He was Rome's most effective builder and one of its most feared rulers. History remembers him almost entirely for the fear.
This Domitian spiral notebook features a dramatic portrait of Rome's last Flavian emperor, part of the Bad Boys of Rome collection. A distinguished notebook for the desk, classroom, or study - and a compelling gift for history enthusiasts, classics lovers, and students of Roman power.
ABOUT DOMITIAN (51 AD – 96 AD)
Titus Flavius Domitianus was born the second and less favored son of Vespasian, growing up in the shadow of his older brother Titus - more celebrated, more admired, groomed for succession in ways Domitian was not. When Titus died in 81 AD, Domitian became emperor almost by default. He was thirty years old, acutely aware of how he had arrived at power, and determined to be taken seriously. That determination would define and ultimately doom his reign.
In his early years, the results were substantive. Domitian stabilized the currency, pursued aggressive anti-corruption measures in the provinces, undertook an ambitious building program that transformed Rome - the Arch of Titus, the Colosseum's completion, the Forum of Domitian among his projects - and increased army pay by a third, cementing loyalty among the legions. He was a hands-on administrator who took governance seriously, demanded high standards from provincial officials, and maintained the borders with competence if not always brilliance. The historian Brian Jones, in a modern reassessment, described him as one of Rome's more capable emperors.
The problem was the Senate. Domitian had no patience for the Republican fiction that emperors and senators governed as equals, and he made little effort to maintain it. He demanded to be addressed as Dominus et Deus - Lord and God. He executed senators he regarded as threats, real or imagined, and the treason trials of his later years created a climate of fear among Rome's elite that the surviving literary sources, almost all senatorial, never forgave. When he was stabbed to death in a palace conspiracy on 18 September 96 AD, the Senate responded with damnatio memoriae - the formal erasure of his name and image. The army and the people mourned.
That gap between the Senate's verdict and everyone else's is precisely what makes Domitian worth studying. His reign raises enduring questions about the relationship between power, legitimacy, and the people who write history afterward.
PRODUCT FEATURES
- 90 gsm paper for a smooth, bleed-resistant writing experience
- Metal spiral binding for flat, easy page turning
- Document pocket inside cover for notes and loose pages
- 118 ruled pages
- Compact 6" x 8" format