Domitian: Power-Hungry Madman? Or Victim of Ancient Propaganda?

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You’re probably familiar with Roman emperors such as Augustus or Trajan, men who ascended to the throne and took the Roman Empire to new heights. You’ve probably also heard of rulers such as Nero, Commodus, or Caligula, the ones who abused their power and treated Rome as a personal playground. These are usually the two groups of emperors that get the most attention, sitting at opposite ends of the spectrum. But where exactly does Domitian fit in?

If we go strictly by ancient sources, then that’s easy: he’s firmly in the second camp, filled with maniacs and deviants. Suetonius, Cassius Dio, and Tacitus all wrote about Domitian, portraying him as a vicious, paranoid, and power-hungry tyrant. However, many of them also had personal grudges against him, so perhaps they might not have been paragons of objectivity when they wrote about him. Most historians tend to have a more lenient view of the emperor. They don’t deny his ruthlessness and autocracy, but they think these were mixed with efficiency, realism, practicality, and a genuine desire to improve Rome, resulting in one of the most contentious and controversial reigns in the history of the Roman Empire.

Domitian was born Titus Flavius Domitianus on October 24, 51 A.D., part of the short-lived Flavian dynasty that ruled the Roman Empire for three decades during the second half of the first century. His father was Vespasian, a crucial emperor who brought much-needed stability to Rome following the civil war caused by the Year of Four Emperors and may have even saved the empire from collapsing just 100 years into its existence. His mother was Domitilla the Elder, who died some time before her husband became emperor. He had an older sister named Domitilla the Younger, who also died before the family took power. Domitian married once in 71 A.D. to Domitia Longina. The couple had one son together who died young.

Domitian grew up in the shadow of his brother Titus, who had clearly been groomed to take over the empire one day. Vespasian even trusted his eldest son enough to lead the charge in the First Jewish-Roman War. Therefore, nobody was really surprised when Titus named him the new heir, and he later became emperor. By most accounts, Titus had a positive start to his reign, even when faced with the worst natural disaster in Roman history, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. However, all hopes of a long, successful reign quickly vanished when Titus fell ill and died suddenly in 81 A.D., just two years after becoming emperor.

Despite the fact that Domitian had previously only held ceremonial titles and never really had any actual responsibilities, he was now the emperor of Rome. There was no love lost between the two brothers. Suetonius accused Domitian of plotting against his sibling and leaving him for dead once Titus fell ill, seemingly more concerned with his ascension to the throne than his brother’s well-being. Even after becoming emperor, Domitian continued to assail Titus’s memory in ambiguous phrases in his speeches and edicts.

Domitian wasted no time in becoming drunk with power almost as soon as he took the throne. He gave himself the modest title of “Dominus et Deus” (Master and God) and made the Senate almost redundant by severely curtailing their powers. The two sides remained at odds throughout Domitian’s reign. The emperor made no secret of the fact that he considered the Senate an obsolete remnant of a bygone era and that he alone should be the one making all of the decisions that would lead Rome into a new and glorious age. This is the main reason why ancient historians were so critical of Domitian, as many were senators themselves or belonged to the same social strata.

Suetonius described the emperor as rapacious through need and cruel through fear, while Cassius Dio said that Domitian was not only bold and quick to anger but also treacherous and secretive, pretending to be fond of those he most desired to slay. That being said, Suetonius does give credit where it’s due, admitting that Domitian took a very hands-on approach when it came to ruling over his empire. Unlike other power-mad emperors who treated Rome as their personal piggy bank, Domitian enacted many new laws, policies, and edicts, getting involved in all aspects of administration.

For starters, Domitian fought against nepotism and did not award many offices to his family members, even though this was a common occurrence at the time. He opened many political offices to freedmen and equestrians, which were typically reserved for the senatorial classes. He also ensured that justice was dispensed diligently by sitting on many tribunal hearings and targeting jurors and arbiters accused of accepting bribes. His suspicious nature and slight paranoia worked in his favor, as the level of scrutiny he enacted over his underlings kept corruption at a minimum.

Another curious aspect that goes against the mad emperor persona is that Domitian seemed to be a bit of a prude. While we’re used to hearing about the bizarre behaviors of other Roman emperors, if Domitian had a wild side, he kept it well hidden. Outwardly, he clamped down on licentious behavior and released guidelines for strict morals. He forbade public theater and satire aimed at distinguished men and women, openly condemning high-ranking officials caught in compromising situations. He even enacted capital punishment on Vestal Virgins found guilty of breaking their chastity vows.

The only scandal from Domitian’s private life comes from Cassius Dio, who said that the emperor’s wife, Domitia, had an affair with an actor named Paris. Once Domitian found out, he had Paris murdered in the street and intended to put his wife to death as well until he was talked out of it by an advisor. He and Domitia became estranged, and the emperor started a new relationship with a niece named Julia.

