Titus was the Roman emperor between 79 and 81, the son of Vespasian, whom he succeeded. The main event of his reign was the eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii in 79. There was also a great fire at Rome, and a terrible plague. He devoted himself to his people by helping the victims of these calamities.
Before his accession he was the leader of the campaign against the Jews in 70, and the capture of Jerusalem. He had also had an affair with Berenice, daughter of King Herod Agrippa of Judaea.
His full name at birth was Titus Flavius Sabinus Vespasianus. He was born on 30 December 41. He was a very popular and kindly ruler, completing the Colosseum and the baths named for him, and enacting laws against informers; and was deified after his death. His quite unexpected death on 1 September 81 might have been procured by his successor, his evil brother Domitian.
His most famous saying was, on realizing that he had passed a day without helping anyone, Diem perdidi, 'I have lost a day.'