Domitian was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 14 September 81 until his death. The third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty, Domitian's youth and early career was largely spent in the shadow of his elder brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War. Domitian's father Vespasian died on 23 June 79 and was succeeded by Titus, whose own reign came to an unexpected end when he was struck by a fatal illness on 13 September 81. The following day Domitian was declared emperor by the Praetorian Guard. As emperor, Domitian strengthened the economy by revaluing the Roman coinage, expanded the border defenses of the Empire, and initiated a massive building programme to restore the damaged city of Rome. As emperor, he saw himself as the new Augustus, an enlightened despot destined to guide the Roman Empire into a new era of Flavian renaissance. Religious, military and cultural propaganda fostered a cult of personality, and by nominating himself perpetual censor, he sought to control public and private morals. As a consequence, Domitian was popular with the people and the army but despised by members of the Roman Senate as a tyrant. Domitian's reign came to an end on 18 September 96 when he was assassinated by court officials. The same day he was succeeded by his friend and advisor Nerva, who founded the long-lasting Nerva-Antonine dynasty. After his death, Domitian's memory was condemned to oblivion by the Roman Senate.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domitian

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

622:

The epoch of the Islamic calendar occurred, marking the year that Muhammad began his Hijra from Mecca to Medina. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_calendar

1769:

Spanish friar Junípero Serra founded Mission San Diego de Alcalá (pictured today), the first Franciscan mission in the Alta California region of New Spain. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Diego_de_Alcal%C3%A1

1945:

Manhattan Project: "Trinity", the first nuclear test explosion, was detonated near Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_%28nuclear_test%29

1994:

Fragments of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet began hitting the planet Jupiter, with the first one causing a fireball which reached a peak temperature of about 24,000 K. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Shoemaker-Levy_9

1999:

John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette were killed in a plane crash off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._airplane_crash

2004:

Chicago's Millennium Park, currently the world's largest rooftop garden, opened. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Park

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

haphazard (adj): Random, chaotic, incomplete; not thorough, constant or consistent http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/haphazard

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Ignorance perpetuates itself just as knowledge does. Men write false documents, they preach false doctrine, and those beliefs survive to inspire wickedness in later generations. ... Conversely, some men write and teach about the truth, only to be declared heretic by the wicked. In such cases evil has the advantage, for it will do anything to suppress truth, but the good man limits what he will do to suppress falsehood.

One might almost make a rule of it: "Whoever declares another heretic is himself a devil. Whoever places a relic or artifact above justice, kindness, mercy, or truth is himself a devil and the thing elevated is a work of evil magic." --Sheri S. Tepper http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sheri_S._Tepper