Jerusalem's Traitor by Desmond Seward

Author:Desmond Seward
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Da Capo Press

16

Titus Takes Command

“And I will take away from you the voice of mirth and the voice of joy and the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; and all the land shall be without any footsteps of inhabitants.”

PROPHECY OF BARUCH, II, 23

“FROM ALEXANDRIA I WAS SENT with Titus to the siege of Jerusalem,” Josephus tells us in the Vita. He adds, “There my life was frequently in danger, from the Jews who were eager to get their hands on me so that they could wreak their revenge, and from the Romans who attributed every set-back they suffered to some sort of treachery on my part—they were always noisily demanding that the Emperor should punish me as the man who was secretly betraying them. However, Titus Caesar, well aware of just how much the fortunes of war swing backward and forward, silenced his soldiers’ grumbling by taking no notice.”1 As so often, Josephus had reason to be grateful to Titus.

In view of his regard for Titus, the patron whom—judging from what he afterward wrote about him—he all but worshipped, it is worth examining the Roman in some detail. An enigma, he baffled contemporaries because of the pleasant face that he invariably showed to the world. Suetonius claims he was “the delight and darling of the human race, because he knew how to win everybody’s affection, by nature, cunning or sheer good fortune.” The same source also tells us that he was handsome and dignified, a fine soldier and an accomplished horseman. Well read, possessing an amazing memory, Titus wrote poetry in Latin and Greek, besides singing and playing the harp. “I have heard from many people that he was able to write shorthand very fast and liked to have competitions with his secretaries to see who was quickest,” says Suetonius. “He could imitate any writing shown to him and would joke that he ought to have been ‘the prince of forgers.’”2 Above all, he appeared to be a kind man, sensitive to people’s feelings.

Outwardly, at least, Titus really does seem to have possessed an unusually attractive personality. His troops were devoted to him. Yet Suetonius, while on the whole admiring, has to admit that at times he could display some very unpleasant qualities, such as ruthlessness and cruelty. He had no qualms about committing murder. When Titus returned to Rome after the Jewish War, he took command of the Praetorian guard and then used the guard to liquidate anybody he distrusted. He had a debilitating weakness for sexual pleasures, keeping whole troops of catamites and eunuchs, besides indulging in a long and potentially disastrous passion for a great Jewish lady. Despite his charm and talent for diplomacy, he had a flair for turning distinguished Romans into enemies.

What is beyond dispute is that Titus was a shrewd statesman and a brave if rash general. He fully appreciated that the Roman public would be unhappy until he captured Jerusalem and restored the imperial army’s reputation. If he succeeded, it would shed much needed luster on the new Flavian dynasty, of which he was the heir.

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