DIOCLETIAN'S PALACE AT SPLIT
Croatia
A Palace that Became a City
Rome was entrenched in chaos, until one man took charge, and through sheer force of will - and the army - remade the Empire into a completely new government, one that would last for over a thousand years. Then he retired to farm cabbages, moving into an incredible palace on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, a palace which today forms the core of Split, Croatia's old town.
Rob and Jamie from the Totalus Rankium podcast drop by once again to discuss Diocletian, one of the most significant emperors, whose legacy paved the way to medieval Europe. We dig into the good, like his bureaucratic reforms, the bad, like his persecution of Christians, and the ugly, like his edict on prices.
Listener Hrvoje Tolić calls in to discuss Split, the sights, and the cuisine. Pašticada, a long-marinated beef roast served over njoki, is the recipe of the day.
Sources:
Freisenbruch, Annelise. Caesars' Wives: Sex, Power, and Politics in the Roman Empire
Goldsworthy, Adrian. How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower
Grant, Michael. The Collapse and Recovery of the Roman Empire
Historia Augustae
Lonely Planet Guide to Croatia
Rick Steves Guide to Croatia and Slovenia
Photo by Matthias Hill