175, for he records that the marriage
Diocletian, or his immediate successors, and there couch was spread in the temple of Venus, adjoining
fore must commemorate the usurpation of some the palatium, by the empress Faustina, who in that
pretender unknown to history.
Diocletian, or his immediate successors, and there couch was spread in the temple of Venus, adjoining
fore must commemorate the usurpation of some the palatium, by the empress Faustina, who in that
pretender unknown to history.
William Smith - 1844 - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities - a
But she was unfaithful to
clemency. Vitellius, too, became alarmed through him, and kept up an adulterous intercourse with
her, as Dolabella had married Petronia, a former Paris, an actor. When this was discovered, in
wife of Vitellius. The emperor, therefore, enticed A. D. 83, Domitian repudiated her on the advice of
him to Interamnium, and there ordered him to be Ursus, and henceforth lived with Julia, the daughter
put to death.
This was the first act of wanton of his brother. Soon after, however, he formed a
cruelty in the reign of Vitellius. (Tac. Hist, i. reconciliation with Domitia, because he said the
88, ii. 63. )
[L. S. ] people wished it ; but he nevertheless continued his
DO'LIUS, (Aódios), an aged slave of Penelope, intercourse with Julia. Domitia never loved Domi-
whom she had received from her father on her mar- tian, and she knew of the conspiracy against his
rying Odysseus, and who took care of her garden. I life ; as she was informed that her own life was in
## p. 1061 (#1081) ##########################################
DOMITIANUS.
1061
DOMITIANUS.
danger, she urged the conspirators on, and Domitian When his father at length arrived at Rome,
was murdered in a. D. 96. (Dion Cass. Ixvii. 3, Domitian, who was conscious of his evil conduct,
Ixvi. 3, 15; Suet. Domit. 3, 22. ) The coin is said not to have ventured to meet him, and to
annexed contains on the obverse the head of Do- have pretended not to be in the perfect possession
mitia, with the legend Domitia Avgvsta IMP. of his mind. Vespasian, however, knew his dis-
Domir.
[L. S. ] position, and throughout his reign kept him as
much as possible away from public affairs ; but in
order to display his rank and station, Domitian
always accompanied his father and brother when
they appeared in public, and when they celebrated
their triumph after the Jewish war, he followed
them in the procession riding on a white war-
steed. lle lived partly in the same house with
his father, and partly on an estate near the Mons
Albanus, where he was surrounded by a number
DOMI'TIA GENS, plebeian, the members of of courtezans. While he thus led a private life,
which towards the end of the republic were looked he devoted a great part of his time to the composi-
upon as belonging to one of the most illustrious tion of poetry and the recitation of his productions.
gentes. (Cic. Phil
. ii. 29 ; Plin. H. N. vii. 57 ; Vespasian, who died in A. D. 79, was succeeded by
Val. Max. vi. 2. $ 8. ) During the time of the his elder son Titus, and Domitian used publicly to
republic, we meet with only two branches of this say, that he was deprived of his share in the go-
gens, the AHENOBARBI and CALVINI, and, with vernment by a forgery in his father's will, for that
the exception of a few unknown personages men- it had been the wish of the latter that the two
tioned in isolated passages of Cicero, there is none brothers should reign in common. But this was
without a cognomen.
[L. S. ] mere caluinny : Domitian bated his brother,
DOMITIANUS, or with his full name T. FLA- and made several attempts upon his life. Titus
vius DomiTiANUS AUGUSTUS, was the younger of behaved with the utmost forbearance towards him,
Vespasian's sons by his first wife Domitilla. He but followed the example of his father in not
succeeded his elder brother Titus as emperor, and allowing Domitian to take any part in the admi-
reigned from A. D. 81 to 96. He was born at nistration of public affairs, although he was in-
Rome, on the 24th of October, a. D. 52, the year vested with the consulship seven times during the
in which his father was consul designatus. Sue- reigns of his father and brother. The early death
tonius relates that Domitian in his youth led such of Titus, in A. D. 81, was in all probability the
a wretched life, that he never used a silver vessel, work of Doniitian, Suetonius states that Domi.
and that he prostituted himself for money. The tian ordered the sick Titus to be left entirely
position which his father then occupied precludes alone, before he was quite dead; Dion Cassius
the possibility of ascribing this mode of life to says that he accelerated his death by ordering him
poverty, and if the account be true, we must while in a fever to be put into a vessel filled with
attribute this conduct to his bad natural disposi- snow; and other writers plainly assert, that Titus
tion. When Vespasian was proclaimed emperor, was poisoned or murdered by Domitian.
Domitian, who was then eighteen years old, hap- On the ides of September, A. D. 81, the day on
pened to be at Rome, where he and his friends which Titus died, Domitian was proclaimed em-
were persecuted by Vitellius ; Sabipus, Vespasian's peror by the soldiers. During the first years of
brother, was murdered, and it was only with the his reign he continued, indeed, to indulge in
greatest difficulty that Domitian escaped froin the strange passions, but Suetonius remarks that he
burning temple of the capitol, and concealed him- manifested a pretty equal mixture of vices and
self until the victory of his father's party was de virtues. Among the latter we must mention, that
cided. After the fall of Vitellius, Domitian was he kept a very strict superintendence over the go-
proclaimed Caesar, and obtained the city praetor- vernors of provinces, so that in his reign, they are
ship with consular power. As his father was still said to have been juster than they ever were after-
absent in the east, Domitian and Mucianus under-wards. He also enacted sereral useful laws :
took the adıninistration of Italy until Vespasian i he forbade, for example, the castration of male
returned. The power which was thus put into his children, and restricted the increasing cultiva-
hands was abused by the dissolute young man in tion of the vine, whereby the growth of corn was
a manner which shewed to the world, but too neglected. He endeavoured to correct the fri-
plainly, what was to be expected, if he should volous and licentious conduct of the higher classes,
ever succeed to the imperial throne: he put several and shewed great liberality and moderation on
persons to death, merely to gratify his desire of many occasions. He further took an active part in
taking vengeance on his personal enemies; he se- the administration of justice; which conduct, praise-
duced many wives, and lived surrounded by a sort worthy as it then was, became disgusting after-
of harem, and arbitrarily deposed and appointed wards, when, assisted by a large class of delatores,
so many magistrates, both in the city and Italy, he openly made justice the slave of his cruelty
that his father with a bitter sarcasm wrote to him, and iyranny; for, during the latter years of his
“ I wonder that you do not send some one to suc- reign he acted as one of the most cruel tyrants
ceed me. ” Being jealous of the military glory of that ever disgraced a throne, and as Suetonius re-
his father and brother, he resolved upon marching marks, his very virtues were turned into vices.
