Posted on Sep 14, 2020
The Roman Empire: in the First Century. The Roman Empire. Emperors. Titus & Domitian | PBS
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0n September 14, 81, Domitian becames Emperor of the Roman Empire upon the death of his brother Titus. From the article:
"The two sons of Vespasian Titus and Domitian (ruled 79 – 81 AD, and 81 – 96 AD respectively) could not have been more different as emperors.
Although Titus had a reputation for ruthlessness, he would prove to be a fair ruler. His brother Domitian, however, returned Rome to tyranny and fear.
Like father, like son
Vespasian’s eldest son, Titus, was already a successful politician and general before his father became emperor. He had seen action in Britain and commanded a legion in Judaea under his father.
When Nero died, Titus had actively encouraged his father to claim the throne. When Vespasian left Judaea to march on Italy, he left Titus in charge of his campaign against the Jewish rebels.
Second-in-command
Here Titus proved his abilities. He successfully crushed the rebels and, in 70 AD, captured and destroyed the temple in Jerusalem. When he returned home to Rome, he was made commander of the Praetorian Guard. He led the military arm of Vespasian’s dictatorship and was effectively head of state.
This role, along with his reputation for ruthlessness, did nothing for his popularity. His relationship with his mistress Berenice, a Jewish princess, didn’t help. Romans remembered Marc Antony and Cleopatra and they were not prepared for another marriage to Eastern royalty.
A pleasant surprise
Given the bloodshed by which Vespasian had gained the throne and Titus’ own reputation, Romans had good reason to fear this succession. But there was no need. Power was handed over peacefully and Titus was a surprisingly good ruler.
Good-looking, cultivated and friendly, Titus was a calm and fair emperor. Much of his popularity was won through his generosity. This included financial aid after the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD and reconstruction work in Rome after a fire the following year.
He also completed work on the Colosseum and opened it with 100 days of games, wisely using this to calm the Roman mob during a time of economic hardship.
Death and Domitian
Against all expectations, Titus was a benevolent ruler. However, his reign was short-lived – just two years after he took the throne, he was dead. Rome now faced a very different dictator.
Domitian, Vespasian’s youngest son, was already known for wild excess. In 70 AD, his actions during military service in Germany had required a pardon from his father. It was even rumored that he had helped speed his brother Titus towards his death.
“Master and God”
As emperor, Domitian was hated by the Roman aristocracy, largely because of his cruelty and showiness. He insisted on being addressed as “master and god.” He held games every four years, as the Greeks did. He would attend these in Greek dress and a golden crown. His fellow judges had to wear crowns that featured images of the gods and Domitian himself.
A revolt in Germany in 89 AD was put down with extreme brutality; in Rome, this was used as an excuse to terrorize senators and other leading figures. Proving himself every bit as bad as Nero and Caligula, Domitian launched treason trials, and executed or banished even his mildest critics.
Domitian had wisely given the army a large pay rise in 84 AD and this certainly helped secure his position. But it was not enough. In 96 AD, he was murdered by a group that included senior Praetorian Guards, palace officials and even the emperor’s own wife. The army was furious, but Rome was happy enough. The latest in a long line of tyrants had also been deposed."
"The two sons of Vespasian Titus and Domitian (ruled 79 – 81 AD, and 81 – 96 AD respectively) could not have been more different as emperors.
Although Titus had a reputation for ruthlessness, he would prove to be a fair ruler. His brother Domitian, however, returned Rome to tyranny and fear.
Like father, like son
Vespasian’s eldest son, Titus, was already a successful politician and general before his father became emperor. He had seen action in Britain and commanded a legion in Judaea under his father.
When Nero died, Titus had actively encouraged his father to claim the throne. When Vespasian left Judaea to march on Italy, he left Titus in charge of his campaign against the Jewish rebels.
Second-in-command
Here Titus proved his abilities. He successfully crushed the rebels and, in 70 AD, captured and destroyed the temple in Jerusalem. When he returned home to Rome, he was made commander of the Praetorian Guard. He led the military arm of Vespasian’s dictatorship and was effectively head of state.
This role, along with his reputation for ruthlessness, did nothing for his popularity. His relationship with his mistress Berenice, a Jewish princess, didn’t help. Romans remembered Marc Antony and Cleopatra and they were not prepared for another marriage to Eastern royalty.
A pleasant surprise
Given the bloodshed by which Vespasian had gained the throne and Titus’ own reputation, Romans had good reason to fear this succession. But there was no need. Power was handed over peacefully and Titus was a surprisingly good ruler.
Good-looking, cultivated and friendly, Titus was a calm and fair emperor. Much of his popularity was won through his generosity. This included financial aid after the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD and reconstruction work in Rome after a fire the following year.
He also completed work on the Colosseum and opened it with 100 days of games, wisely using this to calm the Roman mob during a time of economic hardship.
Death and Domitian
Against all expectations, Titus was a benevolent ruler. However, his reign was short-lived – just two years after he took the throne, he was dead. Rome now faced a very different dictator.
Domitian, Vespasian’s youngest son, was already known for wild excess. In 70 AD, his actions during military service in Germany had required a pardon from his father. It was even rumored that he had helped speed his brother Titus towards his death.
“Master and God”
As emperor, Domitian was hated by the Roman aristocracy, largely because of his cruelty and showiness. He insisted on being addressed as “master and god.” He held games every four years, as the Greeks did. He would attend these in Greek dress and a golden crown. His fellow judges had to wear crowns that featured images of the gods and Domitian himself.
A revolt in Germany in 89 AD was put down with extreme brutality; in Rome, this was used as an excuse to terrorize senators and other leading figures. Proving himself every bit as bad as Nero and Caligula, Domitian launched treason trials, and executed or banished even his mildest critics.
Domitian had wisely given the army a large pay rise in 84 AD and this certainly helped secure his position. But it was not enough. In 96 AD, he was murdered by a group that included senior Praetorian Guards, palace officials and even the emperor’s own wife. The army was furious, but Rome was happy enough. The latest in a long line of tyrants had also been deposed."
The Roman Empire: in the First Century. The Roman Empire. Emperors. Titus & Domitian | PBS
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Life of Emperor Domitian #11 - The Last Flavian, Roman History Documentary Series
Emperor Domitian is remembered as a tyrant and his later years on the throne as a 'reign of terror'. And that his death brought about the restoration of libe...
Thank you my friend SGT (Join to see) for making us aware that on September 14, 81, Titus Flavius Domitianus, Domitian became Emperor of the Roman Empire upon the death of his brother Titus Flavius Vespasianus.
Life of Emperor Domitian #11 - The Last Flavian, Roman History Documentary Series
Emperor Domitian is remembered as a tyrant and his later years on the throne as a 'reign of terror'. And that his death brought about the restoration of liberty and the glorious rule of the 'five good emperors'.
What is often less talked about is that he was an able administrator, a reformer of the economy, and the empire prospered during his reign.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXn3IAbOrwA
Images:
1. 1st century AD marble bust of Roman Emperor Domitian, r. 81-96 CE. (Musée de Louvre, Paris).
2. The Colosseum of Rome
3. Domitian_RIC II 356b, Cohen 651, BMC 404, CBN 435; Obverse - IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM COS XIII CENS PER P P, Bust laureate right. Reverse: VIRTVTI AVGVSTI, S C across field, Virtus standing right, holding spear and parazonium, foot on globe.
4. Lazzaro Baldi’s painting of killers attacking the repressive Roman emperor Domitian.
Background from {[ https://www.ancient.eu/domitian/]}
Domitian
by Donald L. Wasson published on 25 April 2013
Domitian was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96 CE and his reign, although one of relative peace and stability, became engulfed in both fear and paranoia. His death at the hands of those who were closest to him brought an end to the short dynasty of the Flavians and it was those emperors who would follow, at least for the next one hundred years, who would see a rebirth of some of the grandeur and power of old Rome.
Early Life
Titus Flavius Domitianus, Domitian, was born October 24, 51 CE on Pomegranate Street in the sixth district of Rome, youngest son of the future emperor Vespasian (64 -79 CE); his mother, Flavia Domitillia Major, died in his youth. Unlike his much older brother, Titus, he did not share in the court education, although many considered him bright. According to historian Suetonius, his “rather degraded youth” was spent in poverty. In December of 69 CE while Vespasian was battling in the eastern provinces in an attempt to secure the throne away from Emperor Vitellius, Domitian was in Rome with his uncle Flavius Sabinus. When Vitellius’s forces besieged Rome and set fire to the temple where Domitian was hiding, he was able to escape with a friend across the Tiber to safety.
When Flavian forces entered the city, Domitian returned to Rome becoming, albeit temporarily, the representative of the Flavian family; he was even hailed by Roman citizens as “caesar”; however, most of the administrative decisions were left to others. Vespasian returned to the city in October of 70 CE and was immediately hailed as the new emperor. Afterwards, although given titles and honours, Domitian never sought any real responsibility and was given little by either his father or later his brother, a poor preparation for a future emperor.
