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The Flavians, AD 68–96

Domitian in Rome: government, opposition and the terror

  • 2 things to know
  • Component Group 2

Overview

Recall 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.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What was competent about Domitian's administration of the city?

Key term

What lasting measures followed the revolt of Saturninus in AD 89?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    How do the ancient writers divide Domitian's reign?

    Model answer

    They allow that the earlier years were competent and even restrained, and place the cruelty and the treason trials in the later part, above all after the revolt of AD 89.

  2. 2

    What was competent about Domitian's administration of the city?

    Model answer

    He supervised the courts closely, checked corruption among jurors and officials, maintained the grain supply, restrained governors and completed a vast building programme.

  3. 3

    What was Domitian's edict about vineyards, and what happened to it?

    Model answer

    He forbade new vine planting in Italy and ordered half the vineyards in the provinces to be cut down, apparently to protect grain growing, but the order was never enforced.

  4. 4

    Describe the revolt of Saturninus in AD 89.

    Model answer

    Lucius Antonius Saturninus, governor of Upper Germany, was proclaimed emperor at Mainz by two legions using the money deposited in their camp, and was defeated by Lappius Maximus before Domitian arrived, the Rhine thawing in time to stop German allies crossing to help him.

  5. 5

    What lasting measures followed the revolt?

    Model answer

    No two legions were quartered in the same camp again, a limit was set on the money a soldier could deposit with the standards, and the emperor's suspicion of the senatorial governors deepened sharply.

  6. 6

    Who were the delatores, and why did they flourish under Domitian?

    Model answer

    They were private accusers who prosecuted for treason and took a share of the condemned man's property, and they multiplied because the treason law was revived and the emperor rewarded successful prosecutions.

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