INSCRIPTIONS ON THE ARCH OF TITUS שער טיטוס & MORE PHOTOS - Part 2

The Arch of Titus in Rome is a monument to Jewish history, albeit a monument to a Jewish defeat. Yet, the very fact that Roman emperors of the Flavian dynasty built a triumphal arch to commemorate their victory over the Jews of Judea [war of 66 CE-73 CE] demonstrates that this victory was very important and significant to them and that they considered the Jews a formidable enemy. Likewise, the fact that the emperors minted various coins too --and over a period of twenty-five [25] years-- to commemorate the victory demonstrates its importance to them. This solidly refutes the attempts by certain historians today, especially "leftists" and others writing in the tradition of German philosophy (that is, of Kant, Hegel, and their followers), to belittle or even deny the Jewish role in history, as do the PLO and its academic toadies today. Now, it is true that the Romans built other victory arches, but they did not build an arch for every victory. Only when the victory was significant.

The coins too demonstrate the importance of this victory. They carry the inscriptions Judea Capta, Judea Devicta, or simply Judea, etc. Bear in mind that in Latin inscriptions, Judea was written IVDAEA. This name was applied by Greeks and Romans to the country that the Jews have traditionally called Land of Israel (also appearing in the New Testament Book of Matthew, 2:20-21). The Greek Ioudaia and the Latin IVDAEA derive from the Aramaic word Yehudaya [= "the Jews"]. Maybe a Greek traveler touring the region of Syria, Lebanon, and Israel, asked a speaker of Aramaic, "Who lives over there?" And the answer was: Yehudaya (the Jews). An H sound in the middle of a word very easily drops out, in English too, and that is likely how the word changed from Yehudaya to Ioudaia. As to the coins, bear in mind that there were several coin issues commemorating this victory and that they were issued over a period of twenty-five [25] years.

The arch and the coins together attest to the antiquity of Jewish history back to the time of the Roman Empire, as well to the destruction of the Temple by Roman forces. They are a concrete refutation of the claims not only of "leftist" historians trying to belittle Jewish history, but of Arab and other pro-PLO historians who nowadays try to deny Jewish history in the Land of Israel altogether. This revolt was only the first of three major Jewish revolts against Rome. The second one occurred in the Diaspora, especially Egypt, in the years 115-117 CE, while the third began in 132 CE. This third revolt, led by Bar Kokhba, lasted four years until 135 CE. This war cost the Romans dearly took, since the Jews wiped out at least one full legion, and the Roman emperor had to replace the commander on the ground with another commander --Julius Severus-- called to Judea from far away Britain.

The Romans continued to call Israel PROVINCIA IVDAEA until they had defeated the Jews in the war [135 CE]. The war is described in earlier posts on this blog concerning its conduct and results [search for Bar Kokhba, Eusebios, Fronto, Dio Cassius, etc.]. Besides massive killing of Jews by Roman legionaries, another result, meant as an insult, punishment and humiliation for the Jews, was the name change from Judea to Provincia Syria Palaestina [apparently carried out in 135 CE].

VIEWS OF THE INNER FACES with bas reliefs, of the ARCH of TITUS

The inner face on the south side seen from the north. The trees in the background are on the Palatine Hill. Note the famous image of the Menorah looted from the Temple in Jerusalem, here being carried in a Roman victory procession. Click on photo to enlarge.

The inner face on the north side seen from the south. The arch is located in the main Roman forum. On this relief, we see "the emperor Titus in a triumphal quadriga, driven by the goddess Roma while Victory holds a crown over his head." [Joseph Fattorusso, ed., Wonders of Italy (in the Medici Art Series), (Florence: repr. ed. December 1944); p 399] Click on photo to enlarge.

The inscription below appears above the arch on the outer face on the east side facing east.

SENATVS POPULVSQVE ROMANVS
DIVO TITO DIVI VESPANIF
VESPASIANOAVGVSTO

The name Titus appears here in the form of TITO. Note that the emperor still acted in the name of the Senate, referred to here as The Roman Senate and People in the top line of the inscription. This term is often shortened to SPQR.

The inscription below appears on the west side facing west above the arch. It is not original but was engraved by Pope Pius VII who presided as pope from 1800 to 1823. The original inscription had apparently been destroyed in warfare or defaced or damaged in some way. The pope's inscription replaced the original.

Insigne religionis atque artis monumentum
vetustatque Fatiscens
Pius Septimus Pontifex max
Novis Operibus Priscum exemplar imitantibus
Fulciri Servanque ivssit
anno sacri Principatus Eius XXIIII

<>For more information on and photos of the Arch of Titus, see Part 1 on this topic.
[minor corrections of some dates made on 11-13-05]

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Coming soon: A Roman military diploma showing the Roman official usage of the name Judea.

