Important Dates in the Lives of Jesus and Mary 

Titus' Comet 

    The reign of the emperor Titus was brief, lasting just over 2 years and 2 months. According to the usual 

chronology, Titus ruled from June of 

A.D.

 79 to Sept.  of 

A.D.

 81. The ancient Chinese and Korean 

astronomers recorded no comets during this time period. The Roman historians also mention no comets 

during Titus' brief reign. My revised chronology places Titus' reign from June of 

A.D.

 66 to Sept. of 

A.D.

 68. 

Here again, there are no recorded observations of comets by the ancient astronomers. 

    Pliny mentions a comet associated with Titus, but seen before he became emperor.   `Javelin stars' quiver 

like a dart; these are a very terrible portent. To this class belongs the comet about which Titus Imperator 

Caesar in his 5th consulship wrote an account in his famous poem, that being its latest appearance down to the 

present day. 

968

 The usual date for Titus' 5th consulship is the year 

A.D.

 76, during the reign of Vespasian. My 

revised date for Titus' 5th consulship is 

A.D.

 60, four years after his second consulship in 

A.D.

 56. 

    In the usual chronology, Titus' 5th consulship fell in the year 

A.D.

 76. There was a comet seen during the 

year 

A.D.

 76 (Oct. Nov.), which  is generally believed to be the comet of Titus' poem. Chinese astronomers 

described it as a  broom star  with a tail of about 2 degrees, visible for 40 days.

969

 But Pliny does not say that 

the comet was seen during Titus' 5th consulship, but rather that Titus wrote about the comet during his 5th 

consulship. Since this comet was seen near the end of the year, Titus could have written about it during or just 

after it was seen, at the end of his 5th consulship. 

    In my revised chronology, Titus' 5th consulship fell in 

A.D.

 60. Ancient Chinese astronomers recorded 

sighting a comet for 135 days (Aug. Dec.) in 

A.D.

 60. This comet was described as a  broom star  with a tail 

of about 2 degrees.

970

 This description fits Pliny's description of a  Javelin star,  and the length of its visibility 

makes it very likely that the comet was noticed by the Romans. This comet sighting began in August of 

A.D.

60, during Titus' 5th consulship. Titus could have written about this comet before the end of his 5th 

consulship. Thus the comet of 

A.D.

 60 fits Pliny's description at least as well as the comet of 

A.D.

 76. 

    The eruption of Mount Vesuvius occurred in the first year of the reign of Titus, only a couple of months 

after the death of Vespasian. Pliny the Elder died as a result of that disaster. The usual date for the eruption of 

Mount Vesuvius is August 23 24 of 

A.D.

 79. However, in this revised chronology, the death of Vespasian is 

placed in June of 

A.D.

 66, so that the revised date for the eruption of Mount Vesuvius is August  23 24 of 

A.D.

 66. 

No Comets for Domitian 

    Roman historians do not mention any comet sightings during the reign of the emperor Domitian. There are 

two reasons for this omission. First, according to Suetonius, Domitian disliked astrology and considered it to 

be false. He even executed an astrologer who had given an unfavorable prediction about him.

971

 Second, no 

comet sightings coincided with the end of his reign, neither in the usual nor in the revised chronology. The 

usual chronology has Domitian's reign from 

A.D.

 81 to 96. My revised chronology has Domitian's reign from 

A.D.

 68 to 82. The ancient astronomers have left us no record of any comet sightings from 

A.D.

 80    83, 

inclusive, nor from 

A.D.

 85 to 100, inclusive.

972

18.  Twelve Roman Emperors 

Julius Caesar (Sept. 53 

B.C.

 to Mar. 49 

B.C.

) 

    As argued above, Julius Caesar died on March 15 of 49 

B.C.

, not 44 

B.C.

 (the usual date). According to 

Josephus, Julius reigned for only 3 years and six months.

973

 He does not give the length of Julius' reign exact 

to the day, as he does for other emperors, so perhaps he did not know the exact start of Julius' reign. In any 

case, this places the start of Julius Caesar's reign in Sept. of 53 

B.C.

 (revised). 

208