Titus,

Titus, the Roman prænominal but the usual name for the eleventh of the twelve Cæsars, Titus Flavius Sabinus Vespasianus, the eldest son of Vespasian and Flavia Domitilla, born at Rome, 30th December 40 A.D. He was brought up at the court of Nero along with Britannicus, and early served with credit as tribune in Germany and Britain, and in Judæa under his father. On Vespasian's elevation to the throne Titus was left to prosecute the Jewish war, which he brought to a close by the capture of Jerusalem after a long siege (70). Both father and son enjoyed a joint triumph in 71. About this time Titus received the title of Cæsar, and took a share in the work of government. He gave himself up to pleasure, and his attachment to Berenice, the daughter of Herod Agrippa I., grievously offended the Romans. But no sooner had Titus assumed the weight of undivided power (79) than his whole character became changed. The very first act of his reign was to put a stop to all prosecutions for læsa majestas, and to decree heavy punishments against informers. He assumed the office of Pontifex Maximus in order to keep his hands free from blood. He completed the Colosseum and built the baths which bear his name, and lavished his beneficence upon the sufferers from the great eruption of Vesuvius, which overwhelmed Herculaneum and Pompeii (79), and the great three days' fire at Rome, followed by pestilence the year after. Titus was now the idol of his subjects, the 'love and delight of mankind.' He loved to give, and the characteristic story is told that one night he exclaimed 'I have lost a day' when he remembered that he had given nothing away that day. But unhappily he died suddenly at his patrimonial villa in the Sabine country (September 13, 81), not without the suspicion that he had been poisoned by his younger brother Domitian.