Coinage and Power in Ancient Israel © KHM
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FEBRUARY 24 TO COINAGE AND POWER SEPTEMBER 13, 2015 IN ANCIENT ISRAEL COIN COLLECTION From the Collections of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem The exhibition offers an introduction to the history of ancient Jewish coinage from the 4th century BC to the 2nd century AD. It covers the time from the period under Persian rule to the Hasmonean dynasty to Herod the Great to the First Jewish-Roman War and the Bar Kokhba revolt (AD 132-135) that marked the end of Jewish coinage. These years brought sweeping political and religious changes for the people of the Jewish world, changes that would deeply influence Jewish culture and religion. The coins on show reflect and document the history of these dramatic centuries and offer insights into the identity and self- image of the Jewish elites. The exhibition is organized in collaboration with the Israel Museum Jerusalem and the University of Vienna (Department for Numismatic Studies and Department of Geography and Regional Research). HISTORICAL BACKGROUND From Persian Rule to the Ptolemaic Kings of Egypt: c. 400 – 260 BC So-called Yehud-coinage from the 4th century BC is the earliest extant example of Jewish coinage; they were minted under Persian rule and during the reign of the Ptolemaic kings, who succeeded them. The minting was probably at least partially overseen by the priests of the Temple in Jerusalem, and may have been connected to the annual Jewish poll tax collected by the Temple (Nehmenia 10,33). From the Maccabean Revolt to the Hasmonean Dynasty (165 – 37 BC) At the end of the Fifth Syrian War (202 – 195 BC) Judah was incorporated into the Seleucid Empire and ruled from Syria. Subsequently, Jewish society was increasingly exposed to Hellenistic influences and ideas, which led to tensions with Orthodox Judaism and subsequently the so- called Maccabean revolt. This and the defeat of the Greek faction formed the basis for the rise of the Hasmonean dynasty. Today Jews still celebrate Hanukkah, observed during the month of Kislev (November/December), to commemorate the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem following the successful revolt in 164 BC. Maccabean coinage had to reflect the Jewish ban on images, which is why there are no portraits of rulers. The coins were mainly decorated with Hebraic - sometimes also with Aramaic or Greek - inscriptions. This use of different languages and scripts made it possible to transport specific messages about ethnicity, religion and hierarchical positions in Jewish society. The coins minted by Antigonus II Mattathyah (40 – 37 BC), the last Hasmonean king of Judah, depict the menorah and the showbread table, ie for the first time two objects from the Temple in Jerusalem. Antigonus chose these images on purpose. They document his inheritance, his just claim as a scion of the Hasmonean dynasty to rule as priest-king, setting him apart from his political adversary, the merely half-Jewish Herod; born to a Nabataean mother, Herod’s ancestry made him unfit to assume the office of high-priest. Herod the Great and his Successors (37 BC – c. 100 AD) The conquest of Jerusalem in 37 BC marked the beginning of Herod’s rule, which lasted almost thirty-three years. Herod the Great, Rome’s client king of Judea, helped embed his kingdom in the political structure and hierarchy of the emerging Roman world order - and this is also documented on his coins. When Herod the Great died in 4 BC, Emperor Augustus divided the former’s kingdom among his three sons. Herod’s grandson, Herod Agrippa I, and great-grandson, Agrippa II, again ruled over a Jewish Empire, although both were Roman vassals. The coins minted by these rulers differ greatly; however, they are all informed by contemporary Hellenistic and Roman coins and only respect the ban on images when it was politically opportune to do so. Roman prefects and procurators issued their own coinage, which also respected the Jewish prohibition of images. The First Jewish-Roman War: AD 66 – 70 Under Herod Agrippa II (AD 53 – 100), the last scion of the Herodian dynasty, Jewish society was racked by an internal political power struggle between the different religious parties that resulted in something akin to civil war. At the same time unjustified imperial tax demands increased tensions with Rome; when the Roman procurator Gessius Florus looted the Temple treasure, a revolt broke out that was eventually crushed by Emperor Vespasian and his son Titus. The coins minted during the five years of the First Jewish-Roman War are among the best and most beautiful examples of Jewish coinage. The inscriptions on the coins, which, like those minted by the Hasmonean dynasty, use paleo-Hebrew script, illustrate the aims of the Jewish revolution: “Israel’s Shekel”, “Jerusalem the Holy”, “Zion’s Freedom” and “for the liberation of Zion” are some of the watchwords propagated with the help of these coins. Following the Roman victory, Judea was turned into a Roman province, with