text:
Titus

Titus Caesar Vespasianus (30 December 39 – 13 September AD 81) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, becoming the first Roman emperor to succeed his biological father.

Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a military commander, serving under his father in Judea during the First Jewish–Roman War. The campaign came to a brief halt with the death of emperor Nero in 68, launching Vespasian's bid for the imperial power during the Year of the Four Emperors. When Vespasian was declared Emperor on 1 July 69, Titus was left in charge of ending the Jewish rebellion. In 70, he besieged and captured Jerusalem, and destroyed the city and the Second Temple. For this achievement Titus was awarded a triumph; the Arch of Titus commemorates his victory and still stands today.

During his father's rule, Titus gained notoriety in Rome serving as prefect of the Praetorian Guard, and for carrying on a controversial relationship with the Jewish queen Berenice. Despite concerns over his character, Titus ruled to great acclaim following the death of Vespasian in 79, and was considered a good emperor by Suetonius and other contemporary historians.

As emperor, Titus is best known for completing the Colosseum and for his generosity in relieving the suffering caused by two disasters, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 and a fire in Rome in 80. After barely two years in office, Titus died of a fever on 13 September 81. He was deified by the Roman Senate and succeeded by his younger brother Domitian.

Early life
Titus was born in Rome, probably on 30 December 39 AD, as the eldest son of Titus Flavius Vespasianus, commonly known as Vespasian, and Domitilla the Elder. He had one younger sister, Domitilla the Younger (born 45), and one younger brother, Titus Flavius Domitianus (born 51), commonly referred to as Domitian.

Family background
Decades of civil war during the 1st century BC had contributed greatly to the demise of the old aristocracy of Rome, which was gradually replaced in prominence by a new Italian nobility during the early 1st century. One such family was the gens Flavia, which rose from relative obscurity to prominence in only four generations, acquiring wealth and status under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Titus's great-grandfather, Titus Flavius Petro, had served as a centurion under Pompey during Caesar's Civil War. His military career ended in disgrace when he fled the battlefield at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC.

Nevertheless, Petro managed to improve his status by marrying the extremely-wealthy Tertulla, whose fortune guaranteed the upwards mobility of Petro's son Titus Flavius Sabinus I, Titus's grandfather. Sabinus himself amassed further wealth and possible equestrian status through his services as tax collector in Asia and banker in Helvetia. By marrying Vespasia Polla, he allied himself to the more prestigious patrician gens Vespasia, ensuring the elevation of his sons Titus Flavius Sabinus II and Vespasian to the senatorial rank.

The political career of Vespasian included the offices of quaestor, aedile and praetor and culminated with a consulship in 51, the year Domitian was born. As a military commander, he gained early renown by participating in the Roman invasion of Britain in 43. What little is known of Titus's early life has been handed down by Suetonius, who recorded that he was brought up at the imperial court in the company of Britannicus, the son of Emperor Claudius, who would be murdered by Nero in 55.

The story was even told that Titus was reclining next to Britannicus on the night he was murdered and sipped of the poison that was handed to him. Further details on his education are scarce, but it seems he showed early promise in the military arts and was a skilled poet and orator both in Greek and Latin.

Adult life
From around 57 to 59 he was a military tribune in Germania. He also served in Britannia and perhaps arrived about 60 with reinforcements needed after the revolt of Boudica. About 63, he returned to Rome and married Arrecina Tertulla, daughter of Marcus Arrecinus Clemens, a former Prefect of the Praetorian Guard. She died about 65.

Titus then took a new wife of a much more distinguished family, Marcia Furnilla. However, Marcia's family was closely linked to the opposition to Nero. Her uncle Barea Soranus and his daughter Servilia were among those who perished after the failed Pisonian conspiracy of 65. Some modern historians theorise that Titus divorced his wife because of her family's connection to the conspiracy.

Titus never remarried and appears to have had multiple daughters, at least one of them by Marcia Furnilla. The only one known to have survived to adulthood was Julia Flavia, perhaps Titus's child by Arrecina, whose mother was also named Julia. During this period Titus also practiced law and attained the rank of quaestor.

Judaean campaigns

In 66, the Jews of the Judaea Province revolted against the Roman Empire. Cestius Gallus, the legate of Syria, was defeated at the battle of Beth-Horon and forced to retreat from Jerusalem. The pro-Roman King Agrippa II and his sister Berenice fled the city to Galilee, where they later gave themselves up to the Romans.

Nero appointed Vespasian to put down the rebellion, who was dispatched to the region at once with the Fifth Legion and Tenth Legion. He was later joined at Ptolemais by Titus with the Fifteenth Legion. With a strength of 60,000 professional soldiers, the Romans prepared to sweep across Galilee and march on Jerusalem.

The history of the war was covered in detail by the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus in his work The War of the Jews. Josephus served as a commander in the city of Yodfat when the Roman army invaded Galilee in 67. After an exhausting siege which lasted 47 days, the city fell, with an estimated 40,000 killed. Titus, however, was not simply set on ending the war.

Surviving one of several group suicides, Josephus surrendered to Vespasian and became a prisoner. He later wrote that he had provided the Romans with intelligence on the ongoing revolt. By 68, the entire coast and the north of Judaea were subjugated by the Roman Army, with decisive victories won at Taricheae and Gamala, where Titus distinguished himself as a skilled general.

Year of the Four Emperors

The last and most significant fortified city held by the Jewish resistance was Jerusalem. The campaign came to a sudden halt when news arrived of Nero's death. Almost simultaneously, the Roman Senate had declared Galba, the governor of Hispania, as emperor. Vespasian decided to await further orders and sent Titus to greet the new princeps.

Before reaching Italy, Titus learnt that Galba had been murdered and replaced by Otho, the governor of Lusitania, and that Vitellius and his armies in Germania were preparing to march on the capital, intent on overthrowing Otho. Not wanting to risk being taken hostage by one side or the other, he abandoned the journey to Rome and rejoined his father in Judaea. Meanwhile, Otho was defeated in the First Battle of Bedriacum and committed suicide.

When the news reached the armies in Judaea and Ægyptus, they took matters into their own hands and declared Vespasian emperor on 1 July 69. Vespasian accepted and, after negotiations by Titus, joined forces with Gaius Licinius Mucianus, governor of Syria. A strong force drawn from the Judaean and Syrian legions marched on Rome under the command of Mucianus, and Vespasian travelled to Alexandria, leaving Titus in charge to end the Jewish rebellion. By the end of 69, the forces of Vitellius had been beaten, and Vespasian was officially declared emperor by the Senate on 21 December, thus ending the Year of the Four Emperors.

Siege of Jerusalem
Meanwhile, the Jews had become embroiled in a civil war of their own by splitting the resistance in Jerusalem among several factions. The Sicarii, led by Menahem ben Judah, could hold on for long; the Zealots, led by Eleazar ben Simon, eventually fell under the command of the Galilean leader John of Gush Halav; and the other northern rebel commander, Simon Bar Giora, managed to gain leadership over the Idumeans. Titus besieged Jerusalem. The Roman Army was joined by the Twelfth Legion, which had been previously defeated under Cestius Gallus, and from Alexandria, Vespasian sent Tiberius Julius Alexander, governor of Egypt, to act as Titus' second in command.

Titus surrounded the city with three legions (Vth, XIIth and XVth) on the western side and one (Xth) on the Mount of Olives to the east. He put pressure on the food and water supplies of the inhabitants by allowing pilgrims to enter the city to celebrate Passover and then refusing them egress. Jewish raids continuously harassed the Roman Army, one of which nearly resulted in Titus being captured.

After attempts by Josephus to negotiate a surrender had failed, the Romans resumed hostilities and quickly breached the first and second walls of the city. To intimidate the resistance, Titus ordered deserters from the Jewish side to be crucified around the city wall. By that time the Jews had been exhausted by famine, and when the weak third wall was breached, bitter street fighting ensued.

The Romans finally captured the Antonia Fortress and began a frontal assault on the gates of the Second Temple. As they breached the gate, the Romans set the upper and lower city aflame, culminating with the destruction of the Temple. When the fires subsided, Titus gave the order to destroy the remainder of the city, allegedly intending that no one would remember the name Jerusalem. The Temple was demolished, Titus's soldiers proclaimed him imperator in honour of the victory.

Jerusalem was sacked and much of the population killed or dispersed. Josephus claims that 1,100,000 people were killed during the siege, most of whom were Jewish. Josephus's death toll assumptions are rejected as impossible by modern scholarship since about a million people then lived in the Land of Israel, half of them Jewish, and sizable Jewish populations remained in the area after the war was over, even in the hard-hit region of Judea. However, 97,000 were captured and enslaved, including Simon Bar-Giora and John of Gischala. Many fled to areas around the Mediterranean Sea. Titus reportedly refused to accept a wreath of victory, as he claimed that he had not won the victory on his own but had been the vehicle through which their God had manifested his wrath against his people.

