Flavian Dynasty
The Flavian dynasty was composed of the Flavii Vespasiani, a middle-class family of plebeian stock. A relatively short-lived dynasty of 30 years, the Flavians confirmed the use of "Caesar" to confirm the hereditary nature of the Imperial dignity (Vespasian gave both his sons this rank, and is said to have informed the Senate that one of his sons would succeed him or no one would). Domitian made himself extremely unpopular by his autocratic manner, which was a departure from the traditional fiction that the Emperor was merely first among equals (primus inter pares).
Read more about this topic: Roman Emperor (Principate)