Difference between revisions of "Domitian"

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*This page is edited by [[Samuele Rocca]], Israel
#REDIRECT [[:Category: Domitian (subject)]]
*ANCIENT SOURCES: see [[Domitian (sources)]]
*SCHOLARLY AND FICTIONAL WORKS: see [[:Category: Domitian (subject)]]


[[Titus Flavius Domitianus]] (51 – 96 CE), was the third and last ruler of the Flavian dinasty.
==Overview==
[[Domitian]], son of [[Vespasian]], succeeded to his brother as [[emperor]] from 81 till 96 CE as the third and last ruler of the [[Flavian]] dynasty. During [[Domitian]]’s rule the Imperial government became more and more despotic, thus many scholars see in his reign the passage from principatus to dominatus. [[Domitian]] was murdered in 96 C.E.
====Early Career====
[[Domitian]] was born in Rome in 51 CE, the son of [[Vespasian]] and his wife Domitilla. In 69 CE, the young [[Domitian]] was at Rome. Left undisturbed by the successive rulers, [[Galba]] and [[Otho]], he was placed under house arrest by [[Vitellius]]. Later he had to flee disguised as a worshipper of [[Isis]], while his uncle [[Flavius Sabinus]] was executed. He was the most important member of the [[Flavian]] family, prior to [[Vespasian]]’ arrival in Rome and he received from the Senate the title of [[Caesar]]. [[Domitian]] was also appointed praetor with consular power. However, as soon as [[Vespasian]] entered in Rome, his power was curtailed in favor of [[Mucianus]]. In 70 CE, [[Domitian]] married [[Domitia Longina]], the daughter of [[Corbulo]], and the wife of [[Lucius Aelius Lama]], who had to divorce his wife. They had a son in 71 CE and a daughter in 74 CE, but both died young. As a second son, [[Domitian]] was spared 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 the same. When [[Titus]] died in 81 CE, [[Domitian]] was chosen as his successor with the support of the praetorians.
====Imperial Succession====
The main characteristic of [[Domitian]]’s rule was his despotic government, which marked the passage from principatus to dominatus. [[Domitian]] promoted in the administration of the Empire the equestrian order at the expenses of the [[Senate]]. In fact [[Domitian]] enjoyed a negative relationship with the [[Senate]], from which he withdraw any decisional power. Moreover [[Domitian]] over the year developed a fear of persecution that induced him to execute several members of the senatorial and equestrian orders, including [[Domitia Longina]]'s former husband [[Lucius Aelius Lamia]] and three of [[Domitian]]'s own family members, [[Titus Flavius Sabinus]], Titus Flavius Clemens and Marcus Arrecinus Clemens, who were executed as early as 83 or 85 CE. His rule was also characterized by the persecution of the philosophers in 93 C.E. Domitian’s rule in the administration was characterized by the tendency to replace freedmen by equites in secretarial and financial works, a policy continued by latter emperors, most notably [[Hadrian]]. During his rule was created the task of iuridicus, a new official, who relieved the governors in some of the larger imperial provinces of their jurisdiction among civilians. [[Domitian]] reconstructed and embellished Rome, which still bear the scars of the fire of 64 CE and of the civil war in 69 CE. Although his most important building project was the imperial palace erected on the Palatine by the architect Rabirius, [[Domitian]] repaired and erected no less than fifty buildings including the [[Temple of Jupiter]] on the Capitoline Hill. [[Domitian]] also inaugurated in 86 CE the [[Capitoline Games]] to be held every four years. He erected in the [[Campus Martium]] a stadium, in the site where today stands Piazza Navona. During his rule, the economy received a setback, and once more, after the rule of [[Nero]], the [[denarius]] was devalued heavily. Thus heavy taxes were raised, and various fiscal abuses resulted, most notably in the collection of the [[Fiscus Iudaicus]]. However, [[Domitian]]’s foreign policy, mainly in Germany, was quite successful. In 83 C.E., [[Domitian]] did lead a series