DOMITIAN (TITUS FLAVIUS DOMITIANUS), Roman em peror A.D. 81-96, the second son of Vespasian, was born at Rome on Oct. 24, A.D. 51. When Vespasian was proclaimed emperor at Alexandria, Domitian escaped with difficulty from the temple of the Capitol, which had been set on fire by the Vitellians, and re mained in hiding till his father's party proved victorious. After the fall of Vitellius he was saluted as Caesar by the troops, ob tained the city praetorship, and was entrusted with the administra tion of Italy till his father's return from the East. But although in his father's lifetime he was several times consul, and after his death was nominally the partner in the empire with his brother Titus, he took no part in public business, but lived in great retire ment, devoting himself to a life of pleasure and of literary pursuits till he succeeded to the throne. The death of Titus, if not hastened by foul means, was at least eagerly welcomed by his brother. Do mitian's succession (on Sept. 13, 81) was unquestioned, and it would seem that he had intended, so far as his weak volition and mean abilities would allow, to govern well. Like Augustus, he attempted a reformation of morals and religion. He erected many temples and public buildings (amongst them the Odeum, a kind of theatre for musical performances) and restored the temple of the Capitol. He passed many sumptuary laws, and issued an edict forbidding the over-cultivation of vines to the neglect of corn growing. Finally, he took a personal share in the administration of justice at Rome, checked the activity of the informers (dela tores), and exercised a jealous supervision over the governors of provinces. : Even when Rome and Italy smarted beneath his proscriptions and extortions, the provinces were undisturbed.
Though he took the title of imperator more than 20 times, and enjoyed at least one triumph, Domitian's military achievements were insignificant. He defeated the Chatti, annexed the district of the Taunus, and established the Limes as a line of defence ; but he suffered defeats at the hands of the Quadi, Sarmatae and Marcomanni; in Dacia he received a severe check, and was obliged to purchase peace (9o) from Decebalus by the payment of a large sum of money and by guaranteeing a yearly tribute— the first instance in Roman history. His jealousy was provoked by the successes of Agricola in Britain, who was recalled to Rome (85) in the midst of his conquests, condemned to retire ment, and perhaps removed by poison. The revolt of Antonius Saturninus, the commander of the Roman forces in upper Ger many (88 or 89), marks the turning-point in his reign (on the date see H. Schiller, Geschichte der romischen kaiserzeit, i. pt. 2, p. 524, note 2) . It was speedily crushed; but from that moment Domitian's character changed. He got rid of all whom he disliked on the charge of having taken part in the conspiracy, and no man of eminence was safe against him. He was in constant fear of assassination and distrusted all around him. During the last three years of his life his behaviour was that of a madman. He sentenced to death his own cousin and nephew by marriage, Flavius Clemens, whose wife he banished for her supposed leaning towards Judaism (Christianity) . He was stabbed in his bedroom by a freedman of Clemens named Stephanus on Sept. 18, 96.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.-Tacitus, Histories, iii. iv.; Suetonius, Domitian; Bibliography.-Tacitus, Histories, iii. iv.; Suetonius, Domitian; Dio Cassius lxvi., lxvii. ; Tacitus, Agricola, 18-2 2 ; Eng. trans. G. G. Ramsay, The Histories of Tacitus (1915) ; J. H. Freen, History of Twelve Caesars, trans. by Philemon Holland, anno z6o6 (1923) ; E. Cary, Dio's Roman History (Loeb Classical Library, 1914, etc.) ; publ. Kegan Paul, The Agricola of Tacitus (1885) ; A. Imhof, T. Flavius Domitianus (Halle, 1857) ; A. Halberstadt, De Imperatoris Domitiani moribus et rebus (Amsterdam, 1877), an attempt to re habilitate Domitian ; F. Pichlmayer, T. Flavius Domitianus (1889) ; S. Gsell, Essai sur le regne de l'empereur Domitien (1894) ; H. Schiller, Geschichte der romischen Kaiserzeit (Handbiicher der alten Geschichte, Serie III., Abthl. 2., 1884) ; C. Merivale, History of the Romans under the Empire (4th ed. 1865) . For Domitian's attitude towards Chris tianity see V. Schultze in Herzog-Hauck's Realencyklopddie fiir protestantische Theologie, iv. (1898) ; E. G. Hardy, Christianity and the Roman Government (1894) ; W. M. Ramsay, The Church in the Roman Empire, (1903) ; J. B. Bury, Appendix 8 to vol. ii. of his ed. of Gibbon.