Did Wikipedia remove the word "occupation" from the Diocese of the East article?

Yes. "occupation" appeared 1 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today the opening has none; the body has 1. We saved the article's opening paragraph at 5 moments between 2015 and 2025, and the counts come from those saved copies.

When did the Diocese of the East article stop using the word "occupation"?

The word appeared 1 times in the opening at its peak in 2015. It is absent from today's opening, the part search engines quote and AI systems train on, checked against the live article on 2026-08-02.

How can I verify what Wikipedia's Diocese of the East article used to say?

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What did Wikipedia remove from the Diocese of the East article?

The opening as it read in 2015

Diocese of the East ( , ) 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 unruly desert tribes gave it exceptional military importance. Its capital was at Antioch , and its governor had the special title of comes Orientis ("Count of the East", of the rank vir spectabilis and later vir gloriosus ) instead of the ordinary " vicarius ". The diocese was established after the reforms of Diocletian (r. 284–305), and was subordinate to the praetorian prefecture of the East . The diocese included originally all Middle Eastern provinces of the Empire: Isauria , Cilicia , Cyprus , Euphratensis , Mesopotamia , Osroene , Syria Coele , Phoenice , Palaestina Prima , Palaestina Secunda , Arabia , and the Egyptian provinces Aegyptus , Augustamnica , Thebais , Libya Superior and Libya Inferior , which were grouped into the separate Diocese of Egypt under Valens (r. 364–378). During the course of the 4th century, several provinces were split, resulting in the new provinces of Cilicia I and Cilicia II, Syria I and Syria II Salutaris, Phoenice I and Phoenice II Libanensis (east of Mt. The last creation of a new province dated in the reign of Justinian I (r. 527–565), when Theodorias , the region around Laodicea , was split off from Syria I. At about the same time, Cyprus was split off and became part of a new super-province, the quaestura exercitus . In 535, as part of his administrative reforms, Justinian I abolished the diocese, and the comes Orientis became the provincial governor of Syria I, while retaining his previous rank of vir spectabilis and his salary. The entire area of the former diocese came under Sassanid Persian occupation in the 610s and 620s, during the Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628 . Shortly after the Byzantine victory in the war and the recovery of the region, it was again lost, this time permanently, to the Muslim conquests : by the 640s, Cilicia formed the border between Byzantium and the new Arab Caliphate , while Cyprus became a disputed territory. From the old provinces of the Diocese of the East, only Isauria and parts of the two Cilicias remained under Byzantine rule, grouped under the new Anatolic Theme .¹ Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium . Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor . Foundation of the Hellenic World .²

This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 649836294.

The opening as it stood in 2010

The Diocese of the East ( , ) 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 unruly desert tribes gave it exceptional military importance. Its capital was at Antioch , and its governor had the special title of comes Orientis ("Count of the East", of the rank vir spectabilis and later vir gloriosus ) instead of the ordinary " vicarius ". The diocese was established after the reforms of Diocletian , and was subordinate to the Praetorian prefecture of the East . It presumably lasted until its territories were finally overrun by the Muslim conquest in the 630s. The diocese included originally all Middle Eastern provinces: Isauria , Cilicia , Cyprus (until 536), Euphratensis , Mesopotamia , Osroene , Syria , Phoenice , Palaestina , Arabia , as well as the provinces of Ægyptus , Augustamnica , Thebais , Libya Superior and Libya Inferior which were grouped into the separate Diocese of Egypt under Valens . During the course of the 4th century, the several provinces were split, resulting in the new provinces of Cilicia I and Cilicia II, Syria I and Syria Salutaris , Phoenice Libanensis (east of the Mt. The last creation of a new province dated in the reign of Justinian I , when Theodorias , the region around Laodicea , was split off from Syria I. Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 354764762.

The opening as it stood in 2020 12 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear

The Diocese of the East ( ; ) 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 unruly desert tribes gave it exceptional military importance. Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 928595965.

The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023

Division of the late Roman Empire The Diocese of the East , also called the Diocese of Oriens , ( ; ) 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 unruly desert tribes gave it exceptional military importance. Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1164475469.

The opening as it stood in 2025

Division of the late Roman Empire 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. Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1276404151. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.