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Domitian

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The Resume

    (October 24, 51-September 18, 96)
    Born in Rome, Italy
    Birth name was Titus Flavius Domitianus
    Roman Emperor (81-96 AD)
    Son of Vespasian and brother of Titus

Why he might be annoying:

    He went from being a handsome and graceful youth to a bald, pot-bellied, spindly-legged man in middle age.
    He allegedly had an incestuous affair with his neice.
    He revived the imperial cult of personality that had fallen into disuse under his father.
    He executed dozens of senators who he suspected of plotting against him, including three members of his own family.
    After his death, the Senate ordered his memory 'condemned to oblivion.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    Historians suspect the worst stories about him were propaganda by his enemies.
    His only son died in childhood.
    The historian Suetonius wrote that the Roman bureaucracy never ran more efficiently than it did under Domitian.
    To repair damages from the civil war of AD 69 and the fires of 64 and 79, he launched the most extensive building program in Rome since the days of Augustus.
    According to Suetonius, 'He used to say that the lot of Emperors was most unfortunate, since when they discovered a conspiracy, no one believed them unless they had been murdered.'
    He then illustrated the truth of his statement by getting assassinated by a group of conspirators that included court officials and members of his household staff.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 98 Votes: 51.02% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 34 Votes: 97.06% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 73 Votes: 50.68% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 30 Votes: 63.33% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 110 Votes: 58.18% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 145 Votes: 55.86% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 237 Votes: 66.24% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 13 Votes: 38.46% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 71 Votes: 76.06% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 79 Votes: 72.15% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 22 Votes: 68.18% Annoying