Domitian

About Domitian

Domitian, the last emperor of the Flavian dynasty, reigned from 81 to 96 CE and is a significant figure in Roman political history. As the son of Vespasian and brother of Titus, his reign consolidated imperial power, though it was marked by increasing autocracy and numerous executions of perceived rivals. He focused heavily on military campaigns on the frontiers, particularly in Dacia and Germania, and undertook massive public building programs in Rome, which ultimately strained the state's finances. MIT's Pantheon project ranks him #576 in historical importance, reflecting his impact on the trajectory of the Roman Empire.

In 2025 internet attention, Domitian garners approximately 558K annualized Wikipedia views. This places his attention gap near 1x, suggesting a level of online visibility commensurate with his high historical ranking, especially when compared to many figures in the ~15,000 ranked. However, this relatively balanced attention contrasts sharply with contemporary politicians like Xi Jinping (#719 importance) who commanded 4.1M views, or even Pol Pot (#710 importance) with 2.4M views, indicating a substantial modern preference for recent political figures over this influential Roman emperor.

Domitian's attention is currently declining, with a significant year-over-year decrease of -49.2% and a Q1 to Q3 momentum change of -20%, suggesting that even his modest contemporary online presence is currently shrinking.