First Jewish Revolt coinage was issued by the
Jews after the
Zealots captured
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
and the
Jewish Temple from the
Romans in 66
CE at the beginning of the
First Jewish Revolt. The Jewish leaders of the revolt minted their own coins to emphasize their newly obtained independence from
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
.
History
In the Revolt's first year (66–67 CE), the Jews minted only silver coins, which were struck from the Temple's store of silver. These coins replaced the
Tyrian shekel, which had previously been used to pay the
Temple tax. The newly minted silver coins included shekels, half-shekels, and quarter-shekels, each being labelled with the year of minting and their denomination. These are the first truly Jewish silver coins,
Silver shekel of the First Jewish Revolt from Rome in the British Museum
/ref> and depict a chalice on the obverse with the year of the revolt above, surrounded by the ancient Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
inscription "Shekel of Israel". Three budding pomegranates are featured on the reverse
Reverse or reversing may refer to:
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* ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film
* ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian crime-drama film
* ''Reverse'' (Morandi album), 2005
* ''Reverse'' ...
, with the inscription "Jerusalem the Holy".[Coins from the First Revolt on Jewish Virtual Library]
/ref>
During the second (67–68 CE) and third (68–69 CE) years of the Revolt bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
prutah
Prutah (Hebrew: פרוטה) is a Hebrew term, possibly derived from Aramaic. It refers to a small denomination coin.
History
Antiquity
The prutah was an ancient copper Jewish coin with low value. A loaf of bread in ancient times was worth about ...
coins were issued, depicting an amphora
An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...
, and with the date and the Hebrew inscription (חרות ציון Herut Zion)"The Freedom of Zion".
In the fourth year of the revolt (69–70 CE) three large sizes of bronze coins were minted, possibly because the supplies of Temple silver were diminishing. It is believed by numismatists that these coins were fractions of a shekel. The smaller of these coins also has the depiction of a chalice, together with symbols of the Jewish harvest festival
A harvest festival is an annual celebration that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at different places. ...
of Sukkot
or ("Booths, Tabernacles")
, observedby = Jews, Samaritans, a few Protestant denominations, Messianic Jews, Semitic Neopagans
, type = Jewish, Samaritan
, begins = 15th day of Tishrei
, ends = 21st day of Tishre ...
, a lulav
''Lulav'' (; he, לולב) is a closed frond of the date palm tree. It is one of the Four Species used during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The other Species are the ''hadass'' (Myrtus, myrtle), '' aravah'' (willow), and ''etrog'' (citron). Wh ...
and etrog
Etrog ( he, אֶתְרוֹג, plural: '; Ashkenazi Hebrew: ', plural: ') is the yellow citron or ''Citrus medica'' used by Jews during the week-long holiday of Sukkot as one of the four species. Together with the ''lulav'', ''hadass'', and '' ...
, and the date and inscription "For the Redemption of Zion". This coin is usually called an 'eighth', probably being an eighth of a shekel. There is broad scholarly agreement that coins issued by the Judean government during the Revolt use an archaic Hebrew script and Jewish symbols including pomegranate buds, lulav
''Lulav'' (; he, לולב) is a closed frond of the date palm tree. It is one of the Four Species used during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The other Species are the ''hadass'' (Myrtus, myrtle), '' aravah'' (willow), and ''etrog'' (citron). Wh ...
s, etrog
Etrog ( he, אֶתְרוֹג, plural: '; Ashkenazi Hebrew: ', plural: ') is the yellow citron or ''Citrus medica'' used by Jews during the week-long holiday of Sukkot as one of the four species. Together with the ''lulav'', ''hadass'', and '' ...
s, and phrases including "Shekel of Israel," and "The Freedom of Zion" (חרות ציון Herut Zion,) as political statements intended to rally support for independence.[Ariel, Donald T. "Judaea and Rome in Coins, 65 BCE - 135 CE.", ''The Numismatic Chronicle'' 174 (2014): 385-91. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44710215.]
The medium size coin has the same inscription, with the denomination "''reva''" (quarter) inscribed. An etrog is depicted on the obverse, and two lulav are on the reverse. The larger of the three bronze coins are inscribed "''chatzi''" (half). On the obverse a lulav and etrog are again depicted, with a palm tree and baskets on the reverse.[ These coins are sometimes referred to as 'Masada coins'.
]
See also
*Historical currencies in Judaea
** Ma'ah, Aramaic for ''gerah'', ancient Hebrew unit of weight and currency
** Shekel, ancient Near Eastern unit of weight and coin
** Zuz, ancient Jewish name for certain silver coinage
**Prutah
Prutah (Hebrew: פרוטה) is a Hebrew term, possibly derived from Aramaic. It refers to a small denomination coin.
History
Antiquity
The prutah was an ancient copper Jewish coin with low value. A loaf of bread in ancient times was worth about ...
*Judaean and Judaea-related coinage
**Yehud coinage
The Yehud coinage is a series of small silver coins bearing the Aramaic inscription ''Yehud''. They derive their name from the inscription YHD (𐤉𐤄𐤃), "Yehud", the Aramaic name of the Achaemenid Persian province of Yehud; others are ...
** Hasmonean coinage
**Herodian coinage Herodian coinage were coins minted and issued by the Herodian Dynasty, Jews of Idumean descent who ruled the province of Judaea between 37 BC–92 AD. The dynasty was founded by Herod the Great who was the son of Antipater, a powerful officia ...
** Procuratorial coinage of Roman Judaea
**Judaea Capta coinage
Judaea Capta coins (also spelled Judea Capta) were a series of commemorative coins originally issued by the Roman Emperor Vespasian to celebrate the capture of Judaea and the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple by his son Titus in 70 CE ...
** Bar Kokhba Revolt coinage
*List of historical currencies
This is a list of historical currencies.
Greece
* Aeginian stater (gold)
* Corinthian stater (silver)
* Aurous
* Athenian drachma (silver)
*Stater (silver)
*Tetradrachm (silver)
*Drachma (silver)
** Alexandrian coinage
** Ptolemaic coinage
**Sel ...
References
Further reading
*Roth, Cecil. 1962. "The Historical Implications of the Jewish Coinage of the First Revolt." ''Israel Exploration Journal'' 12, no. 1: 33–46.
External links
Shekel of the First Jewish Revolt
in the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
The Role of Coins in the First Jewish Revolt
{{First Jewish–Roman War, state=expanded
1st-century artifacts
Ancient currencies
First Jewish–Roman War
Currencies of Israel
Historical currencies, List of
Coinage
Numismatics