By the time the amphitheatre was completed, Titus's short reign had already endured a series of disasters: two months after he had succeeded Vespasian, Mount Vesuvius had erupted, destroying Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Oplontis; a fire had burned in the city of Rome for three days and three nights causing substantial damage and destroying the Temple of Jupiter that had recently been restored by Vespasian; and there had been an outbreak of plague which was said to be the worst the city had ever endured. To dedicate the amphitheatre and the baths, and probably in an attempt to mollify both the Roman public and the gods, Titus inaugurated the opening of the Colosseum with lavish games which lasted for more than a hundred days.