against Civilis in Gaul, in spite of the advice of all The cause of this change in his conduct appears,
his friends to remain at Rome ; but he did not ad- independent of his natural bias for what was bad,
vance further than Lugdunum, for on his arrival to have been his boundless ambition, injured
there be received intelligence of Cerealis having vanity, jealousy of others, and cowardice, which
already conquered the rebel.
were awakened and roused by the failure of his
## p. 1062 (#1082) ##########################################
1062
DOMITIANUS.
DOMITIANUS.
;
mans
undertakings and other occurrences of the time. I writers do, that he hated all philosophical and sci-
In A. D. 84 he undertook an expedition against the entific pursuits; the cause being in all probability
Chatti, which does not seem to have been alto no other than his vanity and ambition, which
gether unsuccessful, for we learn from Frontinus could not bear to be obscured by others. Christian
(Strateg. l. 3), that he constructed the frontier writers attribute to him a persecution of the Chris-
wall between the free Germans and those who tians likewise ; but there is no other evidence for it,
were subject to Rome, so that he must at any and the belief seems to have arisen from the strict-
rate have succeeded in confining the barbarians ness with which he exacted the tribute from the
within their own territory. After his return to Jews, and which may have caused much suffering
Rome he celebrated a triumph, and assumed the to the Christians also.
name of Germanicus. In the same year Agricola, As in all similar cases, the tyrant's own cruelty
whose success and merits excited his jealousy, was brought about his ruin. Three officers of his court,
recalled to Roine, ostensibly for the purpose of Parthenius, Sigerius, and Entellus, whom Domitian
celebrating a triumph ; but he was never sent back intended to put to death (this secret was betrayed
to his post, which was given to another person. to thein by Domitia, the emperor's wife, who was
[AGRICOLA. ) The most dangerous enemy of likewise on the list), formed a conspiracy against
Rome at that time was Decebalus, king of the his life. Stephanus, a freedman, who was employed
Dacians. Domitian himself took the field against by the conspirators, contrived to obtain admission
him, but the real management of the war was left to the emperor's bed-room, and gave him a letter
to his generals. Simultaneously with this war to read. While Domitian was perusing the letter,
another was carried on against the Marcomanni in which the conspirators' plot was revealed to
and Quadi, who had refused to furnish the Ro- him, Stephanus plunged a dagger into his abdomen.
mans with the assistance against Decebalus, which A violent struggle ensued between the two, until
they were bound to do by a treaty. The Ro- the other conspirators arrived. Domitian fell, after
were defeated by them, and the conse having received seven wounds, on the 18th of Sep-
quence was, that Domitian was obliged to conclude tember, A. D. 96. Apollonius of Tyana, who was
peace with Decebalus on very humiliating terms, then at Ephesus, at the moment Domitian was
A. D. 87. [DECEBALUS. ] Another dangerous oc- murdered at Rome, is said to have run across the
currence was the revolt of L. Antonius in Upper market-place, and to have exclaimed, " That is
Germany; but this storm was luckily averted by right, Stephanus, slay the murderer! ”
an unexpected overflow of the Rhine over its There are few rulers who better deserve the name
banks, which prevented the German auxiliaries, of a cruel tyrant than Domitian. The last three
whom Antonius expected, from joining him; 60 years of his reign form one of the most frightful
that the rebel was easily conquered by L. Appius periods that occur in the history of man; but he
Norbanus, in A. D. 91. An insurrection of the cannot be called a brutal monster or a madman
Nasamones in Africa was of less importance, and like Caligula and Nero, for he possessed talent
was easily suppressed by Flaccus, the governor of and a cultivated mind; and although Pliny and
Numidia
Quintilian, who place his poetical productions by
But it is the cruelty and tyranny of Domitian the side of those of the greatest masters, are obvi-
that have given his reign an unenviable notoriety. ously guilty of servile flattery, yet his poetical
His natural tendencies burst forth with fresh works cannot have been entirely without merit.
fury after the Dacian war. His fear and his His fondness and esteem for literature are attested
injured pride and vanity led him to delight by the quinquennial contest which he instituted in
in the misfortunes and sufferings of those whom honour of the Capitoline Jupiter, and one part of
he hated and envied; and the most distinguish- which consisted of a musical contest.
