14. The Consequences of the First Jewish War | Digitaler Ausstellungskatalog

Showcase 14: Roman Province Iudaea (as from 70 CE)

As a result of the First Jewish War, Judea became a Roman province and Caesarea Maritima was elevated as the governmental headquarters. In Rome, the victory over the Jews was celebrated by Titus and his father Vespasian with a great triumphal procession. More than ten years later, after Titus’ death, Domitian (81 – 96 CE) erected the Arch of Titus in Rome, which is visible today at the entrance of the Forum Romanum (Fig. A.). One relief within the arch shows the triumphal procession from the year 71 CE. With Jewish slaves, objects from the Temple in Jerusalem are visible as war booty, including the seven-armed candelabra (menorah), the showbread table (shulchan hapanim), and two trumpets (hasosra) (Fig. B.). In 1948, this representation was adopted into the current state seal of Israel.

The war did not end with the conquest of Jerusalem. Three fortresses were still held by the insurgents. The impressive mountain fortress Masada was only taken by the Romans with extreme military force in April 74 CE. During the course of the siege, the Roman troops erected an enormous ramp in order to reach the walls with their rams (Fig. C.). Before the soldiers could infiltrate the fortress, the 960 men, women and children trapped within took their own lives.

Judea now fell under Roman provincial administration. Although the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jews forbidden to enter the city, each Jew above twenty years of age was still required to pay the Temple tax. The fee was called by Vespasian the fiscus Iudaicus (Jewish tax) and went to the temple of Jupiter in Rome. While the tax for the Jerusalem Temple had only affected grown men between 20 and 50 years of age, the fiscus Iudaicus was imposed on all Jews, including women, children, the elderly, and even Jewish slaves. Domitian enforced this law severely (Fig. D.). In the course of his reign, the term “Judaist” became a derogatory term for political opponents; it could even lead to death, as the Roman historian Cassius Dio reported in the case of the Roman consul Flavius Clemens, who was executed for his “Jewish conduct”, with his possessions subsequently confiscated (Cassius Dio 68,1,2). Under Emperor Nerva (96 – 98 CE) the levy of the Jewish tax was relaxed.

The loss of Jerusalem and the Temple in particular meant that the political and religious situation of the Jews changed radically from the early 2nd century CE. All parts of Jewish society were obliged to redefine their religious practices and indeed their lives as Jews. This applied particularly to those living in Palestine. The priestly aristocracy predominantly, which had formerly been directly associated with the Temple, lost importance after the First Jewish War, and the elite of Jerusalem were dispersed. The rise of rabbinical Judaism following the First War was accompanied not least by greater diversity regarding the adherence to Jewish laws.

The Romans as Victors

The capture of Jerusalem was an important subject in the coinage of Vespasian and Titus. Coins with related images were minted in gold, silver, and other non-ferrous metals. Representations of the siege and the prisoners were the central motifs. The depiction of a mourning female figure seated on the ground, the personification of Judea, is most common (for example No.1A and No.1B). She is accompanied by the Roman emperor in heroic pose, or by other figures (No.2B and No.4B). Jewish prisoners with their hands bound behind their backs can also be seen (No.3B), as can war trophies (No.1B). With the accompanying inscription IVDAEA CAPTA (captured Judea), the coin became an expressive message bearer.

As Domitian did not take part in the victory over Judea, no IVDAEA CAPTA coins were minted for him. He attempted to emulate the military success of his father and brother with a triumph over the Germanic tribes. Having achieved this, he largely employed motifs that had been conceived under his father and brother for the imperial currency, replacing Iudaea (Capta) with Germania (Capta) (No.9A). Domitian also assumed the title Germanicus. In Palestine, coins from the Roman administration in Caesarea Maritima are also extant. They were issued under Domitian and show the victorious emperor with the title Germanicus, though they are adorned with the depiction of a palm tree (No.8B), an allusion to the palm on the IVDAEA CAPTA coins. Herod Agrippa II had celebrated Domitian’s victory over the Germanic tribes similarly a few years prior (No.6B).

A coin type issued under Nerva from the year 96 CE with the inscription FISCI IVDAICI CALVMNIA SVBLATA (the calumny of the Jewish tax is removed) spread a message with which the new emperor courted public favour (No.10A). The tax was probably now only borne by self-confessed Jews.

Findings from Masada document the defeat of the Jews in 74 CE. A hoard of silver shekels and half-shekels from the five years of the war was excavated there (Fig. E.). It had probably been brought to Masada near the end of the war by a member of the insurgency from Jerusalem, the minting location of these coins, before the fortress was surrounded and stormed by the Romans.

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