This nearly brought the Roman Empire to collapse along with the pressures of plague, economic depression, civil war, and invasion. In the years 284-305 the competition of ambitious generals and so-called emperors was responsible for the political crisis of the third century. Emperor Diocletian temporarily restored political stability throughout the Roman Empire. Diocletian also recognized the administration and appointed a co-emperor along with two assistants and later regained the Roman Empire the social stability that had proven most difficult to achieve. This was due to Christians being polytheistic followers. It was the polytheistic cults that believed that divine anger had caused the crisis. It was Diocletian who convinced his co-rulers of the need to persecute the Christians, who according to him were the only ones