Emperor Titus was born in a small town in the Sabine country called Phalacrina, beyond Rate, on the 15th day of the December calendar, A.D. 0009. He was brought up by his father’s grandmother, Tertulia, at her estate in Cosa, Etruria.
According to biblical and historical accounts, Emperor Titus was a Roman emperor who demolished the great temple in Jerusalem and laid siege to the city of Jerusalem. All so that what Jesus prophesied could happen. That no trace of the temple would remain standing, Titus Vespasianus Flavius was an excellent emperor. He began his career as a military tribune in Thrace and then as a questor in Crete and Cyrene. When he became praetor, he spared nothing to curry favor with Caligula. During the reign of Claudius, through the popularity of the freedman Narcissus, he obtained the office of the legate of a legion in Germany, which meant that he became the lieutenant of the commander of that legion. The governor of Germany at the time was Galba, the future emperor.
Unreliable and unstable, through revolts and the violent deaths of most emperors, imperial power was strengthened and finally stabilized by the rise of the Flavian family to the throne. This family, of obscure origin and without a well-known genealogy, gave Rome much more valuable and reliable rulers than the Claudia family.
Who is Titus Flavius Vespasianus?
Titus is also known as Emperor Flavius or Vespasian. Born, in the Sabine country, not far from Rhaetius, his childhood was spent on his grandmother’s estate near Kozy in Eretria. He began his service just under Tiberius as a military tribune in Thrace. He passed it quickly and successfully: after the quaestorship, he was given control of Crete and Cyrene, then elected aedile, and in 39 years was given a praetorship. As aedile, he is said to have taken poor care of cleaning the streets, so an angry Caligula Gaius Caius once ordered the soldiers to pile the dirt on him in his senatorial toga chest.
Titus Flavius Vespasianus was a Roman emperor who, before ascending the throne, gained military fame during the reign of Claudius. Initially, he served as a legion legate in Germany. And then, in 43, he was transferred to Britain, where he took part in more than 30 battles with the enemy.
Vespasian came from an ignorant family of Flavians. His grandfather was a centurion or even a simple soldier in the army of Gnaeus Pompey. After his retirement, he made a fortune by collecting money from sales. His father, a tax collector in Asia, did the same.
Biography of Titus Flavius Vespasianus
| Full name: | Caesar Vespasianus Augustus |
| Date of birth: | November 17, 009 AD |
| Death day: | June 24, 0079 AD |
| The thread of life: | 70 years |
| Place of birth: | Falacrine, Italy |
| Father's name: | Flavius Sabinus |
| Mother's name: | Vespasia Polla |
| Spouse: | Caenis Vespasian |
| Children: | 2 sons |
| Physical appearance: | bald, lined forehead, long neck and tall |
| Nationality: | Italian |
| Summary of life: | Emperor Nero gave military command to Vespasian to settle the revolt in Judea. Vespasian acquired a military following and soon became Roman emperor. |
| Life detail: | As emperor, he was influenced by his mistress, Caenis, who had been secretary to the mother of Emperor Claudius. |
| Life accomplishments: | Vespasian's historical importance is as the founder of Rome's second imperial dynasty, the Flavian dynasty. |
| Death cause: | DIARRHEA. |
Places from the times of Titus
- Roman Egypt– Where is the exact location of Egypt?
- Ancient Rome– Was Ancient Rome modern-day Rome?
Searching everywhere for museum pieces, he built the most beautiful and oldest collection of the empire. It contained senate decrees and plebiscites on alliances, treaties, and privileges granted to citizens almost from the founding of Rome.
Titus chose to destroy Jerusalem because the Christians and Jews did not want to contribute to the Roman state and submit to the Romans. So he figured that if he laid siege to Jerusalem, he would scare the remaining Jews into contributing and donating the land to the Roman state.
Rome was looking very ugly after the lootings. To change the face of the city into ruin and disorder. It allowed anyone to occupy vacant lands and erect buildings on them. Unless their owners did so, he started the reconstruction of the Capitol by setting a personal example. He was the first to clear the land and carry the materials. Titus took it upon himself to rebuild the three thousand copper boards that had burned with the Capitol.
Key Verse related to Titus
“The body of a dead enemy always smells sweet. It becomes an emperor to die standing.”
Why is Titus important?
Vespasianus was old, so he had to decide and execute what he wanted quickly. The time of life wouldn’t let him delay. He erected a new building, the Temple of Peace, very close to the forum and adorned it with art objects from different countries. From the beginning of his reign to the end, he was friendly and gentle. He didn’t hide his modest appearance; he even talked about it without any inferiority complex.
Titus is necessary for his example in rebuilding and beautifying Rome to reconstitute the treasures of values. He impressed the crowd of plotters and leeches of the capital, of undeserving drones. While commanding great respect.
He built the largest amphitheater Colosseum in the Roman and ancient world, a monument that has remained the most significant construction of Rome, a wonder of the ancient world. The work was never completed in all its grandeur because the inauguration was celebrated only a year after his death. The celebrations were organized by his son Titus, who succeeded him to the throne.
Why was Vespasian a good leader?
Primary Takeaways
- Accompanying Nero on his journey from Greece, he had a great misfortune. While the emperor was singing, he very often retired or fell asleep. This attitude brought him a drastic disgrace, as he was removed from Nero’s privacy and excluded from public greetings. As a result, he had to retreat to a small, isolated town, somewhat hidden away and fearing losing his very life.
- Later, Nero offered him the leadership of India and an army to suppress the anti-Roman uprising that began in 66 A.D. and was spreading.
- Vespasianus enjoyed the favor because he was the most capable for such a job and battle-tested. On the other hand, he could not inspire fear in Nero that he might become an adversary because of his family’s obscurity and name. Another noble birth could have become dangerous if he had a considerable force of legions under his command.
Conclusion
As soon as he settled in Judea, he made a name for himself in the neighboring provinces by enforcing discipline in the camps. He fought his first battles with such energy that he commanded the respect of his enemies and his men. Vespasianus reinforced his troops with two legions, eight squadrons, and ten cohorts and took his eldest son Titus among his lieutenants.
Thank you so much for your time. If you enjoyed reading our article, play the following Quiz to test your knowledge about Vespasianus. Also, I want to wish you to experience the best day of your life!
Bible Trivia about Titus Flavius Vespasianus
Bibliography
- Alexander, P. J. (1978). The medieval legend of the last Roman Emperor and Its messianic origin. Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 41(1), 1-15.
- Donahue, J. (2004). Titus Flavius Vespasianus (AD 69-79). An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers.
- Milns, R. D. (2010). Titus Flavius Vespasianus 9-79 CE. Acta Classica, 53, 95-99.
- Murison, C. L. (2016). Emperor Titus. A Companion to the Flavian Age of Imperial Rome, 76-91.
- Stevenson, T. (2010, January). Vespasian: power and presentation Titus Flavius Vespasianus 9-79 CE. In Acta Classica: Proceedings of the Classical Association of South Africa (Vol. 53, No. 1, pp. 95-99). Classical Association of South Africa (CASA).
