Domitian

Killed on 18 September 96 CE in Rome by a conspiracy of court officials, ending the Flavian dynasty.

Overview

Domitian, son of Vespasian and brother of Titus, ruled Rome from 81 CE with increasing autocracy, styling himself master and god according to hostile sources, and his later years were marked by treason trials and executions of senators. A conspiracy formed within his own household, reportedly with the knowledge of his wife Domitia and the praetorian prefects, and he was killed in the palace by a group led by the steward Stephanus. The Senate immediately chose the elderly Marcus Cocceius Nerva as emperor and condemned the memory of Domitian, removing his name from public inscriptions. His death ended the Flavian dynasty and opened the era of the so-called Five Good Emperors.