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====Vespasian and Flavian Favoritism====
[[File: 1-rome-colossus-of-nero-granger.jpg |thumbnail|left|300px| Nineteenth-century engraving of the Colosseum with the Colossus, from reverse, at right]]
Soon after his brilliant new home was built, Nero was condemned to death, and the doomed ruler committed suicide on 9 June 68 CE. <ref> Suetonius,<i>The Lives of the Twelve Ceasars</i> (Loeb Classical Library, 1914), p. 179)</ref>. In his stead, the Emperor Vespasian had taken control of Rome one year prior (July 69 CE), and his task was to reassure the citizens of Rome that imperial rule was not only reliable but also just. As part of this reassurance, and in an effort to win favor with the Romans, Vespasian embarked on the construction of a massive entertainment amphitheater, a wish of Roman citizens for many years.
Construction on the complex began in 72 CE, with Vespasian selecting a location at the juncture of three of Rome's hills: the Palatine, the Esquiline, and the Caelian. Conveniently, to facilitate this location, Vespasian requested the demolition of much of Nero's <i>Domus Aurea</i> such that his theater would quite literally rest on the ruins of Nero's reign.