HE WAS TREACHEROUS AS WELL AS SECRETIVE, FEELING NO AFFECTION FOR ANYONE (EXCEPT WOMEN).
A Popular Emperor
His ascension to the throne came on September 14, 81 CE when Titus died of natural causes while he and his brother were travelling outside Rome. Later, rumours circulated that Domitian may have had a hand in his brother’s death, possibly by poison. Gossip also ran rampant that the new emperor had at one point even plotted to overthrow his brother and take the throne for himself. Whether or not he had a hand in Titus’s death, Domitian did not wait for his brother to die. He quickly returned to Rome and the Praetorian camp to be proclaimed emperor. Mystery, however, surrounded the last minutes before Titus’s death. There is some disagreement on the meaning of Titus’s last words: “I have made but one mistake.” Suetonius wrote he “gazed up at the sky, and complained bitterly that life was being undeservedly taken from him, since a single sin lay on his conscience.” He added, “… this enigmatic remark has been taken as referring to incest with Domitian’s wife, Domitia, she herself solemnly denied the allegation.” Suetonius did not believe this was the case because if she had had an affair, she would have bragged about it. Some, those not overly fond of the new emperor, took a more negative view of these words - Titus meant he should have killed Domitian when he had the chance.
Early in his reign, Domitian proved to be an able administrator and did not ignore the welfare of the people. Before the Flavians came to power, much of Rome needed rebuilding, mostly due to fire, decay, and the failure of previous emperors to do anything about it. He restored the gutted ruins of many public buildings, including the Capitol which had burned in 80 CE, built a new temple to Jupiter the Guardian, a new stadium, and a concert hall for musicians and poets. For himself, because he didn’t like the old imperial palace, he built a new Flavian Palace on Palatine Hill for official functions, and to the south he constructed the Domus Augustana where he held numerous banquets and receptions. Despite his own lack of moral values, he attempted to raise the standards of public morality by forbidding male castration, admonishing senators who practiced homosexuality, and censuring the Vestal Virgins for, among other indiscretions, incest - one was even buried alive (her lover was also executed). By those around him, at least early in his reign, he was viewed as being generous, possessing self-restraint, considerate of all of his friends, and conscientious when dispensing justice.
Domitian also liked games, in particular, chariot races, even adding two new factions - Golden and Purple. In fact he loved public entertainments of any kind, especially those involving women and dwarves. There were also wild beast hunts and gladiatorial contests by torchlight and there were competitions to the death between infantry and cavalry. The basement of the Colosseum (built by his father) was flooded and used for a naval battle. He even founded a festival of music, horsemanship, and gymnastics that was to be held every five years. However, while both Domitian and the public enjoyed these entertainments, their cost would eventually take a heavy toll on his and the empire’s finances.
Although not a military man (unlike Vespasian and Titus), he considered himself one and constantly sent messages to the generals in the field with advice and recommendations. Having no personal experience himself and hoping to claim some credibility with the army, he embarked on a victorious campaign to Germany to engage the Chatti in 83 CE. Afterwards, he awarded himself the title of Germanicus for his “success.” In 85 CE the Dacians crossed the Danube onto the northern frontier, killing a Roman commander. Four years later, the Roman army won another decisive victory at Tapae; however, Domitian was forced reluctantly to conclude a truce with King Decebalus. In 92 CE, the Samatians crossed the Danube and attacked the Roman frontier, a war that would endure until after the emperor’s death. Despite the results of his military achievements, he earned the respect of the army when he became the first emperor since Augustus to give them a raise.
The Paranoid Emperor
In his The Twelve Caesars Suetonius claimed that Domitian was not evil to begin with; however, greed and fear of assassination made him cruel. Historian Cassius Dio in his Roman History said the emperor was both bold and quick to anger. He was treacherous as well as secretive, feeling no affection for anyone (except women). He was extremely vain and very self-conscience of his being bald. As his reign progressed and the pressures of ruling mounted, his paranoia seized him. In order to pay for his extravagances he tightened the Jewish tax enacted by his father and seized the fortunes of senators and wealthy Romans. His paranoia even extended to his wife, Domitia Logina. He accused her of adultery (some accounts claimed she deserved it) and planned to put her to death, a common practice for the time. Domitia had been married to a senator, Aelius Lamia, but he was convinced to divorce her so she could marry Domitian. Domitian temporarily left his wife to live with his niece Julia, Titus’s daughter by his second marriage, until he was convinced by others to return to his wife.
The emperor saw himself as an absolute ruler and took pride in being called master or god: “dominus et deus.” He even renamed two of the months after himself - Germanicus (September) and Domitianus (October). The Senate was almost stripped entirely of its power and his paranoia led to the execution of both senators and imperial officers for the most trivial of offences. Out of jealousy, he had Sullustius Lucullus, governor of Britannia, executed for naming a new type of lance after himself and he recalled Agricola, a victorious general in Britain because he became too popular.
In his book On Britain and Germany Tacitus recounted the tenuous relationship between Agricola and Domitian. The general’s victories in Britain put the emperor in a precarious position as he was torn between pride for a Roman victory (and keeping up appearances to the public) and jealousy because of his own failure as a commander. “Agricola…was received by Domitian with the smile on his face that so often masked a secret disquiet. He was bitterly aware of the ridicule that had greeted his sham triumph over Germany….”. Upon returning to Rome, the general was offered the governorship of Syria but refused. His death at the young age of fifty-four, again, put Domitian in a difficult position. “Domitian made a decent show of genuine sorrow; he was relieved of the need to hate, and he could always hide satisfaction more convincingly than fear.”
His paranoia led him to take extreme measures such as employing informers. As a means to obtain information on possible plots or rebels, he ordered interrogators to cut off the hands (or scorched the genitals) of prisoners. He lined the gallery where he took his daily walks with highly-polished moonstone so that it reflected everything behind him. He executed another niece’s husband Flavius Clemons on the charge of atheism because he was sympathetic to the plight of the Roman Jews. However, plots against the emperor did exist. In September of 87 CE several senators were implemented in a conspiracy and were executed and a mutiny by Lucius Antonius Saturninus, governor of Upper Germany, in 89 CE was stamped out.
Death
The final conspiracy against his life, however, was successful - a plot that even suggested the approval of Domitia herself (she remained fearful of her life.) According to Suetonius and others, a group of conspirators (they had heard their names were on a “list”) were debating on whether to assassinate the emperor in his bath or at dinner. Stephanus, a member of Domitian’s imperial staff (he had been accused of embezzlement and feared for his life) approached the conspirators, offering his services. For several days he faked an arm injury and wore a protective wrapping; however, the bandage concealed a dagger. Approaching Parthenius, Domitian’s valet, he said he had a list of possible conspirators and as Stemphanus approached the emperor, he pulled out the dagger and stabbed the unsuspecting Domitian in the groin. The two men struggled with Domitian reaching for the knife he kept under his pillow but Parthenus had removed the blade. Then other conspirators hurried into the room and hacked the emperor to death. He was only forty-four years old. His ashes were taken by his old nurse Phyllus and interred in the Temple of Flavian.
On hearing of his death the Senate was overjoyed. Suetonius wrote, “The Senators, on the other hand, were delighted and thronged to denounce Domitian in the House with bitter and insulting cries. Then, seeking for ladders, they had his images and the votive shields engraved with his likeness, brought smashing down….” Immediately, Marcus Cocceius Nerva was hailed as the new emperor - a temporary fix until someone better could be found. In the months that followed, the city celebrated the death of the old emperor by turning over his statues and ceremonial arches, however, the Praetorian Guard would not take the assassination lightly and eventually many of the conspirators would meet their own deaths."
FYI MSG Felipe De Leon Brown SGT Robert PryorGySgt Thomas VickMAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D.SGT Denny EspinosaSFC Bernard WalkoSGM Bill FrazerCSM (Join to see)SSG Jeffrey LeakeCSM Bruce TregoPFC (Join to see)SP5 Dennis LobergerSGT Michael HearnSPC Michael Duricko, Ph.DSPC Russ BoltonSPC Nancy GreeneSSG Franklin Briant COL Mikel J. Burroughs Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D.
Life of Emperor Domitian #11 - The Last Flavian, Roman History Documentary Series
Emperor Domitian is remembered as a tyrant and his later years on the throne as a 'reign of terror'. And that his death brought about the restoration of liberty and the glorious rule of the 'five good emperors'.
What is often less talked about is that he was an able administrator, a reformer of the economy, and the empire prospered during his reign.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXn3IAbOrwA
Images:
1. 1st century AD marble bust of Roman Emperor Domitian, r. 81-96 CE. (Musée de Louvre, Paris).
