Roman Emperor. He was born in AD 51 and bought up by an uncle, being given little power during the reigns of his father Vespasian and brother Titus. When Titus died childless in AD 81 he was proclaimed Emperor by the Praetorian Guard and soon formally recognized as ruler by the senate. He began his reign by passing laws to improve the standards of public morality, giving out harsh punishments for homosexuality and incest. He became known for his dictatorial style of government, giving himself the title "lord and god" and renaming the months of September and October "Germanicus" and "Domitianus" after his own name and title. His building projects included a new palace complex, the Domus Augustana, where he held official banquets and receptions, and the Temple of the Flavian family where he was later buried. He fought military campaigns in Germany and Romania, and awarded himself a triumph at Rome AD 83. In later years financial problems led him to confiscate private property from the victims of treason trials to raise funds. As his reign went on he became increasingly fearful of plots against his life, and conspiracies were uncovered in AD 87D and AD 89. In AD 93 he began a reign of terror that led to the execution of many senators on treason charges. His victims also included many early followers of Christianity, which was an illegal religion at the time. In AD 96 a group of his own personal attendants, who realized that they would soon be arrested, decided to save themselves by assassinating him. They had the support of the Empress Domitia and the Praetorian Guard. He was stabbed to death by Stephanus, the steward of a victim of one of his treason trials, and was succeeded as Emperor by Marcus Nerva. His body was retrieved and cremated by his childhood nurse, who secretly interred his ashes in the Temple of the Flavian Family.