After his death , Domitian 's memory was condemned to oblivion by the Roman Senate , while senatorial authors such as Tacitus , Pliny the Younger and Suetonius published histories showing Domitian as a cruel and paranoid tyrant . After his death , Domitian 's memory was condemned to oblivion by the Roman Senate , while senatorial authors such as Tacitus , Pliny the Younger and Suetonius published histories propagating the view of Domitian as a cruel and paranoid tyrant .