The Flavians, AD 68–96

What The Flavians, AD 68–96 covers

The Flavians, AD 68–96 is examined in Component Group 2, Roman period study and Roman depth study. It covers the fall of Nero and the failure of Galba, Otho, Vitellius and the civil wars of AD 69, Vespasian's bid for power and the men who backed him, Legitimising the accession: army, Senate, people and the gods, Vespasian's settlement on his accession and the powers of the princeps, the treasury, taxation and the recovery of the state, the Flavian family, its supporters and the dynastic succession, Domitian and the transformation of the princeps' power, Vespasian's reign, his character and his dealings with the Senate, the principate of Titus, AD 79–81, Domitian in Rome: government, opposition and the terror, the Flavians and the empire: Britain, Germany, the Danube and the East, propaganda and the legitimation of the dynasty, the Flavian building programme in Rome, triumphs, games and festivals as imperial spectacle, literature, art and the image of the princeps, traditional Roman religion and the emperors' place in it, foreign cults and the alternatives to traditional religion and the imperial cult and the deification of the Flavians.

The 19 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• The fall of Nero and the failure of GalbaRecall questions on the rising in Gaul that opened the way, the secret of empire, the donative Galba would not pay, the advisers blamed for his worst acts, and Tacitus' verdict.Open →
• Otho, Vitellius and the civil wars of AD 69Recall questions on Otho's debt to the bribed praetorians, why the Rhine armies chose Vitellius, Valens and Caecina, Otho's defeat near Cremona and noble death at Brixellum, Vitellius in Rome and at Bedriacum, the second battle of Cremona and its sack, the burning of the Capitol, Vitellius' death, and what AD 69 revealed about the emperor's position.Open →
• Vespasian's bid for power and the men who backed himRecall questions on Vespasian's Jewish command and equestrian family from Reate, Tiberius Julius Alexander and the oath at Alexandria, the value of Egypt, Mucianus and Antonius Primus, Titus in Judaea, Flavius Sabinus and Domitian in Rome, why the armies preferred Vespasian, how the war was financed, the conference at Berytus, and why Vespasian stayed in the east.Open →
• Legitimising the accession: army, Senate, people and the godsRecall questions on the dating of the reign from 1 July AD 69, the Senate's grants in December, the law on the powers of Vespasian and its bronze tablet, the prophecy from Judaea and Josephus at Jotapata, the oracle of Carmel, the healings at Alexandria, family omens in Suetonius, and the parts played by the people of Rome and the provincials.Open →
• Vespasian's settlement on his accession and the powers of the princepsRecall questions on the state of Rome in AD 70, the rebuilding of the Capitol, the breaking up of hostile legions, Titus as praetorian prefect, Vespasian's titles and Imperator as a first name, the restored bronze archive, clemency to Vitellians, the consulship and the censorship of AD 73, his accessible manner, a new man on the throne, and how the principate changed.Open →
• The treasury, taxation and the recovery of the stateRecall questions on the forty thousand million sesterces needed and why the treasury was empty, Vespasian's increased tribute and new taxes, the urine tax, the Jewish tax for Jupiter Capitolinus, the end of Greek freedom and new provinces, the charge of avarice and its defence, the spoils of the Jewish war, Quintilian's salaried chair, Domitian's pay rise, and the denarius.Open →
• The Flavian family, its supporters and the dynastic successionRecall questions on the members of the Flavian household and Caenis, Titus' powers as virtual co-ruler, Vespasian's declaration that his sons or nobody would succeed, Domitian's exclusion and its effect, Mucianus, dynastic marriages such as Domitia Longina's, Titus' smooth accession and rumours about his death, the end of the dynasty, and supporters such as Frontinus and Agricola.Open →
• Domitian and the transformation of the princeps' powerRecall questions on Domitian's perpetual censorship, our lord and god, seventeen consulships, equestrian officials and the council, provincial government and moral legislation, the black banquet, the people's and the army's reactions to his rule and death, the damnatio memoriae, the turbot council in Juvenal's fourth Satire, and the Epitome de Caesaribus.Open →
• Vespasian's reign, his character and his dealings with the SenateRecall questions on the main features of Vespasian's reign and his plain personal style, the engineer and the columns, his tolerance of ridicule, Helvidius Priscus and Stoic opposition, the expulsion of philosophers and Demetrius, the plot of Caecina and Eprius Marcellus, the censorship of AD 73 to 74, equestrians and informers, his death and last words, and Tacitus' verdict.Open →
