All sources have been harshly evaluated for Domitian.
The basis for these is the description of Roman historians such as Tacitus and Svetnius, and the fact that the Senate has been sentenced to erasure after death.
The Senate was sentenced to erasure of records only by Caligula, Nero, and Domitian, and while Caligula and Nero still had some advocacy and some resurrection, Domitian did nothing like that. Nothing has been done.
From that point of view, it seems like the worst emperor, but what about?
The 11th Roman emperor
Domitian is the second son of the 9th Emperor Vespasian and the younger brother of the 10th Emperor Tetus.
Unlike Titus, who won the Jewish campaign from a young age, Domitian had no military or political track record.
No wonder this was the norm, when Domitian succeeded to the throne, he was still thirty years old, and it was customary for Roman positions to be able to run after the age of thirty. Of course, there were cases where he was appointed to the Consul as a teenager like Octavian, but no one thought that the reign of Tetus, known for his good politics, would end in two years.
Rumors that it was Domitian who assassinated Titus have persisted from the present generation to the present, but what about?
Titus was ten years older than his younger brother, and Vespasian himself decided to make his Domitian the next emperor of Titus, so I don't think it makes sense to assassinate him.
By the way, Titus was not tall and looked far from a handsome man, but Emperor Domitian was a tall handsome man. If this is the opposite, it can be said that the crime was made with jealousy, but will a person who can surely become an emperor do such a thing?
Domitian must not feel unnecessarily despised.
The following points are often said about Domitian.
・ Assassinated his brother
・ He was a male man
・ He often executed Roman citizens
・ Wasted his national finances
Some of them seem to be certain.
The assassination of his brother would be unfounded, as mentioned earlier. However, it must have been certain that he was hated to the extent that such rumors appeared. Perhaps he didn't give out a lump sum when he took office, and he hated some other policies and personality itself.
It is unclear about the male color, but since he was a person who had professed this point like Hadrian, one of the Five Good Emperors, it would not lower the evaluation of Domitian himself.
However, the Emperor Hadrian was about to be sentenced to erase the record for a while.
Domitian was disliked because of its "terrorism".
He used a full-time prosecutor called Delator to frequently accuse Senators.
Delator itself has existed since the republican era, and if the accused person becomes guilty, he can own some of his confiscated assets, but instead he gives up his career because he is at a disadvantage in the election. It was something to do, and I didn't really want to do it because I was hated.
Emperor Domitian frequently used the Delator to accuse Senators, eight of whom were sentenced to death and five to be banished, which was the cause of the later record-erasing sentence.
In addition, regarding waste, it was Domitian who completed the Colosseum that Vespasian started construction, and he is doing many public works such as stadiums and theaters, and the problem was Palatine Hill. It would have been an attempt to build a large palace. However, even that was not a private residence, but a public residence that was the residence of the emperor, and it cannot be said that the finances went bankrupt considering the finances of the Five Good Emperors.
It is true that spending increased during the time of Domitian, but it was due to a significant increase in the salaries of his soldiers, which in turn made his corps stronger.
Why Domitian was disliked
Emperor Domitian was disliked for the following reasons other than the terrorist politics.
- Peace on the Dacia expedition
- Inauguration of Finance Officer for Life
The Dacia expedition was not completely unsuccessful, but it was disappointing for Roman citizens to have taken a large number of prisoners of war and paid a ransom to open them up.
As in the Punic Wars example, Rome is welcome to die as a prisoner of war, but not to be released for ransom.
In addition, Domitian purposely created the position of life finance officer and took office himself.
It is customary for a finance minister called Kensul to be an experienced consul, and his main role was to conduct a census once every few decades.
He feels like an honorary position, but he also has the right to place orders for public works projects and to strip the seats of Senators.
The Senator, who was always seized by such a person, would not have been bothered.
Achievement of Emperor Domitian
I don't know if it was his credit to expand his armament, but it should be said that the construction of "Limes Germanicus" was a credit.
This is to build a barrier in the basins of the Rhine and Donau rivers, which are called "Germania barriers", and the idea may be close to the Great Wall of China.
The hypothesis of imperial Rome has always been Persian and Germanic, and it can be said that it was this Limes that made the Five Good Emperors relatively peaceful without breaking through this Limes for a long time. In fact, this Limes is more well maintained than it was demolished during the Five Good Emperors era.
Also, this is from a posterity perspective, but perhaps the greatest achievement of Emperor Domitian was the discovery of Trajan.
This point is a matter of mismanagement, but there was an incident in which a Germanian commander, Saturninus, was nominated by his soldiers as an emperor. Domitian sent Trajan, who was in Spain at the time, to Mainz as soon as the incident occurred, and although it was a general named Maximus who suppressed the rebellion, he appointed Trajan as the commander-in-chief of Germania.
It was wise to place Trajan in the most important land of Germania, and later Rome under Emperor Trajan maximized its version.
However, it can be said that the fact that the general officer who was involved in the rebellion was executed in a hurry at this time also caused the evaluation to drop.
Death of Domitian
There are many mysteries about the death of Emperor Domitian, perhaps because the records have been completely erased. I think it could be one of the biggest mysteries in the history of the world.
The name of the bad guy is known. He was a freedman named Stephane.
Who the hell are you? However, he was a freedman with the Empress Domitia.
It's not a single offender by any means, but it's completely unknown who is the bad guy other than Stefano. And I don't even know who the money is.
Assassination of the emperor is not so easy. There should be a guard in the sleeping area.
But only on that day, there were no guards or slaves in the mansion other than Domitian.
Little is known, but the nanny who buried Domitian somehow mixed his ashes with the ashes of his niece, Julia. Apparently, Emperor Domitian and his niece Julia were a man and woman. It is highly probable that his wife, Domitia, who knew this, was involved in the plan.
It's a completely mysterious case, but the Senate sect held Nerva that day and sentenced Emperor Domitian to erasure.
Too ready. Therefore, there is a strong opinion that Nerva is the assassin of Emperor Domitian since ancient times.
Rationally, the principal would be Nerva or the Senate. But whether it is blamed or not is also a difficult question.
The emperor has no retirement. So if he wants to retire the emperor, he has no choice but to assassinate.
That's because it doesn't have a term like the president of the United States. And ironically, it is said that it was the emperor's law created by Domitian's father that made it decisive.
The emperor's right is a sacred and inviolable right that is not invaded by anyone.
So, when considering the assassin of Emperor Domitian, it may have been Rome itself.
Even though the perpetrator was Stefano, he would have been under the control of Domitia, who was Augusta (the Empress), and it seems unlikely that the Senate was unaware of this plan.
Personal evaluation of Domitian
Historians who give negative reviews to Domitian, such as Tacitus and Svetnius, are also senators.
Regarding Svetnius, it is said that it was during the time of Hadrian that he wrote the Emperor's biography, and it is highly possible that Domitian's reputation was unnecessarily diminished.
As for Tacitus, he was probably the one who directly experienced the horror because he became the Senate during the time of Emperor Domitian.
Of course, Emperor Domitian is not a great man. Given his terrorist politics and his lack of military talent, he is arguably a tyrant.
But if you look at the whole history of Rome, there were many emperors who were worse than him.
Although he was sentenced to erasure, some of his public works work remains. As mentioned earlier, his construction of Limes Germanicus even became the cornerstone of the subsequent prosperity of Rome.
I wonder how to treat the worst emperor in Roman history.