Editing Domitian (section)

==Death and succession==

===Assassination===

[[Image:Athena ciste.jpg|thumb|According to Suetonius, Domitian worshipped [[Minerva]] as his protector goddess with superstitious veneration. In a dream, she is said to have abandoned the emperor prior to the [[assassination]].]]

Domitian was assassinated on 18 September 96 in a conspiracy by court officials.<ref name="jones-domitian-193">Suetonius, Life of Domitian 17.</ref> A highly detailed account of the plot and the assassination is provided by Suetonius. He alleges that Domitian's chamberlain Parthenius played the main role in the plot, and historian John Grainger cites Parthenius' likely fear over Domitian's recent execution of Nero's former secretary [[Epaphroditus (freedman of Nero)|Epaphroditus]] as a possible motive.<ref name=grainger-16>Grainger (2003), p. 16</ref><ref name="suetonius-domitian-14">Suetonius, Life of Domitian [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Domitian*.html#14 14;16]</ref> The act itself was carried out by a freedman of Parthenius named Maximus, and a steward of Domitian's niece [[Flavia Domitilla (wife of Clemens)|Flavia Domitilla]], named Stephanus.<ref name="Grainger 2003, p. 19">Grainger (2003), p. 19</ref> According to Suetonius, a number of [[omen]]s had foretold Domitian's death.

According to an [[Augury|auspice]] he had received, the Emperor believed that his death would be at midday. As a result, he was always restless around that time. On the day of the assassination, Domitian was distressed and repeatedly asked a servant to tell him what time it was. The servant, who was himself one of the plotters, lied to the emperor, telling him that it was already late in the afternoon.<ref name=grainger-1-3/> Apparently put at ease, the Emperor went to his desk to sign some decrees.  Stephanus, who had been feigning an injury to his arm for several days and wearing a bandage to allow him to carry a concealed dagger, suddenly appeared:

{{blockquote|...he pretended that he had discovered a plot, and was for that reason granted an audience: whereupon, as the amazed Domitian perused a document he had handed him, Stephanus stabbed him in the groin.  The wounded Emperor put up a fight, but succumbed to seven further stabs, his assailants being a subaltern named Clodianus, Parthenius's freedman Maximus, Satur, a head-chamberlain and one of the imperial gladiators.<ref>{{cite book | last = [[Suetonius]] | date = 1979 |translator = Graves | title = The Twelve Caesars | chapter = ''Domitian'': 17| title-link = On the Life of the Caesars }}</ref>}}

During the attack, Stephanus and Domitian had struggled on the floor. Dio Cassius states that Stephanus was killed when those who were not part of the assassination rushed upon him.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cassius |first=Dio |title=Roman History, Vol. 8, Book 67 |publisher=Loeb |pages=357}}</ref> Domitian's body was carried away on a common [[bier]] and unceremoniously [[cremation|cremated]] by his nurse Phyllis.  Later, she took the emperor's ashes to the Flavian Temple and mingled them with those of his niece, Julia.  He was 44 years old.  As had been foretold, his death came at midday.<ref name=jones-38>Jones (1992), p. 38</ref> Cassius Dio, writing nearly a hundred years later, suggests that the assassination was improvised, while Suetonius implies it was a well-organized conspiracy,<ref name=grainger-5>Grainger (2003), p. 5</ref> citing Stephanus' feigned injury and claiming that the doors to the servants' quarters had been locked prior to the attack and that a sword Domitian kept concealed beneath his pillow as a last line of personal protection against a would-be assassin, had also been removed beforehand.<ref name="suetonius-domitian-17">Suetonius, "Life of Domitian" [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Domitian*.html#17 17]</ref><ref name=grainger-1-3>Grainger (2003), pp. 1–3</ref> Dio included Domitia Longina among the conspirators, but in light of her attested devotion to Domitian—even years after her husband had died—her involvement in the plot seems highly unlikely.<ref name="jones-domitian-37" />  The precise involvement of the Praetorian Guard is unclear. One of the guard's commanders, [[Titus Petronius Secundus]], was almost certainly aware of the plot.  The other, Titus Flavius Norbanus, the former governor of [[Raetia]], was a member of Domitian's family.<ref>Werner Eck – Andreas Pangerl, Titus Flavius Norbanus, praefectus praetorio Domitians, als Statthalter Rätiens in einem neuen Militärdiplom, ZPE 163, 2007, 239–251</ref><ref name="Grainger 2003, p. 19"/>

===Succession and aftermath===

[[Image:Nerva Tivoli Massimo.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Upon the death of Domitian, [[Nerva]] was proclaimed Emperor by the [[Roman Senate|Senate]].]]

