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Domitian
Emperor of the Roman Empire
Bust of Domitian, Capitoline Museum, Rome
Reign	14 September, 81 AD – 18 September, 96 AD
Full name	Titus Flavius Domitianus
Born	24 October 51(51-10-24)
	Rome
Died	18 September 96 (aged 44)
	Rome
Buried	Rome
Predecessor	Titus
Successor	Nerva
Wife/wives	Domitia Longina (70–85)
	Julia Flavia (85–91)
Issue	one son and one daughter with Domitia
Dynasty	Flavian
Father	Vespasian
Mother	Domitilla

Titus Flavius Domitianus (24 October 51 – 18 September 96), commonly known as Domitian, was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 14 October 81 until his death on 18 September 96. Domitian was the last emperor of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 69 and 96, encompassing the reigns of Domitian's father Vespasian (69–79), his elder brother Titus (79–81), and finally Domitian's own.

Domitian spent much of his youth and early career in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during campaigns in Germania and Judaea in the 60s. This situation continued under the rule of Vespasian, who became emperor on 21 December 69, following a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors. While his elder brother shared almost equal powers in the government of his father, Domitian was left with honours but no responsibilities. Vespasian died on 23 June 79 and was succeeded by Titus, whose brief reign came to an unexpected end on 13 September 81. The following day, Domitian was declared emperor by the Praetorian Guard, and began a reign which lasted more than fifteen years—longer than any man who had governed Rome since Tiberius.

Traditional views hold that Domitian was a cruel and paranoid tyrant. Among ancient authors, he ranks among the most reviled rulers in Roman history, earning comparison to such emperors as Caligula and Nero. Many of these views however, were propagated by hostile contemporary authors such as Tacitus, Pliny the Younger and Suetonius, a small but highly vocal minority who exaggerated Domitian's harshness, in favour of the highly regarded Five Good Emperors who followed. Modern history has rejected these views,^[1] instead characterizing Domitian as a ruthless but efficient autocrat, whose cultural, economic and political programme was a precursor to the peaceful 2nd century, rather than the twilight of the tumultuous 1st century.

Contents 1 Early life 1.1 Family and education 1.2 Rise of the Flavian dynasty 1.2.1 Year of the Four Emperors 1.2.2 Ceremonial heir 2 Emperor 2.1 Administration 2.2 Military campaigns 2.3 Persecutions 2.4 Death and succession 3 Historiography 3.1 Ancient sources 4 Domitian in later arts 5 Notes 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links 8.1 Primary sources 8.2 Secondary material

Roman imperial dynasties
Flavian dynasty

Vespasian Children    Titus    Domitian    Domitilla Titus Children    Julia Flavia Domitian Children    1 son, 1 daughter, both died young

Domitian was born in Rome on 24 October 51, as the youngest son of Titus Flavius Vespasianus—commonly known as Vespasian—and Domitilla the Elder.^[2] He had one older sister, Domitilla the Younger (b. 39), and one older brother, also named Titus Flavius Vespasianus (b. 39), but commonly referred to as Titus.

Decades of civil war during the 1st century BC had contributed greatly to the demise of the old artistocracy of Rome, which was gradually replaced in prominence by a new provincial nobility during the early part of the 1st century AD.^[3] One such family was the gens Flavia, which rose from relative obscurity to prominence in just four generations, acquiring wealth and status under the emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Domitian's great-grandfather, Titus Flavius Petro, had served as a centurion under Pompey during Caesar's civil war. His military career ended in disgrace when he fled the battlefield at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC.^[2] Nevertheless, Petro managed to improve his status by marrying the extremely wealthy Tertulla, whose fortune guaranteed the upwards mobility of Petro's son Titus Flavius Sabinus I, Domitian's grandfather.^[4] Sabinus himself amassed further wealth and possible equestrian status through his services as tax collector in Asia and banker in Helvetia. By marrying Vespasia Pollio he allied himself to the more prestigious patrician gens Vespasia, ensuring the elevation of his sons Titus Flavius Sabinus II and Vespasian to the senatorial rank.^[4]