The Jewish diaspora during the Temple's destruction, according to Josephus, was in Parthia (Persia), Babylonia (Iraq), and Arabia, and some were beyond the Euphrates and in Adiabene (Kurdistan).

Heir to Vespasian

Unable to sail to Italy during the winter, Titus celebrated elaborate games at Caesarea Maritima and Berytus and then travelled to Zeugma on the Euphrates, where he was presented with a crown by Vologases I of Parthia. While he was visiting Antioch, he confirmed the traditional rights of the Jews in that city.

On his way to Alexandria, he stopped in Memphis to consecrate the sacred bull Apis. According to Suetonius, that caused consternation since the ceremony required Titus to wear a diadem, which the Romans associated with monarchy, and the partisanship of Titus's legions had already led to fears that he might rebel against his father. Titus returned quickly to Rome in the hope, according to Suetonius, of allaying any suspicions about his conduct.

Upon his arrival in Rome in 71, Titus was awarded a triumph. Accompanied by Vespasian and Domitian, Titus rode into the city, enthusiastically saluted by the Roman populace and preceded by a lavish parade containing treasures and captives from the war. Josephus describes a procession with large amounts of gold and silver carried along the route, followed by elaborate re-enactments of the war, Jewish prisoners and finally the treasures taken from the Temple of Jerusalem, including the Menorah and the Pentateuch. Simon Bar Giora was executed in the Forum, and the procession closed with religious sacrifices at the Temple of Jupiter. The triumphal Arch of Titus, which stands at one entrance to the Forum, memorialises the victory of Titus.

With Vespasian declared emperor, Titus and his brother Domitian received the title of Caesar from the Senate. In addition to sharing tribunician power with his father, Titus held seven consulships during Vespasian's reign and acted as his secretary, appearing in the Senate on his behalf. More crucially, he was appointed Praetorian prefect (commander of the Praetorian Guard), ensuring its loyalty to the emperor and further solidifying Vespasian's position as a legitimate ruler.

In that capacity, Titus achieved considerable notoriety in Rome for his violent actions, frequently ordering the execution of suspected traitors on the spot. When in 79, a plot by Aulus Caecina Alienus and Eprius Marcellus to overthrow Vespasian was uncovered, Titus invited Alienus to dinner and ordered him to be stabbed before he had even left the room.

During the Jewish Wars, Titus had begun a love affair with Berenice, the sister of Agrippa II. The Herodians had collaborated with the Romans during the rebellion, and Berenice herself had supported Vespasian in his campaign to become emperor. In 75, she returned to Titus and openly lived with him in the palace as his promised wife. The Romans were wary of the eastern queen and disapproved of their relationship. When the pair was publicly denounced by Cynics in the theatre, Titus acceded to the pressure and sent her away, but his reputation suffered further regardless.

Succession

Vespasian died of an infection on 23 or 24 June 79 AD, and was immediately succeeded by his son Titus. He was the first Roman emperor to come to the throne after his own biological father. As Pharaoh of Egypt, Titus adopted the titulary Autokrator Titos Kaisaros Hununefer Benermerut (“Emperor Titus Caesar, the perfect and popular youth”). Because of his many (alleged) vices, many Romans feared that he would be another Nero. Against those expectations, however, Titus proved to be an effective emperor and was well loved by the population, who praised him highly when they found that he possessed the greatest virtues, instead of vices.

One of his first acts as emperor was to order a halt to trials based on treason charges, which had long plagued the principate. The law of treason, or law of majestas, was originally intended to prosecute those who had corruptly "impaired the people and majesty of Rome" by any revolutionary action. Under Augustus, however, that custom had been revived and applied to cover slander and libel as well. This led to numerous trials and executions under Tiberius, Caligula, and Nero, and the formation of networks of informers (delators), which terrorised Rome's political system for decades.

Titus put an end to that practice against himself or anyone else and declared:

"It is impossible for me to be insulted or abused in any way. For I do naught that deserves censure, and I care not for what is reported falsely. As for the emperors who are dead and gone, they will avenge themselves in case anyone does them a wrong, if in very truth they are demigods and possess any power."

Consequently, no senators were put to death during his reign; he thus kept to his promise that he would assume the office of Pontifex Maximus "for the purpose of keeping his hands unstained". Informants were publicly punished and banished from the city. Titus further prevented abuses by making it unlawful for a person to be tried under different laws for the same offense. Finally, when Berenice returned to Rome, he sent her away.

As emperor, he became known for his generosity, and Suetonius states that upon realising he had brought no benefit to anyone during a whole day he remarked, "Friends, I have lost a day".

Challenges
Although Titus's brief reign was marked by a relative absence of major military or political conflicts, he faced a number of major disasters. A few months after his accession, Mount Vesuvius erupted. The eruption almost completely destroyed the cities and resort communities around the Bay of Naples. The cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were buried under metres of stone and ash, killing thousands. Titus appointed two ex-consuls to organise and coordinate the relief effort and personally donated large amounts of money from the imperial treasury to aid the victims of the volcano. Additionally, he visited Pompeii once after the eruption and again the following year.

During the second visit, in spring of 80, a fire broke out in Rome and burned large parts of the city for three days and three nights. Although the extent of the damage was not as disastrous as during the Great Fire of 64 and crucially spared the many districts of insulae, Cassius Dio records a long list of important public buildings that were destroyed, including Agrippa's Pantheon, the Temple of Jupiter, the Diribitorium, parts of the Theatre of Pompey, and the Saepta Julia among others. Once again, Titus personally compensated for the damaged regions. According to Suetonius, a plague also broke out during the fire. The nature of the disease, however, and the death toll are unknown.

Meanwhile, war had resumed in Britannia, where Gnaeus Julius Agricola pushed further into Caledonia and managed to establish several forts there. As a result of his actions, Titus received the title of imperator for the fifteenth time, between 9 September and 31 December 79 AD.

His reign also saw the rebellion led by Terentius Maximus, one of several false Neros who appeared throughout the 70s. Although Nero was primarily known as a universally-hated tyrant, there is evidence that for much of his reign, he remained highly popular in the eastern provinces. Reports that Nero had survived his overthrow were fuelled by the confusing circumstances of his death and several prophecies foretelling his return.

According to Cassius Dio, Terentius Maximus resembled Nero in voice and appearance and, like him, sang to the lyre. Terentius established a following in Asia Minor but was soon forced to flee beyond the Euphrates and took refuge with the Parthians. In addition, sources state that Titus discovered that his brother Domitian was plotting against him but refused to have him killed or banished.

Public works

Construction of the Flavian Amphitheatre, now better known as the Colosseum, was begun in 70 under Vespasian and was finally completed in 80 under Titus. In addition to providing spectacular entertainments to the Roman populace, the building was also conceived as a gigantic triumphal monument to commemorate the military achievements of the Flavians during the Jewish Wars.

The inaugural games lasted for a hundred days and were said to be extremely elaborate, including gladiatorial combat, fights between wild animals (elephants and cranes), mock naval battles for which the theatre was flooded, horse races and chariot races. During the games, wooden balls were dropped into the audience, inscribed with various prizes (clothing, gold or even slaves), which could then be traded for the designated item.

Adjacent to the amphitheatre, within the precinct of Nero's Golden House, Titus had also ordered the construction of a new public bath house, the Baths of Titus. Construction of the building was hastily finished to coincide with the completion of the Flavian Amphitheatre.

Practice of the imperial cult was revived by Titus, but apparently, it met with some difficulty since Vespasian was not deified until six months after his death. To honour and glorify the Flavian dynasty further, foundations were laid for what would later become the Temple of Vespasian and Titus, which was finished by Domitian.

Death
At the closing of the games, Titus officially dedicated the amphitheatre and the baths in what was his final recorded act as Emperor. He set out for the Sabine territories but fell ill at the first posting station where he died of a fever, reportedly in the same farmhouse as his father. Allegedly, the last words he uttered before passing away were "I have made but one mistake".

Titus had ruled the Roman Empire for just over two years: from the death of his father in 79 to his own on 13 September 81. He was succeeded by Domitian, whose first act as emperor was to deify his brother.

Historians have speculated on the exact nature of his death and to which mistake Titus alluded in his final words. Philostratus wrote that he was poisoned by Domitian with a sea hare (Aplysia depilans) and that his death had been foretold to him by Apollonius of Tyana. Suetonius and Cassius Dio maintain that he died of natural causes, but both accuse Domitian of having left the ailing Titus for dead. Consequently, Dio believed the mistake to refer to not having Titus's brother executed when he was found to be openly plotting against him.

