The Roman Empire
Domitian


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Coin Details

  

Set Details
Coin Description:
Grade: NGC XF Strike: 4/5 Surface: 4/5
Owner: Kohaku
 
Set Category: Ancients
Set Name: The Roman Empire
Slot Name: Domitian
Research: Currently not available

Owner's Description

Like many ancient Mediterranean realms, Judaea inevitably came under Rome’s influence. Direct intervention dates back to at least 63 BC, when Pompey the Great took the liberty of appointing Judaea’s High Priest. Two decades later, the Roman Senate’s election of Herod the Great as monarch transitioned the region into a client kingdom. In 6 AD, Augustus named Judaea as a Roman province, one among several annexations that gradually expanded the Empire’s borders. This time, however, there was a complication - the fanatical, monotheistic rigor of the local religion. Many polytheistic Romans considered monotheism strange, narrow-minded, and even heretical. Likewise, many Judaeans perceived the Romans as heretical, although some supported Roman rule. Not surprisingly, Judaea’s annexation provoked an uprising. Although rapidly quelled, the inaugural rebellion foreshadowed more tumultuous times ahead. The situation flared again several decades later when Emperor Caligula, completely convinced of his own divinity, demanded worship from all his subjects. It came to Caligula’s attention that the Judaeans were not only neglecting their religio towards him, but even had the audacity to destroy one of his temples. In spite, the Emperor ordered the erection of his own statue within the great Jewish Temple of Jerusalem. The local monarch, Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great, knew such a move would likely incite civil war, and delayed implementation, eventually managing to have the order rescinded. Further escalation was postponed upon Caligula’s demise; even so, tensions remained high, fomenting anti-Roman views among the Judaeans. Making matters worse, Roman leaders assigned to govern Judaea were apparently prone to abusing their station, for example, implementing confiscatory taxes. Particularly notorious in this regard was Gessius Florus, who earned his post owing his wife’s friendship with Empress Poppaea, wife of Emperor Nero. In 66 AD, Florus’ troops entered the Temple and removed seventeen talents of silver (equivalent to about half a metric ton), claiming the money was for the infamously indulgent Emperor. Florus’ actions provoked local demonstrations, followed by rioting. The client king ruling at the time, Herod Agrippa II (Herod Agrippa I’s son), known as Rome's friend and a favorite of Emperor Nero, failed to restore calm and was expelled from Jerusalem. The riots continued, and soon erupted into an all-out war. In contrast to prior uprisings, this one persisted. This time, the tables were turned as the Judaean zealots rapidly overwhelmed the local Roman troops. Roman reinforcements arrived, only to be similarly routed. Most shocking, the Syrian legion lost its coveted Aquila. The rebel province had scored a stunning victory, killing many thousands of Romans. Shockwaves reverberated throughout the Empire. The Judaeans publicized their liberation on coins, including this ancient bronze prutah. According to the obverse Hebrew inscription, it was struck in the third year since the rebellion initiated (corresponding to 68-69 AD). The obverse depicts an amphora, a container used for transport and storage of a variety of products, both dry and liquid, for example, wine. Consistent with the Judaean prohibition against graven images, prutah never bore the image of any person or animal (a custom even respected by the Romans procurators who struck local provincial coinage). Engraved on this coin’s verso is a vine leaf on a small branch, along with the Hebrew inscription, “the freedom of Zion.” The motif of amphora obverse and vine leaf reverse was also employed on prutah struck before the rebellion, when Roman procurators ruled Judaea. The amphora’s fluid contents represented the weight unit of the talent. Comparing pre- vs. post rebellion designs, amphorae on coins struck by Roman procurators reflect classical Greco-Roman sensibilities, whereas those produced during Judaea’s liberation (such as the current example) exhibit a different, Judaean style, consistent with vessels used in Temple services. Beyond striking coinage, the liberated, emboldened Judaeans exerted their independence even further. After taking control of Jerusalem and other population centers, the rebels build a naval fleet that threatened important trading routes, even interrupting Rome’s grain supply from Alexandria. The humiliated Nero, growing desperate to resolve the situation before further uprisings might spread, dispatched one of his most innovative and talented generals, Titus Flavius Vespasianus. Vespasian and his son Titus arrived on the scene, and joined with other local allies, including an army headed by a resurgent Herod Agrippa II. In total, Vespasian had many tens of thousands of soldiers at his disposal, enough to proceed carefully and methodically against the rebels. By 68 AD, he regained much of the province, yet still withheld directly attacking the resiliently defensible Jerusalem. The real siege began a year later, led by Titus. (By this time, Vespasian was sharply focused on ending Rome’s civil war and claiming her throne). The Roman siege against Jerusalem proved historically horrific. Titus’ soldiers ringed the city, killing hundreds daily as they tried to escape the city’s walls. Behind those walls, the Judaeans apparently fought amongst themselves, for instance on the question of surrender. Some even reportedly burned food stockpiles in a desperate attempt to force their detractor’s aggression. Titus and his well-supported forces took seven months before finally breaching the city. Once inside Jerusalem, the Romans and their allies ransacked the provincial capital, including the Temple, infamously raiding its valuable and exotic contents. The entire city was nearly burned to the ground. The death toll was enormous, the exact extent difficult to know with certainty. Many died on both sides of the conflict, with the Judaeans bearing the greater burden. According to Josephus (himself a former Jewish commander who turned into a Roman confidant and historian), over a million Judaeans perished, and a hundred thousand more were imprisoned and enslaved. Following the razing of its capital city, Judaea fell - once again - firmly under the Empire’s rule. Vespasian, who by this time had emerged as Rome’s Augustus, appointed a trusted legate, i.e., a military commander, to maintain Rome’s grip over the region. Even so, the tenacious Judaeans rebounded, and within a generation mounted yet another rebellion of historical proportions. Coin Details: JUDAEA, First Jewish War, 66-70 CE, Æ Prutah (18mm, 2.35 gm), Dated year 3 (68/9 CE), NGC Grade: XF, Strike: 4/5, Surface: 4/5, Obverse: Amphora with fluted body, broad rim, two handles, and lid, "Year three" (in Hebrew), Reverse: Vine leaf on small branch, “The freedom of Zion” (in Hebrew), References: Meshorer 204; Hendin 1363.

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