Vespasian's political career included the offices of quaestor, aedile and praetor, and culminated with a consulship the year Domitian was born, in 51. He enjoyed imperial favour during the reigns of Caligula (37–41) and Claudius (41–54). While Titus was educated at court with Claudius' son Britannicus, Vespasian gained early renown as a military commander by participating in the Roman invasion of Britain in 43. After a prolonged period of retirement, Vespasian returned to public office in 63 under emperor Nero, serving as proconsul of the Africa province. Afterwards, he accompanied Nero during an official tour of Greece in 66. When a revolt broke out among the Jews of the Judea province the same year, the emperor appointed Vespasian to lead the Roman army in the war against the insurgents.^[5] In this campaign he was joined by Titus, who had completed his military education by this time and personally commanded one of Vespasian's three legions.^[6]

For Domitian, this meant that the larger part of his adolescence was spent in the absence of his near relatives. His mother and sister had long died by 66, and his father and brother were continuously active in the Roman military, commanding armies in Germania and Judea. During the Jewish-Roman wars, Domitian was taken under the care of his uncle Titus Flavius Sabinus II, then city prefect of Rome; possibly even Marcus Cocceius Nerva, a loyal friend of the Flavians and the future successor to Domitian.^[5][7] He received the education of a young man of the privileged senatorial class, studying rhetoric and literature. In his biography in the Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Suetonius attests to Domitian's ability to quote the important poets and writers such as Homer or Virgil on appropriate occasions,^[8][9] and describes him as a learned and educated adolescent, with elegant conversation.^[10] Among his first published works were poetry, as well as writings on law and administration.^[5] Unlike his brother Titus however, Domitian was not educated at court, nor did he receive any military training, much to his own frustration.^[11]

Although ancient sources allege poverty for the Flavian family at the time of Domitian's upbringing,^[12] even suggesting Vespasian had fallen into disrepute under Caligula and Nero,^[13] this seems highly unlikely considering the Flavians' near uninterrupted rise in influence throughout the first half of the 1st century. Rather, these stories have been construed as part of a propaganda campaign instigated under Flavian rule to diminish early successes under the less reputable emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, while maximizing achievements under Claudius and Britannicus.^[14]

On June 9, 68, amidst growing opposition of the Senate and the army, Nero committed suicide, and with him the Julio-Claudian dynasty came to an end. Chaos ensued, leading to a year of brutal civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors, during which the four most influential generals in the Roman Empire—Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian— successively vied for the imperial power. News of Nero's death reached Vespasian as he was preparing to besiege the city of Jerusalem in Judea. Almost simultaneously, the Senate had declared Galba, then governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, as emperor of Rome. Rather than continue his campaign, Vespasian decided to await further orders and sent Titus to greet the new princeps.^[15] Before reaching Italy however, Titus learnt that Galba had been murdered and replaced by Otho, governor of Lusitania, and that Vitellius and his armies in Germania were preparing to march on the capital, intent on overthrowing Otho. Not wanting to risk being taken hostage by one side or the other, Titus abandoned the journey to Rome and rejoined his father in Judea.^[16]

Otho and Vitellius were well aware of the potential threat posed by the Flavian faction. With four legions at his disposal, Vespasian commanded a strength of nearly 80,000 soldiers, while his position in Judea further granted him the advantage of being nearest to the vital province of Egypt, which controlled the grain supply to Rome. His brother Titus Flavius Sabinus II meanwhile, as city prefect, controlled the entire city garrison of Rome.^[17] Tensions among the Flavian troops were high, but so long as Galba and Otho remained in power, Vespasian refused to take action. When Otho was defeated by Vitellius at the First Battle of Bedriacum however,^[18] the armies in Judea and Ægyptus took matters into their own hands and declared Vespasian emperor on July 1, 69.^[19] Vespasian accepted, and through negotiations by Titus joined forces with Gaius Licinius Mucianus, governor of Syria.^[20] A strong force drawn from the Judean and Syrian legions marched on Rome under the command of Mucianus, while Vespasian himself travelled to Alexandria, leaving Titus in charge to end the Jewish rebellion.^[21][22]

