(1) Domitiānus mox accēpit imperium, frāter ipsīus iūnior, Nerōnī aut Caligulae aut Tiberiō similior quam patrī vel frātrī suō. Prīmīs tamen annīs moderātus in imperiō fuit, mox ad ingentia vitia prōgressus libīdinis, īrācundiae, crūdēlitātis, avāritiae, tantum in sē odiī concitāvit, ut merita et patris et frātris abolēret.

(2) Interfēcit nōbilissimōs ē senātū. Dominum sē et deum prīmus appellārī iussit. Nūllam sibi nisi auream et argenteam statuam in Capitōliō passus est pōnī.

(3) Cōnsōbrīnōs suōs interfēcit. Superbia quoque in eō exsecrābilis fuit.

(4) Expedītiōnēs quattuor habuit, ūnam adversum Sarmatās, alteram adversum Cattōs, duās adversum Dācōs. De Dācīs Cattīsque duplicem triumphum ēgit, dē Sarmatīs sōlam lauream ūsūrpāvit. Multās tamen calamitātēs īsdem bellīs passus est; nam in Sarmatiā legiō eius cum duce interfecta est, et ā Dācīs Oppius Sabīnus cōnsulāris et Cornēlius Fuscus praefectus praetōriō cum māgnīs exercitibus occīsī sunt.

(5) Rōmae quoque multa opera fēcit, in hīs Capitōlium et Forum Trānsitōrium, Dīvōrum Porticūs, Īseum ac Serāpeum et Stadium.

(6) Vērum cum ob scelera ūniversīs exōsus esse coepisset, interfectus est suōrum coniūrātiōne in Palātiō, annō aetātis quadrāgēsimō quīntō, imperiī quīntō decimō. Fūnus eius cum ingentī dēdecore per vespillōnēs exportātum et ignōbiliter est sepultum.

    Domitian Emperor, 8196 CE

    Cassius Dio, Histories 67.1 ff. Suetonius, Domitian.

    (1) Domitiānus: Titus Flavius Domitian. Vespasian was aware of his son’s disposition and put no confidence in him. When Vespasian died, Domitian tried to arouse the soldiers against his brother Titus. After his brother became emperor, Domitian was treated with great kindness, and several offices were shared with him. At first mild and just, he soon became suspicious and cruel. In Britain alone were the Roman arms successful during his reign. In all other places defeat and disgraceful compromises with the enemy marked his campaigns. Finally his cruelty became unbearable, and a conspiracy was formed by the officers of the guard, several of his intimate friends, and even his wife Domatilla, and he was slain after a desperate struggle (Hazzard).

    frāter ipsīus iūnior: refers to Titus, see Brev. 7.22.

    Nerōnī aut Caligulae aut Tiberiō similior: "more like Nero or Caligula or Tiberius." According to Bird, "These three emperors had become archetypal villains by the fourth century."

    prōgressus: perfect participle of deponent verb prōgredior (AG 190)

    tantum in sē odiī concitāvit: "he prompted such hatred that," followed by a result clause (AG 537). odiī is partitive genitive.

    (2) primus ... iussit: "he was the first to order." See Suetonius, Domitian 13.

    in Capitōliō: on the Capitoline Hill, Rome’s civic heart and soul

    (3) Cōnsōbrīnōs: the two sons of Vespasian's brother, Flavius Sabinus and Titus Flavius Clemens.

    (4) Expedītiōnēs quattuor: Domitian defeated the Chatti in 83 CE and annexed Mt. Taunus and the triangle of land between the upper Rhine and Danube.

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    In 85 CE Oppius Sabinus was defeated and killed by the Dacians and the following year Cornelius Fuscus was defeated while invading Dacia and lost the Legio V Alaudae. In 88 CE, however, Domitian’s general Julianus won a victory at Tapae. A rebellion in Upper Germany by L. Antonius Saturninus that year and a further defeat in 89 CE by the Sarmatian Iazyges, and the Marcomanni and Quadi compelled Domitian to make peace with the Dacians. This allowed Domitian to drive back the new attackers. Finally, in 92 CE the Iazyges, Marcomanni and Quadi again attacked Pannonia and destroyed the Legio XXI Rapax, but were eventually dislodged and the Iazyges were soundly beaten. It is instructive that Domitian only celebrated triumphs over the Chatti and Dacians (Bird).

    lauream: laurel leaves and crowns were Roman symbols of victory (s.v. Smith, triumphus passim)

    praefectus praetōriō: praetorian prefect, commander of the praetorian guard (the only significant military force in the the city of Rome) and a key advisor to the emperors.