The Babylonian Talmud (Gittin 56b) attributes Titus's death to an insect that flew into his nose and picked at his brain for seven years in a repetition of another legend referring to the biblical King Nimrod. According to Rabbinic literature, Titus was a descendant of Esau and dared to challenge the Lord. Jewish tradition says that Titus was plagued by God for destroying the second Temple and died as a result of a gnat going up his nose, causing a large growth inside of his brain that killed him. A story is recorded in which Onkelos, a nephew of the Roman emperor Titus who destroyed the Second Temple, intent on converting to Judaism, summons up spirits to help make up his mind. Each describes his punishment in the afterlife."Onkelos son of Kolonikos ... went and raised Titus from the dead by magical arts, and asked him; 'Who is most in repute in the [other] world? He replied: Israel. What then, he said, about joining them? He said: Their observances are burdensome and you will not be able to carry them out. Go and attack them in that world and you will be at the top as it is written, Her adversaries are become the head etc.; whoever harasses Israel becomes head. He asked him: What is your punishment [in the other world]? He replied: What I decreed for myself. Every day my ashes are collected and sentence is passed on me and I am burnt and my ashes are scattered over the seven seas..."

Historiography
Titus's record among ancient historians stands as one of the most exemplary of any emperor. All surviving accounts from the period, many of them written by his own 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 first-hand eyewitness account of the Jewish rebellion and the character of Titus. The neutrality of Josephus's writings has come into question, however, as he was heavily indebted to the Flavians. In 71, he arrived in Rome in the entourage of Titus, became a Roman citizen and took on the Roman nomen Flavius and praenomen Titus from his patrons. He received an annual pension and lived in the palace.

It was in Rome and under Flavian patronage that Josephus wrote all of his known works. The War of the Jews is heavily slanted against the leaders of the revolt by portraying the rebellion as weak and unorganised and even blaming the Jews for causing the war. His credibility as a historian later came under fire.

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. 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 reign entirely lost.

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 and in short describing him as follows:

"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."

Finally, Cassius Dio wrote his 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:

"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."

Pliny the Elder, who later died during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, dedicated his Naturalis Historia to Titus.

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. For example, one legend in the Babylonian Talmud describes Titus as having had sex with a prostitute on a Torah scroll inside the Temple during its destruction.

In later arts
The war in Judaea and the life of Titus, particularly his relationship with Berenice, have inspired writers and artists through the centuries. The bas-relief in the Arch of Titus has been influential in the depiction of the destruction of Jerusalem, with the Menorah frequently being used to symbolise the looting of the Second Temple.

Literature

 * The early mediaeval Christian text Vindicta Salvatoris anachronistically portrays Titus as Roman client-king of Libya, north of Judah.
 * Bérénice, a play by Jean Racine (1670), which focuses on the love affair between Titus and Berenice.
 * Tite et Bérénice, a play by Pierre Corneille, which was in competition with Racine the same year and concerns the same subject matter.
 * Titus and Berenice, a 1676 play by Thomas Otway
 * La clemenza di Tito, an opera by Mozart, which centres around a plot to kill Emperor Titus instigated by Vitellia, the daughter of Vitellius, to gain what she believes to be her rightful place as Queen.
 * The Josephus Trilogy, novels by Lion Feuchtwanger, about the life of Flavius Josephus and his relation with the Flavian dynasty.
 * Der jüdische Krieg (Josephus), 1932
 * Die Söhne (The Jews of Rome), 1935
 * Der Tag wird kommen (The day will come, Josephus and the Emperor), 1942
 * The Marcus Didius Falco novels, which take place during the reign of Vespasian.
 * Titus figures prominently in "The Pearl-Maiden", a novel by H. Rider Haggard, first published in 1901.

Paintings and visual arts

 * The Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus by Wilhelm von Kaulbach (1846). Oil on canvas, 585 x 705 cm. Neue Pinakothek, Munich. An allegorical depiction of the destruction of Jerusalem, dramatically centered around the figure of Titus.
 * The Destruction and Sack of the Temple of Jerusalem  by Nicolas Poussin (1626). Oil on canvas, 145.8 x 194 cm. Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Depicts the destruction and looting of the Second Temple by the Roman army led by Titus.
 * The Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem by Francesco Hayez (1867). Oil on canvas, 183 x 252 cm. Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Venice. Depicts the destruction and looting of the Second Temple by the Roman army.
 * The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans Under the Command of Titus, A.D. 70 by David Roberts (1850). Oil on canvas, 136 x 197 cm. Private collection. Depicts the burning and looting of Jerusalem by the Roman army under Titus.
 * The Triumph of Titus and Vespasian by Giulio Romano (1540). Oil on wood, 170 x 120 cm. Louvre, Paris. Depicts Titus and Vespasian as they ride into Rome on a triumphal chariot, preceded by a parade carrying spoils from the war in Judaea. The painting anachronistically features the Arch of Titus, which was not completed until the reign of Domitian.
 * The Triumph of Titus by Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1885). Oil on canvas. Private collection. This painting depicts the triumphal procession of Titus and his family. Alma-Tadema was known for his meticulous historical research on the ancient world. Vespasian, dressed as Pontifex Maximus, walks at the head of his family, followed by Domitian and his first wife Domitia Longina, who he had only recently married. Behind Domitian follows Titus, dressed in religious regalia. An exchange of glances between Titus and Domitia suggests an affair which historians have speculated upon.
 * Rear Panel of the Franks Casket. Northumbrian, early 8th century. Whale's bone carving with Anglo-Saxon runic inscription, 22.9 x 19 cm. British Museum, London. Titus leads Roman army into Jerusalem and captures Temple. Inhabitants flee into exile, judgement is passed on offenders, and captives are led away.

Secondary material

 * Coinage of Titus at Wildwinds.com
 * A private collection of coins minted by Titus
 * Biography of Titus at roman-emperors.org
 * Wayback Machine (Austin Simmons, The Cipherment of the Franks Casket) Titus is twice depicted on the back side of the Franks Casket.

title: Titus


text:
Superhighway

Superhighway can refer to:

 * Information superhighway, a term for the internet
 * Highways designed for high-speed traffic
 * Controlled-access highway, a highway with all cross-traffic grade separated

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Superhighway


text:
North Brabant

North Brabant (Noord-Brabant ; Broabant ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the west, and the Flemish provinces of Antwerp and Limburg to the south. The northern border follows the Meuse westward to its mouth in the Hollands Diep strait, part of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. North Brabant had a population of about 2,626,000 as of January 2023. Major cities in North Brabant are Eindhoven (pop. 231,642 ), Tilburg (pop. 217,259), Breda (pop. 183,873), its provincial capital 's-Hertogenbosch (pop. 154,205), and Helmond (pop. 94,967)

History
The Duchy of Brabant was a state of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183 or 1190. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries, part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1482, until it was split up after the Dutch revolt. After the War of Independence, Catholics in the Southern Netherlands were systematically and officially discriminated against by the Northern Protestant government until the second half of the 19th century, which had a major influence on the economic and cultural development of the southern part of the Netherlands.

Present-day North Brabant (Staats-Brabant) was adjudicated to the Generality Lands of the Dutch Republic according to the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, while the reduced duchy remained in existence with the Southern Netherlands until it was conquered by French Revolutionary forces in 1794.

Until the 17th century, the area that now makes up the province of North Brabant was mostly part of the Duchy of Brabant, of which the southern part is now in Belgium. During the 14th and 15th centuries, the area experienced a golden age—especially the now-Belgian cities of Brussels, Mechelen, Leuven and Antwerp, and the Dutch cities of Breda, Bergen op Zoom and 's-Hertogenbosch.

After the Union of Utrecht was signed in 1579, Brabant became a battlefield between the Protestant Dutch Republic and Catholic Spain, which occupied the southern Netherlands. As a result of the Peace of Westphalia, the northern part of Brabant became part of the Netherlands as the territory of Staats-Brabant (Statal Brabant) under federal rule, in contrast to the founding provinces of the Dutch Republic, which were self-governing.

Attempts to introduce Protestantism into the region were largely unsuccessful; North Brabant remained strongly Catholic. For over a century, North Brabant served mainly as a military buffer zone. In 1796, when the confederate Dutch Republic became the unitary Batavian Republic, Staats-Brabant became a province as Bataafs Brabant. This status ended with the reorganisation by the invading French, and the area was united into the département of Deux-Nèthes (present province of Antwerp).

In 1815, Belgium and the Netherlands were united in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the province of North Brabant was established and so named to distinguish it from Central Brabant and South Brabant in present-day Belgium, which seceded from the Kingdom in 1830. This boundary between the Netherlands and Belgium is special in that it does not form a contiguous line, but leaves a handful of tiny enclaves (and enclaves inside enclaves) on both sides of the border. In fact, the Dutch government generally used the pre-Napoleonic borders in 1815 to divide its provinces, in hommage to the principle of Restoration. A few of these irregularities were corrected (Luyksgestel was exchanged for Lommel), Huijbergen became totally Dutch, but some remain, notably Baarle-Hertog (Belgian) and Baarle-Nassau (Dutch).

