Titus
Roman Commander at Jerusalem; later Emperor (r. 79–81 AD)
"Friends, I have lost a day."
Biography
Titus Flavius Vespasianus the Younger served as his father's chief lieutenant in Judea and inherited command of the war when Vespasian departed to seize the throne. In 70 AD he pressed the siege of Jerusalem to its terrible conclusion: the storming of the walls, the burning of the Second Temple, and the sack of the city. Roman sources portrayed him as reluctant to destroy the Temple; Jewish tradition remembered him as its destroyer. He carried the menorah and the Temple treasures back to Rome for a spectacular triumph, commemorated on the Arch of Titus that still stands in the Forum. As emperor (79–81 AD) Titus was remembered, somewhat improbably for the sacker of Jerusalem, as 'the darling of the human race' — generous, affable, and decisive in the relief efforts after the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum, and after a great fire and plague struck Rome. He completed and inaugurated the Colosseum his father had begun. His reign was brief; he died of fever after barely two years, and was succeeded by his far less beloved brother Domitian.
Did you know?
His relationship with the Judean queen Berenice — a Jewish Herodian princess — scandalized Rome, and he sent her away to secure his accession.
Key Battles
Siege of Jotapata
Roman Empire victoryMay – July 67 AD · 40,000 total casualties
Jotapata broke organized resistance in Galilee and delivered Rome its most valuable prisoner. Josephus's defection and survival gave posterity 'The Jewish War,' the single most important narrative source for the entire conflict. The town's fall demonstrated the methodical, inexorable Roman siege machine that would soon be turned on Jerusalem itself.
Siege of Jerusalem
Roman Empire victoryApril – September 70 AD · 600,000 total casualties
The destruction of the Second Temple is the central trauma of the war and a hinge in Jewish history. With the Temple gone, the sacrificial cult ended forever; Judaism reorganized around the synagogue, prayer, and rabbinic study at Yavneh. Rome paraded the Temple's golden menorah in Titus's triumph — immortalized on the Arch of Titus — and funded the Colosseum partly from the spoils.
Life Journey
Timeline
December 30, 39 AD
🌅 Birth
Born in Rome
67 AD
⚔️ Battle
Serves under his father in the Galilee campaign
70 AD
⚔️ Battle
Takes Jerusalem; the Second Temple is destroyed
79 AD
📍 Posting
Becomes emperor; inaugurates the Colosseum
September 13, 81 AD
✝️ Death
Dies of fever after a two-year reign