtains and found Numerian dead.{{sfn|Barnes|1981|p=4}}{{sfnm|1a1=Leadbetter|1y=2001a|2a1=Odahl|2y=2004|2p=39|3a1=Williams|3y=1985|3p=35}} Both [[Eutropius (historian)|Eutropius]] and [[Aurelius Victor]] describe Numerian's death as an assassination.{{sfnm|1a1=Eutropius|1loc=9.19|2a1=Epit. Caesaribus|2loc=39.1}}

Aper officially broke the news in [[Nicomedia]] ([[İzmit]]) in November.{{sfn|Potter|2005|p=280}} Numerian's generals and tribunes called a council for the succession, and chose Diocles as Emperor,{{sfn|Barnes|1981|p=4}}{{sfnm|1a1=CAH|1p=68|2a1=Williams|2y=1985|2pp=435–436}} in spite of Aper's attempts to garner support.{{sfn|Potter|2005|p=280}} On 20 November 284, the army of the east gathered on a hill {{convert|5|km|mi}} outside Nicomedia. The army unanimously saluted Diocles as their new ''Augustus'', and he accepted the purple imperial vestments. He raised his sword to the light of the sun and swore an oath disclaiming responsibility for Numerian's death. He asserted that Aper had killed Numerian and concealed it.{{sfnm|1a1=Barnes|1y=1981|1pp=4–5|2a1=Odahl|2y=2004|2pp=39–40|3a1=Williams|3y=1985|3pp=36–37}} In full view of the army, Diocles drew his sword and killed Aper.{{sfnm|1a1=Barnes|1y=1981|1pp=4–5|2a1=Leadbetter|2y=2001a|3a1=Odahl|3y=2004|3pp=39–40|4a1=Williams|4y=1985|4p=37}} Soon after Aper's death, Diocles changed his name to the more Latinate "Diocletianus"{{sfn|Corcoran|2006|p=39}}&nbsp;– in full, Gaius Valerius Diocletianus.<ref name="names"/>{{refn|He initially reigned under the name "[[Marcus Aurelius]] Gaius Valerius Diocletianus", but this formula didn't last long. He reverted back to "Gaius Valerius Diocles" after his retirement.<ref name="names"/>|group="Note"}}