Editing Principate (section)

==Duration==
In a more limited and precise chronological sense, the term Principate is applied either to the entire Empire (in the sense of the post-Republican Roman state), or specifically to the earlier of the two phases of Imperial government in the ancient [[Roman Empire]] before Rome's military collapse in the West ([[fall of Rome]]) in 476 left the [[Byzantine Empire]] as sole heir. This early Principate phase began when Augustus claimed ''[[auctoritas]]'' for himself as ''princeps'', and continued (depending on the source) up to the rule of [[Commodus]], of [[Maximinus Thrax]], or of [[Diocletian]].<ref>Goldsworthy, A. (2010). ''How Rome Fell Death of a Superpower.'' (pp. 157–173). Yale Univ Pr.

See for a general overview of Diocletian reforms at the provincial, political, and economic levels, which differed from the principate</ref>