Page "Domitian" Paragraph 59

Since the fall of the Republic, the authority of the Roman Senate had largely eroded under the quasi-monarchical system of government established by Augustus, known as the Principate.

The Principate allowed the existence of a de facto dictatorial regime, while maintaining the formal framework of the Roman Republic.

Most Emperors upheld the public facade of democracy, and in return the Senate implicitly acknowledged the Emperor's status as a de facto monarch.

Some rulers handled this arrangement with less subtlety than others.

Domitian was not so subtle.

From the outset of his reign, he stressed the reality of his autocracy.

He disliked aristocrats and had no fear of showing it, withdrawing every decision-making power from the Senate, and instead relying on a small set of friends and equestrians to control the important offices of state.

The dislike was mutual.

After Domitian's assassination, the senators of Rome rushed to the Senate house, where they immediately passed a motion condemning his memory to oblivion.

Under the rulers of the Nervan-Antonian dynasty, senatorial authors published histories which elaborated on the view of Domitian as a tyrant.