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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 3040941, member: 81887&quot;]...but still in time for Easter:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]759006[/ATTACH] </p><p>Roman Provincial, Judaea.&nbsp; Pontius Pilate, as prefect (26-36 AD).&nbsp; AE prutot.&nbsp; Left coin: Simpulum, Greek legend TIBEPIOY KAICAPOC, year 16 (of Tiberius =29 AD).&nbsp; Hendin 648.&nbsp; Right coin: Lituus, Greek legend TIBEPIOY KAICAPOC.&nbsp; Struck in year 17 or 18 of Tiberias (=30 or 31 AD).&nbsp; Hendin 649-650.</p><p><br /></p><p>Pontius Pilate was the Roman official in charge of Judaea from 26 to 36 AD.&nbsp; He is called &quot;procurator&quot; in many sources, though a contemporary archaeological inscription gives his title as &quot;prefect&quot;.&nbsp; He is infamous among Christians for his role in the trial and execution of Jesus in roughly 30 AD.&nbsp; For more on that, just ask [USER=81896]@Deacon Ray[/USER] .&nbsp; However, these coins issued under his authority reveal another aspect of the man, his refusal to consider the sensibilities of the Jewish population over which he ruled.&nbsp; Both depict implements used in the official Roman religion that were not used in Jewish ceremonies.&nbsp; The simpulum, a sort of ladle used in pouring liquid offerings, is alien to Jewish worship but not specifically offensive. However, the lituus, a sort of divining rod used to divide the sky into sections, was far worse.&nbsp; Fortune-telling was (and is) explicitly forbidden in the Jewish religion, and several Biblical verses prescribe death for fortune-telling.&nbsp; Depicting it on the circulating coinage could not have endeared Pilate to the Jewish population.&nbsp; It seems unlikely that Pilate was specifically trying to provoke the Jews, but the choice of designs for his coins does indicate a man dangerously out of touch with his subjects and unwilling or unable to understand them.&nbsp; Pilate was recalled to Rome in 36 AD, after ordering a massacre of Samaritans.&nbsp; His death is not well attested, though one source claims that Pilate committed suicide in 39 AD on orders from Caligula.&nbsp; Coins of Pontius Pilate are reasonably common in low grades like these specimens, but they are eagerly collected due to their high historical and religious importance.&nbsp; Happy Easter, and please share your coins of Pilate, or whatever else seems appropriate.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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