• The principate of Titus, AD 79–81Recall questions on Titus' bad reputation before his accession, the dismissal of Berenice, his respect for the Senate and punishment of informers, the darling of the human race and the lost day, his response to Vesuvius and to the fire and plague of AD 80, the hundred days of games at the amphitheatre, his treatment of Domitian, and why his reign is hard to judge.Open →
• Domitian in Rome: government, opposition and the terrorRecall questions on the two halves of Domitian's reign, his competent city administration and the vineyard edict, the revolt of Saturninus in AD 89 and its consequences, the delatores, the deaths of Flavius Clemens, Acilius Glabrio and Arulenus Rusticus, the expulsion of philosophers, his suspicious manner, his assassination in AD 96, reactions to it, the reliability of the hostile picture, and Plutarch's report.Open →
• The Flavians and the empire: Britain, Germany, the Danube and the EastRecall questions on the fall of Jerusalem and who burned the Temple, the Batavian revolt of Julius Civilis, Flavian advances in Britain and Agricola's governorship, Mons Graupius and Calgacus' speech, Domitian's alleged jealousy, the Chatti and the German provinces, Decebalus and the Dacian war, the eastern frontier, Latin rights in Spain, and management of the army.Open →
• Propaganda and the legitimation of the dynastyRecall questions on the problem Flavian propaganda had to solve, the coins of Roma raised and captured Judaea, why the Jewish war was advertised, legends of liberty and peace, Vespasian's realistic portrait and his idealised sons, the name Caesar, inscriptions and their value as evidence, the presentation of humble origins, Domitian's erased name, and Orosius on the gates of Janus.Open →
• The Flavian building programme in RomeRecall questions on the Temple of Peace, the Flavian Amphitheatre's builders, site, funding and seating, Domitian's palace by Rabirius, stadium, concert hall and forum, the Arch of Titus, the temples of the deified Vespasian and Titus and of the Flavian family, building in the provinces and as propaganda, Plutarch on the Capitoline temple, and the Chronicle of 354.Open →
• Triumphs, games and festivals as imperial spectacleRecall questions on the Jewish triumph of AD 71 and Josephus' account of it, the hundred days of games and Martial's verses, cash distributions to the plebs, Domitian's Capitoline Games, Alban festival of Minerva and secular games of AD 88, the stadium and concert hall, why games mattered politically, a spectator thrown to the dogs, Domitian's triumphs, and what spectacle reveals about emperor and people.Open →
• Literature, art and the image of the princepsRecall questions on Josephus and his reliability, Pliny the Elder, Silius Italicus and the limits of court epic, the poetry of Statius, Martial's change of tone after AD 96, Quintilian's appointment, and Tacitus' career, biases, Agricola and the Flavian colouring of his account of the Julio-Claudians.Open →
• Traditional Roman religion and the emperors' place in itRecall questions on why state religion mattered, the duties of the chief priest and the emperors' priesthoods, the records of the Arval Brethren, the auspices, the rebuilding of the Capitoline temple, Vespasian's scepticism, the Vestal Virgins and Domitian's punishment of Cornelia, the dynastic calendar, the emperor sacrificing in art, the omens of AD 69, and how little the Flavians innovated.Open →
• Foreign cults and the alternatives to traditional religionRecall questions on the appeal of foreign cults, Isis and Serapis in Rome and Serapis at Vespasian's accession, the night before the triumph in the temple of Isis, Domitian's favour to Isis, Judaism after AD 70 and the harsh collection of the Jewish tax, the thin evidence for persecution of Christians, the expulsion of astrologers, the limits of toleration, and the spread of eastern cults.Open →
• The imperial cult and the deification of the FlaviansRecall questions on the imperial cult and the convention against worshipping a living emperor at Rome, the consecration of Vespasian and his deathbed joke, the deification of Titus and Julia, the temple of the Flavian family, Domitian as lord and god, the provincial cult and the Flavian temple at Ephesus, Domitian's refused consecration, and why the cult mattered to the dynasty.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take The Flavians, AD 68–96 further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Flavius Sabinus vs Flavius Clemens