ed men of the time, especially among the se-writers and poets in Greek as well as in Latin re-
nators, had to bleed for their excellence; while, cited their productions, and the victors were re-
on the other hand, he tried to win the populace warded with golden crowns. He further instituted
and the soldiers by large donations, and by public the pension for distinguished rhetoricians, which
games and fights in the circus and amphitheatre, Quintilian enjoyed; and if we look at the compa-
in which even women appeared among the gladia- ratively flourishing condition of Roman literature
tors, and in which he himself took great delight. during that time, we cannot help thinking that it
For the same reason he increased the pay of the was, at least in great measure, the consequence of the
soldiers, and the sums he thus expended were ob- influence which he exercised and of the encourage-
tained from the rich by violence and murder; and ment which he afforded. It is extremely probable
when in the end he found it impossible to obtain that we still possess one of the literary productions
the means for paying his soldiers, he was obliged of Domitian in the Latin paraphrase of Aratus's
to reduce their number. The provinces were less Phaenomena, which is usually attributed to Ger-
exposed to his tyranny, and it was especially manicus, the grandson of Augustus. The argu-
Rome and Italy that felt his iron grasp. The ex- ments for this opinion have been clearly set forth
pression of thought and sentiment was suppressed by Rutgersius (Var. Lect. ii. p. 276), and it is
or atrociously persecuted, unless men would de-
grade themselves to flatter the tyrant. The silent
fear and fearful silence which prevailed during the
latter years of Domitian's reign in Rome and Italy
are briefly but energetically described by Tacitus
in the introduction to his Life of Agricola, and
his vices and tyranny are exposed in the strongest
colours by the withering satire of Juvenal. All
the philosophers who lived at Rome were expelled;
from which, however, we cannot infer, as some
Both prose
XVIICE
تو اللہ
TERRASSE
COIN OF DOMITIAN.
## p. 1063 (#1083) ##########################################
DOMITIUS.
1063
DOMNA.
also adopted by Niebuhr. (Tac. Hist. iii, 59, &c. , DOMI'TIUS DEXTER. (DEXTER. ]
iv. 2, &c. , Agric. 39, 42, 45; Suet. Domitian. ; DOMI'TIUS FLORUS. [FLoRUs. ]
Dion Cass. lib. Ixvi. and lxvii. ; Juvenal, Satir. ; DOMI'TIUS LABEO. [LABEO. ]
Quintil. iv. 1. & 2, &c. , x. 1. $ 91, &c. ; Niebuhr, DOMI'TIUS MARSUS. (MARSUS. ]
Lectures on Roman Hist. ii. pp. 234-250. ) [L. S. ) DOMI'TIUS ULPIANUS. [Ulpianus. ]
DOMITIA'NUS, L. DOMI'TIUS. A few DOMNA, JU’LIA, daughter of Bassianus, wife
coins are extant in second brass, which exhibit on of the emperor Septimius Severus, mother of Caracalla
the obverse a laurelled head, with the legend, Imp. and Geta, grand-aunt of Elagabalus and Alexander.
C. L. Domitius. DomitiANUS. AUG. ; on the re- (See the stemma of CARACALLA. ) Born of obscure
verse, the representation of a Genius, with Genio. parents in Emesa, she attracted the attention of her
POPULI. ROMANI. ; and below, the letters ALE. , in- future husband long before his elevation to the
dicating that they were struck at Alexandria. We purple, in consequence, we are told, of an astro-
find also a very rare Alexandrian third brass, with logical prediction, which declared that she was
a rayed head, and the words AOMITIANOC. CEB. destined to be the wife of a sovereign. Already
These pieces have been generally supposed to cherishing ambitious hopes, and trusting implicitly
belong to the Domitianus mentioned by Trebellius to the infallibility of an art in which he possessed
Pollio, as the general who vanquished the two no mean skill, Severus, after the death of Marcia,
Macriani, who is described as a man of lofty ambi- wedded the humble Syrian damsel, with no other
tion, deducing his origin from the son of Vespasian, dowry than her horoscope. The period at which
and is believed to be the same with the Domitianus this union took place has been a matter of contro-
put to death by Aurelian, according to Zosimus, in versy among chronologers, since the statements of
consequence of a suspicion that he was meditating ancient authorities are contradictory and irrecon-
rebellion. Eckhel, however, has demonstrated, cileable. Following Dion Cassius as our surest
from numismatical considerations, that the Latin guide, we conclude that it could not have been later
medals, at least, cannot be earlier than the epoch of than A. D.
175, for he records that the marriage
Diocletian, or his immediate successors, and there couch was spread in the temple of Venus, adjoining
fore must commemorate the usurpation of some the palatium, by the empress Faustina, who in that
pretender unknown to history. (Trebell. Poll. Gal- year quitted Rome to join M. Aurelius in the east,
lien. duo, c. 2; Trigint. Tyrann. c. 12 ; Zosim. and never returned. Julia, being gifted with a
i. 49 ; Eckhel, vol. viii. p. 41. ) [W. R. ] powerful intellect and with a large measure of the
DOMITILLA, FLA’VIA. 1. The first wife adroit cunning for which her countrywomen were
of Vespasian, by whom he had three children, so celebrated, exercised at all times a powerful
Titus, Domitian, and a daughter Domitilla. She sway over her superstitious husband, persuaded
had originally been the mistress of a Roman eques, him to take up arms against Pescennius Niger and
Statilius Capella, and a freedwoman. Subsequently Clodius Albinus, thus pointing out the direct path
however she received the Latinitas, and was at to a throne, and, after the prophecy had been com-
last made ingenua. She as well as her daughter pletely fulfilled, maintained her dominion unim-
died before Vespasian was proclaimed emperor. paired to the last. At one period, when hard
(Suet. Vesp. 3. ) Her portrait is given in the coin pressed by the enmity of the all-powerful Plautianus,
annexed, which was struck after her death. she is said to have devoted her time almost ex-
clusively to philosophy. By her commands Phi-
了。
lostratus undertook to write the life of Apollonius,
of Tyana, and she was wont to pass whole days
surrounded by troops of grammarians, rhetoricians,
and sophists. But if she studied wisdom she
certainly did not practise virtue, for her profligacy
was a matter of common notoriety and reproach,
and she is said even to have conspired against the
life of her husband, who from gratitude, weakness,
2. The wife of Flavius Clemens. (CLEMENS. fear, or apathy, quietly tolerated her enormities.
T. Flavius. ] Philostratus (Vit
. A pollon. viii. 25: After his death, her influence became greater than
calls her a sister of the emperor Domitian, which is ever, and Caracalla entrusteâ the most important
impossible, as Domitilla, the sister of Domitian, had affairs of state to her administration. At the
died even before Vespasian's accession. Dion Cassius same time, she certainly possessed no controul
(lxvii. 14) calls her merely a ouayensis of Domitian, over his darker passions, for it is well known
and it has been conjectured that in Philostratus we that he murdered his own brother, Geta, in her
must read deplov instead of adelońv. It may arms, and when she ventured to give way to grief
be that our Domitilla was a daughter of Vespasian's for her child, the fratricide was scarcely withheld
daughter of the same name. After the murder of from turning the dagger against his mother also.