of successful campaigns on the [[Rhine]] against the [[Chatti]] that resulted in the construction of the Rhine limes. In 89 CE, the governor of [[Germania Superior]], [[Lucius Antonius Saturninus]] revolted against [[Domitian]] with the aid of the [[Chatti]], but his rebellion was soon quashed. The Roman army under the command of [[Agricola]] also advanced in [[Britannia]], where in 84 CE the Caledonians under the leadership of Calgus were defeated. Next year in 85 CE, [[Agricola]] was called back. In [[Dacia]], however, [[Domitian]] policy was less successful. As the Dacians, under the leadership of Decebalus harassed and sacked Roman settlement along the Danube, killing the governor of [[Moesia]], Oppius Sabinus, [[Domitian]] mounted personally an expedition against the Dacians in 85 CE, driving the Barbarians back across the [[Danube]]. However Cornelius Fuscus, the praetorian prefect was defeated and killed in 86 CE during an ill-fated expedition at the first battle of Tapae. Once more Domitian led an expedition against the Dacians, who were defeated in 88 CE. However in the following peace, [[Domitian]] agreed to pay to Decebalus an annual subsidy. According to Christian apologetic literature, under [[Domitian]], [[Christians were persecuted]]. The execution of [[Flavius Clemens]] and his wife [[Domitilla]], accused of atheism, had been seen as a proof that the latter were converted or sympathizers of Judaism, or Christianity.
[[Domitian]] personal life was seen in a negative light. In 83 CE he divorced and exiled his wife [[Domitia Longina]], after she was caught with the mime Paris, who was executed. However in 91 C.E. she was called back as empress, but not as wife. In the meanwhile, his passion for [[Julia Titi]], daughter of [[Titus]], ended in the latter death in 91 C.E. [[Domitian]] was murdered in 96, in a plot organized by members of the [[Senate]], Stephanus, the personal servant of the deceased Julia Flavia, members of the Praetorian Guard and the empress [[Domitia Longina]]. He was succeeded by [[Nerva]]. 
====Domitian the Jews and Judaea====
It is difficult to evaluate [[Domitian]]’s policy towards the Jews, if there was such policy. Soon after his accession to the throne, the mint of Rome ceased abruptly to issue the [[Judaea Capta]] series. However provincial coinage, including that of [[Agrippa II]], continued to strike coins depicting the Roman triumph on Judaea. [[Suetonius]] complains of a series of abuses connected to the levy of the [[Fiscus Iudaicus]]. It is unclear if the victims of these abuses were only Jews, who “assimilated” in the surrounding world, and thus denied a Jewish identity, or Romans, who owned Jewish slaves and were obliged to pay the tax for their Jewish slaves. On the other side, apparently, [[Josephus]], who lived in Rome, is not negative on [[Domitian]]. On the contrary, it was under [[Domitian]]’s rule that [[Josephus]] could publish, apparently unhindered, the [[Jewish Antiquities]], [[Against Apion]], an apology of Judaism, and his [[Life]]. Moreover it seems that [[Domitian]] extended the reign of [[Agrippa II]], who reigned till the end of the century. No rebellion is recorded in Judaea under his rule. In fact the Senatorial province minted various coins, some of which, bear Jewish symbols. Less fortunate was [[Rabban Gamaliel II]] of [[Yavneh]], who according to [[Rabbinic literature]], went together with various Rabbis to Rome to meet the Emperor and have his leadership recognized. 
== Domitian in ancient sources==
== Domitian in Scholarship==
== Domitian in Fiction==
==Related categories==
*[[Roman Emperors]] / [[Domitian]]
*[[Josephus]]
==External links==
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Domitian Wikipedia]
*[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=64&letter=V Jewish Encyclopedia (1906)]


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[[Category:Index]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:People]]

Latest revision as of 07:47, 19 February 2012

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