Editing Domitian (section)

=== Youth and character ===
[[File:Domitian Sestertius 92-94 AD.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A sestertius of Domitian|252x252px|A sestertius of Domitian. Caption: IMP. CAES. DOMIT. AVG. GERM. CO[N]S. IV, CENS. PERP. P. / IOVI VICTORI.]]
Of the three Flavian emperors, Domitian would rule the longest, despite the fact that his youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his older brother. [[Titus]] had gained military renown during the First Jewish–Roman War. After their father [[Vespasian]] became emperor in 69 following the [[civil war]] known as the [[Year of the Four Emperors]], Titus held a great many offices, while Domitian received honours, but no responsibilities.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McFayden |first=Donald |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3155938 |title=The American Journal of Theology |date=1920 |volume=24 |issue=1 |page=48 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |jstor=3155938 |issn=1550-3283}}</ref> By the time he was 16 years old, Domitian's mother and sister had long since died,<ref>Waters (1964), pp. 52–53</ref> while his father and brother were continuously active in the Roman military, commanding armies in [[Germania]] and Judaea. For Domitian, this meant that a significant part of his adolescence was spent in the absence of his near relatives.<ref name="jones-domitian-13">Jones (1992), p. 13</ref>
[[File:Gold Aureus of Domitian, Rome (MANTIS).jpg|thumb|196x196px|gold [[Aureus]] of Domitian]]
During the Jewish–Roman wars, he was likely taken under the care of his uncle [[Titus Flavius Sabinus (consul AD 47)|Titus Flavius Sabinus II]], at the time serving as [[Praefectus urbi|city prefect]] of Rome; or possibly even [[Nerva|Marcus Cocceius Nerva]], a loyal friend of the Flavians and the future successor to Domitian.<ref name="jones-domitian-13"/><ref>Murison (2003), p. 149</ref> He received the education of a young man of the privileged senatorial class, studying [[rhetoric]] and [[literature]]. In his biography in the ''[[On the Life of the Caesars|Lives of the Twelve Caesars]]'', [[Suetonius]] attests to Domitian's ability to quote the important poets and writers such as [[Homer]] or [[Virgil]] on appropriate occasions,<ref>Suetonius, Life of Domitian [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Domitian*.html#9 9]</ref><ref>Suetonius, Life of Domitian [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Domitian*.html#12.3 12.3]</ref> and describes him as a learned and educated adolescent, with elegant conversation.<ref>Suetonius, Life of Domitian [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Domitian*.html#20 20]</ref> Among his first published works were [[poetry]], as well as writings on law and administration.<ref name="jones-domitian-13"/> Unlike his brother Titus, Domitian was not educated at court. Whether he received formal military training is not recorded, but according to Suetonius, he displayed considerable marksmanship with the bow and arrow.<ref name=jones-16>Jones (1992), p. 16</ref><ref name="suetonius-domitian-19">Suetonius, Life of Domitian [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Domitian*.html#19 19]</ref> A detailed description of Domitian's appearance and character is provided by Suetonius, who devotes a substantial part of his biography to his personality:

{{blockquote|He was tall of stature, with a modest expression and a high colour. His eyes were large, but his sight was somewhat dim. He was handsome and graceful too, especially when a young man, and indeed in his whole body with the exception of his feet, the toes of which were somewhat cramped. In later life he had the further disfigurement of baldness, a protruding belly, and spindling legs, though the latter had become thin from a long illness.<ref>
[[Suetonius]], ''[[On the Life of the Caesars|De Vita Caesarum]]'', "Life of Domitian", 18</ref>}}

Domitian was allegedly extremely sensitive regarding his baldness, which he disguised in later life by wearing wigs.<ref>Morgan (1997), p. 214</ref> According to Suetonius, he even wrote a book on the subject of [[hair care]].<ref name="suetonius-domitian-18">Suetonius, Life of Domitian [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Domitian*.html#18 18]</ref> With regard to Domitian's personality, however, the account of Suetonius alternates sharply between portraying Domitian as the emperor-tyrant, a man both physically and intellectually lazy, and the intelligent, refined personality drawn elsewhere.<ref name=jones-198>Jones (1992), p. 198</ref> Historian Brian Jones concludes in ''The Emperor Domitian'' that assessing the true nature of Domitian's personality is inherently complicated by the bias of the surviving sources.<ref name=jones-198/> Common threads nonetheless emerge from the available evidence. He appears to have lacked the natural charisma of his brother and father. He was prone to suspicion, displayed an odd, sometimes [[Self-deprecation|self-deprecating]] sense of humour,<ref>Morgan (1997), p. 209</ref><ref name="suetonius-domitian-21">Suetonius, Life of Domitian [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Domitian*.html#21 21]</ref> and often communicated in cryptic ways. This ambiguity of character was further exacerbated by his remoteness, and as he grew older, he increasingly displayed a preference for solitude, which may have stemmed from his isolated upbringing.<ref name="jones-domitian-13"/> Indeed, by the age of eighteen nearly all of his closest relatives had died by war or disease. Having spent the greater part of his early life in the twilight of Nero's reign, Domitian's formative years would have been strongly influenced by the political turmoil of the 60s, culminating with the civil war of 69, which brought his family to power.<ref name=waters-54>Waters (1964), p. 54</ref>