Diocese of the East

Roman Diocese of the East Dioecesis Orientis Ἑῴα Διοίκησις
Diocese of the Roman Empire
314–535/536
The Diocese of the East c. 400
Capital	Antioch
Historical era	Late Antiquity
• Established	314
• Diocese abolished by Justinian I	535 or 536
Succeeded by Bilad al-Sham

The Diocese of the East, also called the Diocese of Oriens, (Latin: Dioecesis Orientis; Greek: Διοίκησις Ἑῴα) was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of the western Middle East, between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia. During late Antiquity, it was one of the major commercial, agricultural, religious and intellectual areas of the empire, and its strategic location facing the Sassanid Empire and the nomadic tribes gave it exceptional military importance.^[1]