her husband Clemens, Stephanus, the freedman Upon learning the successful issue of the rebellion
and murderer of Domitian, was her procurator. of Macrinus, Julia at first resolved not to survive
(Suet. Domit. 17; comp. Reimarus, ad Dion Cass. the loss of her son and of her dignities, but having
1. c. )
[L. S. ] been kindly treated by the conqueror, she for a
DOMI'TIUS AFER. [AFER. ]
while indulged in bright anticipations. Her pro-
DOMI'TIUS BALBUS. [BaLBUS, No. 6. ] ceedings, however, excited a suspicion that she was
DOMI'TIUS CAECILIA’NUS. [Caecili- | tampering with the troops : she was abruptly com-
ANUS, p. 526, b. )
manded to quit Antioch, and, returning to her former
DOMITIUS CALLI'STRATUS. [Calli- resolution, she abstained from food, and perished,
STRATUS, p. 579, b. ]
A. D. 217. Her body was transported to Rome,
DOMI'TIUS CELER. [CELER. )
and deposited in the sepulchre of Caius and Lucius
DOMI'TIUS COʻRBULO. [CORBULO. ) Caesar, but afterwards removed by her sister,
LADOS
SAON
LS
## p. 1064 (#1084) ##########################################
1064
DOMNINUS.
DONATUS.
а
Maesı, along with the bones of Geta, to the 3. Of Antioch, an historian, quoted frequently in
cemetery of the Antonines.
the chronicle of Joannes Malelas. Bentley thinks
There can be little doubt that Domna was her (Ep. ad Mill. p. 73), that he was bishop of An-
proper Syrian name, analogous to the designations tioch, and wrote a history of events from the be-
of Macsa, Soaemias, and Mammaea, borne by other ginning of the world to the time of Justinian, to
members of the same family. The idea that it is the 33d year of whose reign (A. D. 560) the
to be regarded as a contraction for domina, and was chronicle of Malelas extends. (Voss. de llist. Gracc.
emploved because the latter would have been p. 435, ed. Westermann; Fabric. Bill. Graec.
offensive to a Roman ear, scarcely requires refu- vol. iii. p. 171, vii. p. 445. )
[E. E. )
tation. (See Reimarus on Dion Cass. lxxiv. 3. ) DOMNI'NUS, a Graeco-Roman jurist, who
One accusation, of the foulest description, has probably flourished shortly before Justinian, or in
been brought against this princess by several the commencement of that emperor's reign. He
ancient historians. Spartianus and Aurelius Victor may be the same person to whom was addressed a
expressly affirm that Julia not only formed an rescript of the emperor Zeno. (Basil. vii. p. 711, Cod.
.
incestuous connexion with Caracalla, but that they 10, tit. 3, s. 7. ) He was a commentator upon the
were positively joined in marriage: the story is Gregorian, Hermogenian, and Theodosian Codes.
repeated by Eutropius and Orosius also, while (Reiz, ad Theophilum, pp. 1243, 1245. ) Theo-
Herodian hints at such a report (iv. 16), when he dorus, a contempomry of Justinian, calls him his
relates that she was nicknamed Jocasta by the “ very learned teacher" (Basil. vi. p. 217); but
licentious rabble of Alexandria But the silence of Zachariae imagines that Domninus could scarcely
Dion Cassius, who was not only alive, but occupied have been, in a literal sense, the teacher of Theodorus,
a prominent public station during the whole reign, who survived Justinian, and lived under Tiberius.
on the subject, is a sufficient reason for rejecting (Zachariae, Anecdota, p. xlviii. ) By Suarez (Notit.
the tale altogether. It is absolutely impossible Basil. 42), Domninus is called Leo Domninus ;
that he should have been ignorant of such a rumour, but this seems to be a mistake. (Assemani, Bill.
if actually in circulation, and it is equally certain, Jur. Orient. lib. ii. c. 20, p. 405. ) By Nic. Com-
from the tone of his narrative, that he would not nenus Papadopoli (Praenot. Mystug. pp. 372, 402),
have suppressed it had it been deserving of the a Domninus, Nomicus, JCtus, is quoted as having
slightest credit. On the other hand, the vouchers commented upon the Novellae Constitutiones of
for the fact are in themselves totally destitute of Constantinus and Leo; but the untrustworthiness
authority upon all points which admit of doubt or of Papadopoli, in this case, is exposed by Heim-
controversy, and in the present case were so ill. bach. (Anecdota, i. p. 222).
informed as to suppose that Julia was only the
The names Domnus and Domninus are some-
step-mother of Caracalla. (Dion Cass. lxxiv. 3, times confounded in manuscripts. They are formed
1xxv. 15, lxxvi. 4, 16, lxxvii. 2, 10, 18, lxviii. 4, from the word Dominus, and, like other words
23, 24 ; Herodian, iv. 13, 16, v. 3; Spartian. Sept. denoting title (as Patricius), became converted into
Scv. 3, 18, Caracall. 3, 10; Capitolin. Clod. Albin. family names. (Ménage, Amoen. Jur. p. 171. ) A
3, Macrin. 9 ; Lamprid. Alex. Sev. 5 ; Victor, Epit. jurist Domnus is mentioned by Libanius, who
21; de Caes. 21 ; Eutrop. viii. 11; Oros. vii. 18; addressed letters to him. (Liban. Ep. ii. 277,
Philostrat. Vit. Sophist. Vit. A pollon. i. 3 ; Tzetzes, 1124, ed. Wolff. )
[J. T. G. ]
C. vi. H. 45.
clemency. Vitellius, too, became alarmed through him, and kept up an adulterous intercourse with
her, as Dolabella had married Petronia, a former Paris, an actor. When this was discovered, in
wife of Vitellius. The emperor, therefore, enticed A. D. 83, Domitian repudiated her on the advice of
him to Interamnium, and there ordered him to be Ursus, and henceforth lived with Julia, the daughter
put to death.
