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Domitian – Roman Caesar: 69-81 A.D.
Emperor
: 81-96 A.D. –
Bronze 29mm (16.49 grams) of
Antioch in
Seleukis and Pieria
Reference: RPC 2021.
IMP DOMITIANVS CAES AVG, Laureate head right.
Large SC within laurel-wreath.
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Titus Flavius Domitianus
(24 October 51 –
18 September 96), known as Domitian, was a
Roman Emperor
 who
reigned from 14 September 81 until his death. Domitian was the third and last
emperor of the
Flavian dynasty
, the house which ruled the
Roman Empire
between 69 and 96 and encompassed
the reigns of Domitian’s father
Vespasian
(69–79), his older brother
Titus
(79–81), and that of Domitian himself.
Domitian’s youth and early career were largely spent in the
shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the
First Jewish-Roman War
. This situation
continued under the rule of Vespasian, who became emperor on 21 December 69
following the civil war
known as the
Year of the Four Emperors
. While Titus
effectually reigned as co-emperor with his father, Domitian was left with
honours but no responsibilities. Vespasian died on 23 June 79 and was succeeded
by Titus, whose own reign came to an unexpected end when he was struck by a
fatal illness on 13 September 81. The following day Domitian was declared
emperor by the
Praetorian Guard
, commencing a reign which
lasted fifteen years—longer than any man who had governed Rome since
Tiberius
.
As emperor, Domitian strengthened the economy by revaluing
the Roman coinage
, expanded the border defenses of
the Empire, and initiated a massive building programme to restore the damaged
city of Rome
. Significant wars were fought in Britain,
where
Gnaeus Julius Agricola
expanded the Roman
Empire as far as modern day
Scotland
, and in
Dacia
, where Domitian was unable to procure a
decisive victory against king
Decebalus
. Domitian’s government nonetheless
exhibited
totalitarian
characteristics. As emperor, he
saw himself as the new
Augustus
, an enlightened despot destined to
guide the Roman Empire into a new era of Flavian renaissance. Religious,
military, and cultural
propaganda
fostered a
cult of personality
, and by nominating himself
perpetual
censor
, he sought to control public and private
morals. As a consequence, Domitian was popular with the people and the army but
despised by members of the
Roman Senate
as a tyrant.
Domitian’s reign came to an end on 18 September 96 when he
was assassinated by court officials. The same day he was succeeded by his friend
and advisor Nerva
, who founded the long-lasting
Nerva-Antonine dynasty
. After his death,
Domitian’s memory was
condemned to oblivion
by the Roman Senate,
while senatorial authors such as
Tacitus
,
Pliny the Younger
and
Suetonius
published histories propagating the
view of Domitian as a cruel and paranoid tyrant. Modern history has rejected
these views, instead characterising Domitian as a ruthless but efficient
autocrat, whose cultural, economic and political programme provided the
foundation of the peaceful 2nd century.
Domitia Longina (b. 53 – c. 130) was an Empress and wife to the
Roman
Emperor Domitian
. She was the youngest daughter of the
general and
consul
Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo
. Domitia divorced her
first husband Lucius Aelius Lamia in order to marry Domitian in 71. The
marriage produced only one son, whose early death is believed to have been the
cause of temporary rift between Domitia and her husband in 83. She became
Empress of Rome upon Domitian’s accession in 81, and remained so until his
assassination in 96. She is believed to have died sometime between
126 and 130.
Family
Domitia Longina was born sometime between 50 and 55, as the youngest daughter
to the family of Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo
and Cassia Longina.[1]
Through her mother (a great-great-great granddaughter of Augustus), Domitia
Longina was a direct descendant of
Augustus Caesar
and one of the last remaining
members of the Julian lineage. Her paternal aunt was Milonia
Caesonia
, Roman Empress to
Caligula.
Her elder sister, Domitia Corbula
, married the senator Lucius
Annius Vinicianus. Domitia’s father Corbulo had been one of Rome’s most
respected Senators and generals, serving as
consul
under Caligula, and conducting military
campaigns in Germania
and
Parthia
under
Claudius and Nero
.[1]
Following the failed Pisonian conspiracy
against Emperor
Nero
in 65 however, Corbulo was disgraced when his family was brought in connection
to the conspirators. Corbulo himself was forced to commit
suicide,
while Annius Vicinianus and his brother Annius Pollio, were executed in the
ensueing purges.[2]
Little is known about the life of Domitia before her marriage to Domitian,
but sometime before 70, Domitia was married to
Lucius Aelius Plautius Lamia Aelianus
, a man of
senatorial
rank.[3]
Marriage
to Domitian
Reign
of Vespasian and Titus
The Triumph of Titus, by Sir
Lawrence Alma-Tadema
(1885). The
composition alludes to the rumoured love affair between Titus (back
left) and Domitia Longina (left, next to Domitian).[4]
Following Nero’s suicide on June 9, 68, the Roman Empire plunged into a year
long
civil war known as the
Year of the Four Emperors
, which saw the
successive rise and fall of the Emperors
Galba,
Otho
and
Vitellius. The crisis came to an end with the accession of
Vespasian,
who re-established peace in the Empire and founded the short-lived
Flavian dynasty. In 71, Vespasian attempted to arrange a dynastic
marriage between his youngest son Domitian, and the daughter of his eldest son
Titus,
Julia Flavia.[5]
By this time however, Domitian had already met and fallen in love with Domitia
Longina, and managed to persuade Lamia to divorce her, so that Domitian could
marry her himself.[5]
