Domitian seeks to attain his long delayed…

The Liangs, the clan of Prince Zhao's birth mother's clan, had not dared to openly celebrate after he was made crown prince, but are secretly happy.

The Dou clan members are displeased and fearful when they hear of this, and feel that they must destroy the Liangs.

Empress Dou begins to give false reports about Prince Zhao's birth mother, Consort Liang, and her sister, also an imperial consort, and they lose Emperor Zhang's favor.

In 83, the Dous further submit false anonymous accusations against the Consorts Liang's father Liang Song, causing him to be imprisoned, where he dies.

The Consorts Liang soon die.

The Dous will eventually attain their goal of greater power.

Also in 83, Emperor Zhang, having seen that his Ma cousins are not following the law, stops favoring his Ma uncles, and eventually sends them back to their marches.

Empress Dou's brothers Dou Xian and Dou Du effectively take over in the power structure—the first time in Han history that the empress' clan, rather than the empress dowager's clan, is the most powerful consort clan.

This trend will be in effect for the duration of the Eastern Han Dynasty and a will prove to be a source of corruption.

The military campaigns undertaken during Domitian's reign will be generally defensive in nature, as the Emperor rejects the idea of expansionist warfare.

Nevertheless, several important wars will be fought in Gaul, against the Chatti, and across the Danube frontier against the Suebi, the Sarmatians, and the Dacians.

His most significant military contribution is the development of the Limes Germanicus, which encompassed a vast network of roads, forts and watchtowers constructed along the Rhine river to defend the Empire.

Upon completing the conquest of the German Agri Decumates in 83, Domitian assumes the title Germanicus.

Domitia and Domitian's only attested son was born in 73.

It is not known what the boy's name was, but he died in childhood sometime between 77 and 81.

Shortly following his accession as Emperor, Domitian had bestowed the honorific title of Augusta upon Domitia, while their son was deified, appearing as such on the reverse of coin types from this period.

Nevertheless, the marriage appears to have faced a significant crisis in 83.

For reasons unknown, Domitian briefly exiles Domitia, and then soon recalls her, either out of love or due to rumors that he is carrying on a relationship with his niece Julia Flavia.

Brian W. Jones, in The Emperor Titus (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 1992) argues that most likely he did so for her failure to produce an heir.

Agricola, advancing through Scotland almost to present Aberdeen in 83 or, less probably, 84, with eleven thousand Roman cavalry and infantry comprising Romans and loyal Britons, meets and fights thirty thousand Caledones under Galgacus, or Calgacus, at Mons Graupius (an unidentified site in the Grampian Mountains in northeast Scotland).

Tacitus, our sole source for the event, avoids using terms such as king to describe Calgacus and it is uncertain as to whether the Caledonians had single leaders or whether they were more disparate and that Calgacus was an elected war leader only. (Tacitus only mentions him as giving a speech, probably fictitious).

Tacitus records the physical characteristics of the Caledonians as red hair and long limbs.

Although the Romans are outnumbered in their campaign against the tribes of Britain, they have often had difficulties in getting their foes to face them in open battle.

The Caledonians are the last to be subdued.

After many years of avoiding fight, the Caledonians are forced to join battle when the Romans march on the main granaries of the Caledonians, just as they had been filled from the harvest.

The Caledonians have no choice but to fight, or starve over the next winter.

It is said that the Roman Legions took no part in the battle, being held in reserve throughout.

According to Tacitus, ten thousand Caledonian lives were lost at a cost of only three hundred and sixty auxiliary troops.

We must allow for the usual exaggeration of fatalities here however, as Roman accounts of enemy dead can be viewed as routinely suspect, especially with such a huge difference in numbers.

Twenty thousand Caledonians retreat into the woods, where they fare considerably better against pursuing forces.

Roman scouts are unable to locate the remaining Caledonian forces the next morning.

Following this final battle, it is proclaimed that Agricola has finally subdued all the tribes of Britain, which is not strictly true, as the Caledonians and their allies remain a threat.

Indeed, even if the inflated account of Caledonian fatalities were to be accepted, the bulk of their forces are still intact to fight again.

Soon after Agricola is recalled to Rome, and his post passes to Sallustius Lucullus.

It is likely that Rome intended to continue the conflict but that military requirements elsewhere in the empire necessitated a troop withdrawal and the opportunity was lost.

Tacitus' statement Perdomita Britannia et statim missa (Britain was completely conquered and immediately let go), denotes his bitter disapproval of Domitian's failure to unify the whole island under Roman rule after Agricola's successful campaign.

There are no other accounts of the battle apart from Tacitus's account, though this is not unusual given the scanty nature of sources in general for this period of history.

We have no legends or traditions whatsoever from the native inhabitants of Caledonia.