This was the first act of wanton of his brother. Soon after, however, he formed a
cruelty in the reign of Vitellius. (Tac. Hist, i. reconciliation with Domitia, because he said the
88, ii. 63. )
[L. S. ] people wished it ; but he nevertheless continued his
DO'LIUS, (Aódios), an aged slave of Penelope, intercourse with Julia. Domitia never loved Domi-
whom she had received from her father on her mar- tian, and she knew of the conspiracy against his
rying Odysseus, and who took care of her garden. I life ; as she was informed that her own life was in
## p. 1061 (#1081) ##########################################
DOMITIANUS.
1061
DOMITIANUS.
danger, she urged the conspirators on, and Domitian When his father at length arrived at Rome,
was murdered in a. D. 96. (Dion Cass. Ixvii. 3, Domitian, who was conscious of his evil conduct,
Ixvi. 3, 15; Suet. Domit. 3, 22. ) The coin is said not to have ventured to meet him, and to
annexed contains on the obverse the head of Do- have pretended not to be in the perfect possession
mitia, with the legend Domitia Avgvsta IMP. of his mind. Vespasian, however, knew his dis-
Domir.
[L. S. ] position, and throughout his reign kept him as
much as possible away from public affairs ; but in
order to display his rank and station, Domitian
always accompanied his father and brother when
they appeared in public, and when they celebrated
their triumph after the Jewish war, he followed
them in the procession riding on a white war-
steed. lle lived partly in the same house with
his father, and partly on an estate near the Mons
Albanus, where he was surrounded by a number
DOMI'TIA GENS, plebeian, the members of of courtezans. While he thus led a private life,
which towards the end of the republic were looked he devoted a great part of his time to the composi-
upon as belonging to one of the most illustrious tion of poetry and the recitation of his productions.
gentes. (Cic. Phil
. ii. 29 ; Plin. H. N. vii. 57 ; Vespasian, who died in A. D. 79, was succeeded by
Val. Max. vi. 2. $ 8. ) During the time of the his elder son Titus, and Domitian used publicly to
republic, we meet with only two branches of this say, that he was deprived of his share in the go-
gens, the AHENOBARBI and CALVINI, and, with vernment by a forgery in his father's will, for that
the exception of a few unknown personages men- it had been the wish of the latter that the two
tioned in isolated passages of Cicero, there is none brothers should reign in common. But this was
without a cognomen.
[L. S. ] mere caluinny : Domitian bated his brother,
DOMITIANUS, or with his full name T. FLA- and made several attempts upon his life. Titus
vius DomiTiANUS AUGUSTUS, was the younger of behaved with the utmost forbearance towards him,
Vespasian's sons by his first wife Domitilla. He but followed the example of his father in not
succeeded his elder brother Titus as emperor, and allowing Domitian to take any part in the admi-
reigned from A. D. 81 to 96. He was born at nistration of public affairs, although he was in-
Rome, on the 24th of October, a. D. 52, the year vested with the consulship seven times during the
in which his father was consul designatus. Sue- reigns of his father and brother. The early death
tonius relates that Domitian in his youth led such of Titus, in A. D. 81, was in all probability the
a wretched life, that he never used a silver vessel, work of Doniitian, Suetonius states that Domi.
and that he prostituted himself for money. The tian ordered the sick Titus to be left entirely
position which his father then occupied precludes alone, before he was quite dead; Dion Cassius
the possibility of ascribing this mode of life to says that he accelerated his death by ordering him
poverty, and if the account be true, we must while in a fever to be put into a vessel filled with
attribute this conduct to his bad natural disposi- snow; and other writers plainly assert, that Titus
tion. When Vespasian was proclaimed emperor, was poisoned or murdered by Domitian.
Domitian, who was then eighteen years old, hap- On the ides of September, A. D. 81, the day on
pened to be at Rome, where he and his friends which Titus died, Domitian was proclaimed em-
were persecuted by Vitellius ; Sabipus, Vespasian's peror by the soldiers. During the first years of
brother, was murdered, and it was only with the his reign he continued, indeed, to indulge in
greatest difficulty that Domitian escaped froin the strange passions, but Suetonius remarks that he
burning temple of the capitol, and concealed him- manifested a pretty equal mixture of vices and
self until the victory of his father's party was de virtues. Among the latter we must mention, that
cided. After the fall of Vitellius, Domitian was he kept a very strict superintendence over the go-
proclaimed Caesar, and obtained the city praetor- vernors of provinces, so that in his reign, they are
ship with consular power. As his father was still said to have been juster than they ever were after-
absent in the east, Domitian and Mucianus under-wards. He also enacted sereral useful laws :
took the adıninistration of Italy until Vespasian i he forbade, for example, the castration of male
returned. The power which was thus put into his children, and restricted the increasing cultiva-
hands was abused by the dissolute young man in tion of the vine, whereby the growth of corn was
a manner which shewed to the world, but too neglected. He endeavoured to correct the fri-
plainly, what was to be expected, if he should volous and licentious conduct of the higher classes,
ever succeed to the imperial throne: he put several and shewed great liberality and moderation on
persons to death, merely to gratify his desire of many occasions. He further took an active part in
taking vengeance on his personal enemies; he se- the administration of justice; which conduct, praise-
duced many wives, and lived surrounded by a sort worthy as it then was, became disgusting after-
of harem, and arbitrarily deposed and appointed wards, when, assisted by a large class of delatores,
so many magistrates, both in the city and Italy, he openly made justice the slave of his cruelty
that his father with a bitter sarcasm wrote to him, and iyranny; for, during the latter years of his
“ I wonder that you do not send some one to suc- reign he acted as one of the most cruel tyrants
ceed me. ” Being jealous of the military glory of that ever disgraced a throne, and as Suetonius re-
his father and brother, he resolved upon marching marks, his very virtues were turned into vices.