2. The Colosseum of Rome
3. Domitian_RIC II 356b, Cohen 651, BMC 404, CBN 435; Obverse - IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM COS XIII CENS PER P P, Bust laureate right. Reverse: VIRTVTI AVGVSTI, S C across field, Virtus standing right, holding spear and parazonium, foot on globe.
4. Lazzaro Baldi’s painting of killers attacking the repressive Roman emperor Domitian.
Background from {[ https://www.ancient.eu/domitian/]}
Domitian
by Donald L. Wasson published on 25 April 2013
Domitian was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96 CE and his reign, although one of relative peace and stability, became engulfed in both fear and paranoia. His death at the hands of those who were closest to him brought an end to the short dynasty of the Flavians and it was those emperors who would follow, at least for the next one hundred years, who would see a rebirth of some of the grandeur and power of old Rome.
Early Life
Titus Flavius Domitianus, Domitian, was born October 24, 51 CE on Pomegranate Street in the sixth district of Rome, youngest son of the future emperor Vespasian (64 -79 CE); his mother, Flavia Domitillia Major, died in his youth. Unlike his much older brother, Titus, he did not share in the court education, although many considered him bright. According to historian Suetonius, his “rather degraded youth” was spent in poverty. In December of 69 CE while Vespasian was battling in the eastern provinces in an attempt to secure the throne away from Emperor Vitellius, Domitian was in Rome with his uncle Flavius Sabinus. When Vitellius’s forces besieged Rome and set fire to the temple where Domitian was hiding, he was able to escape with a friend across the Tiber to safety.
When Flavian forces entered the city, Domitian returned to Rome becoming, albeit temporarily, the representative of the Flavian family; he was even hailed by Roman citizens as “caesar”; however, most of the administrative decisions were left to others. Vespasian returned to the city in October of 70 CE and was immediately hailed as the new emperor. Afterwards, although given titles and honours, Domitian never sought any real responsibility and was given little by either his father or later his brother, a poor preparation for a future emperor.
HE WAS TREACHEROUS AS WELL AS SECRETIVE, FEELING NO AFFECTION FOR ANYONE (EXCEPT WOMEN).
A Popular Emperor
His ascension to the throne came on September 14, 81 CE when Titus died of natural causes while he and his brother were travelling outside Rome. Later, rumours circulated that Domitian may have had a hand in his brother’s death, possibly by poison. Gossip also ran rampant that the new emperor had at one point even plotted to overthrow his brother and take the throne for himself. Whether or not he had a hand in Titus’s death, Domitian did not wait for his brother to die. He quickly returned to Rome and the Praetorian camp to be proclaimed emperor. Mystery, however, surrounded the last minutes before Titus’s death. There is some disagreement on the meaning of Titus’s last words: “I have made but one mistake.” Suetonius wrote he “gazed up at the sky, and complained bitterly that life was being undeservedly taken from him, since a single sin lay on his conscience.” He added, “… this enigmatic remark has been taken as referring to incest with Domitian’s wife, Domitia, she herself solemnly denied the allegation.” Suetonius did not believe this was the case because if she had had an affair, she would have bragged about it. Some, those not overly fond of the new emperor, took a more negative view of these words - Titus meant he should have killed Domitian when he had the chance.
Early in his reign, Domitian proved to be an able administrator and did not ignore the welfare of the people. Before the Flavians came to power, much of Rome needed rebuilding, mostly due to fire, decay, and the failure of previous emperors to do anything about it. He restored the gutted ruins of many public buildings, including the Capitol which had burned in 80 CE, built a new temple to Jupiter the Guardian, a new stadium, and a concert hall for musicians and poets. For himself, because he didn’t like the old imperial palace, he built a new Flavian Palace on Palatine Hill for official functions, and to the south he constructed the Domus Augustana where he held numerous banquets and receptions. Despite his own lack of moral values, he attempted to raise the standards of public morality by forbidding male castration, admonishing senators who practiced homosexuality, and censuring the Vestal Virgins for, among other indiscretions, incest - one was even buried alive (her lover was also executed). By those around him, at least early in his reign, he was viewed as being generous, possessing self-restraint, considerate of all of his friends, and conscientious when dispensing justice.
Domitian also liked games, in particular, chariot races, even adding two new factions - Golden and Purple. In fact he loved public entertainments of any kind, especially those involving women and dwarves. There were also wild beast hunts and gladiatorial contests by torchlight and there were competitions to the death between infantry and cavalry. The basement of the Colosseum (built by his father) was flooded and used for a naval battle. He even founded a festival of music, horsemanship, and gymnastics that was to be held every five years. However, while both Domitian and the public enjoyed these entertainments, their cost would eventually take a heavy toll on his and the empire’s finances.
Although not a military man (unlike Vespasian and Titus), he considered himself one and constantly sent messages to the generals in the field with advice and recommendations. Having no personal experience himself and hoping to claim some credibility with the army, he embarked on a victorious campaign to Germany to engage the Chatti in 83 CE. Afterwards, he awarded himself the title of Germanicus for his “success.” In 85 CE the Dacians crossed the Danube onto the northern frontier, killing a Roman commander. Four years later, the Roman army won another decisive victory at Tapae; however, Domitian was forced reluctantly to conclude a truce with King Decebalus. In 92 CE, the Samatians crossed the Danube and attacked the Roman frontier, a war that would endure until after the emperor’s death. Despite the results of his military achievements, he earned the respect of the army when he became the first emperor since Augustus to give them a raise.
The Paranoid Emperor
In his The Twelve Caesars Suetonius claimed that Domitian was not evil to begin with; however, greed and fear of assassination made him cruel. Historian Cassius Dio in his Roman History said the emperor was both bold and quick to anger. He was treacherous as well as secretive, feeling no affection for anyone (except women). He was extremely vain and very self-conscience of his being bald. As his reign progressed and the pressures of ruling mounted, his paranoia seized him. In order to pay for his extravagances he tightened the Jewish tax enacted by his father and seized the fortunes of senators and wealthy Romans. His paranoia even extended to his wife, Domitia Logina. He accused her of adultery (some accounts claimed she deserved it) and planned to put her to death, a common practice for the time. Domitia had been married to a senator, Aelius Lamia, but he was convinced to divorce her so she could marry Domitian. Domitian temporarily left his wife to live with his niece Julia, Titus’s daughter by his second marriage, until he was convinced by others to return to his wife.
The emperor saw himself as an absolute ruler and took pride in being called master or god: “dominus et deus.” He even renamed two of the months after himself - Germanicus (September) and Domitianus (October). The Senate was almost stripped entirely of its power and his paranoia led to the execution of both senators and imperial officers for the most trivial of offences. Out of jealousy, he had Sullustius Lucullus, governor of Britannia, executed for naming a new type of lance after himself and he recalled Agricola, a victorious general in Britain because he became too popular.
In his book On Britain and Germany Tacitus recounted the tenuous relationship between Agricola and Domitian. The general’s victories in Britain put the emperor in a precarious position as he was torn between pride for a Roman victory (and keeping up appearances to the public) and jealousy because of his own failure as a commander. “Agricola…was received by Domitian with the smile on his face that so often masked a secret disquiet. He was bitterly aware of the ridicule that had greeted his sham triumph over Germany….”. Upon returning to Rome, the general was offered the governorship of Syria but refused. His death at the young age of fifty-four, again, put Domitian in a difficult position. “Domitian made a decent show of genuine sorrow; he was relieved of the need to hate, and he could always hide satisfaction more convincingly than fear.”
His paranoia led him to take extreme measures such as employing informers. As a means to obtain information on possible plots or rebels, he ordered interrogators to cut off the hands (or scorched the genitals) of prisoners. He lined the gallery where he took his daily walks with highly-polished moonstone so that it reflected everything behind him. He executed another niece’s husband Flavius Clemons on the charge of atheism because he was sympathetic to the plight of the Roman Jews. However, plots against the emperor did exist. In September of 87 CE several senators were implemented in a conspiracy and were executed and a mutiny by Lucius Antonius Saturninus, governor of Upper Germany, in 89 CE was stamped out.
Death
The final conspiracy against his life, however, was successful - a plot that even suggested the approval of Domitia herself (she remained fearful of her life.) According to Suetonius and others, a group of conspirators (they had heard their names were on a “list”) were debating on whether to assassinate the emperor in his bath or at dinner. Stephanus, a member of Domitian’s imperial staff (he had been accused of embezzlement and feared for his life) approached the conspirators, offering his services. For several days he faked an arm injury and wore a protective wrapping; however, the bandage concealed a dagger. Approaching Parthenius, Domitian’s valet, he said he had a list of possible conspirators and as Stemphanus approached the emperor, he pulled out the dagger and stabbed the unsuspecting Domitian in the groin. The two men struggled with Domitian reaching for the knife he kept under his pillow but Parthenus had removed the blade. Then other conspirators hurried into the room and hacked the emperor to death. He was only forty-four years old. His ashes were taken by his old nurse Phyllus and interred in the Temple of Flavian.