While Agricola was Tacitus's father in law and therefore is undeniably biased towards the subject of his history, he is generally regarded as one of the most reliable historians of the period.

Satisfied with his victory, Agricola extracts hostages from the Caledonian tribes.

He may have marched his army to the northern coast of Britain, as evidenced by the probable discovery of a Roman fort at Cawdor (near Inverness).

He also instructs the prefect of the fleet to sail around the north coast, confirming for the first time that Britain is in fact an island.

Emperor Zhang himself remains fairly diligent and open-minded.

For example, in 84, when two Imperial Academy students, Kong Xi and Cui Yin are accused of improperly criticizing his ancestor Emperor Wu and, by criticizing Emperor Wu, making veiled criticism of Emperor Zhang, the emperor accepts the letter that Kong submits in his own defense and makes him an official in his administration.

The Romans ally with the Geto-Dacians to defend Moesia, an imperial province roughly corresponding to present-day northern Bulgaria, against the Sarmatians, a group of nomadic Central Asian tribes.

Roman engineers and architects help the Getae construct fortresses until the Romans discover that the Geto-Dacians are preparing to turn against them.

Domitia has returned by 84 to the palace, where she will live for the remainder of Domitian's reign without incident.

Little is known of Domitia's activities as Empress, or how much influence she wielded in Domitian's government, but it seems her role was limited.

From Suetonius, we know that she at least accompanied the Emperor to the amphitheater, while the Jewish writer Josephus speaks of benefits he received from her.

It is not known whether Domitian had other children, but he does not marry again.

Despite allegations by Roman sources of adultery and divorce, the marriage appears to have been happy.

Dacia, after the death of Great King Burebista in 44 BCE, had split into four, then five, smaller states.

The situation had lasted until Diurpaneus, a general under under Dacian king Duras, manages to consolidate the core of Dacia around Sarmizegetusa, in today's Hunedoara county.

Though not yet king, he has reorganized the Dacian army, which in 85 begins minor raids upon the heavily fortified Roman province of Moesia, located south of the Danube.

Cornelius Fuscus, Domitian’s Praetorian prefect, successfully drives the Dacians back across the border in mid-85, prompting Domitian to return to Rome and celebrate his second triumph.

Domitian's tendency towards micromanagement is nowhere more evident than in his financial policy.

The question of whether Domitian left the Roman Empire in debt or with a surplus at the time of his death has been fiercely debated.

However the evidence points to a balanced economy for the greater part of Domitian's reign.

Upon his accession, he had revalued the Roman currency dramatically, increasing the silver purity of the denarius from ninety to ninety-eight percent—the actual silver weight increasing from 2.87 grams to 3.26 grams.

However, a financial crisis in 85 forces a devaluation of the silver purity and weight to 93.5% and 3.04 grams respectively.

Nevertheless, the new values are still higher than the levels which Vespasian and Titus had maintained during their reigns.

Domitian's rigorous taxation policy ensures that this standard is sustained for the following eleven years.

Coinage from this era displays a highly consistent degree of quality including meticulous attention to Domitian's titulature and refined artwork on the reverse portraits.

Domitian firmly believes in the traditional Roman religion, and personally sees to it that ancient customs and morals are observed throughout his reign.

In order to justify the divine nature of the Flavian rule, Domitian emphasizes connections with the chief deity Jupiter, perhaps most significantly through the impressive restoration of the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill.

A small chapel dedicated to Jupiter Conservator is also constructed near the house where Domitian had fled to safety on 20 December, 69.

Later in his reign, he replaces it with a more expansive building, dedicated to Jupiter Custos.

The goddess he worships the most zealously, however, is Minerva.

Not only does he keep a personal shrine dedicated to her in his bedroom, she regularly appears on his coinage—in four different attested reverse types—and he has founded a legion, Legio I Minervia, in her name.

Domitian also revives the practice of the imperial cult, which had fallen somewhat out of use under Vespasian.

Significantly, his first act as an Emperor had been the deification of his brother Titus.

Upon their deaths, his infant son, and niece, Julia Flavia, were likewise enrolled among the gods.

To foster the worship of the imperial family, he erects a dynastic mausoleum on the site of Vespasian's former house on the Quirinal, and completes the Temple of Vespasian and Titus, a shrine dedicated to the worship of his deified father and brother.

To memorialize the military triumphs of the Flavian family, he orders the construction of the Templum Divorum and the Templum Fortuna Redux, and completes the Arch of Titus.

Construction projects such as these constitute only the most visible part of Domitian's religious policy, which also concerns itself with the fulfillment of religious law and public morals.

In 85, he nominates himself perpetual censor, the office charged with the task of supervising Roman morals and conduct.