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Message:: [QUOTE="randygeki, post: 916539, member: 13719"]I think one of the first things that comes to many peoples minds when the picture Rome is the Coliseum. It was originally called the Flavian Amphitheatre, named after the emperor Titus Flavius Vespasianus (Vespasian).  <img src="http://www.cointalk.com/members/randygeki/albums/75/11688.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> Vespasian 1 Jul 69 - 24 jun 79 A.D.Silver denariusFair 2.893g, 18.8 mm 18-*, Rome mint, 78 - 79 A.D., RIC II pt. 1, 964; SRCV I 2280 Obv. CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG, Laureate head right Rev. ANNONA AVG, Annona seated left holding olive branch and scepter "After a successful campaign in Judaea, Vesapasian was declared emperor by his troops in Alexandria. Upon the defeat of Vitellius, he went to Rome and consolidated his power. Vespasian was popular, down to earth and witty. Responsible for aneconomic and military recovery of Rome, he was one of the Greatest Roman emperos." It was completed by his son, and future emperor, Titus. Titus, after his death and short reign, was succeeded by his brother Domitian. <img src="http://www.cointalk.com/members/randygeki/albums/75/11689.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> Domitian A.D. 81-96 AR Denarius  Domitian Denarius. 92 AD.  IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P XI, laureate head right,  IMP XXI COS XVI CENS P P P, Minerva standing left, holding spear.  RSC 271 RIC 733  Jan - Sept 92    “He wasn't the bloodthirsty tyrant most ancient authors claimed he was. Don’t forget that most ancient writers wrote after Domitian had died and a new dynasty was in power. This new dynasty had to legitimize itself and the murder on Domitian, by portraying him as a bad emperor. Modern historians have rejected these views and portray Domitian as an highly efficient emperor who took care of all parts of the imperial policy himself and laid the foundations of the peaceful second century. Brain Jones biography of Domitian is highly recommended if you would like more information on this emperor. The Wikipedia page on Domitian isn’t bad either and mostly based on Jones’ biography.” (Domitianus:forumancientcoins.com diccusion)  Titus Flavius Domitianus (24 October 51 – 18 September 96), known as Domitian, was the eleventh 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. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domitian" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domitian" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domitian</a> On 18 September, A.D. 96, Domitian was assassinated and was succeeded on the very same day by M. Cocceius Nerva, a senator and one of his amici. The sources are unanimous in stressing that this was a palace plot, yet it is difficult to determine the level of culpability among the various potential conspirators.[[23]] In many ways, Domitian is still a mystery - a lazy and licentious ruler by some accounts, an ambitious administrator and keeper of traditional Roman religion by others.[[24]] As many of his economic, provincial, and military policies reveal, he was efficient and practical in much that he undertook, yet he also did nothing to hide the harsher despotic realities of his rule. This fact, combined with his solitary personality and frequent absences from Rome, guaranteed a harsh portrayal of his rule. The ultimate truths of his reign remain difficult to know.  <a href="http://www.roman-emperors.org/domitian.htm" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.roman-emperors.org/domitian.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.roman-emperors.org/domitian.htm</a> By all accounts Domitian appears to have been a thoroughly nasty person, rarely polite, insolent, arrogant and cruel.He was a tall man, with large eyes, though weak sight. And showing all the signs of someone drunk with power, he preferred to be addressed as 'dominus et deus' ('master and god'). <a href="http://www.roman-empire.net/emperors/domitian-index.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.roman-empire.net/emperors/domitian-index.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.roman-empire.net/emperors/domitian-index.html</a>  Domitian is described as tall and reasonably handsome with a tendency to blush (Dom. 18). Like his father he became bald as he aged and wrote a pamphlet titled The Care of the Hair, in which he quoted a line from the Iliad on the short-lived quality of beauty. His choice of words indicates that Domitian was a realist. Martial made reference to Domitian’s baldness in a poem (5.49) and suffered no bad effects from the comment, so the emperor can be said to have had a tolerant disposition. Rather than being sexually promiscuous, he seems to have been something of a prude. Domitian refused to kiss the hand of Caenis, his father’s mistress, disapproving of her relationship with his father. His enforcement of morality laws followed the example of Augustus in upholding traditional virtues. The message on the extant portions of the frieze of the Temple of Minerva in Domitian’s forum is clear that duty, the assumption of one’s proper place in society and obedience were the virtues the emperor wished to instill.  <a href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/Alex/index.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/Alex/index.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.forumancientcoins.com/Alex/index.html</a>[/QUOTE]

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