Note 545 — Chapter II · THE ROMAN EMPIRE UNDER ANASTASIUS: THE INHERITANCE OF JUSTINIAN
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Aurelius Vict., Diocletian, etc. After Elagabalus Aurelian was the pioneer in this departure, but in their case it seems to have been not a policy so much as a love of pompous display. It is worth noting that these emperors were men of low origin; Aurelian was a peasant, Diocletian the son of a slave. Yet Aurelian would not let his wife wear silk; Hist. Aug. Aurelian, 45.