Editing Domitian (section)

====Relationship with the Senate====

[[File:Domitian Vaison-la-Romaine.jpg|180px|thumb|Domitian in military garb, wearing the [[muscle cuirass]] with [[Roman sculpture|decorative reliefs]], from [[Vaison-la-Romaine]], France]]

Since the fall of the [[Roman Republic|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.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Waters | first = K. H. | title = The Second Dynasty of Rome | journal = Phoenix | volume = 17 | issue = 3 | year = 1963 | jstor = 1086720 | doi = 10.2307/1086720 | pages = 198–218 [201] }}</ref> Most Emperors upheld the public facade of democracy, and in return the Senate implicitly acknowledged the Emperor's status as a ''de facto'' monarch.<ref name=jones-161>Jones (1992), p. 161</ref> Some rulers handled this arrangement with less subtlety than others. Domitian was not so subtle, often coming to the Senate as a triumpher and conqueror to show his disdain for them. From the outset of his reign, he stressed the reality of his [[autocracy]].<ref name=jones-161/> He disliked [[aristocracy|aristocrats]] and had no fear of showing it, withdrawing every decision-making power from the Senate to reduce its control to an administrative one, and instead relying on a small set of friends and equestrians to control the important offices of state.<ref name=jones-169>Jones (1992), p. 169</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=TimeTravelRome |date=16 March 2022 |title=Domitian: Misery of Absolutism and Splendor of Rome |url=https://www.timetravelrome.com/2022/03/16/domitian-misery-of-absolutism-and-splendor-of-rome/ |access-date=5 December 2022 |website=Time Travel Rome |language=en-US}}</ref>

The dislike was mutual. After Domitian's assassination, the senators of Rome rushed to the Senate house, where they immediately passed a motion [[Damnatio memoriae|condemning his memory]] to oblivion.<ref name=jones-160>Jones (1992), p. 160</ref> Under the rulers of the Nervan-Antonian dynasty, senatorial authors published histories that elaborated on the view of Domitian as a tyrant.<ref name=jones-161/> Nevertheless, the evidence suggests that Domitian did make concessions toward senatorial opinion. Whereas his father and brother had concentrated consular power largely in the hands of the Flavian family, Domitian admitted a surprisingly large number of provincials and potential opponents to the consulship, allowing them to head the official calendar by opening the year as an ordinary consul.<ref name=jones-163-8>Jones (1992), pp. 163–168</ref> Whether this was a genuine attempt to reconcile with hostile factions in the Senate cannot be ascertained. By offering the consulship to potential opponents, Domitian may have wanted to compromise these senators in the eyes of their supporters. When their conduct proved unsatisfactory, they were almost invariably brought to trial and exiled or executed, and their property was confiscated.<ref name=jones-169/>

Both Tacitus and Suetonius speak of escalating persecutions toward the end of Domitian's reign, identifying a point of sharp increase around 93, or sometime after the failed revolt of Saturninus in 89.<ref name=tacitus-agricola-45>Tacitus, ''Agricola'' [[s:Agricola#45|45]]</ref><ref name=suetonius-domitian-10>Suetonius, Life of Domitian [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Domitian*.html#10 10]</ref> At least twenty senatorial opponents were executed,<ref>For a full list of senatorial victims, see Jones (1992), pp. 182–188</ref> including Domitia Longina's former husband [[Lucius Aelius Lamia Plautius Aelianus]] and three of Domitian's own family members, [[Titus Flavius Sabinus (consul AD 82)|Titus Flavius Sabinus]], [[Titus Flavius Clemens (consul)|Titus Flavius Clemens]] and [[Marcus Arrecinus Clemens (consul)|Marcus Arrecinus Clemens]].<ref>M. Arrecinus Clemens may have been exiled instead of executed, see Jones (1992), p. 187</ref> Flavius Clemens was a cousin of Domitian, and the emperor had even designated Clemens' two young sons as his successors, calling them as "Vespasian" and "Domitian".<ref>[[Suetonius]] Life of Domitian, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Domitian*.html#15 15]</ref> 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. According to Suetonius, some were convicted for corruption or treason, others on trivial charges, which Domitian justified through his suspicion:

{{blockquote|He used to say that the lot of Emperors was most unfortunate, since when they discovered a conspiracy, no one believed them unless they had been murdered.<ref>[[Suetonius]], ''[[On the Life of the Caesars|De Vita Caesarum]]'', "Life of Domitian", 21</ref>}}

Jones compares the executions of Domitian to those under Emperor [[Claudius]] (41–54), noting that Claudius executed around 35 senators and 300 equestrians, and yet was still deified by the Senate and regarded as one of the good Emperors of history.<ref name=jones-192>Jones (1992), p. 192</ref> Domitian was apparently unable to gain support among the aristocracy, despite attempts to appease hostile factions with consular appointments. His autocratic style of government accentuated the Senate's loss of power, while his policy of treating patricians and even family members as equals to all Romans earned him their contempt.<ref name=jones-192/>