    (5) multa opera fēcit: Domitian was responsible for an ambitious building program at Rome and elsewhere. He erected new temples to Jupiter Capitolinus on the Capitol, to Jupiter Custos on the Quirinal, and rebuilt temples to Janus, Castor and Apollo. He also completed the Flavian Amphitheater, which Vespasian had initiated and Titus had dedicated, and in the Campus Martius he built an Odeum, a Stadium and a Circus. He further constructed a temple of Isis and Serapis, the Arch of Titus, a mansion on the Palatine, a villa on the Alban Lake, a shopping center in the Saepta, granaries and water works and refurbished the portico of Octavia and the Pantheon (Suet. Domit. 5; Victor Epit. 11.3) (Bird).

    Capitōlium: it had burned in the recent succession struggle that brought Domitian's family to power. See Brev. 7.18.4.

    Forum Transitorium: also known as the Forum of Nerva.

    Dīvōrum Porticūs: "the Portico of the Gods," a large (220 x 55m) garden flanked by shaded walks and containing two small temples built in honor of Titus and Vespasian. See Gardens of the Roman Empire, Divorum.

    (6) suōrum coniūrātiōne: Domitian was assassinated in 96 CE, notably by his own servants, rather than a conspiracy of senators. He did not receive divine honors (See Smith, s.v. Apotheosis).

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    Suetonius, Domitian 18:
    Concerning the nature of the plot and the manner of his death, this is about all that became known. As the conspirators were deliberating when and how to attack him, whether at the bath or at dinner, Stephanus, Domitilla's a steward, at the time under accusation for embezzlement, offered his aid and counsel. To avoid suspicion, he wrapped up his left arm in woolen bandages for some days, pretending that he had injured it, and concealed in them a dagger. Then pretending to betray a conspiracy and for that reason being given an audience, he stabbed the emperor in the groin as he was reading a paper which the assassin handed him, and stood in a state of amazement. As the wounded princeps attempted to resist, he was slain with seven wounds by Clodianus, a servant, Maximus, a freedman of Parthenius, Satur, decurion of the chamberlains, and a gladiator from the imperial school. A boy who was engaged in his usual duty of attending to the Lares in the bedroom, and so was a witness of the murder, gave this additional information. He was bidden by Domitian, immediately after he was dealt the first blow, to hand him the dagger hidden under his pillow and to call the servants; but he found nothing at the head of the bed save the hilt, and besides all the doors were closed. Meanwhile the emperor grappled with Stephanus and bore him to the ground, where they struggled for a long time, Domitian trying now to wrest the dagger from his assailant's hands and now to gouge out his eyes with his lacerated fingers. He was slain on the fourteenth day before the Kalends of October in the forty-fifth year of his age and the fifteenth of his reign. His corpse was carried out on a common bier by those who bury the poor, and his nurse Phyllis cremated it at her suburban estate on the Via Patina; but his ashes she secretly carried to the temple of the Flavian family and mingled them with those of Julia, daughter of Titus, whom she had also reared.

    in Palātiō: in the Flavian Palace on the Palatine Hill. Extensive remains of this structure still exist. At first the word Palātium was applied only to the hill, but from the time of Augustus it meant a "palace," especially the imperial palace of the Caesars (Hazzard).

    Fūnus eius: According to Suetonius, "his corpse was carried out on a common bier by those who bury the poor, and his nurse Phyllis cremated it at her suburban estate on the Via Latina; but his ashes she secretly carried to the temple of the Flavian family and mingled them with those of Julia, daughter of Titus, whom she had also reared" (Vit. Domit. 17.3, Translated by J. C. Rolfe).

    Core Vocabulary | Numbers | Dates

    Domitiānus, ī, m.

    T. Flavius Domitiānus, Roman emperor 81–96 A.D.

    iuvenis, e, adj., comp. iūnior young
    Nerō, ōnis, m.