The ''[[Fasti Ostienses]]'', the Ostian Calendar, records that on the same day as Domitian's assassination, the Senate proclaimed Marcus Cocceius Nerva emperor.<ref name="murison-153">Murison (2003), p. 153</ref> Despite his political experience, this was a remarkable choice. 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.<ref name="murison-151">Murison (2003), p. 151</ref><ref>Grainger (2003), pp. 4–27</ref> According to Cassius Dio, the conspirators approached Nerva as a potential successor prior to the assassination, suggesting that he was at least aware of the plot.<ref name=jones-194>Jones (1992), p. 194</ref><ref>Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/67*.html#15 LXVII.15]</ref> He does not appear in Suetonius' version of the events, but this may be understandable, since his works were published under Nerva's direct descendants Trajan and Hadrian. To suggest the dynasty owed its accession to murder would have been less than sensitive.<ref name=jones-194/> On the other hand, Nerva lacked widespread support in the Empire, and as a known Flavian loyalist, his track record would not have recommended him to the conspirators. The precise facts have been obscured by history,<ref>{{cite journal | last = Syme | first = Ronald | title = Domitian: The Last Years | journal = Chiron | volume = 13 | pages = 121–146 | year = 1983 }}</ref> but modern historians believe Nerva was proclaimed Emperor solely on the initiative of the Senate, within hours after the news of the assassination broke.<ref name="murison-153"/>

The decision may have been hasty so as to avoid civil war, but neither appears to have been involved in the conspiracy.<ref name="jones-domitian-196">Jones (1992), p. 196</ref> The Senate nonetheless rejoiced at the death of Domitian, and immediately following Nerva's accession as Emperor, passed ''[[damnatio memoriae]]'' on Domitian's memory; his coins and statues were melted, his arches were torn down and his name was erased from all public records.<ref name=grainger-49>Grainger (2003), p. 49</ref> Domitian and, over a century later, [[Publius Septimius Geta]] were the only emperors known to have officially received a ''damnatio memoriae'', though others may have received ''de facto'' ones. In many instances, existing portraits of Domitian, such as those found on the [[Cancelleria Reliefs]], were simply recarved to fit the likeness of Nerva, which allowed quick production of new images and recycling of previous material.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Last | first = Hugh | title = On the Flavian Reliefs from the Palazzo della Cancelleria | journal = The Journal of Roman Studies | volume = 38 | issue = 1–2 | pages = 9–14 | year = 1948 | jstor = 298163| doi = 10.2307/298163 | s2cid = 250352207 }}</ref> Yet the order of the Senate was only partially executed in Rome, and wholly disregarded in most of the provinces outside Italy.<ref name=grainger-49/>

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.<ref>Grainger (2003), pp. 32–33</ref> As a compensation measure, the Praetorian Guard demanded the execution of Domitian's assassins, which Nerva refused. Instead he merely dismissed Titus Petronius Secundus, and replaced him with a former commander, [[Casperius Aelianus]].<ref>Grainger (2003), p. 40</ref> Dissatisfaction with this state of affairs continued to loom over Nerva's reign, and ultimately erupted into a crisis in October 97, when members of the Praetorian Guard, led by Casperius Aelianus, laid [[siege]] to the Imperial Palace and took Nerva hostage.<ref name=grainger-94>Grainger (2003), pp. 94–95</ref> 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.<ref name=grainger-94/> Titus Petronius Secundus and Parthenius were sought out and killed. Nerva was unharmed in this assault, but his authority was damaged beyond repair. Shortly thereafter he announced the adoption of Trajan as his successor, and with this decision nearly [[abdication|abdicated]].<ref>{{cite journal | last = Syme | first = Ronald | author-link = Ronald Syme | title = Guard Prefects of Trajan and Hadrian | journal = The Journal of Roman Studies | volume = 70 | year = 1980| doi = 10.2307/299556 | jstor=299556 | pages = 64–80| s2cid = 162498865 }}</ref>