On hearing of his death the Senate was overjoyed. Suetonius wrote, “The Senators, on the other hand, were delighted and thronged to denounce Domitian in the House with bitter and insulting cries. Then, seeking for ladders, they had his images and the votive shields engraved with his likeness, brought smashing down….” Immediately, Marcus Cocceius Nerva was hailed as the new emperor - a temporary fix until someone better could be found. In the months that followed, the city celebrated the death of the old emperor by turning over his statues and ceremonial arches, however, the Praetorian Guard would not take the assassination lightly and eventually many of the conspirators would meet their own deaths."
FYI MSG Felipe De Leon Brown SGT Robert PryorGySgt Thomas VickMAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D.SGT Denny EspinosaSFC Bernard WalkoSGM Bill FrazerCSM (Join to see)SSG Jeffrey LeakeCSM Bruce TregoPFC (Join to see)SP5 Dennis LobergerSGT Michael HearnSPC Michael Duricko, Ph.DSPC Russ BoltonSPC Nancy GreeneSSG Franklin Briant COL Mikel J. Burroughs Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D.
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LTC Stephen F.
There have been many tyrants throughout history. Among them, Roman Emperor Domitian, whose reign ended when he was assassinated in 96 A.D. In this edition of...
Expedition - Domitian's Rule
There have been many tyrants throughout history. Among them, Roman Emperor Domitian, whose reign ended when he was assassinated in 96 A.D. In this edition of Expedition, Dr. Brian Rose tells us about Domitian's time as ruler and how, after his death, the Roman Empire attempted to erase him from history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGBljR26uY4
Images:
1. Bust of Roman Emperor Domitian (reign 81 – 96 CE). This portrait type was created on the occasion of Domitian's accession to power. (Altes Museum Berlin)
2. Domitian - Aureus - Laureate bust right, aegis on chest Germania reclining right on shield in mourning posture with broken spear below. Issued for the conquest of today's Black Forest.
3. Flavian Family Tree
4. Portrait bust of Domitia Longina– (c56 – c140 AD); The wife of Emperor Domitian
Biographies:
1. thoughtco.com/worst-roman-emperors-118228
2. roman-emperors.org/domitian.htm
1. Background from {[https://www.thoughtco.com/worst-roman-emperors-118228]}
Domitian (Caesar Domitianus Augustus) (51–96 CE)
Domitian served as Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The younger brother of Titus and the son of Vespasian, Domitian stood as the last member of the Flavian dynasty in line for the throne and inherited it after his brother suffered a fatal illness while traveling. Some believe that Domitian may have had a hand in his brother's death.
While his reign was mostly peaceful and stable at first, Domitian was also known for being fearful and paranoid. Conspiracy theories consumed him, and some of them were true.
One of his major mistakes, however, was severely curtailing the Senate and expelling those members he deemed unworthy. He even executed officials who opposed his policies and confiscated their property. Senatorial historians including Pliny the Younger described him as cruel and paranoid.
His cruelty could be seen through his development of new methods of torture and his harassment of both philosophers and Jews. He even had vestal virgins executed or buried alive on charges of immorality and impregnated his own niece. In a strange twist, Domitian insisted his niece have an abortion, and then, when she died as a result, he deified her.
Domitian was eventually assassinated in 96 CE, a conspiracy that was carried out by some of the people closest to him, including family and servants who were fearful for their lives. He was initially stabbed in the groin by a member of his imperial staff, but other conspirators joined in and repeatedly stabbed him to death."
2. Background from {[https://www.roman-emperors.org/domitian.htm]}
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors
Titus Flavius Domitianus (A.D. 81-96)
John Donahue; College of William and Mary
Early Career
Domitian was born in Rome on 24 October A.D. 51, the youngest son of Vespasian, Roman emperor (A.D. 69-79) and Domitilla I, a treasury clerk's daughter.[[1]] Despite a literary tradition that associated Domitian with Flavian poverty, the family's status remained high throughout his early years: Vespasian was appointed to the prestigious proconsulship of North Africa in A.D. 59, and seven years later was granted a special command in the East by the emperor Nero (A.D. 54-69) to settle a revolt in Judaea; Titus, Domitian's older brother by at least ten years and Vespasian's eventual successor as emperor, had married well in the 60's and was chosen as a legionary legate under Vespasian in the East.[[2]]
Unlike Titus, Domitian was not educated at the emperor's court, yet he received sound training in Rome in the same way as any member of the senatorial elite of his day. The imperial biographer Suetonius records that Domitian gave public recitals of his works, conversed elegantly, and produced memorable comments; as emperor, he would write and publish a book on baldness.[[3]] Domitian's adolescence was also marked by isolation. His mother had long been dead, he was considerably younger than his brother, and his father was away for much of his teenage years, first in Africa and then in Judaea.[[4]] An obvious outcome of all of this was his preference for solitude, a trait that would contribute significantly to his difficulties with various constituents as emperor.[[5]]
Little is known about Domitian in the turbulent 18 months of the three emperors, but in the aftermath of the downfall of Vitellius in A.D. 69 he presented himself to the invading Flavian forces, was hailed as Caesar, and moved into the imperial residence.[[6]] Guided by Gaius Licinius Mucianus, Vespasian's chief advisor, Domitian represented the family in the senate and suggested that other issues be postponed until Vespasian's arrival from the East. Eager for military glory himself, Domitian soon led reinforcements to Germany, where the Batavian auxiliaries of the Rhine legions had revolted. The uprising failed before he could arrive, however, and the literary accounts of his achievements are not to be trusted.[[7]] It was also during this period, perhaps in late A.D. 70, that he married Domitia Longina, daughter of the highly regarded general, Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, whom Nero had forced to commit suicide in A.D. 66. For all appearances, it was an excellent choice. The name of Corbulo was synonymous with military achievement, and the general had left behind a substantial clientela. Even so, the marriage was troubled. An only child died young, and Domitia was probably exiled by her husband c. A.D 83. Later, she would be recalled to the palace, where she lived with Domitian until his death.[[8]]
Domitian's role in the 70's was determined largely by Vespasian's choice of Titus as his successor. To him fell a series of ordinary consulships, the tribunician power, the censorship, and the praetorian prefecture. Domitian, on the other hand, was named six times to the less prestigious suffect consulship, retained the title of Caesar, and held various priesthoods. He was given responsibility, but no real power. Nothing changed when Titus acceded to the throne, as Domitian received neither tribunician power nor imperium of any kind. The brothers were never to become close, and as Titus lay dying in September 81, Domitian hastened to the praetorian camp, where he was hailed as emperor. On news of Titus' death, the senate chose first to honor the dead emperor before elevating his brother, an early indication perhaps of Domitian's future troubles with the aristocracy. At any rate, after waiting an extra day, Domitian received imperium, the title Augustus, and tribunician power along with the office of pontifex maximus and the title pater patriae, father of his country.[[9]]
Administration
As emperor, Domitian was to become one of Rome's foremost micromanagers, especially concerning the economy. Shortly after taking office, he raised the silver content of the denarius by about 12% (to the earlier level of Augustus), only to devaluate it in A.D. 85, when the imperial income must have proved insufficient to meet military and public expenses.[[10]] Confiscations and the rigorous collection of taxes soon became necessary. On another front, he sought to promote grain production by calling for empire-wide limitations on viticulture, but the edict met with immediate opposition and was never implemented.[[11]] On the other hand, there were notable successes. The great fire of A.D. 64, the civil wars of A.D 68-69, and another devastating fire in A.D. 80 had left Rome badly in need of repair. Domitian responded by erecting, restoring, or completing some 50 structures, including the restored Temple of Jupiter on the Capitol and a magnificent palace on the Palatine. The building program, ambitious and spectacular, was matched by hardly any other emperor.[[12]] He was also able to maintain the debased currency standard of A.D. 85, which was still higher than the Vespasianic one, until the end of his reign. The economy, therefore, offered a ready outlet for Domitian's autocratic tendencies. There were failures, but he also left the treasury with a surplus, perhaps the best proof of a financially sound administration.
Domitian's reach extended well beyond the economy. Late in A.D. 85 he made himself censor perpetuus, censor for life, with a general supervision of conduct and morals. The move was without precedent and, although largely symbolic, it nevertheless revealed Domitian's obsessive interest in all aspects of Roman life. An ardent supporter of traditional Roman religion, he also closely identified himself with Minerva and Jupiter, publicly linking the latter divinity to his regime through the Ludi Capitolini, the Capitoline Games, begun in A.D.86. Held every four years in the early summer, the Games consisted of chariot races, athletics and gymnastics, and music, oratory and poetry. Contestants came from many nations, and no expense was spared; the emperor himself awarded the prizes.[[13]] In the same manner, Domitian offered frequent and elaborate public shows, always with an emphasis on the innovative: gladiator contests held at night; female combatants and dwarves; food showered down upon the public from ropes stretched across the top of the Amphitheater.[[14]] Thus did the emperor seek to underscore not only Rome's importance but also his own and that of the Flavian regime.
