Featured A Fascinating Bronze Coin of the First Jewish-Roman War

I am happy to have added this prutah struck in Jerusalem during the First Jewish War to my collection this year. Because I think the context is what makes these coins so interesting I will spend some time in this write up discussing the relevant background and how that relates to the coins.


Judaea
First Jewish War
AE Prutah, Jerusalem mint, struck ca. AD 67/8
Wt.: 2.13 g
Dia.: 16 mm
Obv.: Amphora; Paleo-Hebrew inscription: "Year Two"
Rev.: Vine leaf; Paleo-Hebrew inscription: "Freedom of Zion"
Ref.: Hendin 1360
Ex Tareq Hani Collection

Year 1: Outbreak and Early Success
In AD 66 the Roman procurator of Judaea (Gessius Florus) forcibly removed 17 talents of silver from the temple treasury in Jerusalem causing widespread Jewish unrest. Florus responded to the unrest in such an incompetent and heavy-handed manner that Josephus accused him of starting a war on purpose.

The Roman garrison in Jerusalem was overwhelmed and slaughtered after surrendering to the rebels. A sect of Jews called the Sicarii seized the fortress of Masada and gained access to the armory there. When the Roman governor of Syria brought in Legion X and attempted to occupy Jerusalem and quell the revolt he was repulsed. During the Roman retreat to the coast the legion was set upon by Judeans under the leadership of Eleazar Ben Simon and completely destroyed.

During this period the temple priests exercised substantial authority over government of the state. However, the Zealots (particularly Eleazar ben Simon in Jerusalem) held considerable influence.

Silver shekels and half-shekels were struck in this year.

Years 2 and 3: Chaos and Division
The priestly government in Jerusalem assigned generals, such as Josephus*, to lead the resistance to the Romans in the countryside. At the same time, charismatic leaders arose among the rural Jews, such as Yohanan mi-Gush Halav** (rival of Josephus) and Simon bar Giora.

By the spring of AD 67 the Roman army under Vespasian was beginning its advance. Several important towns in the north fell to the Romans in mid to late AD 67. Josephus was captured after the Siege of Yodfat and Yohanan decided to escape to Jerusalem just before the fall of Gush Halav in this year.

With the support of his Zealot followers Yohanan mi-Gush Halav came to dominate the politics of Jerusalem in an uneasy alliance with Eleazar during the late second and third year of the revolt. In AD 68 his followers killed most of the leaders of the priestly government including the former high priest. This ensured that radical factions and not the moderate priests would be in control of Jewish politics until the end of the war.

As this infighting was taking place in Jerusalem, Vespasian continued to methodically capture the rest of Judea one part at a time

Both silver shekels (and halves) as well as bronze prutot were struck during this period.

Years 4 and 5: Defeat and Tragedy
In response to the growing domination of Yohanan, what was left of the priestly government invited Simon bar Giora (another charismatic rural leader) to Jerusalem in spring AD 69. Unlike the other leaders Simon seems to have considered himself the messiah. He was successful at gaining control of most of the city but his presence only intensified the factional war going on in Jerusalem. Yohanan, Eleazar and Simon all had bases of power in different parts of the city and openly opposed each other with violence. Yohanan and Simon tried to gain the upper hand by attacking and burning the other faction’s food stores. This would later prove disastrous during the Roman siege.

On July 3, AD 69 Vespasian was proclaimed emperor by his troops and turned the administration of the war over to his son Titus. In April of AD 70 Titus began the siege of Jerusalem. After an almost five month long siege Jerusalem fell and both the city and the Second Temple were completely destroyed. Yohanan and Simon were captured by the Romans and paraded in chains through the streets of Rome during Titus’s triumph. What happened to Eleazar is unknown.


Relief on the Arch of Titus in Rome. This relief shows Roman soldiers carrying loot from the Temple in Jerusalem during the triumph of Titus in AD 71. (Author’s photo)

During year 4, large bronze coins in three denominations were struck. Silver was struck very rarely in years 4 and 5.

The Coins and the Mints
The above context helps in understanding the chronology of the coins, the minting authority and the activity of the mints. The coins of the First Jewish War can be summarized as follows;


The Silver Mint
Despite the chaotic infighting and changes in leadership in Jerusalem during the war the silver coins continued to be produced at a high standard with a consistent design. Donald Ariel makes a compelling case that this was because the temple authorities maintained oversight of the process throughout. This suggests that the mint was at the temple near the treasury. Ariel proposes the Royal Stoa at the south of the temple complex as the most likely place for the mint.