When the present province was instituted, its territory was expanded with a part of the province of Holland and the former territory of Ravenstein, which had previously belonged to the Duchy of Cleves, as well as several small, formerly autonomous entities.

In World War II the area was liberated by the allies during Operation Pheasant between October 20 to November 4, 1944.

The period from 1900 until the late 1960s is called Het Rijke Roomse Leven (translated as 'the rich Roman life', with 'Roman' meaning 'Roman Catholic'), an era of strong religious belief. Het Rijke Roomse Leven came about as result of the emancipatory drive of the province's disadvantaged Catholic population and was supported by a Roman Catholic pillar, which was directed by the clergy, and not only encompassed churches, but also Roman Catholic schools and hospitals, which were run by nuns and friars. In those days every village in North Brabant had a convent from which the nuns operated. Politically, the province was dominated by Catholic parties: the Roman Catholic State Party and its post-war successor, the Catholic People's Party, which often held around 75% of the vote.

In the 1960s secularisation and the actual emancipation of the Catholic population brought about the gradual dissolution of the Catholic pillar, as church attendance decreased in North Brabant as elsewhere in Western Europe. The influence of Het Rijke Roomse Leven (The Rich Roman [Catholic] Life) remains in the form of education where some schools are still Roman Catholic (today run by professional teachers and not by nuns) and in North Brabant's culture, politics, mentality and customs, such as carnival.

The interpretation of the Roman Catholic identity in North Brabant has shifted during the last 65 years from religious to cultural, but the province still has a distinct Catholic atmosphere when compared to the provinces north of the major rivers. A cultural divide is still found between the "Catholic" south and the "Protestant" north, but with a total of 1.5 million people and 20% of the industrial production in the Netherlands the southern "Catholic" area BrabantStad has become one of the major economically important, metropolitan regions of the Netherlands. As of 2010, Catholics were no longer a majority of the population in the province of North Brabant. Only 1–2% of the total population of the Catholic area attend mass, and these churchgoers consist mostly of people over 65 years old.

Geography
With a population density of 501/km2, North Brabant is above average urbanized. The urbanization is at the center of the province at largest, where the 'kite' (the Brabantse Stedenrij Breda, Tilburg, Eindhoven and 's-Hertogenbosch) is located, the rest of the province has a more rural character. The province has preserved some of its scenic nature well. National parks are found at the Loonse and Drunen Dunes, De Biesbosch and De De Groote Peel, on the marshes of the Meierij at Oisterwijk and Boxtel (within an area called Het Groene Woud), the border park Zoom-Kalmthoutse Heide, and in the forested area around Breda. Also, south of Eindhoven named De Kempen is an area with farmlands and forests. In Heeze, also south of Eindhoven, are the heath areas the Groote Heide (333 ha) and Strabrechtse Heath (1500 ha) located. The Strabrechtse Heide holds also the largest fen of the Netherlands. The Beuven (Beu fen) measures 85 hectares.

Like most of the Netherlands, North Brabant is mostly flat but nearly every part of North Brabant is above sea level; therefore, there are not as many canals as in the lower parts of The Netherlands. Although most of the population lives in urban areas, the province is scattered with villages around which most of the land is cultivated.

National Parks in North Brabant are:
 * De Biesbosch; National Park;	North Brabant / South Holland;	7.100 ha;	1994
 * De Zoom-Kalmthoutse Heide; Cross-Border Park;	North Brabant / Antwerp (Belgium);	3.750 ha;	2001
 * De Loonse en Drunense Duinen; National Park;	North Brabant;	3.400 ha;	2002
 * De Grote Peel; National Park; 	North Brabant / Limburg;	1.340 ha;	1993

De Biesbosch
The Biesbosch (from bies, "rushes", and bosch, "woodland") is an area southeast of Dordrecht formed when the dike on the Meuse burst and the St. Elizabeth's floods on 19 November 1421 engulfed great tracts of land in the southwestern Netherlands and altered the geography of the whole area, inundating over 40,000 hectares (100,000 acres) of land. More than four-fifths of the flooded land has been reclaimed since the 18th century. An area of 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres) was left as it was, and now forms the Biesbosch nature reserve and bird sanctuary. Until the end of the 1960s the Biesbosch was directly connected with the sea and subject to changing tide levels. As a result, it developed a flora which tolerated brackish water and was the home of numerous waterfowl. Since the damming of the Haringvliet there is no variation in water level, and both flora and fauna have adapted to the new environment. The Biesbosch is crisscrossed by a network of footpaths and bike paths and by rivers and streams which offer facilities for water sports (sailing, surfing). In spite of the large numbers of visitors the natural environment has remained largely unspoiled. The Biesbosch nature reserve can be reached by car only from the east (preferably via Werkendam). The southwest part of the area, with its three large reservoirs of drinking water, is closed to road traffic. The Biesbosch can also be reached by boat from Drimmelen, Geertruidenberg or Lage Zwaluwe.

De Kempen
The historical region of Kempen occupies the southern part of the province of Noord-Brabant and extends south of Eindhoven far into northern Belgium. To the east it reaches as far as the Meuse valley. The surface topography of De Kempen is very uniform. Most of it lies between 5 m (15 ft) and 35 m (115 ft) above sea level. The basement rocks are Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments, which are overlaid by Ice Age gravels and sands carried here by rivers of melt-water from the retreating glaciers. It is a typical area of sandy heathland. The infertile soil is suitable only for undemanding crops such as rye, oats, potatoes and fodder plants; this limits the profitability of agriculture. Until a few decades ago Kempen was a region of heathland and sand drifts with a sparse growth of pines, a few scattered villages subsisting on the poor soil and some small towns; and this is still the pattern in much of the region. In recent years, however, the rapid advance of industry has brought about profound changes in this agricultural region. The origins of this industrial development go back 70–100 years. The main concentrations of industry are along the southern frontier of the Netherlands, e.g., at Eindhoven, Helmond, Tilburg, Breda, 's-Hertogenbosch.

De Peel
In the east of Noord-Brabant, near the Limburgish border, is the Peel area, an expanse of moorland extending from Eindhoven to Venlo, on the border with Limburg. Southeast of Asten is a nature reserve (1,300 hectares (3,250 acres); visitor center at Ospeldijk) which has escaped destruction by peat cutting. Mostly boggy, it will appeal to nature lovers with its interesting flora and fauna. Apart from this small area almost the whole of the Peel has been brought into cultivation.

Rivers and deltas
The province is bordered by the river Meuse in the north. Its delta flows through De Biesbosch area, a national park.

Municipalities
North Brabant has been divided into 56 municipalities since 2022. Traditionally, almost every town was a separate municipality, but their number was reduced greatly in the 1990s by incorporating smaller towns into neighbouring cities or by other mergers. The municipalities in North Brabant are:

 * West North Brabant COPOR group
 * Bergen op Zoom
 * Breda
 * Drimmelen
 * Etten-Leur
 * Geertruidenberg
 * Halderberge
 * Moerdijk
 * Oosterhout
 * Roosendaal
 * Rucphen
 * Steenbergen
 * Woensdrecht
 * Zundert

 * Mid North Brabant COPOR group
 * Alphen-Chaam
 * Altena
 * Baarle-Nassau
 * Dongen
 * Gilze en Rijen
 * Goirle
 * Hilvarenbeek
 * Loon op Zand
 * Oisterwijk
 * Tilburg
 * Waalwijk

 * North East North Brabant COPOR group
 * Bernheze
 * Boekel
 * Boxtel
 * 's-Hertogenbosch
 * Heusden
 * Land van Cuijk
 * Maashorst
 * Meierijstad
 * Oss
 * Sint-Michielsgestel
 * Vught

 * South East Brabant COPOR group
 * Asten
 * Bergeijk
 * Best
 * Bladel
 * Cranendonck
 * Deurne
 * Eersel
 * Eindhoven
 * Geldrop-Mierlo
 * Gemert-Bakel
 * Heeze-Leende
 * Helmond
 * Laarbeek
 * Nuenen, Gerwen en Nederwetten
 * Oirschot
 * Reusel-De Mierden
 * Someren
 * Son en Breugel
 * Valkenswaard
 * Veldhoven
 * Waalre

Municipal reclassifications
The following municipal reclassifications took place in the 21st century:

On 1 January 2003 the municipality of Ravenstein merged into the existing municipality of Oss. On 1 January 2004 the municipalities of Geldrop and Mierlo merged into a new municipality called Geldrop-Mierlo. On 1 January 2011 the municipality of Lith merged into the existing municipality of Oss. On 1 January 2015 the municipality of Maasdonk merged into the existing municipalities of 's-Hertogenbosch and Oss. On 1 January 2017 the municipalities of Veghel, Schijndel, and Sint-Oedenrode merged into a new municipality called Meierijstad, creating the largest municipality of the province of North Brabant in terms of land area.  On 1 January 2019 the municipalities of Aalburg, Werkendam, and Woudrichem merged into a new municipality called Altena, an even larger municipality in terms of land area. On 1 January 2021 the municipality of Haaren merged into the existing municipalities of Boxtel, Oisterwijk, Tilburg, and Vught. On 1 January 2022 the municipalities of Landerd and Uden merged into the new municipality of Maashorst, and the municipalities of Boxmeer, Cuijk, Grave, Mill en Sint Hubert, and Sint Anthonis merged into the new municipality of Land van Cuijk.