Beyond Rome, Domitian taxed provincials rigorously and was not afraid to impose his will on officials of every rank. Consistent with his concern for the details of administration, he also made essential changes in the organization of several provinces and established the office of curator to investigate financial mismanagement in the cities. Other evidence points to a concern with civic improvements of all kinds, from road building in Asia Minor, Sardinia and near the Danube to building and defensive improvements in North Africa.[[15]] Less easy to gauge is Domitian's attitude toward Christians and Jews, since reliable evidence for their persecution is difficult to find. Christians may have been among those banished or executed from time to time during the 90's, but the testimony falls short of confirming any organized program of persecution under Domitian's reign. On the other hand, there is clear evidence that Jews were made to feel uneasy under Domitian, who scrupulously collected the Jewish tax and harassed Jewish tax dodgers during much of his rule. As with Christians, such policies did not amount to persecution, but it does help to explain the Jewish fears of expulsion present in the sources.[[16]] On balance, the tradition of Domitian as persecutor has been greatly overstated, yet given his autocratic tendencies and devotion to Roman pagan religion, it is easy to see how such stories could have evolved and multiplied.
Military Affairs
While the military abilities of Vespasian and Titus were genuine, those of Domitian were not. Partly as an attempt to remedy this deficiency, Domitian frequently became involved in his own military exploits outside of Rome. He claimed a triumph in A.D. 83 for subduing the Chatti in Gaul, but the conquest was illusory. Final victory did not really come until A.D. 89. In Britain, similar propaganda masked the withdrawal of Roman forces from the northern borders to positions farther south, a clear sign of Domitian's rejection of expansionist warfare in the province.[[17]] The greatest threat, however, remained on the Danube. The emperor visited Moesia in A.D. 85 after Oppius Sabinus, the Moesian governor, had been killed by invading Dacians. In the First Dacian War, initial success against the aggressors by Domitian's praetorian prefect, Cornelius Fuscus, allowed the emperor to celebrate his second triumph at Rome in A.D. 86. Fuscus was subsequently killed trying to avenge Sabinus' death, however, and Domitian soon returned to the Danube, where Roman forces, under the newly appointed governor of Upper Moesia, Tettius Julianus, defeated the Dacians at Tapae in the Second Dacian War, most likely in A.D. 88. Matters remained far from settled. In January, A.D. 89, the governor of Upper Germany, L. Antonius Saturninus, mutinied at Mainz. The revolt was promptly suppressed and the rebel leaders brutally punished. Later that same year, Domitian attacked the Suebian Marcomanni and Quadi in the First Pannonian War, while offering the Dacian king Decebalus a settlement to avoid conflicts on two fronts. Compelled to return to the Danube three years later, Domitian fought the combined forces of the Suebi and the Sarmatians in the Second Pannonian War. Few other details are available beyond the fact that a Roman legion was destroyed in a campaign that lasted about eight months. By January, A.D. 93, Domitian was back in Rome, not to accept a full triumph but the lesser ovatio, a sign perhaps of unfinished business along the Danube. In fact, during the final years of Domitian's reign, the buildup of forces on the middle Danube and the appointment and transfer of key senior officials suggest that a third Pannonian campaign directed against the Suebi and Sarmatians may have been underway. Even so, there is no testimony of actual conflicts and the evidence does not extend beyond A.D. 97.[[18]]
The Emperor's Court and His Relationship with the Aristocracy
Domitian's autocratic tendencies meant that the real seat of power during his reign resided with his court. The features typically associated with later courts - a small band of favored courtiers, a keen interest in the bizarre and the unusual (e.g., wrestlers, jesters, and dwarves), and a highly mannered, if somewhat artificial atmosphere, characterized Domitian's palace too, whether at Rome or at his Alban villa, some 20 kilometers outside of the capital.[[19]] Courtiers included family members and freedmen, as well as friends (amici), a group of politicians, generals, and praetorian prefects who offered input on important matters.[[20]] Reliance upon amici was not new, yet the arrangement underscored Domitian's mistrust of the aristocracy, most notably the senate, whose role suffered as Domitian deliberately concentrated power in the hands of few senators while expanding the duties of the equestrian class. Senatorial grievances were not without basis: at least 11 senators of consular rank were executed and many others exiled, ample attestation of the emperor's contempt for the body and its membership.[[21]] The senate's enthusiastic support for the damning of Domitian's memory, therefore, came as no surprise. Nevertheless, the situation must be placed in its proper context. By comparison, the emperor Claudius(A.D. 41-54) executed 35 senators and upwards of 300 equestrians, yet he was still deified by the senate![[22]] Domitian's mistake was that he made no attempt to mask his feelings about the senate. Inclined neither by nature nor by conviction to include the body in his emperorship, he treated the group no differently than any other. Revenge would come in the form of an aristocratically based literary tradition that would miss no opportunity to vilify thoroughly both emperor and his rule.
Death and Assessment
On 18 September, A.D. 96, Domitian was assassinated and was succeeded on the very same day by M. Cocceius Nerva, a senator and one of his amici. The sources are unanimous in stressing that this was a palace plot, yet it is difficult to determine the level of culpability among the various potential conspirators.[[23]]
In many ways, Domitian is still a mystery - a lazy and licentious ruler by some accounts, an ambitious administrator and keeper of traditional Roman religion by others.[[24]] As many of his economic, provincial, and military policies reveal, he was efficient and practical in much that he undertook, yet he also did nothing to hide the harsher despotic realities of his rule. This fact, combined with his solitary personality and frequent absences from Rome, guaranteed a harsh portrayal of his rule. The ultimate truths of his reign remain difficult to know.
Bibliography
The bibliography on Domitian is too vast for thorough treatment here. The works listed below are either main accounts of the emperor or pertain directly to issues raised in the entry above. For a comprehensive listing of sources, see Jones, The Emperor Domitian, 238-255.
Anderson, J.C."Domitian's Building Program. Forum Julium and Markets of Trajan." ArchN 10 (1981):41-48.
Atti congresso internazionale di studi Flaviani, 2 vols. Rieti, 1983.
Breeze, D. J. The Northern Frontiers of Roman Britain. London, 1982.
Carradice, I.A. "Coinage and Finances in the Reign of Domitian, AD 81-96", BAR International Series, 178, Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, 1983.
Coleman, K. M. "The Emperor Domitian and Literature." ANRW II.32.5: 3087-3115.
Friedländer, L. Roman Life and Manners under the Early Empire (trans. of Darstellungen aus der Sittengeschichte Roms in der Zeit von August bis zum Ausgang der Antonine, 7th ed. by L. A. Magnus), London, 1968.
Garnsey, P. and Saller, R. The Early Principate: Augustus to Trajan,[Greece and Rome New Surveys in the Classics No. 15], Oxford, 1982.
Girard, J-L. "Domitien et Minerve: une prédilection impériale." ANRW II.17.1: 233-245.
Griffith, J. G. "Juvenal, Statius and the Flavian Establishment." Greece and Rome 16 (1969): 134-150.
Heintz, Florent. "A Domitianic Fleet Diploma." ZPE 120 (1998): 250-252.
Jones, B. W. The Emperor Domitian. London, 1992.
Levi, M.A. "I Flavi." ANRW II.2: 177-207.
Levick, B. M. "Domitian and the Provinces." Latomus 41 (1982): 50-7.
Liebeschuetz, J. H. W. G. Continuity and Change in Roman Religion. Oxford, 1979.
McGinn, Thomas A. J. "Feminae Probosae and the Litter" CJ 93 (1998): 241-250.
McCrum, M. and Woodhead, A. G. Select Documents of the Principates of the Flavian Emperors, Including the Years of Revolution, AD 68-96. Cambridge, 1966.
Millar, F. The Emperor in the Roman Word. Ithaca, 1992.
Platner, M. and Ashby, T. A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. Oxford, 1929.
Southern, Pat. Domitian: Tragic Tyrant. Indiana University Press, 1997.
Syme, R. Tacitus. Oxford, 1958.
________. "Domitian, the Last Years." Chiron 13 (1983): 121-146.
________. The Augustan Aristocracy. Oxford, 1986.
Talbert, R. J. A. The Senate of Imperial Rome. Princeton, 1984.
Vinson, M. "Domitia Longina, Julia Titi, and the Literary Tradition." Historia 38 (1989): 431-450.
Wallace-Hadrill, A. Suetonius: The Scholar and His Caesars. London, 1983.
Waters, K. H. "The Character of Domitian." Phoenix 18 (1964): 49-77.
Notes
[[1]] Ancient sources: Tac. Agr.; Cass. Dio 67; Plin. Pan.; Statius, Silv.; McCrum, M. and Woodhead, A.G. Select Documents of the Principates of the Flavian Emperors (Cambridge, 1966).
