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Jonathan Bousfield on Diocletian's Legacy in Split

Diocletian’s Palace is the main attraction in Split, the heart and soul of the city. Because of the palace, Split’s city center can be described as a living museum and it draws in the thousands of tourists that visit the city annually. But how much do we really know about the palace’s namesake who built it, the last ruler of a receding empire? Jonathan Bousfield contends that history only gives us a partial answer.

The Elusive Emperor

By Jonathan Bousfield

Few people are so central to the history of Split as Roman Emperor Diocletian. And yet it’s surprising how little we know about the man.

Today’s Split is both a monument to Diocletian and a solemn shrine to those he had executed.

“The next few days will see the opening of Cabaret Diocletian, a new nightlife venue in Split which, because of its location and its stylish and unusual layout, looks set to become one of the leading clubs in the city. Thanks to the entrepreneurial energies of Mr Juras, the owner of the club and local representative of the Hirter brewery, the basement of Diocletian’s palace will be transformed into a fully equipped entertainment venue. The club will contain the following areas: a large performance space, a restaurant, and private rooms decorated in ancient Roman style. Lighting will be electric, with gas in reserve.”

It’s that bit about the gas that gives the game away. This promising piece of lifestyle news comes not from one of today’s travel magazines, but from the June 1914 edition of Austrian tourist publication Der Fremdenverkehr.

Split was edging tentatively towards a tourist boom in 1914, something that the outbreak of World War I soon put a stop to. Split’s star turn then was the same as it is now: the Roman palace, built for Emperor Diocletian at the start of the 4th century, that still forms the heart of the modern city.

Toga Party

Few people are so central to the history of Split as Diocletian (245-311). And yet it is surprising how little we know about the man. The narratives routinely trotted out by tourist publications are frequently based on a consensus of suppositions rather than known facts. And with new interpretations emerging in the wake of every archeological discovery, the sands of historical record are constantly shifting.

Diocletian’s status as founder of the city is celebrated throughout the summer in the Days of Diocletian (daily from mid-May until September 21), in which the Emperor arrives at a central piazza known as the Peristyle at noon, surrounded by a retinue of helmeted Roman guards. Putting this daily toga-party aside, however, there’s a surprising lack of a commercialized Diocletian cult in Split. If you’re looking for a Diocletian T-shirt, an imperial signet ring, or even a decent biography of Diocletian written in plain language, you’ll be going home empty-handed. 

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