In Rome meanwhile, Domitian was placed under guard by soldiers of Vitellius.^[23] As the Flavian forces drew nearer to the city, his position became more precarious. On October 24, the emperor suffered a crushing defeat at the Second Battle of Bedriacum by the armies of Mucianus.^[24] In despair, he attempted to negotiate a surrender, but was prevented from doing so by the Praetorian Guard, the imperial bodyguard. While Mucianius and his legions descended from Bedriacum, in Rome street fighting ensued between loyal Vitellianists and the urban cohorts under command of Titus Flavius Sabinus II. On December 18, Sabinus occupied the northern summit of the Capitol and sent for his family and Domitian. The following day, the Capitol was besieged and Sabinus killed. Domitian made a daring escape by disguising himself as a worshipper of Isis, and spent the night with one of his father's clients. ^[25] By the afternoon of December 20, Vitellius was dead, and his armies defeated by Mucianus. With nothing more to be feared from the enemy, Domitian came forward to meet the invading forces; he was universally saluted by the title of Caesar, and the mass of troops conducted him to his father's house.^[26] On December 21, the Senate proclaimed Vespasian emperor of the Roman Empire.^[27]

Domitian moved immediately to the imperial palace once his father was declared emperor. He and Mucianus were the representatives of the Flavian family in the senate prior to Vespasian and Titus' arrival in Rome in mid-70. With the rise to power of his father, Domitian grew bolder. In 70 he managed to force the divorce of Domitia Longina in order to marry her. Lucius Aelius Lamia, her husband, could not prevent the prince's will, and so Domitia became daughter in law of the emperor. Despite its initial recklessness, the alliance was very prestigious for both sides. Domitia Longina was the younger daughter of general Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, one of the victims of Nero's terror, remembered as a worthy commander and a honoured politician. They had a son in 71 and a daughter in 74, but both died young. The marriage was far from being traditional: Domitian was a notorious womaniser and his wife was not jealous. Some sources refer that she would join Domitian in his escapades with his mistresses.

As a second son, Domitian was kept from responsibilities. He held several honorary consulships and several priesthoods but no office with imperium. During the reign of his brother Titus, his situation remained essentially the same, since nobody saw him as future emperor. But Domitian certainly had his ambitions. When Titus was dying, he managed to be hailed as his successor by securing the Praetorian Guard's support.

The classic view of Domitian as Emperor is usually negative since most of the antique sources are related to the Senatorial aristocratic class, and, as emperor, Domitian tended to have an strong independent action, often against the Senate.

During its administration, the economy first came to a halt and then went into recession, forcing him to devalue the denarius (silver currency). To further compensate for the economic situation, taxes were raised and discontent soon followed. Due to his love of the arts and to woo the population, Domitian invested large sums in the reconstruction and embellishment of the city, still suffering the effects of the great fire of Rome of 64, the civil war of 69, and the fires that plagued Rome the year following the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius during Titus' reign. Around fifty new buildings were erected and restored, including the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill and a palace in the Palatine Hill.

In 85, Domitian nominated himself perpetual censor, the office which held the task of supervising Roman morals and conduct, a task at odds with his private life. By 83, his own marriage was in rupture with continuous infidelities and scandals on both sides. In this year, Domitia Longina was caught with her lover, the actor Paris. The man was executed and the empress was exiled after a hasty divorce. In the next year he developed a passion for his niece Julia Flavia (daughter of Titus) and, as in his first marriage, he kidnapped the girl by dismissing her husband. Julia Flavia died in 91 during an abortion, being deified afterwards. After this, Domitia Longina was recalled to the palace as Roman empress, despite the fact that Domitian never remarried her.

Domitian's greatest passions were the arts and the games. He implemented the Capitoline Games in 86. Like the Olympic Games, they were to be held every four years and included athletic displays, chariot races, but also oratory, music and acting competitions. The Emperor himself supported the travels of competitors from the whole empire and attributed the prizes. He was also very fond of gladiator shows and added important innovations like female and dwarf gladiator fights.

Major military contribution of Domitian was the development of the Limes (in particular the Limes Germanicus) to defend the empire. During his Empire wars had usually a defensive nature. Domitian was accused not to be a gifted military commander, due to his education in Rome away from the legions and to limit the Roman military enterprises for this reason. He claimed several Roman triumphs, namely over the Chatti and in Britain, but they were only propaganda manoeuvres, since these wars were still being fought. Nevertheless, several campaigns were fought during his reign, especially in the Danube frontier against Decebalus, king of Dacians. Domitian also founded Legio I Minervia in 82, to fight against Chatti.

