Titus

Titus Flavius Vespasianus (December 30, 39 AD – September 13, 81), also known as Titus, was a Roman Emperor (79-81) of the Flavian dynasty.

Titus was a successful general who crushed the Jewish Rebellion in 70. He was considered a good emperor by Tacitus and other contemporary historians; he is best-known for his public building program in Rome and for his generosity in relieving the suffering caused by two disasters, the Mount Vesuvius eruption of 79 and the fire of Rome of 80.

Early life and military successes

Titus was born in Rome in 41 AD, the year of Caligula's death, as the elder son of Vespasian, prior to his having been acclaimed Emperor, and Domitilla the Elder.

From 61 to 63 he was the military tribune in Britannia and Germania. In 64 he returned to Rome and married Arrecina Tertulla, daughter of a former Prefect of the Praetorian guard, who died after a year of marriage. Titus then took a new wife of a much more distinguished family, one Marcia Furnilla. He and Marcia had one daughter, Julia Flavia. Marcia's family was closely linked to the opposition to Nero, however; Titus took fright at the failed Pisonian conspiracy of 65 and severed the connection by divorcing his wife. He never re-married.

Titus accompanied Vespasian to the east in 67 to put down the Jewish Rebellion. During the conflict he served as commander of the fifteenth legion, called Apollinaris. When Emperor Galba was murdered Titus won over Mucianus, governor of Syria, to the Flavian cause, and worked with him and others to launch Vespasian's bid for power. In 69, the Year of the Four Emperors, Vespasian returned to Rome to claim the throne, leaving Titus behind to end the rebellion, which he did in 70 with four legions. Jerusalem was sacked; the Temple was destroyed and much of the population was killed or dispersed. While in Jerusalem he also began a love affair with Berenice of Cilicia, sister of Herod Agrippa. He was awarded a triumph upon his return to Rome in 71. The triumphal Arch of Titus, which stands at one entrance to the Roman Forum, memorializes this triumph. He held various consulships under his father and also served as prefect of the Praetorian Guard, ensuring their loyalty to the emperor. These events were recorded in dramatic detail by the historian Josephus in his work The Jewish War.

Emperor

Titus succeeded his father as Emperor in 79. Suetonius wrote that at this point, many people feared that he would be another Nero because of his many alleged vices, one of which was his relationship with Berenice, whom they compared to a new Cleopatra. He was however an effective emperor and was well-loved by the population, who found great praise for him when they found that he possessed the greatest virtues instead of vices. He stopped the treason trials, punished the delatores (public informants), did not take anything from any citizen, and yet held expensive gladiatorial games. In addition to his arch (not to be confused with the Arch of Titus constructed under Domitian shortly after his death), he also essentially completed the Colosseum and built his namesake baths on the former site of Nero's Domus Aurea.

Titus was emperor during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the consequent destruction of life and property in the cities and resort communities around the Bay of Naples, such as Pompeii and Herculaneum, in 79. In 80 a major fire broke out in Rome, while a plague similarly struck; Titus spent large amounts of money relieving victims of both the volcano and the fire as well as the plague. He visited Pompeii just after the eruption and again the following year. His reign also saw the rebellion led by Terentius Maximus, the False Nero who resembled Nero in voice and appearance and, like him, sang to the lyre. Terentius was soon forced to flee beyond the Euphrates, taking refuge with the Parthians.

After just two years, Titus died of a fever; Suetonius wrote that he may have had malaria or been poisoned by his physician Valens on behalf of his brother Domitian. He was deified by the Senate and was succeeded by Domitian.

Titus's reputation has prospered in contrast to the character of Domitian, whose persecutions were detailed by the contemporary historian Tacitus. Titus was used as a model by later emperors, especially those known as the Five Good Emperors.

According to the Babylonian Talmud (Gittin 56b), a mosquito flew in Titus' nose and picked at his brain. When he died, they opened his skull and found a mosquito the size of a rather large bird. This was said to have caused his death and was interpreted as divine retribution for his wicked actions. Some Jewish commentators, however, do not take this literally.

See also

• La clemenza di Tito. An opera seria written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
• Destruction of Jerusalem

In later literature

• In Bérénice, a play by Jean Racine about the love affair between Titus and Berenice
• The Josephus Trilogy, a novel by Lion Feuchtwanger - mainly about Flavius Josephus, Vespasian, Titus, Domitian, Berenice of Cilicia, Justus of Tiberias, the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and the persecution of the Jews in the Roman Empire
  • Der jüdische Krieg (Josephus), 1932
  • Die Söhne (The Jews of Rome), 1935
  • Der Tag wird kommen (The day will come, Josephus and the Emperor), 1942
• La clemenza di Tito, Mozart opera
• Marcus Didius Falco novels

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Quotations

• Amici, diem perdidi. Translation: "Friends, I lost a day.", spoken by Titus in the context that he has done no good deed during that day. Source: Suetonius' Life of Titus 8.1
• "I have made but one mistake.", last words of Titus. What he meant has remained unknown.

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