TITUS (TITt S FLAVIT'S SABINUS VESPA (c.40-SI A.D.), Roman Emperor (A.D. 79-SI). He was the eldest son of the Emperor Vespasian and Flavia Domitilla, and was horn at Rome. Brought up at the Court of Nero, he received an excellent training, and subsequent ly, as tribunus militum in Germany and Britain, and commander of a legion in Julca under his father, proved his qualities as a soldier and a genera]. On his father's elevation to the Imperial throne, Titus was left to prosecute the Jewish War, which lie brought to a close by the capture of Jerusalem (September 5, A.D. 70) after a long siege. The news of the success was received with the utmost joy, and Vespasian's too jealous temper was awakened. However, Titus by re turning to Rome, and laying the trophies of vic tory at the Emperor's feet, removed his un founded suspicions, and father and son obtained the honor of a joint triumph (A.D. 71). About this time Titus became his father's colleague in the Empire. He gave himself up to time pursuit of pleasure in all its forms, put to death various suspected persons very summarily, and even caused one of his guesbk, whom he justly sus pected of conspiracy, to he assassinated as he left the palace. On the death of his father (A.D. 79), whom he was at that time believed by a few to have poisoned. the Romans had satisfied themselves as to the advent of a second Nero. But Titus's behavior after his hand grasped an undivided sceptre completely belied their antici pations. The very first act of his reign was to put a stop to all prosecutions for frcsa Dmjestas, which had abounded since the time of Tiberius (q.v.). The ancient and venerated buildings
of Rome were repaired; new ones, as the baths which bore his name, were erected; and the prominent tastes of the populace were abun dantly gratified by games on the most stupendous scale, which lasted for 100 days. Titus's benef icence was unbounded, and it so happened that during his brief reign there was the most urgent need of its exercise. In A.D. 79 occurred the eruption of Vesuvius which overwhelmed Hercu laneum and Pompeii and ruined numerous other towns and villages; in A.D. so. a fire broke out in Rome, raged for three days, destroying the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, which had just been rebuilt, and other public edifices, besides numerous houses; and in the tracks of these calamities followed a dreadful pestilence. Titus dealt out gifts with lavish hand to the houseless and ruined sufferers; he even despoiled his pal aces of their valuable ornaments, to obtain money for distribution, and schemed and planned to furnish occupation for them. He was now the idol of his subjects, the 'love and delight of the human race;' but, unfortunately, in the com mencement of the third year of his reign he be came suddenly ill, and died at his patrimonial villa at Reate, in the Sabine country. The reign of Titus was marked by the extension of the Roman dominion in Britain by Agricola.