On 1 May 305, a procession of soldiers, officers and officials departed the city of Nicomedia in Bithynia, led by the emperor Diocletian (C. Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus) and his junior emperor Galerius (C. Galerius Valerius Maximianus). These two men ruled the eastern half of the Roman Empire, whereas one Maximian (M. Aurelius Valerius Maximianus) and his junior emperor Constantius (M. Flavius Valerius Constantius) ruled the west. The procession was headed for a hill three miles distant, atop of which was a statue of Jupiter, the supreme god of the Roman pantheon and Diocletian’s tutelary deity. Upon arriving at the hill, Diocletian convened an assembly of the troops present and the chief soldiers of the empire’s other legions, and he proceeded to do the unprecedented. Diocletian stood upon a podium, and with tears declared that he had become infirm and needed repose from his hardships. He announced that he and Maximian would abdicate and resign the empire into the hands of Constantius and Galerius, and he proclaimed that two new junior emperors would be appointed to serve as their replacements. The soldiers solemnly awaited the nomination of the junior emperors, expecting Constantius’ son Constantine and Maximian’s son Maxentius to occupy the role. Both men were adults and the eldest among the emperors’ sons. To the surprise of the assembled men, Diocletian declared that Severus and Maximinus would be the new junior emperors. The men saw Constantine, later to become the first Christian emperor, standing near the emperors in public view, and they questioned among themselves whether his name had been changed. But Galerius removed the doubt from their minds when, in the sight of all, he drew his hand back, pushed Constantine aside and drew Maximinus forward. Galerius removed the private garb from Maximinus’ shoulders and led him to the most conspicuous place on the tribunal. All the men wondered who he might be, but in their amazement they did not object. Diocletian removed his purple robe and threw it over the hitherto unknown man. He then descended from the tribunal into a coach, which would take the old emperor to his native land to live out the rest of his life in retirement. Such are the events as recorded by the contemporary Christian author Lactantius (De Mortibus Persecutorum [On the Deaths of the Persecutors; henceforth DMP] 19).