Domitian

Life

Domitian (Titus Flavius Domitianus) was the second son of the emperor Vespasian and the younger brother of the emperor Titus. When Titus died in 81, Domitian succeeded him and ruled for fifteen years, one of the longest reigns since Augustus. In 96 he was assassinated in a palace conspiracy, and the Senate (Rome's aristocratic council) installed Nerva as his successor. After his death the Senate decreed a damnatio memoriae ("condemnation of memory"), ordering his name and monuments removed from the public record.

Reign and Achievements

Domitian undertook major building projects in the city of Rome. He built the imperial palace on the Palatine Hill and is credited with erecting the arch honoring his brother Titus. Rome's present-day Piazza Navona occupies the site of the stadium he built. He paid close attention to administration but was in deep conflict with the senatorial aristocracy. In the later years of his reign he is said to have ruled by terror, executing many people on charges of treason. The Roman historian Suetonius recorded that he had himself addressed as "our Lord and God" (dominus et deus noster).

Relationship with Christianity

The second-century church father Irenaeus wrote that the visions of the Book of Revelation were given near the end of Domitian's reign. The fourth-century church historian Eusebius took up this account and preserved the tradition that John was exiled to Patmos at this time and returned to Ephesus after the emperor's death. Eusebius presents Domitian as the second emperor, after Nero, to persecute Christians. The historian Cassius Dio recorded that the emperor's relative Flavius Clemens was executed on charges of "atheism" and of drifting into Jewish customs, and that his wife, Flavia Domitilla, was exiled. Church tradition has regarded both as Christians.

References in the Korean Church

In the Korean church, Domitian is mainly introduced as historical background in sermons and Bible studies on the Book of Revelation. His name comes up in explanations of the demand that the emperor be worshiped as a god and of the circumstances of the seven churches of Asia Minor that resisted it. Some preachers and scholars compare emperor worship to the compulsory Shinto shrine worship imposed during the Japanese colonial period. He is also mentioned in interpretations that connect the beast of Revelation 13:1–10 with the Roman emperor.

Assessment

Opinions differ on when the Book of Revelation was written. The majority view dates it to the reign of Domitian (the mid-90s), while others date it to the reign of Nero (the late 60s). Modern historians also disagree about the scale of the persecution. Evidence for an organized, empire-wide persecution is lacking, and many scholars regard it as local and sporadic pressure. Moreover, much of the record portraying him as a tyrant reflects the perspective of the senatorial class that opposed him and of its later successors. For this reason, some studies have sought to reassess his reign.