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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;David Atherton, post: 2239294, member: 82616&quot;]In the immediate aftermath of the fall of Jerusalem Titus Caesar and his troops celebrated their great victory. Games were held, coins were struck, and booty distributed.The legions were so enthusiastic that they proclaimed Titus as <i>Imperator</i>, despite his protests. He gave a speech in response which seemed tactless to more cynical observers. At Caesarea Maritima an issue of tetradrachms were stuck featuring Titus prominently on the obverse. Titus and an entourage of 10,000 troops toured the east and were entertained by many of the regions rulers. The Parthian King gave Titus a golden crown and congratulated him on his victory and he wore diadem in Memphis, Egypt while consecrating the Apis bull. Back in Rome, the cumulative effect of all these actions were looked upon suspiciously. The rumour circulated that Titus was seeking the purple. Shocked upon hearing of this and wanting to reassure his father Vespasian, Titus hurried to Rome and met him with the words &quot;Here I am father, here I am.&quot; Or so Suetonius tells us. Chronologically the Apis bull episode is misleading at best - Titus was in Memphis in April and Rome in June, hardly time for rumours to fly back and forth between the two cities!</p><p><br /></p><p>This rare tetradrachm was minted in Judaea during those heady days of celebrations and games in 70/71 AD.&nbsp; The mint is somewhat of a mystery. RPC speculates it is Caesarea Maritima, K. Butcher thinks it is &#039;south&#039; of Antioch, C. Kraay claims it for Tyre, and R. McAlee says Judaea. Whatever the mint, the style is not of Antioch or Alexandria and is more in keeping with the Judaea Capta aurei contemporaneously struck at Caesarea Maritima. Could this coin be numismatic evidence of that brief moment early in Vespasian&#039;s reign when his eldest son Titus was thought of as more than just a successor by his troops?</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]441449[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Titus as Caesar</b></p><p>AR Tetradrachm</p><p>Caesarea Maritima mint, 70-71 AD</p><p>RPC 1967 (3 spec.)</p><p>Obv: AYTOKP TITOΣ KAIΣ OYEΣΠ; Head of Titus, laureate, r., with aegis</p><p>Rev: ETOYΣ Γ IEPOY; Eagle standing, l., with wreath in beak on palm branch; club in l. field[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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