The Throne of the
Caesars: Titus
Titus
Emperor A. D. 79 81
The tragic destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 occurred while
Titusą father Vespasian was emperor. It had been a long and bloody struggle and
the victorious Roman soldiers put the Temple to the torch, slaughtering the
helpless Jewish refugees who had fled there to hide from the rampaging
legionaries.
Titus fell very much in love with Berenice, the Jewish queen and
sister of King Agrippa II. Together, Agrippa and Berenice ruled parts of
Palestine and Syria as client king and queen of Rome. Though they cooperated
with the Romans, some of their subjects did not, starting a bloody rebellion
that ultimately led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.
--Jay King