Economy
The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 116.1 billion € in 2018, accounting for 15.0% of the Netherlands economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €39,900 or 132% of the EU27 average in the same year.

Employment is found in the agricultural, industrial and service sectors, with agricultural and food processing companies such as Agrifirm, Bavaria, FrieslandCampina, Mars Incorporated, Nutreco, Royal Canin all having large production sites or their headquarters located in the province. The main agricultural products are sweetcorn, wheat and sugar beet, while cows and pigs are held as livestock.

An important economical activity is electronics industry, which developed as a spin-off from Philips. Several companies originated from Philips, such as Signify (formerly Philips Lighting), NXP (producer of semiconductors), and the world's largest supplier of photolithography systems, ASML. There are eight 'innovation campusses' in North Brabant, including the High Tech Campus Eindhoven. In 2017, Brabantian companies applied for 3655 patents, earning a spot in the regional top 5 in Europe.

Other important industries are automobile production (e.g. General Motors in Breda, Tesla in Tilburg) and DAF in Eindhoven, textile and shoes.

In the 20th century, tourism has become an important sector for North Brabant. A tourist attraction is theme park Efteling in Kaatsheuvel, the largest of the Benelux.

Safaripark Beekse Bergen is an Safaripark located between Tilburg and Hilvarenbeek. In terms of area, it is the largest Safaripark in the Benelux. More than 150 animal species are kept, ranging from small mammals to large birds. It is best known for its diversity. You can explore the park on foot, by boat, bus or with your own car.

BrabantStad is a partnership between the municipalities of Breda, Eindhoven, Helmond, 's-Hertogenbosch and Tilburg and the province of North Brabant. According to national rules, BrabantStad is defined as the area of Eindhoven, 's-Hertogenbosch and Tilburg.

Language
Brabantian is not a minority language in the Netherlands. It can be divided in two main dialects: East Brabantian and. Along with the Hollandic dialects it is one of the two most spoken versions of Dutch. Brabantian has, as compared to the other main Dutch dialects, had a big influence on the development of Standard Dutch. This is because Brabant was the dominant region in the Netherlands when the standardization of Dutch started in the 16th century. The first major formation of standard Dutch also took place in Antwerp, where a Brabantian dialect is spoken. The default language having been developed around this time, it therefore had mainly Brabantian influences. The early modern Dutch written language was initially influenced primarily by Brabantian, with strong influence from Hollandic emerging after the 16th century. Since the Brabantian dialect has developed faster than 16th- and 17th-century Dutch, it has become more diverse than modern Standard Dutch but is still quite similar and very understandable. About one third of the Dutch-speaking population lives in the Brabantian dialect zone. Both in large Brabantian towns such as Breda and Eindhoven and in rural areas many people still speak the original dialect or colloquial Dutch with a typical "southern" tongue. Tilburg and 's-Hertogenbosch have a large number of people speaking the Brabantian dialect.

Culture
There are many museums, especially in the larger towns which include the North Brabant Museum in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, the Museum of the Image in Breda, Noordbrabants Natuurmuseum in Tilburg. Also a few towns have a large theater like the Chassé Theater in Breda and the Eindhoven Park Theatre. Large, reputable music venues like the 013 in Tilburg, which boasts the largest space of music venues in the Netherlands, and the Effenaar in Eindhoven offer concerts by major artists. Smaller venues like Mezz Breda, W2 Concert in 's-Hertogenbosch and the smaller halls of the 013 and the Effenaar offer concerts by emerging artists and bigger names in an intimate setting.

Events
Some yearly cultural events in North Brabant are:
 * Carnaval, (February)
 * Koningsdag, national day (27 April)
 * Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, international school festival (October)
 * GLOW Festival Eindhoven in Eindhoven, (November)
 * STRP Festival, art & technology festival in Eindhoven (March)
 * Breda Jazz Festival in Breda (May / June)
 * Redhead Day (Roodharigendag) in Breda (first weekend of September)
 * Incubate in Tilburg (September)
 * Roadburn Festival in Tilburg (April)
 * Tilburgse Kermis in Tilburg since 1567 (July)
 * Equestrian event Indoor Brabant, (Dressage and Show jumping) in 's-Hertogenbosch (March)
 * International Vocal Competition 's-Hertogenbosch (September)
 * Jazz in Duketown in 's-Hertogenbosch (June)
 * Art & Antiques Fair 's-Hertogenbosch (April)
 * Erasmusfestival (Even years) in 's-Hertogenbosch (Fall)
 * Jazz in Catstown in Helmond (June)
 * Kasteeltuinconcerten (Castle Garden Concerts) in Helmond (July, August)
 * Extrema Outdoor in Best (July)
 * Paaspop in Schijndel (April)
 * Mosh meeting in Roosendaal (March)
 * Monsters of Mariaheide in Veghel (February)

Museums
List of museums in North Brabant

Museums of the main cities:
 * 's-Hertogenbosch
 * Museum Quarter
 * Noordbrabants Museum (History and art)
 * Design Museum Den Bosch
 * Southern waterline locations
 * Kruithuis (Fortress Museum)
 * Bastionder (information center fortifications)
 * Bolwerk St. Jan (information center Stronghold and Citygate)
 * Fort Orthen, Fort Isabella and the Citadel (Historic Fortresses)
 * Maurick Castle
 * Zwanenbroedershuis (Historical Brotherhood Museum)
 * Huize de Loet (Brabantian Mansion Museum)
 * Sint-Jansmuseum (Historical and Architectural Museum)
 * Het Oeteldonks Gemintemuzejum (carnaval museum)
 * Jheronimus Bosch Art Center
 * Museum Slager (Museum in honor of the Artist Family)
 * Museum Hertogsgemaal (Archaeological and Paleontological Museum)
 * Museum Gemaal Caners (Watermanagement Museum)
 * Herzogenbusch/Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught WW-II concentration camp (actually in Vught)
 * Geniemuseum (actually in Vught)
 * Vughts Museum (actually in Vught)

 * Eindhoven:
 * There are two museums dedicated to the major topics of the city's industrial heritage: the DAF Museum has a collection of DAF cars, trucks and buses, and the Philips Museum documents the company history of electronics giant Philips and incorporates a 1891 lightbulb workshop.
 * The Designhuis, a public podium and interaction area for modern design and innovation in the former district court house.
 * The Eindhoven Museum, an archaeological open-air museum which focuses on the region's Iron Age and Middle Ages. It merged in 2011 with Museum Kempenland which was a regional museum, which documents the history of the Kempenland region in objects, documents, paint and educational activities. Museum Kempenland's old location, the Steentjeskerk, is closed.
 * Inkijkmuseum ("Look-In museum"; housed in an old linen factory in the Dommelstraat) is a small but special museum: it offers ever-changing exhibits, which are to be viewed through the building's windows.
 * The Van Abbemuseum has a collection of modern and contemporary art, including works by Picasso, Kandinsky, Mondriaan, and Chagall.
 * Wings of Liberation Museum / Bevrijdende Vleugels documents the liberation of the southern Netherlands

 * Breda:
 * Stedelijk Museum Breda, resulting from a 2017 merger of the Breda's Museum and the MOTI (Museum of the Image)
 * Begijnhof Breda Museum
 * General Maczek Museum
 * Beer Commercial Museum
 * NAC Museum (football)
 * Local History Museum / Heemkunde Museum Paulus van Daesdonck
 * Museum Oorlog & Vrede (War and Peace Museum)
 * Stichting Princenhaags Museum

 * Tilburg:
 * Museum of Modern Art – De Pont Foundation
 * Nature museum Brabant
 * Textile Museum
 * Museum of Charity
 * Museum brewery de Roos Hilvarenbeek
 * Museum the Town doctor Hilvarenbeek
 * Liquor and soda museum Hilvarenbeek
 * Boekorgelmuseum Hilvarenbeek
 * Agricultural museum Hilvarenbeek

Cuisine
The Southern Dutch cuisine constitutes the cuisine of the Dutch provinces of North Brabant and Limburg and the Flemish Region in Belgium. It is renowned for its many rich pastries, soups, stews, and vegetable dishes and is often called "Burgundian", which is a Dutch idiom invoking the rich Burgundian court which ruled the Low Countries in the Middle Ages and was renowned for its splendor and great feasts.

