<P> 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". The 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 . </P> <P> 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 ." </P> <P> Although his administration was marked by a relative absence of major military or political conflicts, Titus faced a number of major disasters during his brief reign . On 24 August 79, two 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 lava, killing thousands . Titus appointed two ex-consuls to organise and coordinate the relief effort, while personally donating 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 . </P> <P> During the second visit, in spring of AD 80, a fire broke out in Rome, burning 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--crucially sparing 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, or the death toll are unknown . </P>

Who was the emperor of rome when pompeii was destroyed