against Civilis in Gaul, in spite of the advice of all The cause of this change in his conduct appears,
his friends to remain at Rome ; but he did not ad- independent of his natural bias for what was bad,
vance further than Lugdunum, for on his arrival to have been his boundless ambition, injured
there be received intelligence of Cerealis having vanity, jealousy of others, and cowardice, which
already conquered the rebel.
were awakened and roused by the failure of his
## p. 1062 (#1082) ##########################################
1062
DOMITIANUS.
DOMITIANUS.
;
mans
undertakings and other occurrences of the time. I writers do, that he hated all philosophical and sci-
In A. D. 84 he undertook an expedition against the entific pursuits; the cause being in all probability
Chatti, which does not seem to have been alto no other than his vanity and ambition, which
gether unsuccessful, for we learn from Frontinus could not bear to be obscured by others. Christian
(Strateg. l. 3), that he constructed the frontier writers attribute to him a persecution of the Chris-
wall between the free Germans and those who tians likewise ; but there is no other evidence for it,
were subject to Rome, so that he must at any and the belief seems to have arisen from the strict-
rate have succeeded in confining the barbarians ness with which he exacted the tribute from the
within their own territory. After his return to Jews, and which may have caused much suffering
Rome he celebrated a triumph, and assumed the to the Christians also.
name of Germanicus. In the same year Agricola, As in all similar cases, the tyrant's own cruelty
whose success and merits excited his jealousy, was brought about his ruin. Three officers of his court,
recalled to Roine, ostensibly for the purpose of Parthenius, Sigerius, and Entellus, whom Domitian
celebrating a triumph ; but he was never sent back intended to put to death (this secret was betrayed
to his post, which was given to another person. to thein by Domitia, the emperor's wife, who was
[AGRICOLA. ) The most dangerous enemy of likewise on the list), formed a conspiracy against
Rome at that time was Decebalus, king of the his life. Stephanus, a freedman, who was employed
Dacians. Domitian himself took the field against by the conspirators, contrived to obtain admission
him, but the real management of the war was left to the emperor's bed-room, and gave him a letter
to his generals. Simultaneously with this war to read. While Domitian was perusing the letter,
another was carried on against the Marcomanni in which the conspirators' plot was revealed to
and Quadi, who had refused to furnish the Ro- him, Stephanus plunged a dagger into his abdomen.
mans with the assistance against Decebalus, which A violent struggle ensued between the two, until
they were bound to do by a treaty. The Ro- the other conspirators arrived. Domitian fell, after
were defeated by them, and the conse having received seven wounds, on the 18th of Sep-
quence was, that Domitian was obliged to conclude tember, A. D. 96. Apollonius of Tyana, who was
peace with Decebalus on very humiliating terms, then at Ephesus, at the moment Domitian was
A. D. 87. [DECEBALUS. ] Another dangerous oc- murdered at Rome, is said to have run across the
currence was the revolt of L. Antonius in Upper market-place, and to have exclaimed, " That is
Germany; but this storm was luckily averted by right, Stephanus, slay the murderer! ”
an unexpected overflow of the Rhine over its There are few rulers who better deserve the name
banks, which prevented the German auxiliaries, of a cruel tyrant than Domitian. The last three
whom Antonius expected, from joining him; 60 years of his reign form one of the most frightful
that the rebel was easily conquered by L. Appius periods that occur in the history of man; but he
Norbanus, in A. D. 91. An insurrection of the cannot be called a brutal monster or a madman
Nasamones in Africa was of less importance, and like Caligula and Nero, for he possessed talent
was easily suppressed by Flaccus, the governor of and a cultivated mind; and although Pliny and
Numidia
Quintilian, who place his poetical productions by
But it is the cruelty and tyranny of Domitian the side of those of the greatest masters, are obvi-
that have given his reign an unenviable notoriety. ously guilty of servile flattery, yet his poetical
His natural tendencies burst forth with fresh works cannot have been entirely without merit.
fury after the Dacian war. His fear and his His fondness and esteem for literature are attested
injured pride and vanity led him to delight by the quinquennial contest which he instituted in
in the misfortunes and sufferings of those whom honour of the Capitoline Jupiter, and one part of
he hated and envied; and the most distinguish- which consisted of a musical contest.
ed men of the time, especially among the se-writers and poets in Greek as well as in Latin re-
nators, had to bleed for their excellence; while, cited their productions, and the victors were re-
on the other hand, he tried to win the populace warded with golden crowns. He further instituted
and the soldiers by large donations, and by public the pension for distinguished rhetoricians, which
games and fights in the circus and amphitheatre, Quintilian enjoyed; and if we look at the compa-
in which even women appeared among the gladia- ratively flourishing condition of Roman literature
tors, and in which he himself took great delight. during that time, we cannot help thinking that it
For the same reason he increased the pay of the was, at least in great measure, the consequence of the
soldiers, and the sums he thus expended were ob- influence which he exercised and of the encourage-
tained from the rich by violence and murder; and ment which he afforded. It is extremely probable
when in the end he found it impossible to obtain that we still possess one of the literary productions
the means for paying his soldiers, he was obliged of Domitian in the Latin paraphrase of Aratus's
to reduce their number. The provinces were less Phaenomena, which is usually attributed to Ger-
exposed to his tyranny, and it was especially manicus, the grandson of Augustus. The argu-
Rome and Italy that felt his iron grasp. The ex- ments for this opinion have been clearly set forth
pression of thought and sentiment was suppressed by Rutgersius (Var. Lect. ii. p. 276), and it is
or atrociously persecuted, unless men would de-
grade themselves to flatter the tyrant. The silent
fear and fearful silence which prevailed during the
latter years of Domitian's reign in Rome and Italy
are briefly but energetically described by Tacitus
in the introduction to his Life of Agricola, and
his vices and tyranny are exposed in the strongest
colours by the withering satire of Juvenal. All
the philosophers who lived at Rome were expelled;
from which, however, we cannot infer, as some
Both prose
XVIICE
تو اللہ
TERRASSE
COIN OF DOMITIAN.
