The procuratorial coinage of Roman Judaea was minted by the prefects and procurators of the province between AD 6 and 66 in only one denomination and size, the bronze

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 coin of the Second Temple period of Israel with low value. A loaf of bread i ...

. All the coins were minted in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. The design of these coins reflects accommodation of Jewish religious sensibilities. Likely in collaboration with Jerusalem's Jewish leadership, they deviated from typical Roman coinage featuring the emperor's portrait. Instead, they displayed symbols like

palm tree The Arecaceae () is a family of perennial, flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are colloquially c ...

and ears of grains, reminiscent of earlier Hasmonean and

Herodian Herodian or Herodianus () of Syria, sometimes referred to as "Herodian of Antioch" (c. 170 – c. 240), was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled ''History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus'' (τῆς με ...

designs. A notable exception is the coinage of Pontius Pilate, which included Roman cultic items on one side, though the reverse maintained Jewish imagery. Primarily circulated in Judaea, these coins have been found beyond their intended area, including in

Transjordan Transjordan may refer to: * Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River * Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan * Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946) * Hashemite Kingdom o ...

and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. Minting ceased in 59 CE, but the coins remained in use until the end of the

First Jewish–Roman War The First Jewish–Roman War (66–74 CE), also known as the Great Jewish Revolt, the First Jewish Revolt, the War of Destruction, or the Jewish War, was the first of three major Jewish rebellions against the Roman Empire. Fought in the prov ...

70 CE.

Issues

Attribution to specific governors is achieved through cross-referencing the coins' regnal year of the reigning emperor (Greek inscription) with historical records, particularly the writings of Josephus, to establish a governor's chronology. Not all of the Procurators issued coinage. Those that did were

Coponius Coponius was the first Roman governor (prefect) of Judaea province (from 6 CE to 9 CE). Biography He was, like the prefects who succeeded him, an eques, and "had the power of life and death". During his administration the revolt of Judas the ...

Marcus Ambivulus Marcus Ambivulus was the 2nd Roman Prefect of the province of Judea, comprising biblical Judea and Samaria. History Originally a cavalry officer, he succeeded Coponius in 9 and ruled the area until 12, when he was succeeded by Annius Rufus. J ...

Valerius Gratus Valerius Gratus was the 4th Roman Prefect of Judaea province under Tiberius from 15 to 26 AD. History He succeeded Annius Rufus in 15 and was replaced by Pontius Pilate in 26. The government of Gratus is chiefly remarkable for the frequent chang ...

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; ) was the Roman administration of Judaea (AD 6–135), fifth governor of the Judaea (Roman province), Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official wh ...

Antonius Felix Antonius Felix (possibly Tiberius Claudius Antonius Felix, in Greek: ὁ Φῆλιξ; born ) was the fourth Roman procurator of Judea Province in 52–60, in succession to Ventidius Cumanus. He appears in the New Testament in Acts 23 and 2 ...

and

Porcius Festus Porcius Festus was the 5th procurator of Judea from about 59 to 62, succeeding Antonius Felix. Term in office The exact time of Festus in office is not known. The earliest proposed date for the start of his term is c. 55–56, while the latest is ...

, who between them issued a total of 19 different coins. The last three Procurators

Lucceius Albinus : ''For others with this cognomen, see Albinus (cognomen).'' Lucceius Albinus was the 6th Roman Procurator of Judea from 62 until 64 and the governor of Mauretania Tingitana from 64 until 69. Biography Appointed procurator by the Emperor Nero ...

Gessius Florus Gessius Florus was the 7th Roman procurator of Judea from 64 until 66. Biography Born in Clazomenae, Florus was appointed to replace Lucceius Albinus as procurator by the Emperor Nero due to his wife Cleopatra's friendship with Nero's wife Po ...

and Marcus Antonius Julianus didn't issue any coins as the tidings of the

First Jewish-Roman War First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

was in the air and the leaders of the revolt started issuing their own coins.

Coponius

was the first Roman

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

of Judaea, being appointed in 6 AD when

Herod Archelaus Herod Archelaus (, ''Hērōidēs Archelaos''; 23 BC – ) was the ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea, including the cities Caesarea Maritima, Caesarea and Jaffa, for nine years (). He was the son of Herod the Great and Malthace the ...

, the son of

Herod the Great Herod I or Herod the Great () was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian kingdom of Judea. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea. Among these works are the rebuilding of the ...

, was deposed and banished to

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

. Coponius depicted the palm tree bearing two bunches of dates on his coinage, which previously had appeared only on extremely rare coins of

Herod Antipas Herod Antipas (, ''Hērṓidēs Antípas''; ) was a 1st-century ruler of Galilee and Perea. He bore the title of tetrarch ("ruler of a quarter") and is referred to as both "Herod the Tetrarch" and "King Herod" in the New Testament. He was a s ...

. The palm tree design was later used to represent Judaea on coins issued by the

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

s during the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and Second Revolts, as well as later Roman-issued Judaean-related pieces.Coins from the Procurators on Jewish Virtual Library
/ref> The obverse of Coponius's coins show an ear of

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

. The representation of palm trees and barley was done out of sensitivity to

ish belief not to depict a living creature, and especially not a human being, on their coinage; hence, there is no portrait of the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Augustus on these coins. However, the inscriptions on the coins clearly proclaim that Judaea was occupied by

Imperial Rome The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Romans conquered most of this during the Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of effective sole rule in 27 BC ...

; hence, the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

letters surrounding the barley read: isa-ros of Caesar"with the date, also in Greek letters, under the palm.

