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[[File: DOMITIAN TWO.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Bust of the Emperor Vespasian]]

Domitian had a very different conception of the role of the Emperor than his father and his brother. He saw the Emperor as a moral force who should intervene to promote the wellbeing and the morals of the population, just as Augustus had. For example, Domitian passed laws limiting luxury and extravagant spending in the city. He enforced the laws against adultery, mutilation, and public immorality for the first time in decades.<ref>Suetonius, <i>Life of Domitian, xiv, iv</i></ref> Domitian saw himself as the embodiment of Rome, and his duty was to the people and not to the Senate. He was eager to marginalize the Senate, and his frequent absences increasingly meant that the assembly was irrelevant. His policy of promoting Equestrians was also designed to keep the Senatorial elite from many high offices.

Under him, the Imperial government became more autocratic and he signed himself as ‘Dominus’ or master.<ref>Jones, p 178</ref> Under Domitian the Republican façade that was established by Augustus was torn away. He extended the law of treason and any criticism of him was treasonous and this was unprecedented. After his assassination, Nerva and his successors at least respected the façade of the Republic.<ref>Jones, p 201</ref> However, Domitian’s autocratic reign was a forerunner of those 3rd and 4th-century Emperors who ruled without any regard to the Senate and the Roman constitution.