Domitian – Roman emperor

Efficient tyrant rebuilt parts of Rome

Domitian, son of Vespasian, became 
Emperor after the death of his brother

The Emperor Domitian, who kept the Roman upper classes under control by subjecting them to a 15-year reign of terror, died on this day in 96 AD in Rome.

He has been described as ‘a ruthless, but efficient, autocrat,’ who clashed with the Senate and drastically reduced their powers. But he strengthened the Roman economy and started a massive building programme to restore the city of Rome, which had been damaged by successive wars and fires.

The last member of the Flavian dynasty, Domitian was the son of Vespasian, and the brother of Titus, who were his two predecessors as Emperor.

He played only a minor role during their reigns, but after the death of Titus, who had no children, Domitian was declared Emperor by the Praetorian Guard.

Domitian revalued the Roman coinage and strengthened the border defences of the Empire. He fought wars in Caledonia (Scotland) and Dacia, which roughly corresponds with present day Romania, and he became popular with both the ordinary people and the army. 

But he was considered a tyrant by the Roman senate because he appointed himself as a permanent censor and he tried to control public and private morals.  He prosecuted corrupt public officials and punished anyone who had libelled him with either exile or death. He also expelled all philosophers from Rome during his reign.

Domitian was born in Rome in 51 AD. He received the education of a privileged young man, studying rhetoric and literature. In his book, De vita Caesarum, commonly known in English as The Twelve Caesars, the historian Suetonius wrote that Domitian could quote the important poets, and writers such as Homer and Virgil, on significant occasions.

Domitian was unpopular 
with the Roman Senate

After falling in love with Domitia Longina, Domitian persuaded her husband to divorce her so that he could marry her himself. But when their only son died in childhood, Domitian exiled his wife for unknown reasons, although he quickly recalled her.

For his personal use, Domitian had  the Villa of Domitian built in the Alban Hills outside Rome. In the capital itself, he built the Palace of Domitian on the Palatine Hill and he built several other villas in different parts of Italy.

He had the Stadium of Domitian built and he dedicated it as a gift to the people of Rome. It was the city’s first permanent venue for competitive athletics and the Piazza Navona occupies the same area now.

He increased the silver purity of Roman coins and he restored and improved many buildings in Rome, while carrying out a rigorous taxation policy. He founded the Capitoline Games in 86 AD and spent money on public entertainment.

Domitian was assassinated on 18 September 96 at the age of 44 after a conspiracy by court officials. He was stabbed in the groin by one of his courtiers and although he fought back and killed his assailant, other courtiers joined in the fray and succeeded in killing the Emperor.

Domitian was succeeded as Emperor by Marcus Cocceius Nerva, who had served under Nero and succeeding members of the Flavian dynasty and was the first choice of the Senate. Although the Senate was said to have rejoiced at the death of Domitian, the army were upset by it.

The Praetorian Guard demanded the executions of Domitian’s assassins but when Nerva refused they laid siege to the imperial palace and took Nerva hostage. He was forced to submit to their demands and even gave a speech thanking them. He then adopted Trajan as his successor and abdicated.

Although the opinion of Domitian recorded in classical writing was mostly negative, later historians have re-evaluated his achievements and he is seen as having contributed to providing the foundation for the next, more peaceful, 100 years of the Roman empire. 

The remains of the Villa of Domitian still exist within
the gardens of Villa Barberini in the Alban Hills

Travel tip:

The Villa of Domitian, a vast and luxurious property, was built by the Emperor in the Alban Hills, 20km (12 miles) from Rome, where the summer temperatures are more comfortable than in the city. The villa faces west, overlooking the sea and the port city of Ostia. The remains of the villa are now located within the papal Villa Barberini property in the pontifical estate of Castel Gandolfo. The Villa Barberini gardens are open to visitors.  Situated in the Alban Hills with panoramic views of Lake Albano, Castel Gandolfo is home to approximately 8,900 residents and is renowned as one of Italy's most scenic towns, listed in I Borghi più belli d'Italia - The most beautiful villages of Italy.

What remains of the 'stadium' inside Domitian's
extensive palace on the Palatine Hill in Rome

Travel tip:

The Palace of Domitian was built as the Emperor’s official residence in Rome on the Palatine Hill in the city. Only parts of the palace can be seen today as some of it lies under later buildings. It was designed by the architect Rabinius and had an official wing (Domus Flavia) and a private house (Domus Augustana). You can still make out the shape of its two courtyards from the existing remains.  From the time of Augustus, who ruled from 27 BC to 14 AD, Roman emperors traditionally lived in an imperial palace atop the Palatine Hill, the central hill among the seven hills of ancient Rome.  Domitian's palace is one of three with remains that are visible today, the others being those of Augustus and Tiberius. The word ‘palace’ – palazzo in Italian – in fact derives from the name of the hill, which looks down upon the Roman Forum on one side, and the Circus Maximus on the other.

Also on this day:

1587: The birth of singer and composer Francesca Caccini

1860: The birth of opera composer Alberto Franchetti

1916: The birth of actor Rossano Brazzi

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Domitian - Roman emperor

Authoritarian ruler was last of the Flavian dynasty

Domitian succeeded his brother Titus
as emperor in 81AD

The emperor Domitian, the last of three members of the Flavian dynasty to rule Rome, was born on this day in 51AD.

He was the son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, during whose reigns he had a minor role in the government of the empire that was largely ceremonial. Yet when Titus died suddenly only two years after succeeding his father in 79AD, Domitian quickly presented himself to the Praetorian Guard to be proclaimed emperor.

