[Illustration: PLAN OF JERUSALEM AND ITS ENVIRONS.]
[Illustration: A RELIEF ON THE ARCH OF TITUS
The relief shows Roman soldiers bearing the spoils of the Temple at
Jerusalem. Among these are two trumpets, the table of the shewbread, and
the seven-branched golden candlestick.]
ERUPTION OF VESUVIUS, 79 A.D.
The reign of Titus is chiefly memorable for the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum, two cites on the bay of Naples. After long inactivity the volcano of Vesuvius suddenly belched forth torrents of liquid lava and mud, followed by a rain of ashes. Pompeii was covered to a depth of about fifteen feet by the falling cinders. Herculaneum was overwhelmed in a sea of sulphurous mud and lava to a depth of eighty feet in many places. The cities were completely entombed, and in time even their location was forgotten. Modern excavations have disclosed a large part of Pompeii, with its streets, shops, baths, temples, and theaters. The visitor there gains a vivid impression of Roman life during the first century of our era. [10]
68. THE "GOOD EMPERORS," 96-180 A.D.
THE ANTONINE CAESARS
The five rulers—Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius—whose reigns cover the greater part of the second century, are sometimes called the Antonine Caesars, because two of them bore the name Antoninus. They are better known as the "Good Emperors," a title which well describes them. Under their just and beneficent government the empire reached its greatest prosperity.
[Illustration: NERVA (Vatican Museum, Rome)
A remarkably fine example of Roman portrait statuary.]
TRAJAN THE CONQUEROR
The emperor Trajan rivaled Julius Caesar in military ability and enlarged the Roman world to the widest limits it was ever to attain. His first conquests were in Europe and resulted in the annexation of Dacia, an extensive territory north of the Danube. Thousands of colonists settled in Dacia and spread everywhere the language and arts of Rome. Its modern name (Rumania) bears witness to Rome's abiding influence there. Trajan's campaigns in Asia had less importance, though in appearance they were more splendid. He drove the Parthians from Armenia and conquered the Tigris- Euphrates valley. To hold in subjection such distant regions only increased the difficulty of guarding the frontiers. Trajan's successor, Hadrian, at once abandoned them.