I always thought the best part of the Tetrarchy was a legal foundation to the separation of East and West formalizing a constitutional division in the empire, which allowed the East to still have legitimacy after the West fell. That is it created the frame for a Rome without Rome.

I agree his retirement was, at the most generous, premature. It’s like he wanted to play Cincinnatus but the world wasn’t ready yet.

Edit: just better writing.