Titus Flavius Vespasianus (; 30 December AD 39 – 13 September 81) was Roman emperor from AD 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father, Vespasian, upon his death, becoming the first Roman emperor to succeed his biological father.
Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a military commander, serving under his father in Judaea during the First Jewish–Roman War. The campaign came to a brief halt with the death of emperor Nero in AD 68, launching Vespasian's bid for the throne during the Year of the Four Emperors. When Vespasian was declared Emperor on 1 July 69, Titus was left in charge of ending the Jewish rebellion. In AD 70, he besieged and captured Jerusalem, during which he destroyed the city and the Second Temple. For this, he was awarded a triumph; the Arch of Titus—still standing today—was later erected to commemorate the victory.
During his father's rule, Titus gained notoriety in Rome serving as prefect of the Praetorian Guard and for carrying on a controversial relationship with the Jewish queen Berenice. He ruled to great acclaim following the death of Vespasian on 23 June 79 and was considered a good emperor by Suetonius and other contemporary historians.
As emperor, Titus is best known for completing the Colosseum and for his generosity in relieving the suffering caused by two disasters, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 and a fire in Rome in AD 80. After barely two years in office, Titus died of a fever on 13 September 81. He was deified by the Roman Senate and succeeded by his younger brother Domitian.
Early life Titus was born in Rome, probably on 30 December AD 39, as the eldest son of Titus Flavius Vespasianus, commonly known as Vespasian, and Domitilla the Elder.Suetonius claims Titus was born in the year Caligula was assassinated, 41. However, this contradicts his statement that Titus died in his 42nd year, as well as Cassius Dio, who notes that Titus was 39 at the time of his accession. See Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Titus 1, 11; Cassius Dio, Roman History LXVI.18; and He had one younger sister, Domitilla the Younger (born 45), and one younger brother, Titus Flavius Domitianus (born 51), commonly referred to as Domitian.
Family background
Decades of civil war during the 1st century BC had contributed greatly to the demise of the old aristocracy of Rome, which was gradually replaced in prominence by a new Italian nobility during the early 1st century.Jones (1992), p. 3 One such family was the gens Flavia, which rose from relative obscurity to prominence in only four generations, acquiring wealth and status under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Titus's great-grandfather, Titus Flavius Petro, had served as a centurion under Pompey during Caesar's Civil War. His military career ended in disgrace when he fled the battlefield at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC.Jones (1992), p. 1
Nevertheless, Petro managed to improve his status by marrying the extremely-wealthy Tertulla, whose fortune guaranteed the upwards mobility of Petro's son Titus Flavius Sabinus the Elder, Titus's grandfather.Jones (1992), p. 2 Sabinus himself amassed further wealth and possible equestrian status through his services as tax collector in Asia and banker in Helvetia. By marrying Vespasia Polla, he allied himself to the more prestigious patrician gens Vespasia, ensuring the elevation of his sons Titus Flavius Sabinus the Younger and Vespasian to the senatorial rank.
The political career of Vespasian included the offices of quaestor, aedile and praetor and culminated with a consulship in 51, the year Domitian was born. As a military commander, he gained early renown by participating in the Roman invasion of Britain in 43.Jones, (1992), p. 8 What little is known of Titus's early life has been handed down by Suetonius, who recorded that he was brought up at the imperial court in the company of Britannicus,Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Titus 2 the son of Emperor Claudius, who would be murdered by Nero in 55.
The story was even told that Titus was reclining next to Britannicus on the night he was murdered and sipped of the poison that was handed to him. Further details on his education are scarce, but it seems he showed early promise in the military arts and was a skilled poet and orator both in Greek and Latin.Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Titus 3
Adult life
From around 57 to 59 he was a military tribune in Germania. He also served in Britannia and perhaps arrived about 60 with reinforcements needed after the revolt of Boudica. About 63, he returned to Rome and married Arrecina Tertulla, daughter of Marcus Arrecinus Clemens, a former Prefect of the Praetorian Guard. She died about 65.Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Titus 4, with Jones and Milns, pp. 95–96
Titus then took a new wife of a much more distinguished family, Marcia Furnilla. However, Marcia's family was closely linked to the opposition to Nero. Her uncle Barea Soranus and his daughter Servilia were among those who perished after the failed Pisonian conspiracy of 65.Tacitus, Annals XVI.30–33 Some modern historians think that Titus divorced his wife because of her family's connection to the conspiracy.Gavin Townend, "Some Flavian Connections", The Journal of Roman Studies (1961), p. 57. See Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Titus 4Jones (1992), p. 11
Titus never remarried and appears to have had daughters, at least one of them by Marcia Furnilla.Philostratus, The Life of Apollonius of Tyana VII.7 Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Titus 4 The only one known to have survived to adulthood was Julia Flavia, perhaps Titus's child by Arrecina, whose mother was also named Julia.Jones and Milns, pp. 96, 167. During this period Titus also practiced law and attained the rank of quaestor.
