Summary of the Flavian Dynasty. What to Remember about the Flavian Dynasty: From the Wisdom of Vespasian to the Cruelty of Domitian.Upon Nero ‘s death in 68, in the confusion of civil war, it was the military who decided his successor to the throne.
The year 69 was the year of the 4 emperors:
- Galba was overthrown by the Praetorians who imposed Otho.
- Otho was defeated and killed by Vitellius
- Vitellius
- Flavius Vespasian , in 69, was acclaimed emperor by his troops while he was besieging Jerusalem and trying to subjugate Judea.
VESPASIAN
Titus , Vespasian ‘s son , took his place in battle and in two years completed the repression , destroying Jerusalem and transforming Palestine into a Roman province.
Vespasian had the Senate promulgate a special law, the lex de imperio Vespasiani , and with this law it was clear to everyone that power would belong to those who had the strength to impose themselves on others with weapons.
From that moment on, the role of the army became increasingly important and that of the senate became less and less important.
Vespasian’s reign lasted ten years, he was a wise emperor who, with his legislative and administrative measures, brought several benefits to the Roman Empire .
His policy of savings was a just reaction to the wasteful policy of the Julio-Claudian dynasty : in fact, the state coffers had been emptied by Nero’s waste and the international situation required huge military expenditure.
The war against the Jews lasted for years, cost the lives of thousands of men and ended with the conquest of Jerusalem, in 70, by his son Titus.
Vespasian designated his two sons Titus and Domitian as his heirs , thus affirming the principle of the hereditary transmission of power.
Titus’ reign was very short (79-81) and very popular both for his victory over the Jews and for having built, together with his father, the Colosseum .
Historians’ opinion of Titus is positive, thanks also to his moderate attitude towards the Senate.
Titus’ reign was marked by a series of calamities : there was a violent epidemic throughout Italy, a fire in Rome (it was not the first) and the eruption of Vesuvius which buried Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae.
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Titus’ successor was his brother Domitian , who came to power in 81.
During his reign even major Roman writers such as Juvenal, Pliny and Tacitus were forced into silence, while others assumed flattering attitudes.
He devoted himself scrupulously to training the army, conquering new provinces such as Upper and Lower Germany and consolidating Roman conquests in Britain.
Glory in battle, however, did not influence the negative judgments expressed by the senatorial aristocracy towards the Emperor Domitian , accused of exercising absolute power.