It is the only Dutch culinary region which developed an haute cuisine, as it is influenced by both German cuisine and French cuisine, and it forms the base of most traditional Dutch restaurants including typical main courses such as Biefstuk, Varkenshaas, or Ossenhaas, which are premium cuts of meat, generally pork or beef, accompanied by various sauces and potatoes which have been double fried in the traditional Dutch (or Belgian) manner.

Stews, such as hachee, a stew of onions, beef and a thick gravy, contain a lot of flavour and require hours to prepare. Vegetable soups are made from richly flavored stock or bouillon and typically contain small meatballs alongside a variety of different vegetables. Asparagus and witlo(o)f are highly prized and traditionally eaten with cheese and/or ham.

Pastries are abundant, often with rich fillings of cream, custard or fruits. Cakes, such as the Moorkop and Bossche Bol from Brabant, are typical pastries. There are also savory pastries, especially the popular worstenbroodje (a roll with a sausage of ground beef).

The traditional alcoholic beverage of the region is beer. There are many local brands, ranging from Trappist to Kriek. Beer, like wine in French cuisine, is also used in cooking, often in stews.

Association football
North Brabant is home to 8 professional football clubs, more than any other province in the Netherlands. Two clubs (PSV and RKC Waalwijk) play in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands. Six clubs (Helmond Sport, Willem II, FC Den Bosch, FC Eindhoven, TOP Oss and NAC Breda) play in the Eerste Divisie, the second-highest division of professional football in the Netherlands. PSV Eindhoven is the biggest club of North Brabant, and most successful with 25 Eredivisie titles, 1 European Cup and 1 UEFA Cup, among many other domestic cups, and is one of the traditional "big three" clubs in the Netherlands.

Hockey
North Brabant is home to 3 hockey clubs that play in the Hoofdklasse. HC Den Bosch ('s-Hertogenbosch), Oranje Zwart (Eindhoven) and MOP (Vught). Oranje Zwart is the most successful of these clubs with many prizes, in the regular competition as well as in Europe. The most recent prizes are National Champions in 2014–2015, 2015-2016 and European Champions in 2014–2015.

Politics
The States of North Brabant (Staten van Noord-Brabant) have 55 seats and are headed by the King's Commissioner (Commissaris van de Koning), currently Ina Adema. Whereas the provincial council (the States-Provincial - Provinciale Staten) is elected by the inhabitants, the Commissioner is appointed by the King and the cabinet of the Netherlands. With 10 seats, People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is the largest party in the council, closely followed by Christian Democratic Appeal and Socialist Party, both with 9 seats.

The daily affairs of the province are taken care of by the Provincial-Executive (Gedeputeerde Staten), which are also headed by the Commissioner; its members (commissioners - gedeputeerden) can be compared with ministers.

States-Provincial
Results in North Brabant in the elections for the States-Provincial:

 * See also: States of North Brabant'' (more information)

Provincial-Executive
As of 7 May the Provincial-Executive of North Brabant is composed of the following individuals.

Voting results for the House of Representatives
In North Brabant the inhabitants voted as follows for the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer):

Religion
Traditionally the province of North Brabant has been strongly Roman Catholic, in contrast to most of the rest of the Netherlands. Following the country's independence, Catholics faced discrimination by the Protestant government until the mid-19th century. During the 1960s the relatively strong demarcation between the Catholic south on one side and the Calvinist west and north on the other side of the Netherlands started to diminish. In the second half of the 20th century a rapid secularization took place in North Brabant.

In 2015 slightly fewer than half (48%) of the Brabantian people reported adhering to Catholicism, while 5.6% adhered to the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, 4.4% to Islam, 3.3% to other churches or faiths. More than a third (38.8%) of the population identified as non-religious.

Although much of the population identifies as Catholic, regular attendance at Mass is low. For example, in the Diocese of 's-Hertogenbosch, the eastern part of North Brabant and part of the province of Gelderland, 1,167,000 people reported in 2006 an association with Roman Catholicism (56.8 percent of the population). However, only 45,645 residents of this area attended the mass on average, which was only 2 percent of the total population of the area. In western North Brabant (Diocese of Breda) the number of people associating themselves with Catholicism also strongly decreased; only 52 percent of the West Brabantians identify as Roman Catholic. Church attendance was even lower in the west, with only 1 percent of the West Brabantian population attending Mass. North Brabant is mostly Catholic by tradition. Residents may adhere to certain traditions as a base for their cultural identity, but the vast majority of the Catholic population is now largely irreligious in practice. Research among Catholics in the Netherlands in 2007 showed that only 27% of the Dutch Catholics could be regarded as theist, while 55% were ietsist or nontheist and 17% were agnostic.

title: North Brabant


text:
Road train

A road train, also known as a land train or long combination vehicle (LCV) is a semi-truck used to move road freight more efficiently than single-trailer semi-trucks. It consists of one semi-trailer or more connected together with or without a tractor. It typically has to be at least three trailers and one tractor. Road trains are often used in areas where other forms of heavy transport (freight train, cargo aircraft, container ship) are not feasible or practical.

History
Early road trains consisted of traction engines pulling multiple wagons. The first identified road trains operated into South Australia's Flinders Ranges from the Port Augusta area in the mid-19th century. They displaced bullock teams for the carriage of minerals to port and were, in turn, superseded by railways.

During the Crimean War, a traction engine was used to pull multiple open trucks. By 1898 steam traction engine trains with up to four wagons were employed in military manoeuvres in England.

In 1900, John Fowler & Co. provided armoured road trains for use by the British Armed Forces in the Second Boer War. Lord Kitchener stated that he had around 45 steam road trains at his disposal.

A road train devised by Captain Charles Renard of the French Engineering Corps was displayed at the 1903 Paris Salon. After his death, Daimler, which had acquired the rights, attempted to market it in the United Kingdom. Four of these vehicles were successfully delivered to Queensland, Australia, before the company ceased production upon the start of World War I.

In the 1930s/40s, the government of Australia operated an AEC Roadtrain to transport freight and supplies into the Northern Territory, replacing the Afghan camel trains that had been trekking through the deserts since the late 19th century. This truck pulled two or three 6 m Dyson four-axle self-tracking trailers. At 130 hp, the AEC was grossly underpowered by today's standards, and drivers and offsiders (a partner or assistant) routinely froze in winter and sweltered in summer due to the truck's open cab design and the position of the engine radiator, with its 1.5 m cooling fan, behind the seats.

Australian Kurt Johannsen, a bush mechanic, is recognised as the inventor of the modern road train. After transporting stud bulls 200 mi to an outback property, Johannsen was challenged to build a truck to carry 100 head of cattle instead of the original load of 20. Provided with financing of about 2000 pounds and inspired by the tracking abilities of the Government roadtrain, Johannsen began construction. Two years later his first road train was running.

Johannsen's first road train consisted of a United States Army World War II surplus Diamond-T tank carrier, nicknamed "Bertha", and two home-built self-tracking trailers. Both wheel sets on each trailer could steer, and therefore could negotiate the tight and narrow tracks and creek crossings that existed throughout Central Australia in the earlier part of the 20th century. Freighter Trailers in Australia viewed this improved invention and went on to build self-tracking trailers for Kurt and other customers, and went on to become innovators in transport machinery for Australia.

This first example of the modern road train, along with the AEC Government Roadtrain, forms part of the huge collection at the National Road Transport Hall of Fame in Alice Springs, Northern Territory.

In 2023, Janus launched the first BEV triple road train with 620 kWh battery, also the world's heaviest street-legal BEV truck at 170 tonnes (gross weight).

Australia
The term road train is used in Australia. In contrast with a more common semi-trailer towing one trailer or semi-trailer, the diesel prime mover of a road train hauls two or more trailers or semi-trailers. Australia has the longest and heaviest road-legal road trains in the world, weighing up to 200 t.

Double (two-trailer) road train combinations are allowed on some roads in most states of Australia, including specified approaches to the ports and industrial areas of Adelaide, South Australia and Perth, Western Australia. A double road train should not be confused with a B-double, which is allowed access to most of the country and in all major cities.

In South Australia, B-triples up to 35.0 m and two-trailer road trains to 36.5 m were only permitted to travel on a small number of approved routes in the north and west of the state, including access to Adelaide's north-western suburban industrial and export areas such as Port Adelaide, Gillman and Outer Harbour via Salisbury Highway, Port Wakefield Road and Augusta Highway before 2017. A project named Improving Road Transport for the Agriculture Industry added 7200 km of key routes permitted to operate vehicles over 30 m in 2015–2018. Triple (three-trailer) road trains operate in western New South Wales, western Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, with the last three states also allowing AB-quads (B double with two additional trailers coupled behind). Darwin is the only capital city in the world where triples and quads are allowed to within 1 km of the central business district (CBD).

Strict regulations regarding licensing, registration, weights, and experience apply to all operators of road trains throughout Australia.

Road trains are used for transporting all manner of materials: common examples are livestock, fuel, mineral ores, and general freight. Their cost-effective transport has played a significant part in the economic development of remote areas; some communities are totally reliant on regular service.

