Domitian

Rome, AD 81–96. Domitian succeeds his brother Titus after a life spent beneath the achievements of Vespasian and the public affection granted to other members of the Flavian family. Determined to govern actively, he reforms administration and military discipline while demanding recognition that alarms senators accustomed to disguising aristocratic power as liberty.

The novel follows the emperor through relationships capable of revealing both competence and paranoia. Frontier pressure, dynastic insecurity and repeated conspiracies harden Domitian’s rule, producing executions and fear that survive in the accounts of his enemies. His assassination becomes the final act in a struggle over whether an emperor may control Rome without the consent of its elite.