    (1) Nerō (Claudius Caesar Drūsus Germānicus), Roman emperor 54–68 A.D.; (2) Appius Claudius Nerō, consul 207 B.C.

    Caligula, ae, m.

    C. Caesar, surnamed Caligula, Roman emperor 37–41 A.D.

    Tiberius, ī, m.

    Tiberius (Claudius Nerō), Roman emperor 14–37 A.D.

    moderātus, a, um [moderor], adj.

    self-controlled, temperate, modest

    prōgredior, gredī, gressus sum to advance, proceed
    īrācundia, ae [īrācundus, irascible], f.

    a proneness to anger, hasty temper; anger, wrath, passion

    crūdēlitās, ātis [crūdēlis, cruel], f. cruelty
    avāritia, ae [avārus, greedy], f. greed, avarice
    concitō, āre, āvī, ātus to arouse, urge, excite
    meritum, ī, n. service
    aboleō, ēre, ēvī, itus [ab + oleō] to destroy, abolish, wipe out
    argenteus, a, um [argentum], adj. made of silver 2
    statua, ae [stō] a statue, image
    Capitōlium, ī, n.

    the chief temple of Jupiter in Rome; the hill on which this stood, the Mōns Capitōlīnūs, the citadel as well as the chief sanctuary of Rome

    cōnsōbrīna, ae [con + soror], f. cousin 3
    superbia, ae [superbus], f. haughtiness, pride
    exsecrābilis, e [exsecror], adj. accursed
    expedītiō, ōnis [expediō, to set fire], f. an expedition, campaign 4
    Sarmatae, ārum, pl. m the inhabitants of Sarmatia
    Cattī, ōrum, pl. m.

    one of the most important nations in Germany, in Hesse, and Thuringia

    Dācī, ōrum, pl. m. the Dacians, inhabitants of Dacia
    duplex, icis [duo + plicō, to fold], adj. twofold, double
    triumphus, ī, m.

    a triumph, a splendid procession in which the victorious general entered the city accompanied by his soldiers and the spoil and captives he had taken. The procession passed around the Capitoline Hill into the Via Sacra, then into the Forum, and up to the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus.

    laurea, ae, f. the laurel tree
    ūsūrpō, āre, āvī, ātus [ūsus + rapiō] to make use of, enjoy; usurp
    calamitās, ātis, f. a calamity, defeat
    Sarmatia, ae, f.

    Sarmatia, now the eastern part of Poland and the southern part of Russia in Europe

    Oppius, ī, m.

    Oppius Sabīnus, a Roman general slain by Dacians during the reign of Domitian

    cōnsulāris, e [cōnsul], adj.

    of a consul, of consular rank; as subst., an ex—consul

    Fuscus, ī, m.

    Cornēlius Fuscus, one of the most active adherents of Vespasian in his contest for the empire

    praefectus, ī, m.

    overseer, superintendent; praefect

    praetōrium, ī, n. the imperial bodyguard
    trānsitōrius, a, um [trānseō], adj.

    adapted for passing through, having a passage way; forum Trānsitōrium 5

    porticus, ūs, f. a colonnade, arcade, portico
    Īsīum, ī, n. the temple of Isis
    Serāpīum, ī, n. Serāpīum, the temple of Serapis
    stadium, ī, n.

    a stade, stadium, furlong, English feet; a course for foot races; race course; Stadium, the race course built by Domitian

    vērum [vērus, true], adv. truly, certainly; but 6
    ūniversus, a, um  adj. all in one, whole, entire
    exōsus, a, um [part. of exodī], adj. hating, detesting
    coniūrātiō, ōnis [coniūrō], f. a conspiracy, plot
    Palātium, ī, n.

    the Palatine Hill; the imperial palace, which was on the hill

    dēdecus, oris [dē + decus, honor], n. disgrace, dishonor
    vespillo, ōnis, m. a corpse bearer
    exportō, āre, āvī, ātus to carry out, export
    ignōbiliter [ignōbilis], adv. without appropriate honor, unworthily, esp. w. ref. to burial
    sepeliō, īre, īvī (iī), sepultus to bury, inter

     

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