The site of the oblong piazza is Domitian's ancient stadium, which was probably used for horse and chariot races.

According to early tradition, this book was composed near the end of Domitian's reign, around the year 95 AD.

Domitian's reign came to an end in 96 when he was assassinated by court officials.

After his death, Domitian's memory was condemned to oblivion by the Roman Senate, while senatorial authors such as Tacitus, Pliny the Younger and Suetonius published histories propagating the view of Domitian as a cruel and paranoid tyrant.

In 80, Domitia and Domitian's only attested son was born.

Little is known of Domitia's activities as Empress, or how much influence she wielded in Domitian's government, but it seems her role was limited.

Prior to becoming Emperor, Domitian's role in the Flavian government was largely ceremonial.

The reality of Domitian's autocracy was further highlighted by the fact that, more than any emperor since Tiberius, he spent significant periods of time away from the capital.

Domitian's tendency towards micromanagement was nowhere more evident than in his financial policy.

Domitian's rigorous taxation policy ensured that this standard was sustained for the following eleven years.

At the time of Domitian's accession the city was still suffering from the damage caused by the Great Fire of 64, the civil war of 69 and the fire in 79.

Much more than a renovation project however, Domitian's building program was intended to be the crowning achievement of an Empire-wide cultural renaissance.

Among the most important new structures were an odeon, a stadium, and an expansive palace on the Palatine Hill known as the Flavian Palace which was designed by Domitian's master architect Rabirius.

In order to appease the people of Rome an estimated 135 million sestertii was spent on donatives, or congiaria, throughout Domitian's reign.

Domitian's administration of the Roman army was characterized by the same fastidious involvement he exhibited in other branches of the government.

Domitian's supposed victory was much scorned by ancient authors, who described the campaign as " uncalled for ", and a " mock triumph ".

The reverse depicts the Roman goddess Minerva, who was Domitian's favoured deity, and appeared on numerous coin types throughout his reign.

A highly detailed account of the plot and the assassination is provided by Suetonius, who alleges that Domitian's chamberlain Parthenius was the chief instigator behind the conspiracy, citing the recent execution of Domitian's secretary Epaphroditus as the primary motive.

The murder itself was carried out by a freedman of Parthenius named Maximus, and a steward of Domitian's niece Flavia Domitilla, named Stephanus.

Nerva was old and childless, and had spent much of his career out of the public light, prompting both ancient and modern authors to speculate on his involvement in Domitian's assassination.

According to Suetonius, the people of Rome met the news of Domitian's death with indifference, but the army was much grieved, calling for his deification immediately after the assassination, and in several provinces rioting.

He was forced to submit to their demands, agreeing to hand over those responsible for Domitian's death and even giving a speech thanking the rebellious Praetorians.

With regard to Domitian's personality, however, the account of Suetonius alternates sharply between portraying Domitian as the emperor-tyrant, a man both physically and intellectually lazy, and the intelligent, refined personality drawn elsewhere.

Some of these men were executed as early as 83 or 85 however, lending little credit to Tacitus ' notion of a " reign of terror " late in Domitian's reign.

The biography is problematic however, in that it appears to contradict itself with regards to Domitian's rule and personality, at the same time presenting him as a conscientious, moderate man, and as a decadent libertine.

Stories of Domitian's affair with Julia were likely an invention of post-Domitianic writers however.

We do not, however, know its date, save that, if not Domitian's work, it was carried out soon after his death, and the whole frontier thus constituted was reorganised, probably by Hadrian, with a continuous wooden palisade reaching from Rhine to Danube.

) is the name given to the religious romance which purports to contain a record made by one Clement ( whom the narrative identifies as both Pope Clement I, and Domitian's cousin Titus Flavius Clemens ) of discourses involving the apostle Peter, together with an account of the circumstances under which Clement came to be Peter's travelling companion, and of other details of Clement's family history.

Juvenal satirized the entire treasury by writing that a turbot of great size caught in the Adriatic had to be sent to Rome as part of Domitian's fiscus.

During this time, Domitian's role in the Flavian government was largely ceremonial.

Little is known of Domitia's precise activities as Empress, or how much influence she wielded in Domitian's government, but it seems her role was largely limited to ceremonial appearances.

Nevertheless, ancient sources allege poverty for the Flavian family at the time of Domitian's upbringing, even claiming Vespasian had fallen into disrepute under the emperors Caligula ( 37 – 41 ) and Nero ( 54 – 68 ).

By 84, Domitia had returned to the palace, where she lived for the remainder of Domitian's reign without incident.

However the evidence points to a balanced economy for the greater part of Domitian's reign.

Trajan continued Domitian's policy and added two more units to the auxiliary forces of Upper Moesia, and then he used the build up of troops for his Dacian wars.

It was as a military commander that Trajan is best known to history, particularly for his conquests in the Near East, but initially for the two wars against Dacia — the reduction to client kingdom ( 101 – 102 ), followed by actual incorporation into the Empire of the trans-Danube border kingdom of Dacia — an area that had troubled Roman thought for over a decade with the unfavourable ( and to some, shameful ) peace negotiated by Domitian's ministers.

Some of Statius ' works, such as his poems for his competitions, have been lost ; he is recorded as having written an Agave mime, and a four line fragment remains of his poem on Domitian's military campaigns, the De Bello Germanico composed for the Alban Games in the scholia to Juvenal 4. 94.

Five poems are devoted to the emperor and his favorites, including a description of Domitian's equestrian statue in the Forum ( 1. 1 ), praise for his construction of the Via Domitiana ( 4. 3 ), and a poem on the dedication of the hair Earinus, a eunuch favorite of Domitian's, to a shrine of Aesculapius ( 3. 4 ).

It is related that, during his stay in Rome, Akiva became intimately acquainted with the Jewish proselyte ḳeṭia ' bar Shalom, a very influential Roman — according to some scholars identical with Flavius Clemens, Domitian's nephew, who, before his execution for pleading the cause of the Jews, bequeathed to Akiba all his possessions ( Ab.

In 93, a son of Helvidius Priscus was executed for having composed a farce satirizing Domitian's separation from his wife.

By 84, Domitia had returned to the palace, where she lived for the remainder of Domitian's reign without incident.

Nevertheless, ancient sources allege poverty for the Flavian family at the time of Domitian's upbringing, even claiming Vespasian had fallen into disrepute under the emperors Caligula ( 37 – 41 ) and Nero ( 54 – 68 ).

Some historians believe this unfavorable peace for the Romans might have been the cause for Domitian's assassination in September 96.

Gouais Blanc has been proposed as a candidate for the grape given to the Gauls by Marcus Aurelius Probus ( Roman Emperor 276 – 282 ), who was from Pannonia and who overturned Domitian's decree banning grape growing north of the Alps.