Editing Titus (section)

===Death===
[[File:Tito, da vicinanze del battistero lateranense, inv. 2282, 02.JPG|thumb|upright|Marble statue of Titus found near the [[Lateran Baptistry]], [[Chiaramonti Museum]] of the [[Vatican Museums]]]]
At the closing of the games, Titus officially dedicated the amphitheatre and the baths in what was his final recorded act as Emperor.<ref name="dio-romanhistory-lxvi-26"/> He set out for the [[Sabine]] territories but fell ill at the first posting station<ref name="suetonius-titus-10">[[Suetonius]], ''[[The Lives of Twelve Caesars]]'', Life of Titus [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Titus*.html#10 10]</ref> where he died of a fever, reportedly in the same farmhouse as his father.<ref name="suetonius-titus-11">[[Suetonius]], ''[[The Lives of Twelve Caesars]]'', Life of Titus [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Titus*.html#11 11]</ref> Allegedly, the last words he uttered before passing away were "I have made but one mistake".<ref name="dio-romanhistory-lxvi-26"/><ref name="suetonius-titus-10"/>

Titus had ruled the [[Roman Empire]] for just over two years: from the death of his father in 79 to his own on 13 September 81.<ref>[[Suetonius]], ''Titus'' 11: "[He died] two years two months and twenty days after succeeding Vespasian".</ref><ref>[[Cassius Dio]] LXVI.18: "For he lived after this only two years, two months and twenty days".</ref> He was succeeded by [[Domitian]], whose first act as emperor was to [[deify]] his brother.<ref name="suetonius-domitian-2">[[Suetonius]], ''[[The Lives of Twelve Caesars]]'', Life of Domitian [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Domitian*.html#2 2]</ref>

Historians have speculated on the exact nature of his death and to which mistake Titus alluded in his final words. [[Philostratus]] wrote that he was poisoned by Domitian with a sea hare (''[[Aplysia depilans]]'') and that his death had been foretold to him by [[Apollonius of Tyana]].<ref>[[Philostratus]], ''The Life of Apollonius of Tyana'' [https://www.livius.org/ap-ark/apollonius/life/va_6_31.html#%A732 6.32] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303165942/http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/apollonius/life/va_6_31.html#%A732 |date=3 March 2016 }}</ref> Suetonius and Cassius Dio maintain that he died of natural causes, but both accuse Domitian of having left the ailing Titus for dead.<ref name="dio-romanhistory-lxvi-26"/><ref name="suetonius-domitian-2"/> Consequently, Dio believed the mistake to refer to not having Titus's brother executed when he was found to be openly plotting against him.<ref name="dio-romanhistory-lxvi-26"/>

The [[Babylonian Talmud]] ([[Gittin]] 56b) attributes Titus's death to an insect that flew into his nose and picked at his brain for seven years in a repetition of another legend referring to the biblical King [[Nimrod]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sefaria.org.il/Gittin.56b.13?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en|title=Tractate Gittin 56b|website=www.sefaria.org.il}}</ref><ref>Rosner, Fred. ''Medicine in the Bible and Talmud''. p. 76. Pub. 1995, KTAV Publishing House, {{ISBN|0-88125-506-8}}. Extract viewable at ([https://books.google.com/books?id=SL34EWxAJfYC&pg=PA76])</ref><ref>[[s:Page:Legends of Old Testament Characters.djvu/178]]</ref> According to Rabbinic literature, Titus was a descendant of [[Esau]] and dared to challenge the Lord.<ref>[https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/953573/jewish/Tituss-Death.htm Tituss Death Chabad]</ref> Jewish tradition says that Titus was plagued by God for destroying the second Temple and died as a result of a [[gnat]] going up his nose, causing a large growth inside of his brain that killed him.<ref>Quinn, Thomas (Director) (26 June 1995). Urban Legends: Season 3 Episode 1 [Television series]. United States. FilmRise.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/953573/jewish/Tituss-Death.htm |title=Titus's Death |publisher=Chabad.org |access-date=8 November 2018}}</ref> 
Rabbinic scholars like [[Azariah de Rossi]] reject the literal historicity of the story, viewing it as an allegory about divine retribution. [[Maharal]] and others, such as [[Yosef Hayyim|Yosef Chaim of Baghdad]], interpret the narrative allegorically, emphasizing its spiritual and moral lessons rather than its historical accuracy. [[Reuben Margolies|Reuven Margolios]] suggests the Talmud might refer to another figure, [[Titus Furius Victorinus|Titus Frigius]], rather than the emperor. Modern scholars like [[Galit Hasan-Rokem]] analyze the story as a literary device symbolizing Titus’ punishment for destroying the Temple. Overall, the rabbinic account is treated as a theological or symbolic narrative rather than a literal historical record.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Klein |first1=Reuven Chaim |date= 2023 |title= Are historical sections of the Talmud actually historical? Critical tools for understanding historical claims in rabbinic literature |url=https://www.academia.edu/127965994/Are_historical_sections_of_the_Talmud_actually_historical_Critical_tools_for_understanding_historical_claims_in_rabbinic_literature|journal=Journal of Philological Pedagogy |volume=12 |issue= |publisher=Chandler School of Education |pages=42-75 |doi=10.17613/rjp5a-md343 }}</ref>

Another story is recorded in which [[Onkelos]], a nephew of the Roman emperor Titus who destroyed the Second Temple, intent on converting to Judaism, summons up spirits to help make up his mind. Each describes his punishment in the afterlife."Onkelos son of Kolonikos ... went and raised Titus from the dead by magical arts, and asked him; 'Who is most in repute in the [other] world? He replied: Israel. What then, he said, about joining them? He said: Their observances are burdensome and you will not be able to carry them out. Go and attack them in that world and you will be at the top as it is written, Her adversaries are become the head etc.; whoever harasses Israel becomes head. He asked him: What is your punishment [in the other world]? He replied: What I decreed for myself. Every day my ashes are collected and sentence is passed on me and I am burnt and my ashes are scattered over the seven seas..."<ref>Babylonian Talmud Gittin 56b–57a. 1935 Soncino edition</ref>