Caesarea Maritima designated as the seat of the proconsul. Titus and his father Vespasian celebrated their victory over the Jews both with a magnificent triumph in Rome and on their coins. The Second Jewish-Roman War/The Bar Kokhba Revolt: 132 – 135 AD The Second Jewish War broke out in AD 132; it lasted for over three-and- a-half years and was caused by the continued suppression of the Jews in Palestine following their defeat in the First Jewish-Roman War. It is also known as the Bar Kokhba Revolt, after Simon Bar Kokhba, the leader of the Jewish rebels, who is also recorded in Christian sources. The revolt was triggered by Emperor Hadrian’s (117 – 138 AD) plan to re- found Jerusalem, which had been re-named Aelia Capitolina, as a Roman colony and to erect a temple dedicated to Jupiter on the ruins of the Second Temple. The best-known motif depicted on Bar-Kokhba coinage is the façade of the Temple; it is either a reference to the then no -longer extant Second Temple or to the planned new Third Temple. The reverses feature objects connected with Jewish religious practice in the Temple, for example, lulav and etrog as references to Sukkot. The ultimate quashing of the revolt and the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 135 enabled Hadrian to erect a new capital informed by Roman models. Now a temple dedicated to Jupiter occupied the sacred spot where the Jewish Temple had stood. Jews were forced to leave Jerusalem, forbidden to return on pain of death. Thus for many centuries Jerusalem and the Temple were lost as Judaism’s central sanctuary, engendering different intellectual Judaic centres in Palestine and, eventually, throughout the entire classical world. PRESS PHOTOGRAPHS These images may be used free of charge when writing about the exhibition; to download them go to press.khm.at Exhibition poster Coinage and Power in ancient Israel © KHM Province of Judaea in the 4th century BC © Vienna University, IfGR “Judah” under Persian rule Quarter-Shekel, manufactured at a Philistine mint, 4th century BC obverse: Gorgoneion reverse: lion killing a bull; Aramaic: Yehud © Israel Museum, Jerusalem This is the oldest extant coin with the inscription Judah. So-called Yehud-coinage executed under Persian rule Half-Gerah, minted in Jerusalem, c. 350 – 330 BC obverse: full face reverse: owl; Paleo-Hebrew: Yehiskiya ha-pechah (Yehiskiya, the governor) © Israel Museum, Jerusalem In the 4th century BC the region of Judea formed part of the Persian Empire, but the Persians permitted the local Jewish authorities to strike their own coinage. Countless tiny silver coins bear the inscription Yehud (Judah) and feature a wide variety of images, some of which are informed by Persian, others by Greek models. Antigonos (Mattathyah) Perutah, minted in Jerusalem, 40 – 37 BC obverse: Showbread table; Paleo-Hebrew: Mattityah, the High Priest reverse: menorah; Greek: of the King Anti[gonos] © Israel Museum, Jerusalem This is the only known depiction of these Jewish ritual objects on a coin. Herod the Great (40 – 4 BC) bronze coin, minted in Samaria 37 BC obverse: helmet flanked by two palm branches reverse: bowl on a tripod; Greek: of King Herod © Israel Museum, Jerusalem Helmet and palm branches symbolize Herod’s power and his victory over the last ruler from the Hasmonean dynasty. The First Jewish Rebellion Shekel, minted in Jerusalem, year 1 (AD 66) obverse: goblet, above it aleph (year 1); Paleo-Hebrew: Shekel of Israel reverse: branch with three pomegranates; Paleo-Hebrew: Jerusalem is sacred © Israel Museum, Jerusalem Large Jewish Shekel coins were struck during the so-called First Jewish Rebellion, which ended with the destruction of the Temple; naturally the Romans would not have permitted this. Their inscriptions – Shekel of Israel – reflect the central revolutionary idea. The First Jewish Rebellion Half-Shekel, minted in Jerusalem, year 4 (AD 69 – 70) obverse: palm tree, two baskets with dates, Paleo-Hebrew: For the Deliverance of Zion reverse: etrog fruit, two Lulav-bundles; Paleo-Hebrew: year 4, Half[-Shekel] © Israel Museum, Jerusalem These bronze coins struck during the First Jewish Rebellion also feature images and inscriptions that express an explicit political programme, the deliverance of Zion. Vespasian (AD 69 – 79) Aureus, minted in Rome AD 69 – 70 obverse: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG; bust of Vespasian with laurel wreath facing right reverse: IVDAEA; Mourning Judea seated beside a Tropaion © KHM The mourning personification of Judea – a symbol of the defeated province – was a well-known topos but also bears a direct connection to Vespasian, who after returning from Judea secured the imperial crown for himself, ending the Year of the Four Emperors (AD 68/69). Vespasian (D 69 – 79) Sesterce, minted in Rome AD 71 obverse: IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG PM TRP PP COS III; bust of Vespasian with laurel wreath facing right reverse: IVDAEA CAPTA (Judea is conquered); Vespasian in armour, mourning Judea is seated beneath a date palm tree.