When road trains get close to populated areas, the multiple dog-trailers are unhooked, the dollies removed and then connected individually to multiple trucks at "assembly" yards.

When the flat-top trailers of a road train need to be transported empty, it is common practice to stack them. This is commonly referred to as "doubled-up" or "doubling-up". Sometimes, if many trailers are required to be moved at one time, they will be triple-stacked, or "tripled-up".

Higher Mass Limits (HML) Schemes are now in all jurisdictions in Australia, allowing trucks to carry additional weight beyond general mass limits. Some roads in some states regularly allowing up to 4 trailers at 53.5 m long and 136 t. On private property like mines, highway restrictions on trailer length, weight and count may not apply. Some of the heaviest road trains carrying ore are multiple unit with a diesel engine in each trailer, controlled by the tractor.

Diesel sales in Australia (per year) are around 32 billion litres, of which some is used by road trains. In order to reduce emissions and running cost, trials are made with road trains powered by batteries.

United States
In the United States, trucks on public roads are limited to two trailers (two 28 ft and a dolly to connect; the limit is 63 ft end to end). Some states allow three 28 ft trailers, although triples are usually restricted to less populous states such as Idaho, Oregon, and Montana, plus the Ohio Turnpike and Indiana East–West Toll Road. Triples are used for long-distance less-than-truckload freight hauling (in which case the trailers are shorter than a typical single-unit trailer) or resource hauling in the interior west (such as ore or aggregate). Triples are sometimes marked with "LONG LOAD" banners both front and rear. "Turnpike doubles"—tractors towing two full-length trailers—are allowed on the New York Thruway and Massachusetts Turnpike (Interstate 90), Florida's Turnpike, Kansas Turnpike (Kansas City - Wichita route) as well as the Ohio and Indiana toll roads. Colorado allows what are known as "Rocky Mountain Doubles" which is one full length 53 ft trailer and an additional 28 ft trailer. The term "road train" is not commonly used in the United States; "turnpike train" has been used, generally in a pejorative sense.

In the western United States LCVs are allowed on many Interstate highways. The only LCVs allowed nationwide are STAA doubles.

On private property like farms, highway restrictions on trailer length and count do not apply. Bales of straw, for example, are sometimes moved in wagon trains of up to 20 trailers an eighth of a mile long (carrying a total of 3,600 bales).

Europe

In Finland, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, and some roads in Norway, trucks with trailers are allowed to be 25.25 m long. In Finland, a length of 34.5 m has been allowed since January 2019. In Sweden, this length is allowed on several major roads, including all of E4, since August 2023. 34.5 meters allows two 40 foot containers.

Elsewhere in the European Union, the limit is 18.75 m (Norway 19.5 m). The trucks are of a cab-over-engine design, with a flat front and a high floor, about 1.2 m above ground. The Scandinavian countries are less densely populated than the other EU countries, and distances, especially in Finland and Sweden, are long. Until the late 1960s, vehicle length was unlimited, giving rise to long vehicles to cost effectively handle goods. As traffic increased, truck lengths became more of a concern and they were limited, albeit at a more generous level than in the rest of Europe.

In the United Kingdom in 2009, a two-year desk study of Longer Heavier Vehicles (LHVs), including up to 11-axle, 34 m long, 82 t combinations, ruled out all road-train-type vehicles for the foreseeable future.

In 2010, Sweden was performing tests on log-hauling trucks, weighing up to 90 t and measuring 30 m and haulers for two 40 ft containers, measuring 32 m in total. In 2015, a pilot began in Finland to test a 104-tonne timber lorry which was 33 m and had 13 axles. Testing of the special lorry was limited to a predefined route in northern Finland

Since 2015, Spain has permitted B-doubles with a length of up to 25.25 m and weighing up to 60 tonnes to travel on certain routes.

In 2020, a small number of road trains were operating between Belgium and the Netherlands.

Mexico
In Mexico road trains exist in a limited capacity due to the sizes of roads in its larger cities, and they are only allowed to pull 2 trailers joined with a pup or dolly created for this purpose. Recently the regulations tend to be more severe and strict to avoid overloading and accidents, to adhere to the federal rules of transportation. Truck drivers must obtain a certificate to certify that the driver is capable to manipulate and drive that type of vehicle.

All the tractor vehicles that make road train type transport in the country (along with the normal security requirements) need to have visual warnings like;

 * "Precaución Doble Semirremolque" alert (Warning Double Semi-Trailer) located in the frontal fenders of the tractor and in the rear part of each trailer,
 * yellow turn and warning lights to be more visible to other drivers,
 * a seal for the entire vehicle approving the use as double semi trailer,
 * federal license plates in every trailer, dolly, and tractor unit.

Some major cargo enterprises in the country use this form to cut costs of carrying all type of goods in some regions where another form of transportation are so expensive to improve it due to the difficult geography of the country.

The Mexican road train equivalent form in Australian Standard is the A-Double form, the difference is that the Mexican road trains can be hauled with a long distance tractor truck.

Zimbabwe
In Zimbabwe, they are only used in one highway, Ngezi - Makwiro road. They make use of 42 m long road trains pulling three trailers.

A-double
An A-double consists of a prime mover towing a normal lead trailer with a ball hitch (or some other type of coupling) affixed to it at the rear. A fifth wheel dolly is then affixed to the hitch allowing another standard trailer to be attached. Eleven-axle coal tipping sets carrying to Port Kembla, Australia are described as A-doubles. The set depicted has a tare weight of 35.5 MT and is capable of carrying 50 MT of coal. Note the shield at the front of the second trailer to direct tipped coal from the first trailer downwards.

Pros include the ability to use standard semi-trailers and the potential for very large loads. Cons mainly include very tricky reversing due to the multiple articulation points across two different types of coupling.

B-double
A B-double consists of a prime mover towing a specialised lead trailer that has a fifth-wheel mounted on the rear towing another semi-trailer, resulting in two articulation points. It may also be known as a B-train, interlink in South Africa, B-double in Australia, tandem tractor-trailer, tandem rig or double in North America. They may typically be up to 27.5 m long. The fifth wheel coupling is located at the rear of the lead (first) trailer and is mounted on a "tail" section commonly located immediately above the lead trailer axles. In North America this area of the lead trailer is often referred to as the "bridge". The twin-trailer assembly is hooked up to a tractor unit via the tractor unit's fifth wheel in the customary manner.

An advantage of the B-train configuration is its inherent stability when compared to most other twin trailer combinations, the turntable mounted on the forward trailer results in the B-train not requiring a converter dolly as with all other road train configurations. It is this feature above all else that has ensured its continued development and global acceptance. Reversing is simpler as all articulation points are on fifth wheel couplings.

B-train trailers are used to transport many types of load and examples include tanks for liquid and dry-bulk, flat-beds and curtain-siders for deck-loads, bulkers for aggregates and wood residuals, refrigerated trailers for chilled and frozen goods, vans for dry goods, logging trailers for forestry work and cattle liners for livestock.

In Australia, standard semi-trailers are permitted on almost any road. B-doubles are more heavily regulated, but routes are made available by state governments for almost anywhere that significant road freight movement is required.

Around container ports in Australia exists what is known as a super B-double; a B-double with an extra axle (total of 4) on the lead trailer and either three or four axle set on the rear trailer. This allows the super B-Double to carry combinations of two 40 foot containers, four 20 foot containers, or a combination of one 40 foot container and two twenty foot containers. However, because of their length and low accessibility into narrow streets, these vehicles are restricted in where they can go and are generally used for terminal-to-terminal work, i.e. wharf to container holding park or wharf-to-wharf. The rear axle on each trailer can also pivot slightly while turning to prevent scrubbing out the edges of the tyres due to the heavy loads placed on them.

B-triple
Same as B-double, but with an additional lead trailer behind the prime mover. The B-train principle has been exploited in Australia, where configurations such as B triples, double-B doubles and 2AB quads are permitted on some routes. These are run in most states of Australia where double road trains are allowed. Australia's National Transport Commission proposed a national framework for B-triple operations that includes basic vehicle specifications and operating conditions that the commission anticipates will replace the current state-by-state approach, which largely discourages the use of B-triples for interstate operation. In South Australia, B-triples up to 35.0 m and two-trailer road trains to 36.5 m are generally only permitted on specified routes, including access to industrial and export areas near Port Adelaide from the north.

B quad
In 2018, B quad was also allowed in states Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, which enables more economical transport.

AB triple
An AB triple consists of a standard trailer with a B-Double behind it using a converter dolly, with a trailer order of Standard, Dolly, B-Train, Standard. The final trailer may be either a B-Train with no trailer attached to it or a standard trailer. Alternatively, a BA triple sees this configuration reversed, consisting of a B-double with a converter dolly and standard trailer behind it.

A-triple
In South Australia, larger road trains up to 53.5 m (three full trailers) are only permitted on certain routes in the Far North.

