Editing Titus (section)

===Historiography===
[[Image:The Arch of Titus, Upper Via Sacra, Rome (31605340150).jpg|thumb|The [[Arch of Titus]], on the [[Via Sacra]], just to the south-east of the [[Roman Forum]] in Rome]]
Titus's record among ancient historians stands as one of the most exemplary of any emperor. The extant accounts from the period, many of them written by his contemporaries, present a highly favourable view toward Titus. His character has especially prospered in comparison with that of his brother Domitian. ''[[The Wars of the Jews]]'' offers a witness account of the Jewish rebellion and the character of Titus. The neutrality of [[Josephus]]'s writings has been questioned as he was indebted to the [[Flavians]]. In 71, he arrived in Rome in the entourage of Titus, became a [[Roman citizen]] and took on the Roman [[Roman naming conventions|nomen]] Flavius and [[praenomen]] Titus from his patrons. He received an annual pension and lived in the palace.<ref>[[Josephus]], ''[[The Life of Flavius Josephus]]'' [[s:The Life of Flavius Josephus#76|76]]</ref>

It was in Rome and under Flavian patronage that Josephus wrote all of his known works. ''The War of the Jews'' is biased against the leaders of the revolt by portraying the rebellion as weak and unorganised and even blaming the Jews for causing the war.<ref>[[Josephus]], ''[[The Wars of the Jews]]'' [[s:The War of the Jews/Book II#Chapter 17|II.17]]</ref> His credibility as a historian was later questioned.<ref>Josephus, Flavius, ''The Jewish War'', tr. G.A. Williamson, introduction by E. Mary Smallwood. New York, Penguin, 1981, p. 24</ref>

Another contemporary of Titus was [[Publius Cornelius Tacitus]], who started his public career in 80 or 81 and credits the Flavian dynasty with his elevation.<ref>[[Tacitus]], ''[[Histories (Tacitus)|Histories]]'' [[s:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#1|I.1]]</ref> ''[[Histories (Tacitus)|The Histories]]'', his account of the period, was published during the reign of [[Trajan]]. Unfortunately only the first five books from this work have survived, with the text on Titus's and Domitian's reigns lost.

[[Suetonius|Suetonius Tranquilius]] gives a short but highly favourable account on Titus's reign in ''[[The Lives of Twelve Caesars]]'', emphasising his military achievements and his generosity as emperor.<ref name="suetonius-titus-1">[[Suetonius]], ''[[The Lives of Twelve Caesars]]'', Life of Titus [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Titus*.html#1 1]</ref>

<blockquote>Titus, of the same surname as his father, was the delight and darling of the human race; such surpassing ability had he, by nature, art, or good fortune, to win the affections of all men, and that, too, which is no easy task, while he was emperor.<ref name="suetonius-titus-1"/></blockquote>

[[Cassius Dio]] wrote his ''[[Roman History (Cassius Dio)|Roman History]]'' over 100 years after the death of Titus. He shares a similar outlook as Suetonius, possibly even using the latter as a source but is more reserved by noting that

<blockquote>His satisfactory record may also have been due to the fact that he survived his accession but a very short time, for he was thus given no opportunity for wrongdoing. For he lived after this only two years, two months and twenty days—in addition to the thirty-nine years, five months and twenty-five days he had already lived at that time. In this respect, indeed, he is regarded as having equalled the long reign of [[Augustus]], since it is maintained that Augustus would never have been loved had he lived a shorter time, nor Titus had he lived longer. For Augustus, though at the outset he showed himself rather harsh because of the wars and the factional strife, was later able, in the course of time, to achieve a brilliant reputation for his kindly deeds; Titus, on the other hand, ruled with mildness and died at the height of his glory, whereas, if he had lived a long time, it might have been shown that he owes his present fame more to good fortune than to merit.<ref name="dio-romanhistory-lxvi-18"/></blockquote>

[[Pliny the Elder]], who died during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, dedicated his ''[[Naturalis Historia]]'' to Titus.<ref>[http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/pompeii.htm The Destruction of Pompeii, 79 AD], Translation of [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]]'s letters. [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/pliny.ep6.html Original.]</ref><ref>[[Pliny the Elder]], ''[[Natural Histories]]'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/holland/plinyepistle.html Preface]</ref>

In contrast to the ideal portrayal of Titus in Roman histories, Jewish memory has "Titus the Wicked" remembered as an evil oppressor and destroyer of the Temple. A legend in the Babylonian Talmud described Titus as having had sex with a prostitute on a Torah scroll inside the Temple during its destruction.<ref>Babylonian Talmud (Gittin 56b)</ref>