Top: Model showing the temple as it would have looked near the time of the First Jewish War. The Royal Stoa is the building seen at the right of the image and was the likely location of the silver mint. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons) Bottom Left: The site as it exists today. The Al-Aqsa mosque occupies the site where the Royal Stoa once stood. Bottom Right: Remains of Robinson’s arch which once led to the Royal Stoa. (Author’s photos)

The Bronze Mint
The mint for the bronze coins was most likely located near the palace area built by Herod. If this was the case then this mint would have been operated by whichever faction held this part of the city at the time. In the later part of year 2 and all of year 3 this was Yohanan mi-Gush Halav. From year 4 to the fall of Jerusalem it was controlled by Simon bar Giora. This explains the major change from the prutah in years 2 and 3 (struck under Yohanan) to the larger AE denominations (struck by Simon) in year 4. This interpretation also lines up well with the message on the inscriptions where Yohanan’s message (Freedom of Zion) was hardline but political and Simon’s message (for the redemption of Zion) was messianic in nature.



Top: Model showing what the citadel and palace area looked like in the first century AD. This was the likely minting location for the bronze coins. The tallest tower near the top left of the photo is the Phasael Tower and is the only structure still extant today. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons) Bottom: I took this photo from a similar vantage point to the one above. The remains of the Phasael Tower are at center topped by the three flags. The part of the tower with the larger stones is the section that is original to the First Jewish War period. You can also see the ruins of the ancient city wall in the center of the photo. (Author’s photo)

The Aftermath and Final Struggle
After the fall of Jerusalem the only holdouts left in Judea were the Sicarii at Masada. Titus returned to Rome and celebrated his triumph. It was left to Lucius Flavius Silva and Legion X to close out the re-conquest. In AD 72 the Romans laid siege to Masada and built a series of forts and a circumvallation wall whose remains can still be seen today. The Romans also famously built a huge earthwork ramp and siege tower to assault the fortress.



Top: A photo I took of one of the several Roman forts that surround Masada. You can also see the remains of the circumvallation wall in front of the fort. Bottom Right: The ramp that was built by the Romans for the final assault. Bottom Left: An artist’s representation displayed at Masada that shows the Roman siege tower being hauled up the ramp to attack the wall. (Author’s photos)

According to Josephus once the defenders of Masada realized their situation was hopeless they committed mass suicide. The men killed their families, then ten men were chosen by lot to kill the other men. Then one man was chosen by lot to kill the nine and then himself. Two women and five children survived by hiding from the others.


Left: Pottery shards with names inscribed on them have been interpreted by some scholars to be the actual shards that were used as lots by the defenders of Masada in their mass suicide. Right: I believe this photo was taken near the area where the pot shards were found and shows a sweeping view of the rugged and beautiful landscape surrounding Masada. (Author’s photos)

Of the coins struck during the war the "Year Two" prutot are by far the most numerous. The distribution of the coin finds in excavations has helped to corroborate the chronology of the Roman advance from the written sources. Of the finds from Archeological excavations Jerusalem and Masada are the sites that have yielded the most coins.

Notes
* Josephus’s Hebrew name was Yosef ben Matityahu

** Often anglicized as John of Gischala

References
Ariel, Donald T., Identifying the Mints, Minters and Meanings of the First Jewish Revolt Coins, The Jewish Revolt against Rome, Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Brill, Leiden - Boston, 2011 (available online here)

Flavius Josephus: http://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/war-7.html

Livius: https://www.livius.org/articles/concept/roman-jewish-wars/roman-jewish-wars-5/

Pile on!!!
Please post your...

• Prutot of any period
• First Jewish War coins
• Bar Kokhba coins
• Vespasian / Titus / Roman Judean
• Anything relevant

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Curtis, Great article ! Pictured below is a Jewish War shekel I sold at a CNG auction, & a Judaea Capta denarius also sold at a CNG auction.

 

Thank you, this is very interesting. The paper by Donald Ariel is available online here.

The Temple Treasury was located in the southern end of the Temple Mount, near or inside (?) the monumental Royal Stoa. This treasury was called the "Korbanas" (Josephus, War of the Jews 2:9.4; Matthew 27:6). Mark, Luke and John call it "gazophylakion". It was in the sector of the Temple open to all, for women were allowed.