The official record was that Titus, who had spent virtually the whole of his period on the throne dealing with the aftermath of the catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD and a devastating fire in Rome, succumbed to a fever on a trip to the Sabine territories north of the city, but there were suspicions that he had been poisoned by his brother, perhaps in revenge for not having been given the position of power he had anticipated when Titus succeeded Vespasian. At the same time, there were rumours of an affair between Titus and Domitian’s wife, Domitia.

Vespasian and Titus had governed as the heads of a republic, but Domitian decided immediately that he wanted absolute power, moving the centre of government to the imperial court and making it clear that, in his view, Rome should be ruled as a divine monarchy. This put him at odds with the Senate from the outset.

Domitian’s best-known accomplishment was to build the Flavian Palace on the Palatine Hill, which was not the only sumptuous home he lavished on himself. He also ordered the construction of the Villa of Domitian, a vast palace situated 20 km (12 miles) outside Rome in the Alban Hills.

How the Flavian Palace complex would have
looked after its completion in 92AD

Yet he did much to restore the many buildings in Rome that had fallen into disrepair even before Vespasian came to power, due to fire and decay. He rebuilt the Capitol, which had been gutted by fire, built a new temple to Jupiter, a new stadium on the site of what is now Piazza Navona, and a concert hall for musicians and poets. 

He sought to raise the standards of public morality by forbidding male castration, also taking action against the homosexuality that was not rare among senators. He was nonetheless seen as a generous leader and was viewed among those around him, at least early in his reign, as considerate towards his friends and fair while dispensing justice.

Domitian strengthened the economy by revaluing the Roman coinage and enhanced the empire’s borders and fought significant wars in Britain, where his general Agricola attempted to conquer Caledonia (Scotland), and in Dacia, in the area now known as Romania.

The Roman population did not mind the authoritarian nature of Domitian’s rule and he was popular too with the army, whose numbers he considerably strengthened. But he was considered a tyrant by members of the Roman Senate.

Rome's senators saw Domitian as
a despot and tyrant

Domitian was only too aware of this and his relationship with the senate caused him to become increasingly paranoid during his 15-year reign. He had a number of Senators executed for treason and banned free speech in an effort to silence opposition to him.  Seemingly out of jealousy, he had Sullustius Lucullus, governor of Britannia, executed for naming a new type of lance after himself.

What really pushed the senate over the edge, historians surmise, was his insistence on being addressed as dominus et deus - master and god.  Senators and their supporters began to plot against him, culminating in his assassination in September 96, apparently instigated by Domitian's chamberlain Parthenius, possibly with the connivance or at least approval of his wife, who feared for her life because of her husband’s increasing lack of trust in even those closest to him.

Several days before the plot reached its bloody conclusion, Domitian claimed that Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, had appeared to the him in a dream, from which the emperor emerged convinced his death would take place at midday. He became anxious at around that time each day.

On the day he was killed, Domitian repeatedly asked Stephanus, a servant, to tell him what time it was. Unbeknown to him, it was Stephanus who had been charged with carrying out the attack and he lied to the emperor, telling him that it was already late in the afternoon.

Reassured, Domitian went to his desk to work, only for Stephanus, who had been wearing a bandage on his arm for several days, pretending he had been injured, to appear at his side, claiming to have uncovered a plot. He handed the emperor a document, which Domitian read eagerly. While the emperor was distracted, Stephanus ripped off the bandage, under which he had been concealing a knife, and stabbed Domitian in the groin. 

Domitian fought back, drawing his own knife and inflicting a fatal wound on his assailant, but others appeared to finish the job.  His body was taken away and cremated, his nurse Phyllis taking his ashes away to be buried at the Flavian Temple. 

Senators could not contain their delight at his death, proclaimed Marcus Cocceius Nerva, a senior consul, as the new emperor,  and soon ordered that statues and arches Domitian built to celebrate his power were pulled down, his coins melted and his name erased from public records. There was said to be indifference among the public, but the army, who remained loyal to him, grieved his loss, and though their demands that the plotters be punished were initially refused, in time a number of trials and executions took place.

Roman historians such as Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, and Suetonius portrayed Domitian as a cruel and paranoid tyrant in their writings. Yet the view among many modern historians is that Domitian was a ruthless but efficient autocrat whose cultural, economic, and political policies laid the foundations for a period of peace and stability.

A section of the visible remains of the 
Domus Augustana on Rome's Palatine Hill

Travel tip:

The Flavian Palace,  also known as the Domus Flavia, was completed in 92 AD, its design attributed to Domitian’s master architect, Rabirius. Domus Flavia is the name for the northwestern section of the palace, which contained large rooms for official business, entertaining and ceremonial purposes. The domestic wing to the southeast, where the emperor lived, was called the Domus Augustana.  Running along the eastern side of the Domus Augustana was Domitian’s so-called Hippodrome or Stadium, which was actually an elaborate garden with the appearance of a Roman stadium, although it was too small to accommodate the chariot races of which Domitian was an enthusiastic spectator.  The remains sit atop the Palatine Hill.

The Villa of Domitian enjoyed commanding 
views over beautiful Lago Albano outside Rome

Travel tip:

The Villa of Domitian was a vast and sumptuous villa, built between 81 and 96AD, situated 20km (12 miles) outside Rome, in the Alban Hills, in the ancient territory of Ager Albanus, which contained the city of Alba Longa, overlooking the Lago Albano lake. The remains of the villa are located mostly within the estate of the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo, the traditional summer residence of the popes, with other relics in the towns of Castel Gandolfo and Albano Laziale. Some are visible in the gardens of the Villa Barberini. 

Also on this day:

1784: The birth of philanthropist and businessman Sir Moses Montefiore

1913: The birth of operatic baritone Tito Gobbi

1925: The birth of the avant-garde composer Luciano Berio

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