Marcus Ambivulus

was the Prefect of Judaea from 9 - 12 AD. He issued a coin for each of the three years of his rule. Like those issued by

, the coins of Ambivulus depicted a palm tree bearing two bunches of dates and an ear of barley.

Valerius Gratus

was Prefect of Judaea under the Emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

. Gratus issued several different types of coins in as many years. The symbols represented on his coins included palm branches, lilies,

cornucopia In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (; ), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, or nuts. In Greek, it was called the " horn of ...

, grape leaves and

amphora An amphora (; ; English ) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storage rooms and packages, tied together with rope and delivered by land ...

e. His coins showed Caesar's title within a wreath, and the Emperor's name 'TIB' or his mother, Julia (IOYLIA), and the year of his reign above two cornucopiae.

Pontius Pilate

The bronze coins (or '

') issued by

between 26 and 36 AD are of especial interest to

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

and Jews because of his connection with

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

and his involvement in Jewish history. The evidence of his coinage and the

Pilate inscription Pontius Pilate (; ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of Jesus and ultimately ordered his cruci ...

found at

Caesarea Caesarea, a city name derived from the Roman title " Caesar", was the name of numerous cities and locations in the Roman Empire: Places In the Levant * Caesarea Maritima, also known as "Caesarea Palaestinae", an ancient Roman city near the modern ...

seems to reveal that

was determined to promote a form of the Roman religion in Judaea regardless of whether this was offensive to the Jews. Unlike those of his predecessors, the coinage issued by Pilate depicts Roman symbolism connected with the

imperial cult An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title) are worshipped as demigods or deities. "Cult (religious practice), Cult" here is used to mean "worship", not in the modern pejor ...

such as the

simpulum A simpulum, or simpuvium, was a small vessel or ladle with a long handle from the Roman era, used at sacrifices to make libations, and to taste the wines and other liquors which were poured on the head of the sacrificial victims. The simpulum wa ...

and

lituus The word ''lituus'' originally meant a curved augural staff, or a curved war-trumpet in the ancient Latin language. This Latin word continued in use through the 18th century as an alternative to the vernacular names of various musical instrument ...

.Coins of Pilate on the Numismalink website
/ref> However, it has been argued that if Pilate was deliberately trying to offend the Jews he would have put the head of the Emperor on the

obverse The obverse and reverse are the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''obverse'' ...

of his coinage. Instead, he depicted three ears of barley. A third type showed crossed palm branches and a wreathed inscription. The lituus was the

wand A wand is a thin, light-weight rod that is held with one hand, and is traditionally made of wood, but may also be made of other materials, such as metal, bone or stone. Long versions of wands are often styled in forms of staves or sceptres, whi ...

of an

augur An augur was a priest and official in the ancient Rome, classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the List of Roman deities, gods by studying events he observed within a predetermined s ...

, and was used to interpret natural phenomenon such as lightning flashes, the flight of birds, etc. The simpulum was a ladle used to make libations during sacrifices and was a common symbol of the Roman priesthood. These symbols were guaranteed to offend Jewish religious sensibilities being placed on coinage that they would have to handle on a daily basis. According to the Caesarea inscription, Pilate dedicated a Tiberieum to the deified Augustus.

Philo Philo of Alexandria (; ; ; ), also called , was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. The only event in Philo's life that can be decisively dated is his representation of the Alexandrian J ...

wrote that Pilate was "...inflexible, merciless and obstinate...(and did not) wish to do anything that would please his subjects."

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

stated that Pilate set up shields, also associated with the Roman imperial cult, in honour of

in the Jewish Temple in

, which also caused great offence to the Jews, who protested until they were removed.

Antonius Felix

Felix was Procurator of Judaea under

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

. His coins bear the names of Claudius,

Julia Agrippina Julia Agrippina (6 November AD 15 – 23 March AD 59), also referred to as Agrippina the Younger, was Roman empress from AD 49 to 54, the fourth wife and niece of emperor Claudius, and the mother of Nero. Agrippina was one of the most prominent ...

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

(as '

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war. He ...

'), and

Britannicus Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus (12 February AD 41 – 11 February AD 55), usually called Britannicus, was the son of Roman Emperor Claudius and his third wife, Valeria Messalina. For a time, he was considered his father's heir, but t ...

.Ancient Coin Collecting VI: Non-classical Cultures by Wayne G. Sayles. Pub. by Krause Publications (1999) pg 114

Porcius Festus

Procurator under

, only one known coin type was issued by

Festus Festus may refer to: People Ancient world *Porcius Festus, Roman governor of Judea from approximately 58 to 62 AD *Sextus Pompeius Festus (later 2nd century), Roman grammarian *Festus (died 305), martyr along with Proculus of Pozzuoli *Festus (h ...

, the obverse of which features a palm branch and the

legend KAICAPOC (Caesar), and the reverse NEPWNOC (Nero) in a wreath.

Circulation

Primarily circulated within Judaea, with the highest concentration found in Jerusalem, these coins offer evidence of some circulation beyond their intended area. Discoveries have been made on both sides of the

Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan (, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn''; , ''Nəhar hayYardēn''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Sharieat'' (), is a endorheic river in the Levant that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and drains to the Dead ...

and even in distant locations like Dura and

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

. Minting ceased in 59 CE, though the coins remained in circulation until the conclusion of the

(70 CE). The war's devastation and the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 CE led to a significant shift in Roman administration, with subsequent coinage lacking Jewish influence.

References

External links

The Jewish Virtual LibraryPrutah exhibited at the Residence of the President of the State of Israel
*Valerius Gratus coin, found at Emmau

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Procurator coinage Jews and Judaism in the Roman Empire Coins of ancient Rome Historical currencies, List of Coins of Judea Judea (Roman province) Numismatics *