Expedition - Domitian's Rule

There have been many tyrants throughout history. Among them, Roman Emperor Domitian, whose reign ended when he was assassinated in 96 A.D. In this edition of Expedition, Dr. Brian Rose tells us about Domitian's time as ruler and how, after his death, the Roman Empire attempted to erase him from history.

[@Mr.HistoryPodcast]

Nicely presented, even for people with little knowledge about this time period. A lot of research has been done recently (say the last 2 decades) that paints a very different picture of Domitianus’ rule and character. I wish videos and presentations like these would include such revisions or at least comment on it. For example: scholars have good reasons to question Suetonius’ description of (especially) Domitianus’ character and yet many ‘experts’ keep referring to him as a reliable source (as it was barely questioned while this historian attended university). I wish there were many more videos like this one, with brief and well-explained summaries of historical characters and events, so thank you for sharing! I also hope historians don’t forget that what you read today may not be so factual tomorrow.

[@NapoleonCalland]

It's important to be careful with Suetonius. Much of his writing is shot through with the prejudices of the senatorial class, and he didn't have the same access to the archives when writing the later biographies as he did when he was writing about Julius Caesar and Augustus, Tiberius, Caius and Claudius. Dr Brian Rose is arguably hasty in assuming that the Praetorians (whom I don't remember being involved), and plebeians shared the enthusiasm of the senators after the assassination, and definitely misses out the legions marching into Rome to demand vengeance for the Divine Domitian (their words). 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🇫🇷🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🇫🇷🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🇫🇷🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🇫🇷🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

[@hunterfindon1018]

A minor correction regarding Domitian burying Vestal Virgins. While he most certainly did execute them, Dio Cassius specifically states: "Domitian prided himself also on the fact that he did not bury alive, as was the custom, the Vestals whom he found to have had intercourse with men, but ordered them to be put to death in some other way." -Dio Cassius, Dio Cassius' Roman Histories, Book 67, Line 4.1. URL to Online Source: "penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/67*.html"

[@Gorboduc]

He executed three by normal means, but it would seem he reserved the traditional burial for Cornelia, the "virgo maxima". According to Pliny: "Domitian generally raged most furiously where his evidence failed him most hopelessly. That emperor had determined that Cornelia, chief of the Vestal Virgins, should be buried alive, from an extravagant notion that exemplary severities of this kind conferred lustre upon his reign." Pliny's letter to Cornelius Minicianus.

[@johnmurdoch3083]

There may have been no demonstrations in the street..but nerva certainly wasnt accepted right away and his not punishing the conspirators was one of the points used against him when Trajan was imposed on him.

[@redjirachi1]

Sounds like an interesting man. He kind of paved the rode for the good emperors and the golden age of the 2nd century. Underrated, even if he isn't all that likable

[@hamzaolalekan3057]

He was loved by the legion infact they match on Rome to demand vengeance

[@the509inc]

Great stuff. Penn's videos are worth every minute.

[@jeanemare4116]

Like a breath of fresh air in the youtube cave.

[@sallydogood6169]

I hope that combover comment referred to what I think it did. If so, I like Dr Rose even more now! And he's already my favorite lecturer. :) As always, thanks from a janitor who wanted to be an archaeologist but didnt have that University money. Providing access to Penn Museum and these lectures through KZbin is a real treat to us that wouldn't otherwise be able to learn from yall.

[@flashrob01]

Thank you, this is great!

[@sherylcrowe3255]

Wonderful! Thank you so much!

[@tobystewart4403]

Fabulous work.

[@wendyparker7363]

What a wonderfully engaging presentation style!

[@lucasharvey3786]

Hello.... how are you doing today Wendy

[@jrlagoni]

I have often wondered if Domitian was responsible for Titus' death. Their personalities and family dynamics, plus the commonness of assassination make one wonder.

[@dratiniegg5492]

Yes, Domitian's was a visionary builder. Titus deserved some mention for his disaster relief aid to victims of the Great Fire, and Mt Vesuvius though. Domitian wasn't the only son of Vespasian to lead Rome's recovery.

[@yungfaas6688]

3:50 the senate definitely wasn't democratic.

[@vespasianflaviustheemperor7901]

A greedy self absorbed Oligarchy.

[@theedwardian]

It seems like Domitian had a lot of people against him from the start but he still managed to rebuild Rome in spite of the Senate's efforts. It also seems likely that the "history" is a bit one-sided considering he was sentenced to Damnatio Memoriae. These slanderous attacks should be taken with a grain of salt; Clearly the common people and soldiers admired him.

[@DeeceTube]

Oh, I totally remember this story. Penn, I thought Princeton for a sec, I gotcha.

[@LiterallyGod]

Seems like a decent emperor compared to most

[@TheNdh00]

He was Augustus. So he could do you he want.

[@shaundavenport621]

It will always be A.D to me!🤣🤣

[@elistavinger3059]

too much bad history in here, I couldn't finish it. Domitian did not bury a Vestal Virgin alive, the Praetorian guard was NOT "fine" with Nerva (they literally captured him and forced him to name Trajan, Domitian's best general, his heir), and the scandalous details of his personal life are almost certainly inventions of Suetonius and similarly minded senators.

[@isabelrodriguezsjolund9701]

Also a complete lack of mention of his wife Domitia Longina.

[@GoogleUserOne]

He wasn’t even a bad emperor.

[@shaundavenport621]

Plink the younger didn't exactly have a high opinion of Domitian! 🤣

[@wilsontheconqueror8101]

Interesting that Vespasian replaced Nero (after year of the four Emperors) and Nero was also accused of being haughty and full of his own self grandeur. But Vespasian was liked by the soldiers and was very blue collar,and down to Earth type personality. Titus was a soldier like his father but a short reign. What the hell happened to Domition? Must have always had a massive inferiority complex! Then Commodus same thing and Caracalla similar situation fathers were great leaders but sons were little spoiled shits!

[@enammemberseptember7366]

I know this is 3 years later, but comparing Domitian to C*mmodus is disrespectful.

[@Gorboduc]

I was poised to thumbs down when the announcer said CE, but then Dr. Rose said AD and I immediately thumbs upped.

[@rubyblue4265]

I was hoping to hear about how Domitian prosecuted Christians.

[@dratiniegg5492]

Domitian mantained the policy of collecting a tax on religions that did not acknowledge Gods of the Roman pantheon, but no trials and killings of Christians are mentioned in sources contemporary with Domitian. Nero treated Christians with particular cruelty, but not so much Domitian.

[@garystevens5015]

There's no good evidence that Domitian persecuted Christians. This was literally my masters thesis.