Judaean campaigns
In 66, the Jews of the Judaea Province revolted against the Roman Empire. Cestius Gallus, the legate of Syria, was defeated at the battle of Beth-Horon and forced to retreat from Jerusalem.Josephus, The Wars of the Jews II.19.9 The pro-Roman King Agrippa II and his sister Berenice fled the city to Galilee, where he later gave himself up to the Romans.Josephus, The Wars of the Jews III.1.2
Nero appointed Vespasian to put down the rebellion, who was dispatched to the region at once with the Fifth Legion and Tenth Legion. He was later joined at Ptolemais by Titus with the Fifteenth Legion.Josephus, The War of the Jews III.4.2 With a strength of 60,000 professional soldiers, the Romans prepared to sweep across Galilee and march on Jerusalem.
The history of the war was covered in detail by the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus in his work The War of the Jews. Josephus served as a commander in the city of Yodfat when the Roman army invaded Galilee in 67. After an exhausting siege which lasted 47 days, the city fell, with an estimated 40,000 killed. Titus, however, was not simply set on ending the war.Josephus, The Wars of the Jews III.7.34
Surviving one of several group suicides, Josephus surrendered to Vespasian and became a prisoner. He later wrote that he had provided the Romans with intelligence on the ongoing revolt.Josephus, The Wars of the Jews III.8.8 By 68, the entire coast and the north of Judaea were subjugated by the Roman Army, with decisive victories won at Taricheae and Gamala, where Titus distinguished himself as a skilled general.Josephus, The Wars of the Jews III.10
Year of the Four Emperors
The last and most significant fortified city held by the Jewish resistance was Jerusalem. The campaign came to a sudden halt when news arrived of Nero's death.Josephus, The Wars of the Jews IV.9.2 Almost simultaneously, the Roman Senate had declared Galba, the governor of Hispania, as emperor. Vespasian decided to await further orders and sent Titus to greet the new princeps.Tacitus, Histories II.1
Before reaching Italy, Titus learnt that Galba had been murdered and replaced by Otho, the governor of Lusitania, and that Vitellius and his armies in Germania were preparing to march on the capital, intent on overthrowing Otho. Not wanting to risk being taken hostage by one side or the other, he abandoned the journey to Rome and rejoined his father in Judaea.Tacitus, Histories II.2 Meanwhile, Otho was defeated in the First Battle of Bedriacum and committed suicide.Tacitus, Histories II.41–49
When the news reached the armies in Judaea and Ægyptus, they took matters into their own hands and declared Vespasian emperor on 1 July 69.Josephus, The Wars of the Jews IV.10.4 Vespasian accepted and, after negotiations by Titus, joined forces with Gaius Licinius Mucianus, governor of Syria.Tacitus, Histories II.5 A strong force drawn from the Judaean and Syrian legions marched on Rome under the command of Mucianus, and Vespasian travelled to Alexandria, leaving Titus in charge to end the Jewish rebellion.Josephus, The Wars of the Jews IV.11.1Tacitus, Histories II.82 By the end of 69, the forces of Vitellius had been beaten, and Vespasian was officially declared emperor by the Senate on 21 December, thus ending the Year of the Four Emperors.Tacitus, Histories IV.3
Siege of Jerusalem
Meanwhile, the Jews had become embroiled in a civil war of their own by splitting the resistance in Jerusalem among several factions. The Sicarii, led by Menahem ben Judah, could hold on for long; the Zealots, led by Eleazar ben Simon, eventually fell under the command of the Galilean leader John of Gush Halav; and the other northern rebel commander, Simon Bar Giora, managed to gain leadership over the Idumeans.Josephus, The Wars of the Jews V.1.4 Titus besieged Jerusalem. The Roman Army was joined by the Twelfth Legion, which had been previously defeated under Cestius Gallus, and from Alexandria, Vespasian sent Tiberius Julius Alexander, governor of Egypt, to act as Titus' second in command.Josephus, The Wars of the Jews V.1.6
Titus surrounded the city with three legions (Vth, XIIth and XVth) on the western side and one (Xth) on the Mount of Olives to the east. He put pressure on the food and water supplies of the inhabitants by allowing pilgrims to enter the city to celebrate Passover and then refusing them egress. Jewish raids continuously harassed the Roman Army, one of which nearly resulted in Titus being captured.Josephus, The Wars of the Jews V.2.2
After attempts by Josephus to negotiate a surrender had failed, the Romans resumed hostilities and quickly breached the first and second walls of the city.Josephus, The Wars of the Jews V.6–V.9 To intimidate the resistance, Titus ordered deserters from the Jewish side to be crucified around the city wall.Josephus, The Wars of the Jews V.11.1 By that time the Jews had been exhausted by famine, and when the weak third wall was breached, bitter street fighting ensued.Josephus, The Wars of the Jews VI.2–VI.3
The Romans finally captured the Antonia Fortress and began a frontal assault on the gates of the Second Temple.Josephus, The Wars of the Jews VI.4.1 As they breached the gate, the Romans set the upper and lower city aflame, culminating with the destruction of the Temple. When the fires subsided, Titus gave the order to destroy the remainder of the city, allegedly intending that no one would remember the name Jerusalem.Sulpicius Severus, Chronicles II.30.6–7. For Tacitus as the source, see The Temple was demolished, Titus's soldiers proclaimed him imperator in honour of the victory.Josephus, The Wars of the Jews VI.6.1