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Message:: [QUOTE="IdesOfMarch01, post: 2863961, member: 39084"]Domitian [ATTACH=full]682885[/ATTACH] Titus Flavius Domitianus was born in 51 AD, the younger of Vespasian’s two sons.  He was the last of the Flavian emperors, as well as the last of Suetonius’ 12 Caesars.  While his upbringing was not as privileged as Titus’ (who was educated at court), he studied rhetoric and literature during his early education, and is said to have been able to quote Homer and Virgil as appropriate, as well as engage in elegant conversation as a young adult. Domitian was in Rome when both his father and Vitellius were heralded as emperor.  Since Vitellius was in power in Rome at this time, this put Domitian in grave danger along with his uncle (Vespasian’s brother) Flavius Sabinus, who was the city prefect of Rome.  Pro-Vitellius soldiers attacked Sabinus and Domitian in the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter.  Sabinus was capture and killed, but Domitian managed to escape by donning a disguise and fleeing the city.  A day or two later, Vespasian was hailed emperor by the Senate, so Domitian was out of any immediate danger. In the decade following the Judaean victory, while Vespasian was emperor, Domitian played only a minor role in Rome’s government despite being named Caesar by his father.  It was clear to everyone that Titus was Vespasian’s intended heir, and when Vespasian died in 79 AD, Titus was hailed emperor without opposition. Suetonius writes that the relationship between Domitian and Titus was adversarial and contentious: “On the death of his father he hesitated for some time whether to offer a double largess to the soldiers, and he never had any compunction about saying that he had been left a partner in the imperial power, but that the will had been tampered with.  And from that time on he never ceased to plot against his brother secretly and openly, until Titus was seized with a dangerous illness, when Domitian ordered that he be left for dead, before he had actually drawn his last breath. And after his death he bestowed no honor upon him, save that of deification, and he often assailed his memory in ambiguous phrases, both in his speeches and in his edicts.” Other historians, while acknowledging the strained relationship between the brothers, openly doubt the relationship was as bad as Suetonius describes.  Similarly, historians tend to dismiss the notion that Domitian was somehow responsible for, or hastened, the death of Titus. Domitian became emperor upon the unexpectedly early death of his brother Titus, and would reign from 81 AD – 96 AD – the longest reign of any emperor since Tiberius.  His reign, as well as Domitian himself, was characterized by apparent contradictions.  He believed himself to be a benevolent dictator, and openly ignored the Senate, which while not really the republican ruling body it had been prior to Julius Caesar, had at least been given some acknowledgement by previous emperors.  He was autocratic and heavy-handed, somewhat paranoid, and he returned to the practice of prosecuting and putting to death his critics and opponents – a practice that had been specifically abandoned by Titus. Modern research, however, has determined that he was a ruthless but efficient monarch who developed cultural and economic programs that would set the foundation of a very prosperous second century.   Domitian was a micro-manager: he became personally and directly involved in all branches of the administration, issuing edicts that dictated the smallest detail of everyday life and law.  Taxation laws and public morals were rigidly enforced; Suetonius writes: “He administered justice scrupulously and conscientiously, frequently holding special sittingson the tribunalin the Forum. He rescinded such decisions of the Hundred Judges as were made from interested motives.  He often warned the arbitersnot to grant claims for freedom made under false pretences. He degraded jurors who accepted bribes, together with all their associates.He also induced the tribunes of the commons to prosecute a corrupt aedile for extortion, and to ask the senate to appoint jurors in the case. He took such care to exercise restraint over the city officials and the governors of the provinces, that at no time were they more honest or just, whereas after his time we have seen many of them charged with all manner of offences.” From a military perspective, his reign was relatively peaceful although he was troubled by revolts and invasions along the Rhine and Danube.  He personally led the campaigns against three revolts on the Danube and one on the Rhine. Following the failed revolts against him in 89 AD, Domitian became increasingly paranoid and punitive.  More senators were executed, and he relied on spies, informants, and torture to gather information about plots against his life.  By 93 AD, his despotism had become so overwhelming that few senators and noblemen felt secure in their possessions or person. Finally, in 95 AD, a successful coup was led against him by the Praetorian Guard, some freedmen, and his wife Domitia; Domitian was killed.  The Senate, buoyed by its sudden elevation back to a position of power, elected an elderly senator named Nerva to fill the Imperial seat.  But when the military came to its senses, they forced Nerva to adopt a military leader (Trajan) as Nerva’s son and successor.  Nerva would be the first of the so-called “five good emperors.” About the Coins Much of Domitian’s coins were struck while he was Caesar under his father Vespasian and under his brother Titus.  Similar to Otho, Domitian wore a wig and his lush toupee is faithfully modeled on his coinage (although to my eye his toupee looks much more natural than Otho’s). Upon his accession he revalued Roman currency: he increased the silver purity of the denariusfrom 90% to 98% — the actual silver weight increasing from 2.87 grams to 3.26 grams. But a financial crisis in 85 forced adevaluation of the silver purity and weight to 93.5% and 3.04 grams respectively.  Nevertheless, the new values were still higher than the levels that Vespasian and Titus had maintained during their reigns. [ATTACH=full]682890[/ATTACH] Among my mint set of Domitian, the aureus with the Minerva reverse is among the most distinctive aurei reverses in my 12 Caesars collection. Let’s see those Domitians! Next: Small bronzes virtual tray[/QUOTE]

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