The Flavian's were the second Imperial dynasty in ancient Rome, coming on the heels of the pitiful destruction of the powerful Julio-Claudian's.
The patriarch was a man of humble origins, once known as the mule driver but known by history as Vespasian. Once a respected general, he would mount the throne of an empire ravaged by a mad emporer and the civil war that ensued after his demise. Vespasian was a man of the people, he quickly restored to the public many of the land taken from them by Nero, and even built a famous edifice that still partially stands today upon the site of Nero's Golden House (actually the lake that was there), it was named the Flavian Ampitheater, but, we know it as the Colosseum.
You have his oldest son, known as Titus, as a prince, he was feared by his people, was a brilliant general, and will forever be known as the general that conquered and destroyed Jerusalem and her holy temple, he and his men fulfilled the words of Jesus regarding the temple, that not one stone would be left unturned. When he became emporer his subjects were skeptical but in the few short years he reigned, his people came to love and respect him. His brief reign was frought with tragedy, the most famous being the eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed cities such as Pompeii and Herclaneum.
Upon his unexpected death his younger brother Domitian would succeed him, and this is my most favorite Flavian of all, as I like to try to get into his head, he was by far the most complicated of the three, on one hand he seemed to jump through hoops to try and win the hearts of his subjects, his rebuilding efforts are well known, he was known as a fair and impartial judge, but, on the other hand, he was known to be paranoid, cruel and a subjugator.
This is the family I intend to explore here in my journal, I hope you find the Flavian's as interesting as I do :0)