[[2]] Compare, however, Suetonius' claim at Dom.1: "He is said to have spent a poverty-stricken and rather degraded youth: without even any silver on the table." The passage is typical of the hostility directed toward Domitian in the literary sources.
[[3]] Suet. Dom. 18, 20; in praise of his literary talents, see also: Plin. NH Praef 5; Statius, Achil. 1.15; Silius Italicus, Pun.3.621. But there were just as many hostile accounts of his literary prowess: Tac. Hist. 4.86; Suet. Dom. 2.2. Since none of this evidence survives, there is no way to judge the validity of these conflicting assessments. That the controversy even exists, however, helps to confirm that Domitian was well educated.
[[4]] Domitian was likely left in the care of his uncle, Sabinus II. See Tac. Hist. 3.75. Whether he resided in Rome with his uncle during this period is less clear.
[[5]] Domitian's preference for solitude finds particularly cruel expression in Suetonius, who portrays him as spending hours alone every day catching flies and stabbing them with a needle-sharp pen while emperor. See Dom.3. Dio (66.9.5) also cites Domitian's predilection for his own company.
[[6]] Tac. Hist. 4.86; 4.2.
[[7]] Poetic embellishment of Domitian's military achievements: Statius, Theb. 1.21; Martial, 9.101.13; 9.10.15-16; Jos. BJ 7.85; Silius Italicus, Pun.3.608.
[[8]] Long after Domitian's memory had been damned, Domitia still referred to herself as the emperor's wife, perhaps an indication that she maintained at least some degree of affection for her husband. The evidence is preserved on brick stamps datable to A.D. 123; CIL 15.548a-9d.
[[9]] On honoring of Titus: Suet. Tit. 11.
[[10]] On the raising of the currency standard: Walker, D.R. , "The Metrology of the Roman Silver Coinage. Part I; From Augustus to Domitian," BAR Supplementary Series 5, Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, 120, 115; Carradice, I.A. "Coinage and Finances in the Reign of Domitian, AD 81-96," BAR International Series 178, Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, 9-56.
[[11]] Suet. Dom. 7.2; 14.2.
[[12]] For an excellent discussion of Domitian's building program, see Jones, B. W. The Emperor Domitian London, 1992, 79-98.
[[13]] Capitoline Games: Censorinus, De Die Natali 18.5. In A.D. 93, Domitian also established the Ludi Saeculares (Secular Games), a celebration under the supervision of the quindecimviri sacris faciundis, an aristocratic priestly college. See Suet. Dom. 4.3; Stat. Silv. 1.4.17; 4.1.37; Martial, 4.1.7; 10.63.3.
[[14]] Night time shows and unusual combatants: Dio 67.8.4; Amphitheater celebration: Stat. Silv. 1.6.75-78.
[[15]] On improvements in the different provinces: Garzetti, A. From Tiberius to the Antonines: A History of the Roman Empire, 14-192 (London, 1974),278, 652; Leglay, M. "Les Flaviens et l'Afrique," MEFR 80 (1968):221-22, 230-232.
[[16]] For a careful and balanced treatment of difficult evidence: Jones, The Emperor Domitian, 114-119.
[[17]] That the Chatti were not subdued in A.D. 83 is revealed by their role in Saturninus' revolt (Suet. Dom. 6.2) and by their interference with the Cherusci (Dio 67.5.1). On the Roman withdrawal to the south in Britain, see Hobley, A.S. "The Numismatic Evidence for the Post-Agricolan Abandonment of the Roman Frontier in Northern Scotland," Britannia 20 (1989): 69-74. Numismatic evidence (ibid., 73) indicates that the arch at Richborough was erected at this same time. It is difficult to resist the conclusion that the monument served to mask the Roman retreat.
[[18]] The presence of five Roman legions in Pannonia, for example, is unusual and points to genuine Roman concern with the region. See Dusanic, S. and Vasic, M. R. "An Upper Moesian Diploma of AD 96," Chiron 7 (1977): 291-304; Jones, The Emperor Domitian, 153-155.
[[19]] Domitian did not hesitate to conduct a variety of imperial duties outside of the domus Flavia in Rome. For some of his activities at Alba: Plin. Ep. 4.11.6; Suet. Dom 4.4; Dio 67.1.2; Juv. 4.99. Tacitus (Agr. 45) and Juvenal (4.145) refer to it as the arx Albana, "the Alban fortress," implying the residence of a despot.
[[20]] On the emperor's amici, Jones, The Emperor Domitian, 50-71.
[[21]] On the execution of ex-consuls: Suet. Dom.10 and Jones, The Emperor Domitian, 182-188; exiles: ibid., 188-192.
[[22]] Claudius and executions: Suet. Claud. 29.2; Apocol. 13.
[[23]] For a collection of the ancient sources stressing a palace plot: Gephardt, R. F. C. "C. Suetonii Tranquilli Vita Domitiani: Suetonius' Life of Domitian with Notes and Parallel Passages," dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1922, 89. For the most complete account: Suet. Dom. 14.
[[24]] Domitian as lazy and lustful: Suet. Dom. 19; 22.
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There have been many tyrants throughout history. Among them, Roman Emperor Domitian, whose reign ended when he was assassinated in 96 A.D. In this edition of Expedition, Dr. Brian Rose tells us about Domitian's time as ruler and how, after his death, the Roman Empire attempted to erase him from history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGBljR26uY4
Images:
1. Bust of Roman Emperor Domitian (reign 81 – 96 CE). This portrait type was created on the occasion of Domitian's accession to power. (Altes Museum Berlin)
2. Domitian - Aureus - Laureate bust right, aegis on chest Germania reclining right on shield in mourning posture with broken spear below. Issued for the conquest of today's Black Forest.
3. Flavian Family Tree
4. Portrait bust of Domitia Longina– (c56 – c140 AD); The wife of Emperor Domitian
Biographies:
1. thoughtco.com/worst-roman-emperors-118228
2. roman-emperors.org/domitian.htm
1. Background from {[https://www.thoughtco.com/worst-roman-emperors-118228]}
Domitian (Caesar Domitianus Augustus) (51–96 CE)
Domitian served as Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The younger brother of Titus and the son of Vespasian, Domitian stood as the last member of the Flavian dynasty in line for the throne and inherited it after his brother suffered a fatal illness while traveling. Some believe that Domitian may have had a hand in his brother's death.
While his reign was mostly peaceful and stable at first, Domitian was also known for being fearful and paranoid. Conspiracy theories consumed him, and some of them were true.
One of his major mistakes, however, was severely curtailing the Senate and expelling those members he deemed unworthy. He even executed officials who opposed his policies and confiscated their property. Senatorial historians including Pliny the Younger described him as cruel and paranoid.
His cruelty could be seen through his development of new methods of torture and his harassment of both philosophers and Jews. He even had vestal virgins executed or buried alive on charges of immorality and impregnated his own niece. In a strange twist, Domitian insisted his niece have an abortion, and then, when she died as a result, he deified her.
Domitian was eventually assassinated in 96 CE, a conspiracy that was carried out by some of the people closest to him, including family and servants who were fearful for their lives. He was initially stabbed in the groin by a member of his imperial staff, but other conspirators joined in and repeatedly stabbed him to death."
