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Titus

In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “elder son of the emperor vespasian and domitilla”. Today it says “roman emperor from ad 79 to 81”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since. Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now. 1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005

This is about the emperor of ancient Rome. Titus Titus Flavius Vespasianus ( December 30 , CE 39 – September 13 , 81 ) ruled the Roman Empire from 79 to 81 . Titus was the elder son of the emperor Vespasian and Domitilla. In 61 he was military tribune in Britannia . In 64 he returned to Rome and married Arrecina Tertulla, who died, and then Marcia Furnilla (one daughter, Julia Flavia ), whom he was forced to divorce. Titus accompanied Vespasian to the east in 67 to put down the Jewish Rebellion . In 69 , the Year of the Four Emperors , Vespasian returned to Rome to claim the throne, and left Titus behind to put down the rebellion, which he did in 70 with four legions. Jerusalem was sacked; the Temple was destroyed and much of the population was killed or dispersed. While in Jerusalem he also began a love affair with Berenice of Cilicia , sister of Herod Agrippa . He was awarded a triumph upon his return to Rome in 71 . The Triumphal Arch of Titus , which stands at one entrance to the Roman Forum , memorializes this triumph. He held various consulships under his father and also served as prefect of the Praetorian Guard , ensuring their loyalty to the emperor. These events were recorded in dramatic detail by the historian Josephus in his work The Jewish War . Titus succeeded his father in 79, although some Senators were opposed to his relationship with Berenice, whom they compared to a new Cleopatra . However, he was an effective emperor and was well-loved by the population. He stopped the treason trials and punished the delatores (public informants), and held expensive gladiatorial games. In addition to his arch, he also essentially completed the Colosseum , and built his namesake baths on the former site of Nero 's Domus Aurea . Titus was emperor during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 and the consequent destruction of life and property in the cities and resort communities around the Bay of Naples , such as Pompeii and Herculaneum . In 80 there was a fire in Rome ; Titus spent large amounts of money relieving victims of both the volcano and the fire. His reign also saw the rebellion led by Terentius Maximus , the False Nero . Titus, at Villa Albani, Rome, Italy After just two years, Titus died of a fever. He was deified by the Senate and was succeeded by his brother, Domitian . Titus's reputation has prospered in contrast to the character of Domitian, whose persecutions were detailed by the contemporary historian Tacitus . Had Titus lived long enough, he may have suffered from the same excesses as previous emperors; instead, he was used as a model by later emperors, especially those known as the Five Good Emperors .1

This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 15949537.
Today
In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “elder son of the emperor vespasian and domitilla”. Today it says “roman emperor from ad 79 to 81”. Read the current article and compare.
2005201020152020Oct '232025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.

What Wikipedia says this is

Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.

Then

elder son of the emperor vespasian and domitilla

Now

roman emperor from ad 79 to 81

Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.

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