## p. 1063 (#1083) ##########################################
DOMITIUS.
1063
DOMNA.
also adopted by Niebuhr. (Tac. Hist. iii, 59, &c. , DOMI'TIUS DEXTER. (DEXTER. ]
iv. 2, &c. , Agric. 39, 42, 45; Suet. Domitian. ; DOMI'TIUS FLORUS. [FLoRUs. ]
Dion Cass. lib. Ixvi. and lxvii. ; Juvenal, Satir. ; DOMI'TIUS LABEO. [LABEO. ]
Quintil. iv. 1. & 2, &c. , x. 1. $ 91, &c. ; Niebuhr, DOMI'TIUS MARSUS. (MARSUS. ]
Lectures on Roman Hist. ii. pp. 234-250. ) [L. S. ) DOMI'TIUS ULPIANUS. [Ulpianus. ]
DOMITIA'NUS, L. DOMI'TIUS. A few DOMNA, JU’LIA, daughter of Bassianus, wife
coins are extant in second brass, which exhibit on of the emperor Septimius Severus, mother of Caracalla
the obverse a laurelled head, with the legend, Imp. and Geta, grand-aunt of Elagabalus and Alexander.
C. L. Domitius. DomitiANUS. AUG. ; on the re- (See the stemma of CARACALLA. ) Born of obscure
verse, the representation of a Genius, with Genio. parents in Emesa, she attracted the attention of her
POPULI. ROMANI. ; and below, the letters ALE. , in- future husband long before his elevation to the
dicating that they were struck at Alexandria. We purple, in consequence, we are told, of an astro-
find also a very rare Alexandrian third brass, with logical prediction, which declared that she was
a rayed head, and the words AOMITIANOC. CEB. destined to be the wife of a sovereign. Already
These pieces have been generally supposed to cherishing ambitious hopes, and trusting implicitly
belong to the Domitianus mentioned by Trebellius to the infallibility of an art in which he possessed
Pollio, as the general who vanquished the two no mean skill, Severus, after the death of Marcia,
Macriani, who is described as a man of lofty ambi- wedded the humble Syrian damsel, with no other
tion, deducing his origin from the son of Vespasian, dowry than her horoscope. The period at which
and is believed to be the same with the Domitianus this union took place has been a matter of contro-
put to death by Aurelian, according to Zosimus, in versy among chronologers, since the statements of
consequence of a suspicion that he was meditating ancient authorities are contradictory and irrecon-
rebellion. Eckhel, however, has demonstrated, cileable. Following Dion Cassius as our surest
from numismatical considerations, that the Latin guide, we conclude that it could not have been later
medals, at least, cannot be earlier than the epoch of than A. D.
175, for he records that the marriage
Diocletian, or his immediate successors, and there couch was spread in the temple of Venus, adjoining
fore must commemorate the usurpation of some the palatium, by the empress Faustina, who in that
pretender unknown to history. (Trebell. Poll. Gal- year quitted Rome to join M. Aurelius in the east,
lien. duo, c. 2; Trigint. Tyrann. c. 12 ; Zosim. and never returned. Julia, being gifted with a
i. 49 ; Eckhel, vol. viii. p. 41. ) [W. R. ] powerful intellect and with a large measure of the
DOMITILLA, FLA’VIA. 1. The first wife adroit cunning for which her countrywomen were
of Vespasian, by whom he had three children, so celebrated, exercised at all times a powerful
Titus, Domitian, and a daughter Domitilla. She sway over her superstitious husband, persuaded
had originally been the mistress of a Roman eques, him to take up arms against Pescennius Niger and
Statilius Capella, and a freedwoman. Subsequently Clodius Albinus, thus pointing out the direct path
however she received the Latinitas, and was at to a throne, and, after the prophecy had been com-
last made ingenua. She as well as her daughter pletely fulfilled, maintained her dominion unim-
died before Vespasian was proclaimed emperor. paired to the last. At one period, when hard
(Suet. Vesp. 3. ) Her portrait is given in the coin pressed by the enmity of the all-powerful Plautianus,
annexed, which was struck after her death. she is said to have devoted her time almost ex-
clusively to philosophy. By her commands Phi-
了。
lostratus undertook to write the life of Apollonius,
of Tyana, and she was wont to pass whole days
surrounded by troops of grammarians, rhetoricians,
and sophists. But if she studied wisdom she
certainly did not practise virtue, for her profligacy
was a matter of common notoriety and reproach,
and she is said even to have conspired against the
life of her husband, who from gratitude, weakness,
2. The wife of Flavius Clemens. (CLEMENS. fear, or apathy, quietly tolerated her enormities.
T. Flavius. ] Philostratus (Vit
. A pollon. viii. 25: After his death, her influence became greater than
calls her a sister of the emperor Domitian, which is ever, and Caracalla entrusteâ the most important
impossible, as Domitilla, the sister of Domitian, had affairs of state to her administration. At the
died even before Vespasian's accession. Dion Cassius same time, she certainly possessed no controul
(lxvii. 14) calls her merely a ouayensis of Domitian, over his darker passions, for it is well known
and it has been conjectured that in Philostratus we that he murdered his own brother, Geta, in her
must read deplov instead of adelońv. It may arms, and when she ventured to give way to grief
be that our Domitilla was a daughter of Vespasian's for her child, the fratricide was scarcely withheld
daughter of the same name. After the murder of from turning the dagger against his mother also.