According to many historians, Jews and Christians were heavily persecuted toward the end of Domitian's reign.^[28] The Book of Revelation is thought by many scholars to have been written during Domitian's reign as a reaction to persecution.^[29][30] Other historians, however, have maintained that there was little or no persecution of Christians during Domitian's time.^[31][32][33] There is no historical consensus on the matter.^[29] The emperor is known, however, to have developed a paranoid fear of persecution that led him to kill or execute several members of the senatorial and equestrian orders. At least twenty political and ideological opponents were executed, including his cousin, the Consul Flavius Clemens.^[29] Domitian disliked aristocrats and had no fear of showing it, withdrawing every decision-making power from the Senate. He signed documents dominus et deus ("Lord and God") ^[34], and required people to address him similarly. Coins of the period represent him enthroned as "father of the gods".

Domitian was murdered in September 96, in a palace conspiracy organized by court officials and high ranking members of the Praetorian Guard. The emperor believed that, according to an astrological prediction, he would die around noon. Therefore, he was always restless during this time of the day. On his last day, Domitian was feeling disturbed and asked a servant boy several times what time it was. The boy, included in the plot, lied, saying that it was much later. More at ease, the emperor went to his desk to sign some decrees, where he was stabbed eight times by Stephanus.^{[citation needed]}

Domitian was succeeded by Nerva (by appointment of the senate). The custom of damnatio memoriae was issued on Domitian, ordering his obliteration from all public records.^[35] Domitian is the only known emperor to have officially received a damnatio memoriae, though others may have received de facto ones. Many of the images that survive of Domitian's successor, Nerva, were actually once Domitian but converted to Nerva after the damnatio was issued. Nearly all surviving images of Domitian were found in the provinces.

Juvenal, Tacitus and Suetonius authored information about the reign of Domitian after it ended. This would have been impolitic.

• Tacitus, a historian, spoke from personal knowledge when he wrote his Histories on the arc of the Flavian dynasty. Unfortunately, this work is lost.
• Juvenal, an author of Roman satire, depicted Domitian and his court as corrupt, violent, and unjust.
• Suetonius, author of the Lives of the Twelve Caesars, the most extensive ancient account of the life of the emperor extant.

• Statius wrote four poems that contained information about Domitian's life.
• Martial's work contains references and epigrams to Domitian.

• Chief character in The Roman Actor by Philip Massinger
• An important character in Donna Gillespie's novel The Light Bearer

• Jones, Brian W. (1992). The Emperor Domitian. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-10195-6. 
• Murison, Charles Leslie (2003). "M. Cocceius Nerva and the Flavians" (subscription required). Transactions of the American Philological Association 133 (1): pp. 147–157. 

• Gsell, Stéphane (1894). Essai sur le règne de l'empereur Domitien (HTML, PDF), Bibliothèque des Écoles françaises d'Athènes et de Rome (in French), Paris: E. Thorin. 
• Southern, Pat (1997). Domitian: Tragic Tyrant. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-16525-3. 

• Suetonius, The lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Domitian, Latin text with English translation
• Cassius Dio, Roman History Book 67, English translation
• Tacitus, Agricola, English translation

• Donahue, John (1997-10-10). Titus Flavius Domitianus (A.D. 81-96). De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families. Retrieved on 2007-02-10.

Preceded by Titus	Flavian Dynasty 69–96	Succeeded by —
Preceded by Titus	Roman Emperor 81–96	Succeeded by Nerva
Preceded by Vespasian and Titus	Consul of the Roman Empire together with L. Valerius Catullus Messallinus 73	Succeeded by Vespasian and Titus
Preceded by Vespasian and Titus	Consul of the Roman Empire together with Titus 80	Succeeded by Lucius Flavius Silva Nonius Bassus and Lucius Asinius Pollio Verrucosus
Preceded by L. Flavius Silva Nonius Bassus and L. Asinius Pollio Verrucosus	Consul of the Roman Empire 82 - 88	Succeeded by Titus Aurelius Fulvus and M. Asinius Atratinus
Preceded by Titus Aurelius Fulvus and Marcus Asinius Atratinus	Consul of the Roman Empire together with Marcus Cocceius Nerva 90	Succeeded by Manius Acilius Glabrio and Trajan
Preceded by Manius Acilius Glabrio and Trajan	Consul of the Roman Empire together with Quintus Volusius Saturninus 92	Succeeded by Sextus Pompeius Collega and Quintus Peducaeus Priscinus
Preceded by Lucius Nonius Calpurnius Torquatus Asprenas and Titus Sextius Magius Lateranus	Consul of the Roman Empire together with Titus Flavius Clemens 95	Succeeded by Gaius Manlius Valens and Gaius Antistius Vetus

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