BAB quad
A BAB quad consists of two B-double units linked with a converter dolly, with trailer order of Prime Mover, B-Train, Dolly, B-Train.

ABB quad
ABB quad consists of one standard trailer and B-triple units linked with a converter dolly.

AAB quad
AAB quad consists of A-double and B-double units linked with a converter dolly. Alternatively, a BAA quad sees this configuration reversed, first the B-double, then the A-double.

A quad
In some parts of Australia, road trains up to 60 m are permitted, consisting of four standard trailers.

C-train
A C-train is a semi-trailer attached to a fifth-wheel on a C-dolly. Unlike in an A-Train, the C-dolly is connected to the tractor or another trailer in front of it with two drawbars, thus eliminating the drawbar connection as an articulation point. One of the axles on a C-dolly is self-steerable to prevent tire scrubbing. C-dollies are not permitted in Australia, due to the lack of articulation.

Dog-trailer (dog trailer)
A dog-trailer (also called a pup) is a short trailer with a permanent dolly, with a single A-frame drawbar that fits into the Ringfeder or pintle hook on the rear of the truck or trailer in front, giving the whole unit two or more articulation points and very little roll stiffness. These are commonly used in Australia, particularly for end tipper applications like shown above. They are normally limited to a single dog trailer behind a short bodied (independently load carrying) truck with a standard length limit of 19 metres (20 under design permits). A quad dog trailer in combination with a bodied truck is able to carry more weight than a truck and single semi-trailer of the same length limit and access restrictions, as well as carrying two different materials as separate loads, such as with tipper bodies and fluid tankers.

Interstate road transport registration in Australia
In 1991, at a special Premiers' Conference, Australian heads of government signed an inter-governmental agreement to establish a national heavy vehicle registration, regulation and charging scheme: the Federal Interstate Registration Scheme (FIRS). Its requirements are as follows:• If the vehicle was purchased to be used for interstate trade, no stamp duty is payable on the purchase price of the vehicle.

• The vehicle has to be subjected to an annual inspection for roadworthy standards.

• Registration requires the first letter of the six-digit to identify the home state or territory: A, Australian Capital Territory; N, New South Wales; C, Northern Territory Q, Queensland; S, South Australia; T, Tasmania; V, Victoria; and W, Western Australia.

Due to the "eastern" and "western" mass limits in Australia, two different categories of registration were enacted. The second digit of the registration plate showed what mass limit was allowed for that vehicle. If a vehicle had a 'V' as the second letter, its mass limits were in line with the eastern states mass limits, which were:

 * Steer axle, 1 axle, 2 tyres: 5.40 t
 * Steer axle, 2 axles, 2 tyres per axle: Non load sharing suspension 9.00 t
 * Load sharing suspension 10.00 t
 * Single axle, dual tyres: 8.50 t
 * Tandem axle, dual tyres: 15.00 t
 * Tri-axle, dual tyres or 'super single' tyres: 18.00 t
 * Gross combination mass on a 6-axle vehicle not to exceed 38 t

If a vehicle had an X as the second letter, its mass limits were in line with the western states mass limits, which were:
 * Steer axle, 1 axle, 2 tyres: 6.00 t
 * Steer axle, 2 axles, 2 tyres per axle
 * Non load sharing suspension 10.00 t: Load sharing suspension 11.00 t
 * Single axle, dual tyres: 9.00 t
 * Tandem axle, dual tyres: 16.50 t
 * Tri-axle, dual tyres or "super single" tyres: 20.00 t
 * Gross combination mass on a 6-axle vehicle not to exceed 42.50 t

The second digit of the registration being a T designates a trailer.

One of the main criteria of the registration is that intrastate operation is not permitted. The load has to come from one state or territory and be delivered to another. Many grain carriers were reported and prosecuted for cartage from the paddock to the silos. However, if the load went to a port silo, they were given the benefit of the doubt, as that grain was more than likely to be going overseas.

Signage
Australian road trains have horizontal signs front and back with 180 mm high black uppercase letters on a reflective yellow background reading "ROAD TRAIN". The sign(s) must have a black border and be at least 1.02 m long and 220 mm high and be placed between 500 mm and 1.8 m above the ground on the fore or rearmost surface of the unit.

In the case of B-triples in Western Australia, they are signed front and rear with "ROAD TRAIN" until they cross the WA/SA border where they are then signed with "LONG VEHICLE" in the front and rear.

Converter dollies must have a sign affixed horizontally to the rearmost point, complying to the same conditions, reading "LONG VEHICLE". This is required for when a dolly is towed behind a trailer.

Combination lengths

 * B-double: 26 m max. Western Australia, 27.5 m max.
 * B-triple: up to 36.5 m max.
 * NTC modular B-triple: 35.0 m max. (uses 2× conventional B-double lead trailers)
 * Pocket road train: 27.5 m max. (Western Australia only) This configuration is classed as a "Long Vehicle".
 * Double road train or AB road train: 36.5 m max.
 * Triple and ABB or BAB-quad road trains: 53.5 m max.

Operating weights
Operational weights are based on axle group masses, as follows:
 * Single axle (steer tyre): 6.0 t
 * Single axle (steer axle with 'super single' tyres): 6.7 t
 * Single axle (dual tyres): 9.0 t
 * Tandem axle grouping: 16.5 t
 * Tri-axle grouping: 20.0 t

Therefore,
 * A B-double (single axle steering, tandem drive, and two tri-axle groups) would have an operational weight of 62.5 t.
 * A double road train (single axle steering, tandem drive, tri-axle, tandem, tri-axle) would have an operational weight of 79 t.
 * A triple is 115.5 t.
 * Quads weigh in at 135.5 t.
 * Concessional weight limits, which increase allowable weight to accredited operators can see (for example) a quad weighing up to 149 t.

 * If a tri-drive prime mover is utilised, along with tri-axle dollies, weights can reach nearly 170 t.

Speed limits
The Australian national heavy vehicle speed limit is 100 km/h, excepting New South Wales and Queensland where the speed limit for any road train is 90 km/h. B triple road trains have a speed limit of 100 km/h (62 mph) in Qld.

In Canada, there has been no difference between the speed limits between cars and road trains, which range from 80 to 100 km/h on two-lane roads and between 100 and 110 km/h on three-lane roads.

World's longest road trains
Below is a list of longest road trains driven in the world. Most of these had no practical use, as they were put together and driven across relatively short distances for the express purpose of record-breaking.

 * In 1989, a trucker named "Buddo" tugged 12 trailers down the main street of Winton.
 * In 1993, "Plugger" Bowden took the record with a 525 hp Mack CLR pulling 16 trailers.
 * A few months later this effort was surpassed by Darwin driver Malcolm Chisholm with a 290 t, 21 trailer rig extending 315 m.
 * In April 1994 Bob Hayward and Andrew Aichison organised another attempt using a 1988 Mack Super-Liner 500 hp V8 belonging to Plugger Bowden who drove 29 stock trailers measuring 439.169 metres a distance of 4.5 km into Bourke. The record was published in the next Guinness Book of Records.
 * Then the record went back to Winton with 34 trailers.
 * On 3rd of April 1999, the town of Merredin, officially made it into the Guinness Book of Records, when Marleys Transport made a successful attempt on the record for the world's longest road train. The record was created when 45 trailers, driven by Greg Marley, weighing 603 t and measuring 610 m were pulled by a Kenworth 10×6 K100G for 8 km.
 * On 19 October 2000, Doug Gould set the first of his records in Kalgoorlie, when a roadtrain made up of 79 trailers, measuring 1018.2 m and weighing 1072.3 t, was pulled by a Kenworth C501T driven by Steven Matthews a distance of 8 km.
 * On 29 March 2003, the record was surpassed near Mungindi, by a road train consisting of 87 trailers and a single prime mover (measuring 1235.3 m in length).
 * The record returned to Kalgoorlie, on 17 October 2004, when Doug Gould assembled 117 trailers for a total length of 1445 m. The attempt nearly failed, as the first prime mover's main driveshaft broke when taking off. A second truck was quickly made available, and pulled the train a distance of 1500 m.
 * In 2004, the record was again broken by a group from Clifton, Queensland which used a standard Mack truck to pull 120 trailers a distance of about 100 m.
 * On 18 February 2006, an Australian built Mack truck with 113 semi-trailers, 1300 t and 1474.3 m long, pulled the load 100 m to recapture the record for the longest road train (multiple loaded trailers) ever pulled with a single prime mover. It was on the main road of Clifton, Queensland, that 70-year-old John Atkinson claimed a new record, pulled by a tri-drive Mack Titan.

Outside Australia

 * On 12 April 2016 in Gothenburg, Sweden, a Volvo FH16 750 pulled 20 trailers with double-stacked containers with a total length of 300 meters (984 ft) and with a total weight of 750 tonnes.

title: Road train