her husband Clemens, Stephanus, the freedman Upon learning the successful issue of the rebellion
and murderer of Domitian, was her procurator. of Macrinus, Julia at first resolved not to survive
(Suet. Domit. 17; comp. Reimarus, ad Dion Cass. the loss of her son and of her dignities, but having
1. c. )
[L. S. ] been kindly treated by the conqueror, she for a
DOMI'TIUS AFER. [AFER. ]
while indulged in bright anticipations. Her pro-
DOMI'TIUS BALBUS. [BaLBUS, No. 6. ] ceedings, however, excited a suspicion that she was
DOMI'TIUS CAECILIA’NUS. [Caecili- | tampering with the troops : she was abruptly com-
ANUS, p. 526, b. )
manded to quit Antioch, and, returning to her former
DOMITIUS CALLI'STRATUS. [Calli- resolution, she abstained from food, and perished,
STRATUS, p. 579, b. ]
A. D. 217. Her body was transported to Rome,
DOMI'TIUS CELER. [CELER. )
and deposited in the sepulchre of Caius and Lucius
DOMI'TIUS COʻRBULO. [CORBULO. ) Caesar, but afterwards removed by her sister,
LADOS
SAON
LS
## p. 1064 (#1084) ##########################################
1064
DOMNINUS.
DONATUS.
а
Maesı, along with the bones of Geta, to the 3. Of Antioch, an historian, quoted frequently in
cemetery of the Antonines.
the chronicle of Joannes Malelas. Bentley thinks
There can be little doubt that Domna was her (Ep. ad Mill. p. 73), that he was bishop of An-
proper Syrian name, analogous to the designations tioch, and wrote a history of events from the be-
of Macsa, Soaemias, and Mammaea, borne by other ginning of the world to the time of Justinian, to
members of the same family. The idea that it is the 33d year of whose reign (A. D. 560) the
to be regarded as a contraction for domina, and was chronicle of Malelas extends. (Voss. de llist. Gracc.
emploved because the latter would have been p. 435, ed. Westermann; Fabric. Bill. Graec.
offensive to a Roman ear, scarcely requires refu- vol. iii. p. 171, vii. p. 445. )
[E. E. )
tation. (See Reimarus on Dion Cass. lxxiv. 3. ) DOMNI'NUS, a Graeco-Roman jurist, who
One accusation, of the foulest description, has probably flourished shortly before Justinian, or in
been brought against this princess by several the commencement of that emperor's reign. He
ancient historians. Spartianus and Aurelius Victor may be the same person to whom was addressed a
expressly affirm that Julia not only formed an rescript of the emperor Zeno. (Basil. vii. p. 711, Cod.
.
incestuous connexion with Caracalla, but that they 10, tit. 3, s. 7. ) He was a commentator upon the
were positively joined in marriage: the story is Gregorian, Hermogenian, and Theodosian Codes.
repeated by Eutropius and Orosius also, while (Reiz, ad Theophilum, pp. 1243, 1245. ) Theo-
Herodian hints at such a report (iv. 16), when he dorus, a contempomry of Justinian, calls him his
relates that she was nicknamed Jocasta by the “ very learned teacher" (Basil. vi. p. 217); but
licentious rabble of Alexandria But the silence of Zachariae imagines that Domninus could scarcely
Dion Cassius, who was not only alive, but occupied have been, in a literal sense, the teacher of Theodorus,
a prominent public station during the whole reign, who survived Justinian, and lived under Tiberius.
on the subject, is a sufficient reason for rejecting (Zachariae, Anecdota, p. xlviii. ) By Suarez (Notit.
the tale altogether. It is absolutely impossible Basil. 42), Domninus is called Leo Domninus ;
that he should have been ignorant of such a rumour, but this seems to be a mistake. (Assemani, Bill.
if actually in circulation, and it is equally certain, Jur. Orient. lib. ii. c. 20, p. 405. ) By Nic. Com-
from the tone of his narrative, that he would not nenus Papadopoli (Praenot. Mystug. pp. 372, 402),
have suppressed it had it been deserving of the a Domninus, Nomicus, JCtus, is quoted as having
slightest credit. On the other hand, the vouchers commented upon the Novellae Constitutiones of
for the fact are in themselves totally destitute of Constantinus and Leo; but the untrustworthiness
authority upon all points which admit of doubt or of Papadopoli, in this case, is exposed by Heim-
controversy, and in the present case were so ill. bach. (Anecdota, i. p. 222).
informed as to suppose that Julia was only the
The names Domnus and Domninus are some-
step-mother of Caracalla. (Dion Cass. lxxiv. 3, times confounded in manuscripts. They are formed
1xxv. 15, lxxvi. 4, 16, lxxvii. 2, 10, 18, lxviii. 4, from the word Dominus, and, like other words
23, 24 ; Herodian, iv. 13, 16, v. 3; Spartian. Sept. denoting title (as Patricius), became converted into
Scv. 3, 18, Caracall. 3, 10; Capitolin. Clod. Albin. family names. (Ménage, Amoen. Jur. p. 171. ) A
3, Macrin. 9 ; Lamprid. Alex. Sev. 5 ; Victor, Epit. jurist Domnus is mentioned by Libanius, who
21; de Caes. 21 ; Eutrop. viii. 11; Oros. vii. 18; addressed letters to him. (Liban. Ep. ii. 277,
Philostrat. Vit. Sophist. Vit. A pollon. i. 3 ; Tzetzes, 1124, ed. Wolff. )
[J. T. G. ]
C. vi. H. 45.
