Emperor Domitian
Emperor Domitian was an immoral man who thought he was divine and promoted the worship of the Roman gods.
Domitian
Roman Emperor
Description
Domitian was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty.
Born: October 24, 51 AD, Rome, Italy
Full name: Titus Flavius Domitianus
Assassinated: September 18, 96 AD, Rome, Italy
Spouse: Domitia Longina (m. 70 AD–96 AD)
Children: Titus Flavius Caesar, Flavia
Parents: Vespasian, Domitilla, the Elder
Siblings: Titus, Domitilla the Younger
What was Emperor Domitian known for?
His 15-year reign was the longest since that of Tiberius. As Emperor, Domitian strengthened the economy by revaluing the Roman coinage, expanding the Empire's border defenses, and initiating a massive building program to restore the damaged city of Rome.
Was Domitian a good Emperor?
Domitian was a good administrator and a competent ruler despite all his transgressions. He was the first Roman Emperor who spent most of his reign out of the capital, touring the provinces of the gradually growing Empire. This ruling style further diminished the Senate's influence and increased the Emperor's power.
Who is Domitian in the Bible?
Domitian (ruled 83-95 AD) was the son of Emperor Vespasian (ruled 68-79 AD). He declared himself a god and was best known for his proclamation that all worship him. The Christian persecution began under Nero, but it got to a whole new level under Domitian.
What happened to Christians under Emperor Domitian?
According to some historians, Jews and Christians were heavily persecuted toward the end of Domitian's reign (89-96). The Book of Revelation, which mentions at least one instance of martyrdom (Rev 2:13; cf. 6:9), is thought by many scholars to have been written during Domitian's reign.
Why was Domitian assassinated?
A highly detailed account of the plot and the assassination is provided by Suetonius, who alleges that Domitian's chamberlain, Parthenius, was the chief instigator behind the conspiracy, citing the recent execution of Domitian's secretary, Epaphroditus, as the primary motive.
God on earth: Emperor Domitian
In life, the Emperor Domitian (81-96 CE) marketed himself as a god; he was condemned to be forgotten after his assassination. Nonetheless, he oversaw a literary, cultural, and monumental revival on a scale not witnessed since Rome's first Emperor, Augustus.
Domitian's government exhibited solid authoritarian characteristics. Religious, military, and cultural propaganda fostered a cult of personality, and by nominating himself perpetual censor, he sought to control public and private morals.
What kind of ruler was Domitian?
Described as "a ruthless but efficient autocrat," his authoritarian style of ruling put him at sharp odds with the Senate, whose powers he drastically curtailed. Domitian had a minor and largely ceremonial role during the reigns of his father and brother.
What did Domitian do to John?
Domitian orders his men to throw John into a cauldron of boiling oil with an imperial gesture. John emerges unharmed.
Domitian's personality is inseparably linked with tyranny, and his power to humiliate senators generated disapproving headline anecdotes in *Suetonius' The Lives of the Caesars. A paranoid megalomaniac who once hosted a macabre party to embarrass his guests, he was assassinated in 96 AD. Here are ten facts about Emperor Domitian.
1. Domitian became Emperor in 81 AD
Domitian was the son of Emperor Vespasian (69-79). He had ruled between 69 and 79 AD and achieved a reputation for shrewd management compared to his profligate (wasteful) predecessor Nero. Domitian's elder brother Titus succeeded Vespasian first but died barely two years later. It is possible Domitian had a hand in slaying Titus, who is otherwise recorded as dying from fever. The Talmud, by contrast, includes a report that a gnat chewed on his brain, having flown up his nostril after Titus destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem.
2. Domitian had a reputation for sadism
Domitian was a paranoid bully with a reputation for sadism, said to torture flies with his pen. He was the last Emperor to be a subject of Suetonius' moralistic biography, which depicts Domitian as capable of "savage cruelty." Meanwhile, Tacitus wrote that he was "a man who plunged into violence by nature."
Gleeful with arbitrary power, Suetonius records that Domitian used treason charges to set up prominent men so that he could claim their estates. To fund his building program and propagandistic performances, Domitian seized "the property of the living and the dead, on any charge brought by any accuser."
