{"id":6359,"date":"2020-06-01T21:25:35","date_gmt":"2020-06-01T19:25:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moked.it\/international\/?p=6359"},"modified":"2020-10-14T11:41:43","modified_gmt":"2020-10-14T09:41:43","slug":"italics-this-2000-year-old-coin-commemorates-a-jewish-rebellion-against-rome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/06\/01\/italics-this-2000-year-old-coin-commemorates-a-jewish-rebellion-against-rome\/","title":{"rendered":"ITALICS This 2,000-Year-Old Coin Commemorates a Jewish Rebellion Against Rome"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Alex Fox* <\/strong><\/p>\n

Archaeologists conducting excavations in Jerusalem\u2019s Old City have unearthed a nearly 2,000-year-old bronze coin minted during the Bar Kokhba revolt, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced in a statement earlier this month.<\/p>\n

An unsuccessful uprising that lasted from 132 to 136 A.D., Bar Kokhba found the Jewish people rebelling against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire. During the revolt, Jews began minting coins by pressing their own insignia on top of already circulating currency, including Roman denarii. Many such tokens have been discovered outside of Jerusalem, but out of the more than 22,000 coins discovered in the Old City, just four date to the time of the uprising\u2014and only this newly discovered specimen features the word \u201cJerusalem,\u201d the statement notes.<\/p>\n

Researchers found the coin\u2014which displays a cluster of grapes alongside the inscription \u201cYear Two of the Freedom of Israel\u201d on one side and a palm tree with the inscription \u201cJerusalem\u201d on its reverse\u2014in the William Davidson Archaeological Park. Other coins minted during the Jewish rebellion feature a temple facade, trumpets and a lyre, among other motifs, as well as slogans including \u201cRedemption of Israel\u201d and \u201cFreedom of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe operating principle on all Jewish coins is they have no pagan images; and they don\u2019t have human figures,\u201d Donald Tzvi Ariel, head of the IAA\u2019s coin department, tells Ruth Schuster of Haaretz. \u201cJewish coinage has cornucopias, pomegranates, a star, diadems, flowers, palm branches and so on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though some interpret the Bar Kokhba coins\u2019 creation as a decisive refutation of Roman authority, Ariel says the rebels\u2019 overstriking of existing coinage was probably driven more by need and the size of available coin dies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a business decision,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

The ancient revolt\u2014named for its leader, born Shimon Ben-Kosiba but given the messianic moniker Bar Kokhba, or \u201cSon of the Star\u201d\u2014broke out after decades of tension and armed conflict between Judea and the Roman Empire. Responding specifically to Emperor Hadrian\u2019s aggressive attempts to assimilate Jews into Roman society, the uprising protested such measures as the banning of circumcision and Jerusalem\u2019s transformation into a Roman colony called Aelia Capitolina, according to the Jewish Virtual Library.<\/p>\n

In 132 A.D., the Jewish people rallied around Bar Kokhba. Hailed by many as a messiah who would lead Judea to glory, he took the title of nasi, or prince, and began minting coins with the inscription \u201cYear 1 of the liberty of Jerusalem,\u201d per Encyclopedia Britannica.<\/p>\n

The early days of the rebellion saw Jewish forces storm Jerusalem and perhaps even take control of the city. Sources offer differing accounts of the rebels\u2019 success, with some saying they never breached Jerusalem\u2019s defenses and others suggesting they occupied the city for a brief period, writes Benjamin Kerstein for Ancient History Encyclopedia.<\/p>\n

Bar Kokhba\u2019s followers likely minted their coins during this short time of success. But as Ariel points out, the paucity of specimens found within Jerusalem appears to support the idea that the Jews failed to fully reclaim the city during the conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cJerusalem was the goal and the battle cry of the Bar Kokhba rebels, but they never did conquer the city,\u201d the numismatist, or coin expert, tells the Jerusalem Post\u2019s Rossella Tercatin. \u201cThe small number of coins minted by them found in the city also bear witness to that. This is the first time that one of such coins [was] found in the area in 40 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 134, the high number of Roman casualties incurred by the conflict attracted the emperor\u2019s attention, leading Hadrian himself to visit the battlefield. Per Encyclopedia Britannica, he swiftly commanded the governor of Britain to bring in 35,000 soldiers as reinforcements; over the next two years, Rome\u2019s forces solidified imperial control of Jerusalem, killed Bar Kokhba and scattered the remains of the Jewish army.<\/p>\n

Following the defeat, Jews were sold into slavery and forbidden from living in Jerusalem. Judea lost its independence, and Hadrian renamed the territory Syria Palestina, according to the Jewish Virtual Library. A total of 580,000 Jewish casualties are recorded in contemporary accounts.<\/p>\n

Ariel tells the Jerusalem Post that the coin may have ended up in the city after a Roman soldier picked it up from the battlefield as a souvenir.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can use coins to learn about history,\u201d he says. \u201cBar Kokhba wanted to conquer Jerusalem but he did not succeed, and after this period, Jewish autonomy disappeared for 2,000 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

*The article was published in the Smithsonian Magazine on May 20, 2020.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alex Fox* Archaeologists conducting excavations in Jerusalem\u2019s Old City have unearthed a nearly 2,000-year-old bronze coin minted during the Bar Kokhba revolt, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced in a statement earlier this month. 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