Despite its initial recklessness, the alliance was very prestigious for both
families. The new marriage rehabilitated Corbulo’s family, while serving the
broader Flavian propaganda
of the time, which sought to
diminish Vespasian’s political success under the less reputable emperors of the
Julio-Claudian dynasty
. Instead connections to
Claudius and Britannicus were emphasised, and Nero’s victims, or those otherwise
disadvantaged by him, rehabilitated.[2]
In 73, Domitia and Domitian’s only attested son was born. It is not known
what the boy’s name was, but he died in childhood sometime between 77 and 81.[6]
During this time, Domitian’s role in the Flavian government was largely
ceremonial
. While his elder brother Titus
shared almost equal powers with his father, Domitian was left with honours but
no responsibilities.[7]
This situation remained unchanged when Titus succeeded Vespasian as Emperor on
June 23, 79, leading both ancient and modern authors to suggest a mutual
animosity between the two brothers. In 80, Titus granted a
suffect consulship
to Domitia’s former husband
Aelius Lamia, according to Gsell as a personal insult against Domitian.[8]
On another occasion, when Titus urged Lamia to marry again, Lamia asked whether
“he too was looking for a wife”.[9]
After barely two years in office, Titus unexpectedly died of brain fever on
September 13, 81. His last words were reported to have been: “I have made but
one mistake”.[10]
The contemporary historian Suetonius
speculated on the possible
involvement of Domitian in his brother’s death, attributing his final words to a
popular rumour of the time, which held that Titus had carried on an affair with
Domitia Longina. However even he dismisses the story as highly unlikely.[6][10]
On September 14, the Roman Senate
confirmed Domitian as Titus’
successor, granting tribunician power, the office of
Pontifex Maximus, and the titles of
Augustus
, and
Pater
Patriae. Consequently, Domitia Longina became Empress of Rome.
Empress
of Rome
Shortly following his accession as Emperor, Domitian bestowed the honorific
title of
Augusta
upon Domitia, while their late son
was deified
. Both appeared on Domitian’s coinage
during this time. Nevertheless, the marriage appears to have faced a significant
crisis in 83. For reasons unknown, Domitian briefly
exiled
Domitia, and then soon recalled her,
either out of love or amidst rumours he was carrying on a relationship with his
niece Julia Flavia.[11]
According to Suetonius, Domitia was exiled because of an affair with a famous
actor named
Paris
. When Domitian found out, he allegedly
murdered Paris in the street, and promptly divorced his wife. Suetonius further
adds that, once Domitia was exiled, Domitian took Julia as his mistress, who
later died during a failed abortion
.[12]
Modern historians consider this highly implausible however, noting that many
of these stories were propagated by hostile senatorial authors, who condemned
Domitian as a tyrant
after his death. Malicious rumours, such
as those concerning Domitia’s alleged infidelity, were eagerly repeated, and
used to highlight the hypocrisy
of a ruler publicly preaching a
return to Augustan
morals, while privately indulging in
excesses and presiding over a corrupt
court.[13]
Domitian did exile his wife, but Jones argues that most likely he did so for her
failure to produce an
heir
.[6]
Nevertheless, rumours regarding Domitia’s alleged misconduct with Paris
circulated even in Domitian’s time, and he did not take insults directed at his
marriage lightly. Not long after his accession, Aelius Lamia was put to death
for the joking remarks made earlier during the reign of Titus.[14]
In 93, a son of Helvidius Priscus
was executed for having
composed a
farce satirizing Domitian’s separation from his wife. Stories of
Domitian’s affair with Julia were likely an invention of post-Domitianic writers
however.[15]
She died a natural death, and was subsequently deified by Domitian.[11]
By 84, Domitia had returned to the palace,[16]
where she lived for the remainder of Domitian’s reign without incident.[17]
Little is known of Domitia’s precise activities as Empress, or how much
influence she wielded in Domitian’s government, but it seems her role was
largely limited to ceremonial appearances. From Suetonius, we know that she at
least accompanied the Emperor to the
theatre
, while the
Jewish
writer
Josephus
speaks of benefits he received from
her.[18]
Despite the crisis of 83, their relationship appears to have been happy.
Domitian never married another woman in his life.
Later
years
On September 18, 96, Domitian was assassinated in a palace conspiracy
organized by court officials. His body was carried away on a common
bier,
and unceremoniously
cremated
by his nurse Phyllis, who mingled the
ashes with those of his niece Julia at the Flavian temple.[19]
The same day, he was succeeded by his friend and advisor,
Marcus Cocceius Nerva
. Ancient sources have
implicated Domitia in the conspiracy against Domitian, either by direct
involvement, or advance awareness of the assassination. The historian
Cassius
Dio, writing more than a century after the assassination, claimed
that Domitia chanced upon a list of courtiers Domitian intended to put to death,
and passed the information to his chamberlain
Parthenius.[20]
The story is most likely apocryphal however, with
Herodian
attributing a similar tale to the assassination of
Commodus.
According to Jones, the evidence suggests that Domitia remained devoted to
Domitian, even after his death.[18]
Twenty-five years after her husband’s assassination, and despite the fact that
his
memory had been damned
by the Senate, she still
referred to herself as “Domitia, wife of Domitian”.[18][21]
Sometime between 126 and 140, a temple dedicated to Domitia was erected in
Gabii.
She died peacefully.
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