It was also in this sector that Jesus Christ was teaching when in Jerusalem: "These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come." John 8:20. From where he was seated his students and himself could see people casting money into the Treasury: "And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury (...)" Mark 12:41-43; see also Luke 21:1-4.

I think this may have to do with the Royal Stoa. We were in hellenistic times and Jesus taught in the Greek manner, using a sandbox like we use a blackboard to trace symbols or anything relevant: "Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not (...)" John 8:1-6. (same attitude as Archimedes tracing his circles on the ground, concentrating so much on his problem he did not pay attention to the Roman soldier coming to him).

His pedagogy was also very Hellenic: there does not seem to have been a program, a lecture prepared in advance like we do, but he just sat and the students (or anybody interested) asked questions, and he gave answers. This is why I suspect he was teaching in the Royal Stoa just next to the Treasury: stoas were used as teaching places, like the Stoa Poikile in Athens where Zeno of Kition used to teach (hence the name of Stoician school). This hellenistic traditional teaching style is still in use in Cairo, at the al-Azhar University:


The Stoa, the Treasury, all the rest of the Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70, in the first place because it was a fortified citadel, and remained deserted 600 years. The southern side of the Temple Mount was reoccupied by the Muslims who built there the first al-Aqsa Mosque in the 8th c. In the 12th c. it became the headquarters of the Knights Templars (who reserved a place for Muslim worshipers, as attested by Usama ibn Munqidh who prayed there when he went to Jerusalem to visit his "Templar friends"). The whole sector has been rebuilt since, and is now the al-Aqsa Mosque.

 

Now a more specifically numismatic question : is your prutah cast? it is 16 mm and 2.13 g, I have another one that is 14-15 mm and 1.39 g.


My coin is exceptionally light and its details look sharper, this is why I wonder if your example could be cast and mine struck. Some coinages in the Roman Middle East can be struck or cast, both are attested, like the Severus Alexander coinage of Bostra. But it can also be struck from cast dies. What do you think?

 

Very cool coin and another great write up on such a sad story.
My only Prutah is from about 100 years before... oh, and it happens to have a Macedonian shield on it

Judaea. Mint in Samaria (Sebaste?). Herodians. Herod I (the Great) 40-4 BCE.
Four Prutot Æ
Macedonian shield with decorated rim / BAΣIΛEΩΣ HPΩΔOY L Γ, crested helmet.
20 mm., 3.81 g.
fine. Ex: Savoca

 

Absolutely beautiful coins @Al Kowsky . Both definitely relevant to the discussion. I hope to add a Jewish Revolt shekel to my collection some day.

Excellent additional commentary. Thank you! I thought about mentioning the possible connections of Jesus to the Royal Stoa but I figured my write up was getting too long already . I am glad you added this to the discussion.

I believe that mine is struck. The details are probably better than my photo shows though there is obviously some circulation wear (all the more interesting for a type that circulated in such an interesting time). The coin has a nice patina which also makes it appear a bit shiny in my photo. Perhaps I should give it another go.

To more directly answer your question about the weight difference I know that the weight for the bronze prutot can vary widely. Ariel discusses this a bit when he talks about the minting process.

The bronze flans were made from a mold with one side beveled and the other side flat and casting channels between the hollows. Both mine and yours show the area on either side where the coin flan was broken from the channel. Mine also shows the characteristic bevel on one side. Yours appears to as well on the amphora side.

The silver coins were weighed individually but the bronze were weighed in groups. So when pouring the bronze into the flan mold the mint didn’t care too much to ensure each hollow was of equal size or to fill every hollow to the exact level as long as the total weight of the group was good. I think that accounts for some of the wide range in weights for these. The minting standards for the bronze coins of the Jewish Revolt are abysmal compared to the silver. This is one of the reasons that two separate mints have been proposed. The silver coins were remarkably well made considering the turmoil of the situation in Jerusalem at the time.

If it’s got a shield on it you own it my friend! Great coin of Herod. Thanks for the kind words.

 

Great write-up and coins.....I think it should be a featured article.

Edit: I pm'd Peter.

 

..quality coin & writeup Curtisimo...

 

Brilliant writeup (and coins), @Curtisimo (et al). Terrific combination of coins, historical context and ancillary illustrations. I could cheerfully second @ancient coin hunter.

 

Thank you for a great post, @Curtisimo !

I’ve got a few Bar Kochba and war coins mixed in.

 

@Curtisimo, nice article on The First Jewish-Roman War with the overviews by year and discussion of mints! Here are four coins related to first or second century revolts.