3. He was a megalomaniac
Where Emperors often continued the charade that the Empire was just like the Republic it had supplanted, Domitian eroded the traditions of the Senate and ruled openly as a despot. He claimed he was a living god and made sure priests worshipped the cults of his father and brother.
Domitian insisted on being addressed as "Lord and God" (dominus) and built so many statues and architectural features ornamented with chariots and triumphal emblems "that on one of them," writes *Suetonius, "someone wrote in Greek: 'It is enough.'"
4. He completed the Colosseum
Domitian was intent on ambitious economic and cultural programs that would restore the Empire to the magnificence attributed to Augustus. This included an extensive construction program numbering over 50 buildings. They included predecessors like the Colosseum and personal buildings like the Villa and Palace of Domitian.
The Stadium of Domitian was dedicated as a gift to the people of Rome, and in 86, he founded the Capitoline Games. Games were used to impress people with the Empire and its ruler's might. Pliny the Younger remarked on Domitian's extravagance in a later speech, in which he was compared unfavorably with the ruling Trajan.
5. He was a capable micromanaging administrator
Domitian involved himself throughout the administration of the Empire. He showed concern for the grain supply by forbidding the further planting of vines in certain areas and was meticulous in administering justice. Suetonius reports that the city's magistrates and provincial governors' "standard of restraint and justice were never higher."
He revalued the Roman currency and ensured rigorous taxation. His pursuit of public order did, however, extend to executing three unchaste Vestal virgins in 83 AD, and burying Cornelia, the chief Vestal priestess, alive in 91. According to Pliny the Younger, she was innocent of the charges.
6. He constructed the Limes Germanicus
Domitian's military campaigns were generally defensive. His most notable military endeavor was the Limes Germanicus, a network of roads, forts, and watchtowers along the river Rhine. This consolidated frontier divided the Empire from Germanic tribes for two centuries.
The Roman army was devoted to Domitian. As well as personally leading his army on the campaign for as long as three years in total, he raised the army's pay by one-third. According to Suetonius, when Domitian died, the army was greatly affected and supposedly spoke of "Domitian the God."
7. He held a macabre party to terrorize senators
One of the scandalizing behaviors attributed to Domitian is one bizarre party. Lucius Cassius Dio reports that in 89 AD, Domitian invited notable Romans to a dinner party. His guests found their names inscribed on tombstone-like slabs, the décor entirely black, and their host obsessed by the topic of death.
They were convinced they would not make it home alive. When they did return home, they received gifts, including their name slab. What did it mean, and did it happen? At the very least, given that the event is cited as an example of Domitian's sadism, it hints towards the disapproval senators had for the Emperor.
8. Domitian wrote a book on the subject of hair care
Suetonius describes Domitian as tall, "handsome and graceful," yet so sensitive about his baldness that he took it as a personal insult if anyone else was teased for it. He wrote a book, "On the Care of the Hair," dedicated in sympathy to a friend.
9. He was assassinated
Domitian was assassinated in 96 AD. Suetonius' account of the assassination gives the impression of an organized operation undertaken by lower-class members of the imperial court concerned for their safety. At the same time, Tacitus could not pinpoint its planner.
Domitian was the last of the Flavian Dynasty to rule Rome. The Senate offered the throne to Nerva. Nerva was the first of a series of rulers (98-196) now known as the 'Five Good Emperors,' thanks to Edward Gibbon's influential History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire published in the 18th century.
10. Domitian was subject to 'damnation memoriae
The Senate immediately denounced Domitian upon his death and condemned his memory. They did this by the decree of 'damnatio memoriae,' the deliberate removal of an individual's existence from public record and reverential spaces.
Domitian is one of the more famous subjects of 'damnations' that we know about. On statuary, names would be chiseled from inscriptions, while faces were eradicated from paintings and coins, damned figures' heads were replaced or scrubbed to obscurity.
The deepening political divide in the U.S. and an apparent realignment of the world order have prompted many comparisons to the fall of the Roman Empire. However, can we look back at ancient civilizations and draw parallels with those that exist today? Moreover, can the past's lessons help us tackle the challenges of the present?