  Flavius Sabinus: the elder brother of Vespasian, prefect of the city, killed when Vitellian troops stormed the Capitol in AD 69. Flavius Clemens: Domitian's cousin, consul in AD 95, executed on a charge of atheism.

• Mucianus vs Antonius Primus

  Mucianus: the governor of Syria whose three legions, wealth and backing made the eastern bid for the throne possible, and who became the second man at Rome. Antonius Primus: The Danubian legate who invaded Italy without waiting for the eastern army and won the war early, then was quietly discarded once the victory was stained by a sack.

• Censor vs Censor for life

  Censor: the traditional temporary office Vespasian revived in AD 73 and held with Titus, allowing a review of the membership of the Senate and the equestrian order. Censor for life: The permanent magistracy Domitian took in AD 85, which gave him lasting control of who sat in the Senate.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Why did Nero lose power in AD 68?

   Model answer

   The provincial armies and the praetorian guard abandoned him, the Senate declared him a public enemy, and he took his own life in June AD 68.

2. 2

   State the post Galba held when the legions of Spain hailed him as emperor.

   Model answer

   He was governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, and at first accepted power only as the representative of the Senate and Roman people.

3. 3

   Whose rising in Gaul in AD 68 opened the way for Galba?

   Model answer

   Vindex, the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, revolted against Nero; he was crushed by Verginius Rufus, but the rising exposed how little authority Nero had left.

4. 4

   Explain what Tacitus meant by writing that the secret of empire had been let out.

   Model answer

   It had become clear that an emperor could be made somewhere other than Rome, so the armies, not the Senate or the city, would decide who ruled.

5. 5

   Why was Galba's refusal to pay the praetorians a donative so damaging?

   Model answer

   The prefect Nymphidius Sabinus had already promised them money in Galba's name, so the refusal looked like a broken bargain and left the guard willing to sell itself to someone else.

6. 6

   Give the justification Galba offered for not buying his soldiers' loyalty.

   Model answer

   He said that he chose his soldiers rather than purchased them.

What is inside Levo

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The Flavians, AD 68–96 revision questions

What does The Flavians, AD 68–96 cover in OCR A-Level Ancient History?

19 subtopics: the fall of nero and the failure of galba, otho, vitellius and the civil wars of ad 69, vespasian's bid for power and the men who backed him, legitimising the accession: army, senate, people and the gods, vespasian's settlement on his accession and the powers of the princeps, the treasury, taxation and the recovery of the state, the flavian family, its supporters and the dynastic succession, domitian and the transformation of the princeps' power, vespasian's reign, his character and his dealings with the senate, the principate of titus, ad 79–81, domitian in rome: government, opposition and the terror, the flavians and the empire: britain, germany, the danube and the east, propaganda and the legitimation of the dynasty, the flavian building programme in rome, triumphs, games and festivals as imperial spectacle, literature, art and the image of the princeps, traditional roman religion and the emperors' place in it, foreign cults and the alternatives to traditional religion and the imperial cult and the deification of the flavians. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is The Flavians, AD 68–96 organised?

By the OCR H407 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.