2. Background from {[https://www.roman-emperors.org/domitian.htm]}
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors
Titus Flavius Domitianus (A.D. 81-96)
John Donahue; College of William and Mary
Early Career
Domitian was born in Rome on 24 October A.D. 51, the youngest son of Vespasian, Roman emperor (A.D. 69-79) and Domitilla I, a treasury clerk's daughter.[[1]] Despite a literary tradition that associated Domitian with Flavian poverty, the family's status remained high throughout his early years: Vespasian was appointed to the prestigious proconsulship of North Africa in A.D. 59, and seven years later was granted a special command in the East by the emperor Nero (A.D. 54-69) to settle a revolt in Judaea; Titus, Domitian's older brother by at least ten years and Vespasian's eventual successor as emperor, had married well in the 60's and was chosen as a legionary legate under Vespasian in the East.[[2]]
Unlike Titus, Domitian was not educated at the emperor's court, yet he received sound training in Rome in the same way as any member of the senatorial elite of his day. The imperial biographer Suetonius records that Domitian gave public recitals of his works, conversed elegantly, and produced memorable comments; as emperor, he would write and publish a book on baldness.[[3]] Domitian's adolescence was also marked by isolation. His mother had long been dead, he was considerably younger than his brother, and his father was away for much of his teenage years, first in Africa and then in Judaea.[[4]] An obvious outcome of all of this was his preference for solitude, a trait that would contribute significantly to his difficulties with various constituents as emperor.[[5]]
Little is known about Domitian in the turbulent 18 months of the three emperors, but in the aftermath of the downfall of Vitellius in A.D. 69 he presented himself to the invading Flavian forces, was hailed as Caesar, and moved into the imperial residence.[[6]] Guided by Gaius Licinius Mucianus, Vespasian's chief advisor, Domitian represented the family in the senate and suggested that other issues be postponed until Vespasian's arrival from the East. Eager for military glory himself, Domitian soon led reinforcements to Germany, where the Batavian auxiliaries of the Rhine legions had revolted. The uprising failed before he could arrive, however, and the literary accounts of his achievements are not to be trusted.[[7]] It was also during this period, perhaps in late A.D. 70, that he married Domitia Longina, daughter of the highly regarded general, Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, whom Nero had forced to commit suicide in A.D. 66. For all appearances, it was an excellent choice. The name of Corbulo was synonymous with military achievement, and the general had left behind a substantial clientela. Even so, the marriage was troubled. An only child died young, and Domitia was probably exiled by her husband c. A.D 83. Later, she would be recalled to the palace, where she lived with Domitian until his death.[[8]]
Domitian's role in the 70's was determined largely by Vespasian's choice of Titus as his successor. To him fell a series of ordinary consulships, the tribunician power, the censorship, and the praetorian prefecture. Domitian, on the other hand, was named six times to the less prestigious suffect consulship, retained the title of Caesar, and held various priesthoods. He was given responsibility, but no real power. Nothing changed when Titus acceded to the throne, as Domitian received neither tribunician power nor imperium of any kind. The brothers were never to become close, and as Titus lay dying in September 81, Domitian hastened to the praetorian camp, where he was hailed as emperor. On news of Titus' death, the senate chose first to honor the dead emperor before elevating his brother, an early indication perhaps of Domitian's future troubles with the aristocracy. At any rate, after waiting an extra day, Domitian received imperium, the title Augustus, and tribunician power along with the office of pontifex maximus and the title pater patriae, father of his country.[[9]]
Administration
As emperor, Domitian was to become one of Rome's foremost micromanagers, especially concerning the economy. Shortly after taking office, he raised the silver content of the denarius by about 12% (to the earlier level of Augustus), only to devaluate it in A.D. 85, when the imperial income must have proved insufficient to meet military and public expenses.[[10]] Confiscations and the rigorous collection of taxes soon became necessary. On another front, he sought to promote grain production by calling for empire-wide limitations on viticulture, but the edict met with immediate opposition and was never implemented.[[11]] On the other hand, there were notable successes. The great fire of A.D. 64, the civil wars of A.D 68-69, and another devastating fire in A.D. 80 had left Rome badly in need of repair. Domitian responded by erecting, restoring, or completing some 50 structures, including the restored Temple of Jupiter on the Capitol and a magnificent palace on the Palatine. The building program, ambitious and spectacular, was matched by hardly any other emperor.[[12]] He was also able to maintain the debased currency standard of A.D. 85, which was still higher than the Vespasianic one, until the end of his reign. The economy, therefore, offered a ready outlet for Domitian's autocratic tendencies. There were failures, but he also left the treasury with a surplus, perhaps the best proof of a financially sound administration.
Domitian's reach extended well beyond the economy. Late in A.D. 85 he made himself censor perpetuus, censor for life, with a general supervision of conduct and morals. The move was without precedent and, although largely symbolic, it nevertheless revealed Domitian's obsessive interest in all aspects of Roman life. An ardent supporter of traditional Roman religion, he also closely identified himself with Minerva and Jupiter, publicly linking the latter divinity to his regime through the Ludi Capitolini, the Capitoline Games, begun in A.D.86. Held every four years in the early summer, the Games consisted of chariot races, athletics and gymnastics, and music, oratory and poetry. Contestants came from many nations, and no expense was spared; the emperor himself awarded the prizes.[[13]] In the same manner, Domitian offered frequent and elaborate public shows, always with an emphasis on the innovative: gladiator contests held at night; female combatants and dwarves; food showered down upon the public from ropes stretched across the top of the Amphitheater.[[14]] Thus did the emperor seek to underscore not only Rome's importance but also his own and that of the Flavian regime.
Beyond Rome, Domitian taxed provincials rigorously and was not afraid to impose his will on officials of every rank. Consistent with his concern for the details of administration, he also made essential changes in the organization of several provinces and established the office of curator to investigate financial mismanagement in the cities. Other evidence points to a concern with civic improvements of all kinds, from road building in Asia Minor, Sardinia and near the Danube to building and defensive improvements in North Africa.[[15]] Less easy to gauge is Domitian's attitude toward Christians and Jews, since reliable evidence for their persecution is difficult to find. Christians may have been among those banished or executed from time to time during the 90's, but the testimony falls short of confirming any organized program of persecution under Domitian's reign. On the other hand, there is clear evidence that Jews were made to feel uneasy under Domitian, who scrupulously collected the Jewish tax and harassed Jewish tax dodgers during much of his rule. As with Christians, such policies did not amount to persecution, but it does help to explain the Jewish fears of expulsion present in the sources.[[16]] On balance, the tradition of Domitian as persecutor has been greatly overstated, yet given his autocratic tendencies and devotion to Roman pagan religion, it is easy to see how such stories could have evolved and multiplied.
Military Affairs
While the military abilities of Vespasian and Titus were genuine, those of Domitian were not. Partly as an attempt to remedy this deficiency, Domitian frequently became involved in his own military exploits outside of Rome. He claimed a triumph in A.D. 83 for subduing the Chatti in Gaul, but the conquest was illusory. Final victory did not really come until A.D. 89. In Britain, similar propaganda masked the withdrawal of Roman forces from the northern borders to positions farther south, a clear sign of Domitian's rejection of expansionist warfare in the province.[[17]] The greatest threat, however, remained on the Danube. The emperor visited Moesia in A.D. 85 after Oppius Sabinus, the Moesian governor, had been killed by invading Dacians. In the First Dacian War, initial success against the aggressors by Domitian's praetorian prefect, Cornelius Fuscus, allowed the emperor to celebrate his second triumph at Rome in A.D. 86. Fuscus was subsequently killed trying to avenge Sabinus' death, however, and Domitian soon returned to the Danube, where Roman forces, under the newly appointed governor of Upper Moesia, Tettius Julianus, defeated the Dacians at Tapae in the Second Dacian War, most likely in A.D. 88. Matters remained far from settled. In January, A.D. 89, the governor of Upper Germany, L. Antonius Saturninus, mutinied at Mainz. The revolt was promptly suppressed and the rebel leaders brutally punished. Later that same year, Domitian attacked the Suebian Marcomanni and Quadi in the First Pannonian War, while offering the Dacian king Decebalus a settlement to avoid conflicts on two fronts. Compelled to return to the Danube three years later, Domitian fought the combined forces of the Suebi and the Sarmatians in the Second Pannonian War. Few other details are available beyond the fact that a Roman legion was destroyed in a campaign that lasted about eight months. By January, A.D. 93, Domitian was back in Rome, not to accept a full triumph but the lesser ovatio, a sign perhaps of unfinished business along the Danube. In fact, during the final years of Domitian's reign, the buildup of forces on the middle Danube and the appointment and transfer of key senior officials suggest that a third Pannonian campaign directed against the Suebi and Sarmatians may have been underway. Even so, there is no testimony of actual conflicts and the evidence does not extend beyond A.D. 97.[[18]]
The Emperor's Court and His Relationship with the Aristocracy
Domitian's autocratic tendencies meant that the real seat of power during his reign resided with his court. The features typically associated with later courts - a small band of favored courtiers, a keen interest in the bizarre and the unusual (e.g., wrestlers, jesters, and dwarves), and a highly mannered, if somewhat artificial atmosphere, characterized Domitian's palace too, whether at Rome or at his Alban villa, some 20 kilometers outside of the capital.[[19]] Courtiers included family members and freedmen, as well as friends (amici), a group of politicians, generals, and praetorian prefects who offered input on important matters.[[20]] Reliance upon amici was not new, yet the arrangement underscored Domitian's mistrust of the aristocracy, most notably the senate, whose role suffered as Domitian deliberately concentrated power in the hands of few senators while expanding the duties of the equestrian class. Senatorial grievances were not without basis: at least 11 senators of consular rank were executed and many others exiled, ample attestation of the emperor's contempt for the body and its membership.[[21]] The senate's enthusiastic support for the damning of Domitian's memory, therefore, came as no surprise. Nevertheless, the situation must be placed in its proper context. By comparison, the emperor Claudius(A.D. 41-54) executed 35 senators and upwards of 300 equestrians, yet he was still deified by the senate![[22]] Domitian's mistake was that he made no attempt to mask his feelings about the senate. Inclined neither by nature nor by conviction to include the body in his emperorship, he treated the group no differently than any other. Revenge would come in the form of an aristocratically based literary tradition that would miss no opportunity to vilify thoroughly both emperor and his rule.
