| Domitilla the Elder | |
|---|---|
 Bust of Flavia Domitilla Maior | |
| Died | Before 69 AD |
| Spouse | Vespasian |
| Issue | Titus Domitilla the Younger Domitian |
| Dynasty | Flavian (by marriage) |
| Father | Flavius Liberalis |
Flavia Domitilla Major was the wife of the Roman Emperor Vespasian and mother of the emperors Titus and Domitian. [1] She died before her husband became emperor in 69 AD. [2] After her death she is thought to have been deified by the name Diva Domitilla. [2]
Flavia Domitilla was born in Sabratha to Italic colonists who had moved there during the reign of Augustus. She was the daughter of Flavius Liberalis, a humble quaestor’s clerk from Ferentium (modern Ferento), a country town in Italy. [lower-alpha 1] [5]
Before her marriage, she was in residence with Statilius Capella, [6] an equestrian also from Sabratha. Her role in this relationship is characterized by Suetonius with the term delicata (Dom. 3), which in this context is taken to mean "the favorite of" Statilius and is commonly used to imply a sexual relationship between the two. [5] [7] Regardless of the exact circumstances surrounding this relationship, the context suggests that Domitilla filled some servile role within the estate of Statilius. [8] In Suetonius she is described as being of Latin rank (Dom. 3), though in the Epitome de Caesaribus she is designated as a liberta (freedwoman) (Ерit. de Caes. X.1). [9] In a case established by her father, Domitilla's status was raised to that of a freeborn Roman citizen through the approval of the arbiters. [8]
She and Vespasian likely married between the years of 37-39 AD, during the establishment of Vespasian's senatorial career. [10] In addition to the emperors Titus and Domitian, Domitilla and Vespasian also had a daughter by the name Domitilla the Younger. [11]
Both her cause of death and exact date of death are unknown, though Suetonius (Dom. 3) states that both she and her daughter, Domitilla the Younger, passed before Vespasian's acclamation as emperor. [12]
After her death she is often identified with the figure Diva Domitilla, a deified woman of the Flavian dynasty; though there is a debate over whether this title belongs to her or to her daughter. [13] Evidence for her as Diva Domitilla is provided mostly through her representations on the coins issued during the reign of her son, Titus. [13]
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Domitian was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a ruthless but efficient autocrat", his authoritarian style of ruling put him at sharp odds with the Senate, whose powers he drastically curtailed.
Vespasian was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolidation of the empire brought political stability and a vast building program.
Titus Caesar Vespasianus was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, becoming the first Roman emperor to succeed his biological father.
Antonia Caenis, a former slave and secretary of Antonia Minor, was Roman emperor Vespasian's contubernalis.
Domitia Longina was a Roman empress and wife to the Roman emperor Domitian. She was the youngest daughter of the general and consul Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo. Domitia divorced her first husband, Lucius Aelius Lamia Plautius Aelianus in order to marry Domitian in AD 71. The marriage produced only one son, whose early death is believed to have been the cause of a temporary rift between Domitia and her husband in 83. She became the empress upon Domitian's accession in 81, and remained so until his assassination in 96. She is believed to have died sometime between AD 126 and 130.
The Flavian dynasty, lasting from AD 69 to 96, was the second dynastic line of emperors to rule the Roman Empire following the Julio-Claudians, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian and his two sons, Titus and Domitian. The Flavians rose to power during the civil war of AD 69, known as the Year of the Four Emperors; after Galba and Otho died in quick succession, Vitellius became emperor in mid 69. His claim to the throne was quickly challenged by legions stationed in the eastern provinces, who declared their commander Vespasian emperor in his place. The Second Battle of Bedriacum tilted the balance decisively in favor of the Flavian forces, who entered Rome on 20 December, and the following day, the Roman Senate officially declared Vespasian emperor, thus commencing the Flavian dynasty. Although the dynasty proved to be short-lived, several significant historic, economic and military events took place during their reign.
The gens Flavia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Its members are first mentioned during the last three centuries of the Republic. The first of the Flavii to achieve prominence was Marcus Flavius, tribune of the plebs in 327 and 323 BC; however, no Flavius attained the consulship until Gaius Flavius Fimbria in 104 BC. The gens became illustrious during the first century AD, when the family of the Flavii Sabini claimed the imperial dignity.
Julia Flavia or Flavia Julia, nicknamed Julia Titi, was the daughter of Roman Emperor Titus and his first wife Arrecina Tertulla.
Vespasia Polla was the mother of the Roman emperor Vespasian, and grandmother to the emperors Titus and Domitian. Polla came from an equestrian family at Nursia.
Flavius Liberalis was a Roman of the 1st century and was a man of equestrian rank, who came from Ferentium, a country town in Italy. Liberalis served a quaestor and later a law clerk.
Titus Flavius T. f. T. n. Clemens was a Roman politician and cousin of the emperor Domitian, with whom he served as consul from January to April in AD 95. Shortly after leaving the consulship, Clemens was executed, allegedly for atheism, although the exact circumstances remain unclear. Over time, he came to be regarded as an early Christian martyr.
De vita Caesarum, commonly known as The Twelve Caesars, is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus. The subjects consist of: Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, Domitian.
Flavia Domitilla the Younger or Flavia Domitilla Minor was the only daughter of the Roman Emperor Vespasian.
Flavia Domitilla was a Roman noblewoman of the 1st century AD. She was a granddaughter of Emperor Vespasian and a niece of Emperors Titus and Domitian. She married her second cousin, the consul Titus Flavius Clemens, a grand-nephew of Vespasian through his father Titus Flavius Sabinus.
Cornelius Fuscus was a Roman general who fought campaigns under the Emperors of the Flavian dynasty. He first distinguished himself as one of Vespasian's most ardent supporters during the civil war of 69 AD, known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Vespasian's son Domitian employed Fuscus as prefect of the Praetorian Guard, a post he held from 81 until his death.
Arrecina Tertulla was a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century. She was the first wife of Titus and mother of his daughter Julia Flavia.
Marcia Furnilla was a Roman noblewoman who lived in the 1st century. Furnilla was the second and last wife of the future Roman Emperor Titus as well as the aunt of the future emperor Trajan.
The Cancelleria Reliefs are a set of two incomplete bas-reliefs, believed to have been commissioned by the Roman Emperor Domitian. The reliefs originally depicted events from the life and reign of Domitian, but were partially recarved following the accession of emperor Nerva. They are now in the Vatican Museums.
Gaius Julius Cornutus Tertullus was a Roman senator who was active during the late 1st and early 2nd centuries. He is best known as the older friend of Pliny the Younger, with whom Cornutus was suffect consul for the nundinium of September to October 100.
Ferentium was a town of ancient Etruria, situated near the modern city of Viterbo in the northern part of the Roman province of Latium, now in modern Lazio. The city was also known as Ferentinum, Ferentum or Ferentia, and should not be confused with ancient Ferentinum, which is in southern Lazio.
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