Arch of Titus [שער טיטוס] in Rome - Monument to Jewish History -- Part 1

6-25-2012 Updating at bottom

The Roman Empire was the enemy of the Jews, yet Rome erected an important monument to Jewish history, which was preserved more or less intact by subsequent rulers of Rome, up to today's Italian Republic which devotes great resources to preserving, exhibiting, and sometimes restoring the many antiquities in the country. The Arch of Titus is especially important nowadays when the Arabs and the pro-Arab Nazi forces, sometimes described as "leftists" or "democrats" or some other conventionally innocuous term, are trying to deny that there is such a thing as Jewish history or that the Jews ever existed before Theodore Herzl, while they especially try to deny or minimize any Jewish history in the Land of Israel.

The Arch of Titus was built by the Flavian emperors, Titus and Vespasian, who had led the Roman armies against the Jewish freedom struggle in the province of Judea [PROVINCIA IUDAEA] and had besieged Jerusalem in the year 70 CE. This historical episode is mentioned and described by Josephus Flavius, a Jewish renegade who went over to the Roman side, in his book The Jewish War [De Bello Iudaico]. It is also described by Roman historian Tacitus in his Histories, and by other ancient writers. Tacitus points out that Arab auxiliary troops fought for the Romans against the Jews [see an earlier post on this blog for the text in Latin and English]. The ancient Arabs had this habit of collaborating with imperialists, although the current semi-scholarly orthodoxy in Middle Eastern studies would not want to give any attention to that fact. These two emperors were called Flavians from their clan or gens name. Josephus became their protege and took on their clan name Flavius.

Here is a picture of the Arch of Titus taken from the west side looking east and up, and slightly to the south, the famous menorah may be visible with difficulty (click on photo to enlarge it).

Here's another picture, from a different angle. The shot was taken from the steps leading up to the Palatine Hill, just outside the fence enclosing the main Roman Forum. This photo was taken from the south side and shows the bas relief of an award being given to the emperor for winning the war.

And here above is the bas relief on the south side of the interior showing the famous menorah. According to some, the menorah is being carried by Jewish captives, while others claim that it is being carried by soldiers.

In Latin the arch is called Arcus Titi, in Italian Arco di Tito, in French Arche de Titus or Arche de Tite, and in Hebrew שער טיטוס Sha`ar Titus.

The Arch of Titus, erected to commemorate the victories of Titus and Vespasian in the Judean War ending with the destruction of the city and temple of Jerusalem A.D. 70 [= 70 CE], was not completed until after the death of Titus and dedicated by Domitian A.D. 81. This splendid arch entirely faced with pentelic marble is one of the gems of the first century. The vaulting is decorated with rosettes in richly carved coffers and by splendid reliefs of the highest interest. On one side is represented a triumphal procession with captives and soldiers carrying the Jewish spoils including the table of the shew-bread and the seven-branched golden candlestick [menorah]; opposite is seen the emperor Titus in a triumphal quadriga, driven by the goddess Roma while Victory holds a crown over his head. The relief in the centre of the vault represents the apotheosis of Titus who is carried to heaven by an eagle.
[Wonders of Italy (in the Medici Art Series), edited by Joseph Fattorusso (Florence: repr. ed. December 1944); p 399]

Note: Vespasian was father of Titus and became emperor in 69 CE while leading his legions against the Jews. Titus took command when his father became emperor and unfortunately concluded the war with success, although the last Jewish fortress, Massada, was not taken until 73 CE. Domitian too belonged to the Flavian dynasty; he was a son of Vespasian and brother of Titus. Vespasian, according to the Petit Larousse, "pacified Judea, built the Colosseum . . . and erected the Temple of Peace." This temple was in fact devoted to the victory over the Jews and contained objects looted from the Holy Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans. That was what "peace" meant for the Romans.

This all shows that defeating the Jews was very important for the Roman Empire, and that the imperial class considered it a great victory. Obviously, the Jews were much more important in ancient times than most standard historians would like to acknowledge, especially most of those identified as "leftists" [consider Gibbon's effort to belittle Jews]. The Romans issued several different coins in honor of their victory over the Jews, and this over a period of 25 years. The most common inscription on these victory coins is IVDAEA CAPTA, while others are IVDAEA DEVICTA or simply IVDAEA, etc. The coins were minted in gold, silver, and bronze. These coins too are signs of how important Rome considered victory over the Jews.

Some more details:
1) Several years, a large stone was dug up near the Colosseum in Rome with an inscription indicating that it was built with money looted from the Temple in Jerusalem. It was on display in the Colosseum for about a year or two. I do not know its present location.
2) Tacitus points out that Arab auxiliary troops helped the Roman legions in this war [see an earlier post on this blog]. Here we have Arabs fighting on the side of an empire against the freedom struggle of another people.
3) Judea [= IVDAEA] was the Roman name for their imperial province that more or less covered the territory that the Jews have long called the Land of Israel. In the Christian New Testament, Judea is also used in a narrow sense meaning the southern part of Israel, what the Jews call Erets Yehudah. However, in Latin and Greek usage Judea included the Golan Heights, Galilee, Samaria, northern Negev, and the east bank of the Jordan River.
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Next: more on the repercussions in Israel of the Greek revolt
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UPDATING 6-25-2012 Scientists discover that the menorah on Arch of Titus was painted a yellow ochre color, similar to the color of gold [New York Times article]