ABSTRACT
THE thirty-year-old Domitian had not been formally marked out for the succession. As Vespasian’s son, respect had been shown to him from the year 69 onward; he had been made a member of various sacred colleges and had even held the consulship several times, once with Vespasian as his colleague. Along with Titus he had been styled Princeps Iuventutis and Caesar, and his name is found coupled with his brother’s on inscriptions. Nevertheless he had not held any post that would give him real experience and thoroughly prepare him for the duties of an emperor. Vespasian had not given him as good an education as he had given Titus, and he refused Domitian’s request to be allowed to lead an expedition against the Alans in the Caucasus. Domitian, in fact, seems to have been kept in the background of the Flavian family in somewhat the same way that Claudius had been in the Julio-Claudian. It was even proposed that, like Claudius, he should marry his own niece, Titus’ daughter Julia. Domitian rejected this proposal, even though Titus made it. He might be treated like Claudius, but in temperament he resembled Tiberius. He resented the slights to which he was subjected and spent a good deal of time in semi-retirement studying the Acta of Tiberius, his favourite reading, and interesting himself in Greek studies and poetry, of which he wrote some himself.
