Julia Flavia ( – 91) or Flavia Julia, nicknamed Julia Titi, was the daughter of Roman Emperor

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September AD 81) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, becoming the first Roman emperor ever to succeed h ...

and his first wife

Arrecina Tertulla Arrecina Tertulla () was a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century. She was the first wife of Titus and mother of his daughter Julia Flavia. Biography Early life Tertulla came from an Equestrian-rank family of obscure origin. Her mother was Ju ...

. Julia Titi gained the title '' Augusta'' at her father's accession in 79.

Biography

Early life

Julia was born in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

, she was named for Tertulla's mother Julia Ursa. Her mother was either divorced or died when Julia was an infant. Her father later remarried to Marcia Furnilla with whom he had another daughter who is presumed to have died young. In 65, after the failure of the

Pisonian conspiracy The conspiracy of Gaius Calpurnius Piso in 65 CE was a major turning point in the reign of the Roman emperor Nero (reign 54–68). The plot reflected the growing discontent among the ruling class of the Roman state with Nero's increasingly d ...

, the family of Furnilla was disfavored by Nero. Julia's father, Titus concluded that he did not want to be connected with any potential plotters and ended his marriage to Julia's step-mother. Julia was likely raised by her maternal grandmother and the wet nurse Phyllis (who had already reared Julia's uncle Domitian as a child).

Marriage

When growing up, Titus offered her in marriage to his brother

Domitian Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...

, but he refused because of his infatuation with

Domitia Longina Domitia Longina ( 50–55 – 126–130s AD) was a Roman empress and wife to the Roman emperor Domitian. She was the youngest daughter of the general and consul Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo. Domitia divorced her first husband, Lucius Aelius Lami ...

. Later she married her second paternal cousin Titus Flavius Sabinus, brother to consul Titus Flavius Clemens, who married her first cousin Flavia Domitilla.

Later life

After the death of her husband Julia lived in the palace with her uncle and his wife

. Ancient historians report stories that Julia was seduced by her uncle and died having an abortion forced upon her by him, for example Dio claimed that he "lived with eras husband with wife, making little effort at concealment. Then upon the demands of the people he became reconciled with Domitia, but continued his relations with Julia nonetheless." and

Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ; 55–128), was a Roman poet. He is the author of the '' Satires'', a collection of satirical poems. The details of Juvenal's life are unclear, but references in his works to people f ...

stated "such a man was that adulterer .e. Domitianwho, after lately defiling himself by a union of the tragic style, revived the stern laws that were to be a terror to all men – ay, even to Mars and Venus – just as Julia was relieving her fertile womb and giving birth to abortions that displayed the likeness of her uncle." but modern historians generally regard this as slander against the emperor and the stories were likely invented after his assassination. Julia was deified after her death and

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman and Celtiberian poet born in Bilbilis, Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of '' Epigrams'', pu ...

wrote a poem where in he praised her and wished for her to become the spiritual guardian of the (hoped for) future son of Domitian and Domitia whom he wished to be named "Julius" in her honor. Following the downfall of her uncle Domitian, their wet nurse Phyllis mixed his ashes with those of Julia to ensure that his remains would not be thrown away.

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is ''De vita Caesarum'', common ...

''Domitian'' 17.3
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Flavian family tree

Notes

References

Sources

, ''The Twelve Caesars'' – Titus & Domitian 17, 22. *

Dio Cassius Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, lxvii. 3. * Pliny, ''Ep.'' iv. 11. § 6. *

Philostratus Philostratus or Lucius Flavius Philostratus (; ; 170s – 240s AD), called "the Athenian", was a Greek sophist of the Roman imperial period. His father was a minor sophist of the same name. He flourished during the reign of Septimius Severus ...

, '' Vit. Apoll. Tyan.'' vii. 3.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Julia Flavia 60s births 91 deaths Flavian dynasty Julia 1st-century Roman women 1st-century Romans Deified ancient Roman women Titus Daughters of Roman emperors Augustae