The Other Side of the Coin

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In the year 70, Jerusalem lay in ruins, the once magnificent Temple reduced to rubble. The Roman conquerors were scattering the people of tiny Judea throughout the empire, beginning another Diaspora—the longest exile in the history of the Jews.

Across the Mediterranean, in the imperial city of Rome, the end of the Jewish Revolt was the occasion for unparalleled jubilation.¹ Elaborate parades, forums, carnivals and gladiator contests continued for weeks after the last battle was over. The leading warriors of Judea, including the condemned Shimon Bar Giora and Yochanan Gush-halav, were paraded through the streets of Rome in chains, while holy vessels from the Temple were triumphantly borne by Legionnaires. The procession was immortalized on the Arch of Titus.²

Emperor Vespasian’s proudest display, however, was stamped on the thousands of coins he minted to celebrate his conquest of the Jewish nation.³

The majority of the more than 15 varieties of coins showed Vespasian’s profile on one side and the vanquished Judea on the other. Judea is symbolized by a weeping woman sitting or standing under a palm tree guarded by a Roman soldier,⁴ perhaps Vespasian himself. Most of the strikes exhibit the woman, her hands sometimes bound; a few rare varieties display a male instead.

The words Ivdaea Capta or Ivdaea Devicta, meaning “Judea has been conquered” and “Judea has been defeated,” were engraved around the rim of each coin. The letters SC stamped at the bottom stand for Senatus Consultum, “By the decree of the Senate.”

The coins were struck in brass, bronze and silver editions,⁵ and may have included gold pieces made from the Menorah, the Temple’s seven-branched candelabrum.⁶

The Judea Capta coins, as they were called, did more than commemorate a victory. In ancient times, coins were used for propaganda purposes—to disseminate religious ideologies or espouse political causes—particularly among conquered nations.⁷ The Judea Capta coins were intended to remind the subjects in the vast Roman Empire that rebellion and insurrection would not be tolerated. So important was the conquest of Judea to Rome that Vespasian obsessively minted his victory coins for ten years, until 79 A.D.⁸ When Titus, who had led the Roman siege of Jerusalem and the burning of the Temple, became Rome’s ruler, he struck similar Capta coins for three years. His brother Domitian, who succeeded him, continued the commemoratives until 96 A.D.—26 years after the First Jewish Revolt was over!⁹

We don’t know who designed the Capta coins. The female figure of Judea may have been inspired by the prophet Jeremiah, who foretold and lived to see the destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C.^a There is a 045legend, derived from the Book of Jeremiah, about the prophet meeting a woman dressed in black as the Sanctuary is being razed by the Babylonians. They are on a hilltop overlooking Jerusalem. The woman is weeping. She calls herself “the Mother of Zion.” Jeremiah consoles her by predicting the rebirth of the Jewish nation.¹⁰

Jeremiah opens Lamentations with a portrayal of Judea as a weeping woman:¹¹

How solitary lies the city, once so full of people!

Once great among nations, now become a widow;

once queen among provinces, now put to forced labor!

Bitterly she weeps in the night, tears run down her cheeks …

The other side of the coin was achieved in 1958 on Israel’s tenth anniversary. At that time, Israel struck its first official State medal, an Israel Liberata—“Israel is Free”—coin, in gold and silver editions of 10,000 each. Ote Wallish’s design shows a typical Judea Capta coin surrounded by two chains, with the words “Judea Capta” in English letters and “The dispersion of Judea” in Hebrew on one side.¹²

On the other side of the coin, the Woman of Judea waves a sheaf of corn next to the palm tree familiar from the Roman coin. Instead of an armed soldier, an Israeli pioneer beside her carries a hoe. The words inside the rim, encircled by ten stars of David, read Israel Liberata, and in Hebrew, “Ten years for the freedom of Israel.”

Within a few months, the entire issue was sold out. The Liberata medal has become one of the most popular Israeli collectibles. As a result of the coin’s success, the government began issuing hundreds of commemorative coins and medals, and the Israel Government Coins and Medals Corporation, with offices in Jerusalem and New York, was established to distribute them. Since 1958, Israel has struck more than 100,000 Liberata medals in various sizes and metals, in addition to many thousands of miniature silver Liberata medallions.

Today the gold and bronze editions are no longer minted, although the 34mm silver medal remains in production. In addition to being beautiful works of medallic art, they have become symbols of the Jewish people and a valued antithesis to the 2000-year-old Judea Capta coins.

In the year 70, Jerusalem lay in ruins, the once magnificent Temple reduced to rubble. The Roman conquerors were scattering the people of tiny Judea throughout the empire, beginning another Diaspora—the longest exile in the history of the Jews. Across the Mediterranean, in the imperial city of Rome, the end of the Jewish Revolt was the occasion for unparalleled jubilation.1 Elaborate parades, forums, carnivals and gladiator contests continued for weeks after the last battle was over. The leading warriors of Judea, including the condemned Shimon Bar Giora and Yochanan Gush-halav, were paraded through the streets of Rome in chains, […]