Death and Assessment
On 18 September, A.D. 96, Domitian was assassinated and was succeeded on the very same day by M. Cocceius Nerva, a senator and one of his amici. The sources are unanimous in stressing that this was a palace plot, yet it is difficult to determine the level of culpability among the various potential conspirators.[[23]]
In many ways, Domitian is still a mystery - a lazy and licentious ruler by some accounts, an ambitious administrator and keeper of traditional Roman religion by others.[[24]] As many of his economic, provincial, and military policies reveal, he was efficient and practical in much that he undertook, yet he also did nothing to hide the harsher despotic realities of his rule. This fact, combined with his solitary personality and frequent absences from Rome, guaranteed a harsh portrayal of his rule. The ultimate truths of his reign remain difficult to know.
Bibliography
The bibliography on Domitian is too vast for thorough treatment here. The works listed below are either main accounts of the emperor or pertain directly to issues raised in the entry above. For a comprehensive listing of sources, see Jones, The Emperor Domitian, 238-255.
Anderson, J.C."Domitian's Building Program. Forum Julium and Markets of Trajan." ArchN 10 (1981):41-48.
Atti congresso internazionale di studi Flaviani, 2 vols. Rieti, 1983.
Breeze, D. J. The Northern Frontiers of Roman Britain. London, 1982.
Carradice, I.A. "Coinage and Finances in the Reign of Domitian, AD 81-96", BAR International Series, 178, Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, 1983.
Coleman, K. M. "The Emperor Domitian and Literature." ANRW II.32.5: 3087-3115.
Friedländer, L. Roman Life and Manners under the Early Empire (trans. of Darstellungen aus der Sittengeschichte Roms in der Zeit von August bis zum Ausgang der Antonine, 7th ed. by L. A. Magnus), London, 1968.
Garnsey, P. and Saller, R. The Early Principate: Augustus to Trajan,[Greece and Rome New Surveys in the Classics No. 15], Oxford, 1982.
Girard, J-L. "Domitien et Minerve: une prédilection impériale." ANRW II.17.1: 233-245.
Griffith, J. G. "Juvenal, Statius and the Flavian Establishment." Greece and Rome 16 (1969): 134-150.
Heintz, Florent. "A Domitianic Fleet Diploma." ZPE 120 (1998): 250-252.
Jones, B. W. The Emperor Domitian. London, 1992.
Levi, M.A. "I Flavi." ANRW II.2: 177-207.
Levick, B. M. "Domitian and the Provinces." Latomus 41 (1982): 50-7.
Liebeschuetz, J. H. W. G. Continuity and Change in Roman Religion. Oxford, 1979.
McGinn, Thomas A. J. "Feminae Probosae and the Litter" CJ 93 (1998): 241-250.
McCrum, M. and Woodhead, A. G. Select Documents of the Principates of the Flavian Emperors, Including the Years of Revolution, AD 68-96. Cambridge, 1966.
Millar, F. The Emperor in the Roman Word. Ithaca, 1992.
Platner, M. and Ashby, T. A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. Oxford, 1929.
Southern, Pat. Domitian: Tragic Tyrant. Indiana University Press, 1997.
Syme, R. Tacitus. Oxford, 1958.
________. "Domitian, the Last Years." Chiron 13 (1983): 121-146.
________. The Augustan Aristocracy. Oxford, 1986.
Talbert, R. J. A. The Senate of Imperial Rome. Princeton, 1984.
Vinson, M. "Domitia Longina, Julia Titi, and the Literary Tradition." Historia 38 (1989): 431-450.
Wallace-Hadrill, A. Suetonius: The Scholar and His Caesars. London, 1983.
Waters, K. H. "The Character of Domitian." Phoenix 18 (1964): 49-77.
Notes
[[1]] Ancient sources: Tac. Agr.; Cass. Dio 67; Plin. Pan.; Statius, Silv.; McCrum, M. and Woodhead, A.G. Select Documents of the Principates of the Flavian Emperors (Cambridge, 1966).
[[2]] Compare, however, Suetonius' claim at Dom.1: "He is said to have spent a poverty-stricken and rather degraded youth: without even any silver on the table." The passage is typical of the hostility directed toward Domitian in the literary sources.
[[3]] Suet. Dom. 18, 20; in praise of his literary talents, see also: Plin. NH Praef 5; Statius, Achil. 1.15; Silius Italicus, Pun.3.621. But there were just as many hostile accounts of his literary prowess: Tac. Hist. 4.86; Suet. Dom. 2.2. Since none of this evidence survives, there is no way to judge the validity of these conflicting assessments. That the controversy even exists, however, helps to confirm that Domitian was well educated.
[[4]] Domitian was likely left in the care of his uncle, Sabinus II. See Tac. Hist. 3.75. Whether he resided in Rome with his uncle during this period is less clear.
[[5]] Domitian's preference for solitude finds particularly cruel expression in Suetonius, who portrays him as spending hours alone every day catching flies and stabbing them with a needle-sharp pen while emperor. See Dom.3. Dio (66.9.5) also cites Domitian's predilection for his own company.
[[6]] Tac. Hist. 4.86; 4.2.
[[7]] Poetic embellishment of Domitian's military achievements: Statius, Theb. 1.21; Martial, 9.101.13; 9.10.15-16; Jos. BJ 7.85; Silius Italicus, Pun.3.608.
[[8]] Long after Domitian's memory had been damned, Domitia still referred to herself as the emperor's wife, perhaps an indication that she maintained at least some degree of affection for her husband. The evidence is preserved on brick stamps datable to A.D. 123; CIL 15.548a-9d.
[[9]] On honoring of Titus: Suet. Tit. 11.
[[10]] On the raising of the currency standard: Walker, D.R. , "The Metrology of the Roman Silver Coinage. Part I; From Augustus to Domitian," BAR Supplementary Series 5, Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, 120, 115; Carradice, I.A. "Coinage and Finances in the Reign of Domitian, AD 81-96," BAR International Series 178, Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, 9-56.
[[11]] Suet. Dom. 7.2; 14.2.
[[12]] For an excellent discussion of Domitian's building program, see Jones, B. W. The Emperor Domitian London, 1992, 79-98.
[[13]] Capitoline Games: Censorinus, De Die Natali 18.5. In A.D. 93, Domitian also established the Ludi Saeculares (Secular Games), a celebration under the supervision of the quindecimviri sacris faciundis, an aristocratic priestly college. See Suet. Dom. 4.3; Stat. Silv. 1.4.17; 4.1.37; Martial, 4.1.7; 10.63.3.
[[14]] Night time shows and unusual combatants: Dio 67.8.4; Amphitheater celebration: Stat. Silv. 1.6.75-78.
[[15]] On improvements in the different provinces: Garzetti, A. From Tiberius to the Antonines: A History of the Roman Empire, 14-192 (London, 1974),278, 652; Leglay, M. "Les Flaviens et l'Afrique," MEFR 80 (1968):221-22, 230-232.
[[16]] For a careful and balanced treatment of difficult evidence: Jones, The Emperor Domitian, 114-119.
[[17]] That the Chatti were not subdued in A.D. 83 is revealed by their role in Saturninus' revolt (Suet. Dom. 6.2) and by their interference with the Cherusci (Dio 67.5.1). On the Roman withdrawal to the south in Britain, see Hobley, A.S. "The Numismatic Evidence for the Post-Agricolan Abandonment of the Roman Frontier in Northern Scotland," Britannia 20 (1989): 69-74. Numismatic evidence (ibid., 73) indicates that the arch at Richborough was erected at this same time. It is difficult to resist the conclusion that the monument served to mask the Roman retreat.
[[18]] The presence of five Roman legions in Pannonia, for example, is unusual and points to genuine Roman concern with the region. See Dusanic, S. and Vasic, M. R. "An Upper Moesian Diploma of AD 96," Chiron 7 (1977): 291-304; Jones, The Emperor Domitian, 153-155.
[[19]] Domitian did not hesitate to conduct a variety of imperial duties outside of the domus Flavia in Rome. For some of his activities at Alba: Plin. Ep. 4.11.6; Suet. Dom 4.4; Dio 67.1.2; Juv. 4.99. Tacitus (Agr. 45) and Juvenal (4.145) refer to it as the arx Albana, "the Alban fortress," implying the residence of a despot.
[[20]] On the emperor's amici, Jones, The Emperor Domitian, 50-71.
[[21]] On the execution of ex-consuls: Suet. Dom.10 and Jones, The Emperor Domitian, 182-188; exiles: ibid., 188-192.
[[22]] Claudius and executions: Suet. Claud. 29.2; Apocol. 13.
[[23]] For a collection of the ancient sources stressing a palace plot: Gephardt, R. F. C. "C. Suetonii Tranquilli Vita Domitiani: Suetonius' Life of Domitian with Notes and Parallel Passages," dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1922, 89. For the most complete account: Suet. Dom. 14.
[[24]] Domitian as lazy and lustful: Suet. Dom. 19; 22.
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