When Domitian wasn’t busy passing laws and making edicts, he was rebuilding Rome. The eternal city had seen better days, having suffered one civil war and two major fires in previous decades. This was a costly and time-consuming endeavor, and Domitian was not satisfied with merely restoring Rome to its former glory. He had ambitious construction plans to give it the grandeur he felt it deserved. He finished two major building projects started by his father and brother: the Temple of Vespasian and Titus, and the famed Colosseum. He renovated some of Rome’s greatest structures, such as the Circus Maximus and the Pantheon. Finally, he had his master architect, Rabirius, design a new palace for himself on the Palatine Hill, a palace of unimaginable opulence that would be the envy of all of Rome, called the Flavian Palace.

Domitian was a devout man who regularly offered praise to the gods, particularly Minerva, the goddess of wisdom and justice. He oversaw the fourth and final reconstruction of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, making it bigger and more spectacular than ever. To show his devoutness and score points with the common people, Domitian regularly organized games, fights, and races, presiding over competitions in a purple toga and wearing a golden crown adorned with figures of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva.

Domitian understood the importance of keeping the people, the army, and the Senate happy to avoid being overthrown. The Senate was out of the question, so he ensured he never got on the bad side of the soldiers or the plebeians. He went on the warpath early in his reign, believing military glory was essential for the new Roman Empire he envisioned. His first target was a Germanic tribe called the Chatti. Although his campaign didn’t receive the reception he hoped for, he declared war on the Chatti in 83 A.D. and founded a new legion to take them on. He scored some early victories, enough to justify a military triumph in his honor.

However, historians of his time criticized his war as uncalled for and a mock triumph. Tacitus noted that Domitian’s actions were motivated by jealousy of a general named Agricola, who was winning actual victories in Britain while Domitian was merely play-fighting. Domitian eventually put a stop to Agricola’s career without just cause, recalling him to Rome in 85 A.D. and refusing to give him another military post.

In 87 A.D., Domitian ended the campaign in Britain altogether, abandoning the Caledonian territories and moving the Roman border further south. His plan soon became evident as he set his sights on a new target: the kingdom of Dacia. The Dacians began conducting raids into Moesia, and when they met the Romans in battle and won, it became clear that a stronger military presence was needed. Domitian ordered his troops from Britain to withdraw and travel to Moesia, assuming that five Roman legions led by General Calinius Fuscus would be enough to handle the Dacians.

However, the Dacians were led by their greatest commander, King Decebalus, who was shrewd in warfare. When Fuscus launched a counter-offensive and drove the Dacians across the border, he thought the war was won. But Domitian was on his way back to Rome to prepare for his second triumph when he heard the news that Fuscus had crossed the Danube into Dacia and walked into an ambush. The general was killed, and one of his legions was completely annihilated, leading to a complete humiliation for Domitian.

The war continued for the next few years with neither side gaining a decisive advantage. In 88 A.D., Domitian had no choice but to accept a peace treaty with Decebalus, which was very much in favor of the Dacians. Although Dacia became a client kingdom of Rome, the Dacians used Roman money and engineers to build new fortifications and equip their soldiers. The treaty was considered disgraceful by both the Senate and the army.

Even though Domitian eventually stabilized his borders, he never truly recovered from the war with the Dacians, which resulted in a humiliating compromise. The second half of Domitian’s 16-year reign was marked by numerous executions. Up until that point, he was mainly content to neuter the Senate’s power, but now he wanted them out of the way permanently. This led to a purge of senators, ex-consuls, governors, and other officials executed for trivial reasons.

Domitian’s growing paranoia was exacerbated by actual plots against him. One such event occurred in 89 A.D. when the governor of Germania Superior, Lucius Antonius Saturninus, mounted a rebellion against the emperor. However, he was surrounded by loyal generals, including the future emperor Trajan, who managed to stamp out the revolt. This presented a convenient opportunity for Domitian to execute more people he accused of being co-conspirators.

Ultimately, a new conspiracy was hatched, and on September 18, 96 A.D., a court steward named Stefanus gained a private audience with Domitian under the pretense of having uncovered a plot to assassinate the emperor. However, he was part of the very plot he claimed to have uncovered. While Domitian was reading documents, Stefanus pulled out a dagger and stabbed him. Although this did not kill him, a scuffle ensued, and other conspirators entered the chamber and stabbed him multiple times, leading to his death.

With Domitian’s assassination came the end of the Flavian dynasty. He left behind a controversial legacy, which could be described as a game of two halves: the first filled with ambition, reform, and potential, ultimately replaced with failure, tyranny, and bloodshed. Reactions to his death were mixed. The senators were overjoyed and rushed to fill the house, assailing the dead emperor with insults. The people of Rome didn’t seem to care much, but the soldiers wanted Domitian deified and his assassins executed, contrasting with the Senate’s wishes to erase his memory.

Without any heirs, the Senate needed to select Domitian’s successor carefully to avoid a new civil war, but they chose poorly. The new Roman emperor was Nerva, a former consul who had served since the times of Nero. While he seemed like a decent candidate, he was already in his mid-60s and commanded no respect from the army. He ruled for only a year and a half, and during his reign, the Praetorian Guard revolted against him, taking him hostage and forcing him to hand over Domitian’s killers for execution.

Ultimately, Nerva’s greatest attribute may have been his ability to admit he wasn’t the right man for the job, which is why in 98 A.D., he willingly and peacefully transferred power to his adopted heir, Trajan, who was the right man for the job.

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