Judaea, The Jewish War. Æ Prutah (2.69 g), 66-70 AD. Year 2 (67/8 AD). 'Year two' (Paleo-Hebrew), amphora with broad rim and two handles. / 'The freedom of Zion' (Paleo-Hebrew), vine leaf on small branch with tendril.

Judaea, The Jewish War. Æ Prutah. Year 3 (68-69 AD). 'Year three' (Paleo-Hebrew), amphora with broad rim, two handles, and conical lid decorated with tiny globes hanging around edge. / 'The freedom of Zion' (Paleo-Hebrew), grape leaf on vine.






Titus, 79-81. AR Denarius (18 mm, 3.27 g, 7 h). Rome mint, 79 AD, after 1st of July. [IMP] TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M (outward); laureate head of Titus to left. / TR P VIIII IMP XIIII COS VII P P; male Jewish captive kneeling right at base of trophy of arms with hands bound behind his back. Hendin 1583a. RIC 31 (R2).




Judaea, Bar Kokhba Revolt. Silver Zuz (3.25 g), 132-135 AD. Undated, attributed to year 3 (134/5 AD). 'Simon' (Paleo-Hebrew), bunch of grapes with leaf and tendril. / 'For the freedom of Jerusalem' (Paleo-Hebrew), upright palm branch. Hendin 1430; David Hendin Guide to BIBLICAL COINS, Fifth Edition, plate 40, (this coin illus.); Mildenberg 150 (O11/R103), 7 cited, this being #5. Portions of the undertype legend visible on obverse from the obverse of a Drachm, probably of Trajan and probably of Caesarea.

 

[QUOTE="Curtisimo, post: 8059224, member: 83845"]...First Jewish War coins...Bar Kochba coins...[/QUOTE]

I’ve had time to revisit your post since yesterday, @Curtisimo . Your work on this, and your other excellent posts on Judaean coins, is greatly appreciated. In fact, I frequently make pdf files of them for future reference. Anyway, here are my Judaean war coins separated out from the pile I posted yesterday.

 

Beautiful coins, @Al Kowsky !

 

Thank you for the kind words ACH! I appreciate it.

Thanks @ominus1 . You are always so good about reading, commenting and contributing to all the various threads on CT. That makes this site much more fun. I always value your participation and look forward to your comments.

You are too kind my friend! Thank you for the kind words.

I love these posters of yours DRay. CT feels like it has gained back some positivity since you started posting again from your recent hiatus. I am glad to have you back.

...also beautiful coins and presentation!

Simply wow! That zuz in particular is an absolutely stunning coin!!! All of them are great. Wonderful addition to the thread showing multiple relevant examples. Thank you for sharing!

Wonderful coins @Deacon Ray ! That year 4 Eighth Shekel is a real stand out. Thanks for posting this. It gives a good reference for the discussion about Simon bar Giora and his message of "for the Redemption of Zion" on his coins. Yours is unusually complete and well centered! Wonderful coin.

 

Congrats on getting the article featured @Curtisimo

 

Outstanding article. Thanks!

 

Thank you @Cachecoins !

Thank you ACH! I am always honored when one of my threads gets featured. I also appreciate all of you who have commented and posted info / coins to the thread! You all are what makes CT fun and collecting even more fun.

In honor of the thread getting featured I figured I would add a few more photos of my trip to Masada. It is a truly fascinating place in a very forbidding but beautiful landscape.


This one is actually not mine but I think it is worth posting because it gives such a good sense of place. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.





This part of the complex served as the Synagogue. The defenders were all very pious practitioners of Judaism and required a space for readings. This is one of the oldest Synagogues ever found anywhere in the world.


Looking out from the vantage of the fortress you can see many Roman forts on all sides which must have been an incredibly intimidating sight.


Of course the fortress also allows for some of the most beautiful vistas in the world. This is the Dead Sea looking east. The hills on the other side of the sea are part of the country of Jordan.



It is also interesting to note as you walk through the fortress that it was built by Herod as a fortified pleasure palace with a lot of Roman architectural influence. In the top photo you can see the Roman style decoration and on the bottom a room outfitted with the Roman hypocaust heating system.

Jerusalem Map
Also, I put together the below map as an addendum to my OP to show where the proposed sites of the silver and bronze mints were located in the city.

 

That's a great exemplar of the type, Curtis, and thank you kindly for the well-written analysis, and especially for your many wonderful pictures! A+++

 

Very interesting, thank you all.. Love DR display of coins