Death
The biggest mistake Domitian ever made was to lose sympathy of his own "Praetorion Prefects" and to eliminate them. The "Praetorion Prefects" successors, Petronius Secundus and Norbanus, knew that they were in a dangerous position. So they hired a freedman named Stephanus to kill Domitian. On September 18, 96 A.D. Stephanus made his move. While handing Domitian a paper he managed to stab him in the groin. After that they rolled around on the floor, wrestling for control of the knife, but Domitian could fight no longer and gave up and was stabbed to death. Right after his death, help arrived too late to save Domitian, but they were able to kill Stephanus. Even after Domitian's death, the government continued to run smoothly.